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A Simple Guide to Booking Direct with Us

A Simple Guide to Booking Direct with Us

Why Booking Direct Makes a Difference

When you reserve your stay with us directly, you're not dealing with a call centre or a booking platform that takes a cut and adds a fee. You're speaking to the people who actually live here, make the beds, cook the breakfast and know which beach is quietest on a Saturday in August. That matters more than you might think.

Booking direct usually means a better rate, because we don't have to build commission into the price you pay. It also means flexibility. If your ferry is delayed, if the weather turns and you'd rather arrive a day later, or if you want to swap a sea-view room for the garden one, we can often sort that out in a two-minute conversation. A booking site can't do that.

We also keep a handful of rooms back from the big platforms precisely so that direct guests get first refusal. If you've stayed before, mention it — we keep notes, and returning guests are usually the first to hear about our quieter weeks and short-break offers.

How to Get in Touch

We take reservations by phone or email, whichever suits you. Both reach the same small team, and both get a personal reply.

  • By phone: Best if you want a quick answer on availability or you're booking within the next few days. We answer between 8am and 8pm, and outside those hours you can leave a message and we'll ring you back.
  • By email: Best for anything detailed — dietary requirements, access needs, group bookings, or dates you're still mulling over. We aim to reply the same day.

When you write or call, it helps enormously if you can tell us your preferred arrival and departure dates, the number of adults and children, and whether you'd like a sea view, a bath rather than a shower, or a ground-floor room. If you're travelling with a dog, say so at this stage — only two of our rooms are dog-friendly, and they go quickly.

Rates, Deposits and What's Included

Our direct rates are quoted per room, per night, and always include breakfast, VAT and parking. There are no hidden extras waiting for you at checkout. A few things worth knowing:

  • Deposits: We ask for the first night as a deposit to hold your dates, with the balance payable on departure. Card details are taken over the phone or via a secure link.
  • Minimum stays: Two nights at weekends and three nights on bank holidays. Midweek stays in spring and autumn can often be a single night.
  • Rates vary by season: Our quietest and best-value weeks tend to be late April, early May, and the first half of October.

If you're flexible, tell us your rough window rather than exact dates. We'll happily suggest the cheapest combination, which sometimes means shifting your stay by a single day to avoid a peak-rate weekend.

Changing or Cancelling Your Plans

Life happens, and coastal travel is especially prone to it. Fog, cancelled trains, a child with a temperature the night before — we've seen it all.

Provided you let us know at least seven days before arrival, we'll move your booking to another date at no charge, subject to availability. That's a flexibility you simply won't get through a third-party site, where changes are often impossible and refunds are rare.

Closer than seven days, we'll always try to re-let the room. If we can, you get your deposit back or moved. If we can't, the deposit stays with us. We're upfront about that because we'd rather you knew before you booked than after.

Arrival and the Practical Bits

Check-in runs from 3pm, and we'd ask you to arrive before 9pm so someone is here to greet you. If you're going to be late, a quick call is all we need — we'll leave a note and the key.

  • Parking: Free on-site, one space per room, no need to reserve.
  • Check-out: 10.30am, though you're welcome to leave your car here for the rest of the day and head to the beach.
  • Breakfast: Served 8am to 9.30am. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are all available if you flag them in advance.
  • Children and dogs: Little ones are welcome in family rooms; well-behaved dogs in our two pet-friendly rooms for a small nightly charge.

A Few Tips Before You Book

Book early for school holidays and the height of summer — we're usually full from mid-July through to the end of August by Easter. If your dates are fixed, ring rather than email so we can confirm on the spot.

Ask about the walk to the village. It's fifteen minutes along the coast path, which is lovely in sunshine and bracing in a westerly, and we'll always give you an honest answer about what to expect. Tell us what you're hoping for from your stay — a quiet reading weekend, a family base for rock-pooling, a birthday surprise — and we'll do our best to shape the trip around it.

Above all, don't be shy about asking. A two-minute chat before you book often saves a lot of guesswork, and it's the simplest way to make sure the room you choose is the right one for you.