Alastair Sawday's - Special Escapes

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Special Escapes: Self-catering in the UK

A Word From Alastair

I had a hellish self-catering holiday once, a pokey flat in Wales which I had assumed to be bigger, prettier and with views. Every inch of it was grim, from the electric fire to the nylon sheets. The place was mean-spirited, designed to screw every last penny out of us, for as little effort as possible. Our hearts sank lower and lower - and we left. I determined to tackle the problem one day, and Special Escapes is the result.

Our French Holiday Homes guide book has now blazed a trail and given readers a choice of gorgeous places to spend their precious holidays. We are doing the same in the UK, where there are thousands and thousands of holiday homes and hundreds of self-catering websites to choose from - but how on earth do you know whom to trust?

Take the case of Amanda Craig, the journalist who was lured with her family to a seductively described holiday house in the Lot, in France. She wrote ‘My holiday hell in the land of plastic chairs’ in The Sunday Times. The family abandoned the expensive, plastic-furnished house after two days and wandered disconsolately back to Britain, saved - as it happens - from total despair by our French Hotels guide. If only, as she admits, she had known about our self-catering book.

So, your week in your own holiday home is precious; you cannot afford to get it wrong. With more and more of us choosing to stay in Britain for our holidays rather than risk delays and chaos on the way overseas, this is a good time to be helping you to find the right place. We have developed, much to our delight, a reputation for being totally trustworthy. And, just as importantly, we are known for our 'taste'. It may not, to the relief of our readers, always be 'good' taste in the conventional sense, but it will always be interesting, often magnificent.

There are almost no other websites that inspect and write about each place - those that do are run by agencies who make certain that guests never have any contact with owners. Most owners would prefer to know who they are letting into their house. For guests, getting a feel for the owners is a crucial part of knowing that you have made the right decision about your holiday.

We have consulted owners as far as possible to make certain that Special Escapes is easy to use and uncluttered by useless 'features'.

We hope you like what you find.

Read on:

What our owners say about us

"It has been a delight being part of the Alastair Sawday Special Escapes and we have met so many wonderful and like minded people through this association the priority for them and for us is quality - to provide something different and see guests fully appreciate the location, the aesthetics and the tranquillity our little haven offers, gives us great satisfaction and combines to give our guest a memorable break. Being selected as a Special Escape destination has undoubtedly contributed to the success of our business."
Mair, Special Escapes owner, Glamorgan

"I would like to thank Special escapes for the great website they run which works brilliantly well for us. It seems to attract the type of people who really appreciate what we have here and feedback we get is that generally Special -Escapes , once found, offers visitors real credibility in that they know that booking a holiday featured will bring certain standards of qulity ,care and service to them ' - Thanks again"
Valerie, Special Escapes owner, Cornwall

"We are ecstatically happy with SE - and don't advertise anywhere else. About 80% of our booking come from SE and the rest is word of mouth. Many couples come back again and again - we have to disappoint SO many poor people by saying we're all booked up!"
Jilly, Special Escapes owner, Devon

"We have been on the Special Escapes website for a couple of years and have found our bookings have increased greatly. From the beginning, we have found the Alistair Sawday team a pleasure to deal with and a great support. They put a wonderful entry together on the website and we liked the fact that there was a flat rate for the entry rather than a commission taken."
Special Escapes owner, Edinburgh

"Just wanted to thank you and everyone at Sawdays for a very successful year. Special Escapes seems to be more and more popular - I have had a fantastic response in the past 6 months - more than last year - It is such a joy being able to change and update with news oneself..."
Fiona, Special Escapes owner, Norfolk

"We have been delighted to be with Sawdays and get a lot of people through you. We find that in Google Analytics your site is consistently near the top of our referrers. - We're grateful!"
Marion, Special Escapes owner, Derbyshire

"...we should like to renew our membership for another two years - it has been very good for us and we have had some nice visitors who have sent us some glowing letters of appreciation."
Mrs Walker, Special Escapes owner, Cornwall

"We thought you might like to know we have already had one couple to stay and two other confirmed bookings. So thank you very much, we are really pleased with our start with Special Escapes."
Peter, Special Escapes owner, Conwy

"We're getting so much business through your site, I just can't thank you enough."
Vanessa, Special Escapes owner, Cumbria

"We are pleased to say that much of our business this year has come through Sawdays - so thank you for the good job you do in promoting us."
Andrew and Kit, Special Escapes owners, Cumbria

"...we've had our best season ever and our subscription paid for itself in the first month of working with you!"
Sarah, Special Escapes owner, Yorkshire

What our readers say about us

"In this packaged, global world, what a joy it is to meet genuine people, to honestly benefit local economies and spend an entire week free from tourism and its trappings. We marvel again that the Alastair Sawday club has remained so loyal, and so true to its original ideals.

We are, as ever, unsure whether to share our delight with friends, or to guard yet another collection of Alastair Sawday secret places."
Christopher & Judie Welsh, Worcester

What the press say

"Alastair Sawday's Special Escapes: in Top Ten links for affordable UK Holidays. Alastair Sawday’s travel guides (see www.sawdays.co.uk) have a reputation for finding exceptional places to stay in the UK and abroad, and this offshoot specialises in self-catering in Britain. These are no ordinary holiday cottages, but “quirky, comfortable, independent places run by people who care."
The Telegraph online, January 2009

"British 'place to stay' guru, AS recommends the UK and Europe's cosiest, prettiest self-catering properties."
Ideal Home, March 2008

"AS's brilliant travel guides are also online. This one has beautiful self-catering ideas across Britain but also visit Sawdays.co.uk for other ideas from the same excellent company."
Easy Living, 2006