Escape the norm in our Suffolk holiday cottages

We are just finishing off our new website that we’ve been working on for months, which got me thinking deeper about what we offer visitors to our holiday cottages in Suffolk. If you read the thousands of testimonials we have, the common theme is the welcome, the luxury, the finishing touches, the fine detail, the home from home and all the amazing things that surround us. To coin a phrase (sort of), these are not just Suffolk holiday cottages; these are Woodfarm Suffolk holiday cottages.

I spent most of my career in customer service environments before I started renovating period properties, so I understand the value of positive customer experiences. I actually benefit from people who have holiday cottages yet don’t understand this but it isn’t rocket science! That’s the easy bit.

What I have worked hard to provide is holiday cottages that I would want to stay in, combined with a whole experience that I would want to have. As much as anything this blog post is me rambling to myself in order to cement what we offer as we are to move into a new phase with our new website. So what do we offer?

Holiday cottages in Suffolk

A brief look around our website and you’ll see our seven holiday cottages, with something for everyone, from romantic short breaks to annual holidays with extended family or groups of friends. We have been honoured to accommodate many celebrations, from special birthdays to anniversaries as well as hen and wedding parties. These are of course the core of what we offer but for me it goes way beyond that, which is one of the reasons I spend so much time sat at this computer blogging about Suffolk and all our county has to offer holiday makers. I want our guests getting as much out of their time in our cottages as possible, whether it’s a holiday or just a two-night short break.

Attention to detail in all our holiday cottages

One of the most common things our guests say about us is the attention to detail and luxurious touches in all our holiday cottages that make their holiday special. As I said, I just set out to create somewhere I would want to stay. From luxury liquid hand soap to soft bedding and towels, shampoo, shower gel and down to things such as putting Fairy Liquid in as opposed to cheapy brands. All our cottages are decorated in Farrow & Ball colours and furnished as a result of months and years of scouring antique shops, sourcing all the bits and bobs that make your holiday feel like a genuine Suffolk experience in the rural countryside, coupled with all the modern comforts you’d want to have a cosy, relaxing time.

We have started putting Nespresso coffee machines into our cottages. At the time of writing they are just in the Granary and Alde Barns as these are our premier barns but we will roll them out to the others in time. Nespresso is synonymous with luxury and are very good at making their customers (I’ve been one for years) feel special. We are in the ‘Nespresso Club’. It’s not a formal thing, it’s just their customers but they make us feel special.

Customers who buy from them feel special, whether buying once or loyal returning and I like to think that’s what we have managed to achieve here. We have so many guests choosing to return to Suffolk time and again and stay in our luxury holiday cottages and I think part of it is that they feel special. That’s not me saying that, that’s what they say.

What do our holiday cottages say about us and Suffolk?

We have guest recommendations books in all our holiday cottages and have done since day one. A few of the cottages are now onto their second book! We now have thousands of lovely comments from our previous holidaymakers and I read all the new ones every week. We put the books in for our guests to suggest places to go and things to do to future guests but these have also come to be a place that they tend to say nice things about us.

Here’s a few of my favourites but do go to our testimonials pages to read loads more if you have time;

Sunday 30th March 2014 – Six girls having a break from London!;
Such a welcoming place. Felt at home as soon as we arrived and Carl’s friendly immediate responses to emails in the run up were brilliant! The walks and walking routes without the need for a car make this great holiday cottage stand out. OS Map in the bike shed – brilliant! Our stay has been one of the best in terms of helpfulness, decor, scenery, walks and ease of life! (Note from Carl…. They made me a cake!)

Friday 7^th November 2014 – Jenny and Derek with Rosie & Poppy the dogs;
Our 6^th visit to Woodfarm Barns and another ‘pop-up’ restaurant this weekend. As always, so very enjoyable. Mark’s food is superb – delicate dishes, beautifully presented. A work of Art! Carl’s welcome never fails and he treats everyone like long lost friends! This whole complex is a little gem in the Suffolk Countryside. We just love coming up here as do the dogs.

Monday 8^th September 2014 – Dawn and Paul with Sandy & Scamp the dogs;
We are on our 6^thvisit here and still love it as much as our 1^st visit. Although only an hour away from home for us, WFB’s is the perfect treat away from the stresses of work and we can feel ourselves relax as soon as we arrive here. The dogs love it too and we always make sure they get their ‘beach fix’ with trips to Dunwich, Minsmere and Walberswick. Thank you Carl for yet another wonderful break at your beautiful accommodation. Hope to be back again in March!

Your Suffolk holiday cottage breakfast basket

Another thing we have always done is provide a delicious breakfast basket of lovely local goodies to get morning one off to a flying start! We put eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, bread, butter, milk, fruit and even a jar of cookies for a cuppa on arrival! We have so many fabulous farm shops in our part of Suffolk, all brimming with wonderful, seasonal produce.

Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence in all our holiday cottages

Having worked hard for years, it was very rewarding to gain the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2014 for our consistent Five Star reviews. These are all from guests and I’m sure one day we will get less than Five Stars as you can ‘t please everybody all the time, but it won’t stop me trying!

Visit England Gold Awards for all seven of our Suffolk holiday cottages

In addition to the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence, 2014 also saw us awarded the Visit Britain Gold Award for all our holiday cottages! This was a rigorous process and we passed with flying colours, also being awarded all four of their ‘Welcome’ badges; Families Welcome, Dogs Welcome, Walkers Welcome and Cyclists Welcome.

Where do you go when holidaying in Suffolk?

What we have in abundance is rural bliss, clear skies, country walks, tranquility, stunning architecture, an amazing coast, a couple of designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, awesome pubs and restaurants, superb food and tons of other amazing things to keep you occupied when you are holidaying in Suffolk.

So, we have worked hard to bring our holidaymakers all the above but your Suffolk holiday is so much more than where you are staying. I spent a lot of time with my web developer working on our own tourist guide for everything Suffolk. We called it ‘Where Do We?…’ as it’s a guide to answer the questions “Where do we eat and drink?” “Where do we walk?” “Where do we see the sea?” “Where do we shop?” etc etc.

We have welcome folders and lots of info in each cottage, as well as a whole shed full of tourist information leaflets.

Bikes, Books, DVDs and CDs for our holiday cottages

Along with all the info above in the shed we have a range of bikes for our guests to use and explore our little slice of Suffolk, as well as loads of DVDs, CDs and books, again all just there for our guests to dip into whenever they like.

An escape from the norm in our Suffolk holiday cottages

So in wrapping up, I do feel that we are not just in the holiday cottage business, we are in the ‘Escape from the norm business’. If you haven’t been here yet I hope to welcome you at some point.