Sally Shalam, national newspaper columnist, travel writer and Anglophile blogger, tells us what makes her happy when she's on her travels

'Lovely home from home’ people write in guest books the length and breadth of Britain. I know, because guest books are my bedtime reading when I’m away reviewing. They are a fast-track vignette of others’ experience. What I don’t understand is why anyone would want a home from home on holiday.

When I leave the comfort, sometimes chaos, sometimes mundanity, of my own domestic quarters, I want to arrive somewhere better. Or at least different.   

As an inhabitant of London what I craved on a weekend break was privacy. So, no owners in a house at the bottom of the garden, please. Or maintenance people dropping in to fix the guttering, thank you.   

Since quitting urban life, I appreciate self-catering in more urban settings. Living like a local, let’s face it, is the hottest new trend and I’m as happy to do it in York or Lincoln as Barcelona.

Little things can make a big difference

A decade ago, the owners of a self-catering coach house in Somerset told me that they always packed champagne glasses on their own weekends away because these were never provided. ‘It’s like romance is never on the agenda in this country,’ they said. So when I stayed in their own holiday let, I found champagne glasses, of course, but also candles and fragrant, natural bath-time potions long before such things became fashionable.  

Getting the basics right

Since then, we have become more sophisticated as holidaymakers and accommodation providers have had to respond. Hoteliers try out their rooms (well the best do), and so should the self-catering cottage owner. But the basics such as HOW to find the place need to be given careful thought, too. This has to start with the directions. Are they crystal clear? In the pitch dark?    

How quick is it to gain access to the property? In the dark? I’m not kidding when I say I have grazed my chin on the ground trying to get keys out of a thoughtlessly-sited security key safe. 

Inside, the only hard and fast rule, in my book, is that the cottage feels as though its owners simply want guests to have the best time. Decent towels, robust bedlinen and lined curtains say ‘high quality’. Big, comfy sofas go with woodburners, flatscreen televisions, uninterrupted views, reading the books they  have provided, and relaxation. Flimsy wicker things from the garden centre sale do not. (Along with mattresses likely to necessitate a trip to the osteopath.) 

Baking, books and brick walls 

Nice touches mean home-baked goodies in a tin in the kitchen or children’s books and toys in a box. Not stinting on heat (oh, if I had a fiver for every cold place…) and checking that there are no grim vistas lurking outside windows. Brick walls and an oil tanks cannot be removed, but there’s no excuse for a slimy patio and litter in the garden. Sometimes, it's about leaving people to get on and enjoy themselves. A stay in the cutest, cosy country cottage several years ago was marred by notes (plural) telling us not to do this and that. Can there be a quicker way to kill the holiday mood?!