Review – Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages

AD – We were invited to stay at Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are my own.

Review Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages. My happy place has always been the seaside, there is something about the fresh air and sound of the waves which instantly relaxes me.  So when I heard about Beside the Sea Holidays I knew their cottages would be the perfect location.  All forty of their cottages are located near Camber Sands. Which is a long stretch of golden sand and sand dunes in based in East Sussex. It was the perfect location but was it the perfect cottage?

Who are Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages?

Run by husband and wife couple Richard & Sophie along with their son Arthur and dog Dougal. Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages came about when they brought a cottage in Camber Sands for themselves and fell in love with the area. Their whole ethos is ensuring the personal touch.  Rather than being a faceless corporation, they like to meet all of their guests (pandemic allowing) and are on hand should you need anything before or during your stay. Each of their properties has been hand-picked to make sure it meets their high standards. 

Personally, I much prefer to stay with family-owned businesses, especially if they have young children of their own. As they get it. They know what it is like to travel with children because they have done it themselves.  I saw this with Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages. Charlie and Harry are too old to need a high chair, changing mat or travel cot. Yet these were available in the house if we had needed them. There was also melamine crockery and toddler cutlery available. The fact that these items were just there without any prior arrangement is a godsend for busy working parents that normally don’t think about their holiday until they are on the way there!

I also really like the fact that they are local themselves. This means that they know a lot about the area and their website is full of ideas of things to do and places to eat. Ideal if you want to plan a few excursions during your stay. 

Seasalt 2 bed holiday cottage at Camber Sands

Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages offer a wide selection of cottages catering for up to ten people. Their cottage finder on the website allows you to filter by other factors too such as being baby-friendly, pet friendly, having a beach view or if you are travelling later in the year a log burner.  We stayed at Seasalt which is a two-bedroom holiday cottage located in the Whitesand development. The little development is full of white timber cottages which gives it a village feel with plenty of green space.

Seasalt – the downstairs 

It is possible to park right behind the back gate of the property with full instructions on how to find the parking given on the guide we were emailed. This is hugely convenient when travelling with children and self-catering,  because of the need to lug lots of stuff. The back gate opens directly into an enclosed courtyard area with olive tree planters covered in scallop shells and alfresco dining space. The enclosed space is ideal if you are travelling with a fur baby. 

The back door leads into a small utility area with a washing machine. This can be closed off from the rest of the downstairs space. Again ideal if you have a dog or if you want to try and contain the sand from the beach or need somewhere to place wetsuits. There is also a large downstairs toilet. The rest of the ground floor is open plan with a fully equipped and modern kitchen, cosy lounge area and a full-sized fold-out table.  There is also a large entrance hall where you can hang coats and store bags etc. In the front of the cottage, there is a pedestrianised area which means you are set back from the road meaning that we were not disturbed by traffic noise or anything like that during our stay.  We didn’t even hear the young family adjoining us. 

The long has a two-seater sofa and large chair with coffee table and flat-screen TV with Netflix.   All the decor has been thought about and had a clean, nautical modern feel. There is also a fire should you need it. 

The tech

The boys were excited to find that there was an Alexa and that the lights and temperature could be controlled by it. They were fascinated with the light switches and had lots of giggles around asking Alexa to make rude noises.  It is the little things that make a difference though, for example at the top of the stairs there was a plugin torch. Attached to the plug so it was always fully charged.  Great if they needed to get up in the night to use the bathroom or wanted to do go downstairs.

Seasalt – upstairs

Upstairs there is a good family sized bathroom with a full-sized bath and shower. I absolutely fell in love with the wallpaper! There are two bedrooms.  At the front a good-sized double with a built-in wardrobe. At the back another good sized room with twin beds.  Just like the downstairs both have shutters and there is a nautical theme throughout. The tech also extends into the master bedroom with an Alexa and flat-screen TV.  The bedrooms are carpeted in a thick cream which adds to the cosy feeling.

All the rooms were spotless which at the moment more than ever is something we look for. The white sheets were crisp and bright and the towels fluffy. There was not a hint of damp or mould in the grout in the bathroom or downstairs toilet. Which goes to show just how well the property is maintained. 

Seasalt Location

The cottage is perfectly located for the beach. To get to Camber Sands which is a short five-minute walk away from the cottage.  You can either go straight over the dunes or walk along to the carpark and enter on the flat. At the carpark and along the road to it there are plenty of eateries. Including cafes, pubs and a restaurant. There is also a beach shop for the kids to spend their pocket money in.  All within walking distance. 

Camber sands stretch for miles with large dunes and golden sands. It is a wonderful place to explore. The children will stay for hours given the chance. To have this on your doorstep is a massive plus point.  And if you have slightly older children or a furry friend then it is possible to walk along the beach to Rye Nature Reserve which is also beautiful. We spent an afternoon there watching the fishing boats come in and also having a go at crabbing. Camber is also located very close to the pretty village of Rye plus there are numerous other attractions which I will be sharing shortly.

Why we would stay with Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages again

We had a wonderful stay with Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages. I would, without doubt, look to stay with them again for a number of reasons:

• They have thought of the little things – a welcome bottle of fizz, sweet treats and even a birthday cake for Harry with a card. Plus all the baby and toddler equipment you could need and the boys loved that there were board games too.
• It is spotless and decorated to a very high standard
• The location is brilliant to have a cottage within walking distance of such an amazing beach makes for an easy and uncomplicated holiday with children. Plus there is so much to do in the surrounding area.
• They think about our impact on the environment and make choices that minimise it from the provided toilet roll and cleaning products. Including laundry and dishwasher tablets. All of which have been supplied. 
• The online pack of information provided before we arrived was brilliant. It gave us directions and ideas on things to do. As well as details around check-in and checking out.  One of our bug bears when we visit places is that there is never enough information, something that Beside the Sea Holiday Cottages has really thought about. 

We had a fantastic time and will definitely be back. Please do reach out to me if you have any questions or leave them in the comments below. If you would like to find out more about Beide the Sea Holiday Cottages, see the wide range of cottages they have avaliable or check dates. Then please look at their website here – www.besidetheseaholidays.com

If you’ve liked this post please follow me on my social media channels:

Mudpie Fridays: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | LinkedIn