Getting off on the Right Foot
We are nearly at the end of the earth, it’s a long way to Cornwall and even longer to our beautiful patch. There is a possibility that there will be queues on the roads on the way down. Visitors to St Ives might be sad and fed-up on changeover day to be going home and people arriving are sometimes tired after a long journey as well as flustered as they park and settle in. This means that day one can be fraught, as not everyone will be as cheerful and polite as you.
Here are our top three tips for reducing the niggles so you start your break on the right foot:
- Read carefully through the directions before setting off.
- Make the journey part of the holiday and find somewhere to stop and have a break on the way down. Maybe a theme park, a National Trust property, a nice pub/restaurant or somewhere for a picnic. If you have young ones then plan your journey around their rhythms. You could even set off later to avoid the rush.
- Expect the journey to be long and pack entertainment and nourishment. You may have had enough of I-Spy by the end of your road, so Google some other in-car games like Car Cricket. Load your devices with audio books, good tunes or perhaps some stand-up comedy and plug in (if you are in charge of bringing down Great Aunt Maud for the family reunion we wouldn’t recommend Jimmy Carr!).
Entering the Property
As you know from our website we’re a stylish bunch and we like to look our best for your arrival, so please allow us our preparation time.
We understand and appreciate that you are all keen to get the holiday started and eager to get everyone big and small settled, so we operate a text service on changeover days to let you know when we are primped and preened and ready for you. (See above for top tips on arriving to minimise niggles.)
When you get in, have a wander round, check out your holiday home and please let us know if we’ve overlooked anything – we want to get it right. Now make yourself a cuppa (or pop a cork) and just relax!
Getting in
Keys can be found in the key safe outside the property. As there is only one set of keys, we suggest that you keep them in the safe throughout your stay. We all get holiday brain and this will mean that they won’t get buried amongst your sandcastles, or drop out of pockets as you wander through town.
Refuse
Not a pretty subject but an important one. Unfortunately, like brushing your teeth, this is a task you have to carry out even when on holiday. Instructions should be in your property. If not call us in the office and we will be happy to help. It could be that you need to put a wheelie bin in a designated area the night before collection. Alternatively, it will be that you need to chuck your rubbish into the large bins on the harbour. As with your parents when you didn’t clean your teeth, if wheelie bins are left overflowing or bags are not taken to the harbour, there will unfortunately be a consequence and you will be charged for a private collection.
Mi Casa Su Casa
Your cottage is your home from home for your stay, and then someone else’s when you leave and so we ask you to be considerate. With pets, please don’t let them upstairs or on furniture. Excess cleaning or evidence of any kind that they have slept on beds/relaxed on the sofa/had a bath will incur a surcharge. If pets are not used to our rules, we strongly advise renting a stair gate or using a pet crate.
Accidents can happen so just let us know of any breakages, so that we can replace it for you and/or the guests coming in after you.
Saying Goodbye
You are on holiday by the beach, so we expect to find sand but piles of it around the house is deemed ‘too much’. Please strip beds, clear out the fridge and remember to double check under beds and in drawers that you have all your belongings (forgetting that all important teddy, ‘raggy’, phone charger or sequined t-shirt could bring about unwanted tears or tantrums).
If you have bought lots of body boards/windbreaks/dinghies please try to give them to other holiday makers in the town on your last day rather than leave them in your property. People will usually be very grateful for the offer and we are not then having to pay for them to be collected on changeover day.
Leaving is hard so we suggest you reverse our top tips for arriving and extend your holiday with a jolly jaunt on the way home.
Finally, did you know the way to beat the ‘holiday blues’ is to book your next holiday within six weeks of arriving home. It may be scheduled for five years time but it is ‘in the diary’. We reckon that you will be even happier if you know that you will be back in St Ives in the next few months so get booking on our website for your next escape.
