Discover what some of our regular guests love about Woodfarm 🌟🐕

We recently sent a fairly detailed survey to around 40 of our regular guests (40 couples, 80 people) as we wanted to really dig deep into what it is that they love about Woodfarm that keeps them coming back. And we do mean, “keeps them coming back”. Many of these guests are into double digits for their returns, and a few of them over 20 times!

It’s very easy for the crack digital marketing team (Carl & Andrew) to sit in their gold-encrusted ivory tower (erm, it’s an office in a badge factory on an industrial estate in Ipswich, but that doesn’t sound as good), and assume we know why guests keep coming back to Woodfarm. But the one thing we know is that we don’t know! So we always ask!

We felt that the following allowed guests to go fairly constructive if they wanted to:

What initially attracted you to Woodfarm?
How did you first hear about us?
What are the key factors that influence your decision to book with us repeatedly?
How does our pricing and value for money influence your decision to rebook?
Can you share a memorable experience or moment during your stays with us?
What aspects of your stay exceeded your expectations?
How important is our dog-friendly policy in your decision to stay with us?
How satisfied are you with our safety and hygiene measures, especially considering the current global situation?
What do you usually tell people about us when you recommend us?
In a sentence or two, how would you summarise your overall experience with us?

Deep scrutiny of the responses shows several key words and themes that are frequently mentioned, which we felt were genuine strengths. These are some of the key points that we pulled out:

Dog Friendliness: Our dog friendliness is very prominent, though the guests weren’t all dog owners. It is undoubtedly the market we have built our reputation in, but we are not solely appealing to dog owners. Our dog-friendly approach is clearly a significant attraction and satisfaction point for customers though.
Lovely: This word came up a lot. I mean a LOT! It suggests that our guests have a generally positive and warm perception of their experience.
Home: This was an interesting one. The word ‘home’ came up a lot too, indicating that Woodfarm guests experience a homely, comfortable, and welcoming ambiance during their stay. We’ll take that!
Breakfast: Another interesting one. We have always provided a scrummy Suffolk breakfast basket with all our breaks, and evidently it’s still a big hit with our guests after all these years!

Talking of key words, we ran them through one of those things that does a wordy picture thing (I can’t think of the name of it) and the main image at the top is what it came up with!

Here’s some excerpts from our responses, we hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did.

Please share a memorable experience or moment during your stays with us

“Warm welcome on our very first visit to Woodfarm. Felt like we were treated more like friends than guests or another customer”.

“It’s like a home from home – I feel safe, relaxed and love having my dogs with me in front of a log fire or sunning in the garden. So quiet”.

“The welcome we get & the lovely breakfast basket & dog treats”.

“Watching Kingfishers from the deck of the Onderneming before breakfast”.

“It’s always a fantastic time, but having a birthday on the barge was amazing as we shared it with friends xx”.

“The feeling of a home from home. You don’t get that from many holiday lets”.

What aspect of your stays exceed your expectations?

“The meadow for the dogs and the breakfast basket!”.

“The high quality of accommodation. Fantastic Hot tubs .. and everything that you need is provided”.

“Spotlessly clean, beautiful hamper, really comfy beds”.

“Customer Service, cleanliness of the accommodation and always feeling like a home from home whichever Barn or Barge we have stayed in”.

“A Little bit of paradise in beautiful Suffolk. Also a lovely breakfast basket!!!”.

“The finish of the property and attention to detail, from unusual ornaments to old books in the library, felt like an immersive experience, all added to the charm and was interesting to explore”.

“The peace, quiet and comfort in the Barns”.

What do you usually tell people about us when you recommend us?

“You’re very dog friendly and, although you aren’t the cheapest, you get what you pay for!”.

“Great location. Quiet. Luxury accommodation and massive hot tubs”.

“A slice of heaven, away from the grind”.

“Book Woodfarm! Best dog friendly place to stay”.

“It’s the whole package, you will want for nothing, properties curated with care”.

“Holiday, with your dogs, what’s not to like?”.

In a sentence or two, how would you summarize your overall experience with us?

“Lovely short break, usually to mark a special occasion and friendly personal service plus you can bring the dogs to join in too with their every need catered for so no hassle”.

“From a warm welcome on arrival, to the very well equipped barns, delicious breakfast baskets and the hot tubs. Makes a perfect break away. If we had dogs we wouldn’t hesitate to bring them”.

“Don’t need two sentences, one will do – great place to stay with everything needed!”.

“Beautiful accommodation in a lovely location. Great host and great staff. Very dog friendly and a great place to relax and unwind. Looking forward to our next stay in February 2024!”.

“From our first visit (first holiday away for 25 years) to our most recent we have always been made so welcome which has meant we can actually get away and forget all about home whilst with you. In fact we now class Woodfarm Barns as our second home”.

“A home from home atmosphere. Great places to visit. Lovely area. It’s all brilliant”.

“Above our expectation in comfort and location and being able to have our beloved dogs with us”.

“We have stayed at the Barns and a Barge, and would definitely book again. Looking forward to another visit”.

“A relaxed and easy holiday, with everything needed in the property and on your doorstep. I lost my days, I was soooo chilled out. The privacy was amazing, I could just forget about the world outside and have quality time with hubby and dog”.

There you go. That’s a fair bit to digest, but we hope you found it as interesting to read as we did to gather.