Visitrac: Cleanliness: How do we score?

9/10      6 guests 8%

10/10  69 92%

Average Score = 9.92

(Total no. of questionnaires returned: 75)

Twitter

We were talking to a colleague the other day; he mentioned Twitter, and before we knew where we were, he had registered us as tomsbarn and Marion F-Sessions as the luxury holiday cottage owner! Our first attempt to start ‘twittering’ was ruined by a violent thunderstorm which lead to a five-hour long power cut, so that wasn’t a very promising start.

Our twitterings are very sporadic and dull as ditch water to boot! Anyway, those of you who are more experienced in these things may be interested to start following and spark things up somewhat if that’s possible…. Our instant posse of nine follower could do with a boost, please. (We have blocked quite a few that didn’t look totally very appropriate!)

Tom’s Barn in the Independent Sept 2006

Tom’s Barn No 1 in a list of Five Romantic Retreats!

The first mention in the national press that we were aware of was over three years ago now, when – completely out of the blue – we found ourselves with a flurry of bookings from people who claimed to have read about us in the Independent.

Tom’s Barn had been singled out as the top romantic retreat ” out of the five mentioned…

“You may not have the whole farm to yourself but it feels like it once you’re in the barn….Outside, you’ll find spectacular walking territory – and a village pub – within ambling distance.”

Douglas’s Barn in the Observer

Douglas’s Barn is officially a romantic escape!

Douglas’s Barn, the newer of our two lovely barns, was picked out by journalist Annabelle Thorpe for her selection for The Observer ’20 Romantic Cottages for Two’ Escape Guide in the Observer Travel Section Sunday 13 Jan 2008.

Obviously, we weren’t surprised at the time but it was nice to have recognised publicly what lots of delighted couples had already discovered for themselves! There has been an enormous and ongoing reponse to this particular mention – obviously a lot of very discerning people read the Observer!

Her comment:
‘Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference to a trip away, and the fresh flowers, home-made cakes, spa bath and bookshelves stacked with games, novels and maps make Douglas’s Barn a really special place to stay. One of two five-star conversions of former cattle barns on a farm near the village of Parwich in the beautiful Peak District, it has a pristine Shaker-style kitchen, and a luxurious lounge with contemporary fittings – there is even a remote-control fire. There are dozens of footpaths around the farm – choose from a brief stroll into the village or some serious all-day hiking.’

Tom’s Barn in the Daily Mail

Most recently there was a small but complimentary mention in July 2009 in the Daily Mail Travel section.

Tom’s Barn in the Sunday Telegraph

Tom’s Barn was highlighted last year as one of ‘The UK’s Best Cottages for Lovers’ in the Sunday Telegraph Travel Section on March 30th 2008.

Staying in a former cowshed might not sound romantic, but Tom’s Barn has been impressively transformed into a five-star retreat. Half-an-hour’s drive from Dovedale and the charming village of Tissington, this is a warm, cosy farmhouse with beams and a log burner. The galleried bedroom is lovely, and there’s a two-seater whirlpool bath for smoochy evenings.
Perfect for Culture vultures. You’re close to Chatsworth, Buxton Opera House and numerous other delights.
Essential items
Walking boots to explore, and plastic Champagne glasses for the bath.

*Please note, we do now supply our own plastic champagne glasses for you, in both barns!

We hastened to reassure all our guests present past and future who come to celebrate anniversaries, honeymoons and Golden Weddings that they hadn’t mistakenly selected a venue for what in the old days used to be a called a ‘dirty weekend’!

We also want to reassure our guests that lovers are welcome at all stages of their relationship from the starry eyed to the gracefully matured!

Tom’s Barn in BBC Countryfile Magazine

We are delighted to report that our barns are highlighted in the Reader’s Tips section of the December 2009  issue of BBC Countryfile Magazine.

Two gorgeous self-catering barns on the edge of a beautiful Peak District village with walks from the door.

For some time we knew that something was afoot, because we were asked for a photograph of Tom’s and Douglas’s Barns but more than that we knew not. The suspense was intriguing…

But now the mystery is solved! Thank you, Sam (and Gary) for recommending Tom’s Barn – see the Readers’ Tips section on page 63 in of the December issue which has an excellent feature on the Peak District in winter. Lots of people don’t realise that the area is just as lovely in the winter months with just as much to do and enjoy as in the summer, just different. Do have a look at the magazine.

Sam mentions that she and Gary came here for their honeymoon, but what she doesn’t say is that they have been back another four times since then! And we do love to see them. They don’t bring a dog to Tom’s Barn but have been known to bring their cat.

What our guests think of us

Seventy five guests have filled in our online questionnaire in the past year. We promised to make all the findings available and – at long last – here are the main and all totally unexpurgated features.

If anyone would like to see the full results we will be very happy to send them a link so they can download the results, but this will be simpler to understand. People are asked to score 0-10 on cleanliness (9.92), the standard of individual rooms, the equipment, the facilities 9.75, the information/administration side of things, personal service, the overall quality. For each of these we score well over 9/10.

Are we value for money?:
Average Score = 9.57
8/10 8 11%; 9/10 16 21%; 10/10 51 68%

Our comment: (we suspect short breaks – at 70% of the weekly rate, may appear to be not such good value but from our point of view they are labour intensive and cost the same to set up…)

Tom’s Barn in the Daily Mail

Tom’s Barn gets a (very small!) mention in the Daily Mail of Wed 15 July, we were delighted to see. You’ll find it in the bottom left hand corner of page 59 in the Travelmail page in a pale blue (colour) section entitled ‘Summer Loving’!

It may have been small but obviously a lot of Daily Mail readers are very sharp sighted and spotted it easily. Unfortunately the telephone no. in the article is incorrect: our no. is 01335 390 519. However, all is not lost by any means since the slightly bemused friends – who couldn’t understand at first who this Tom was that everyone was suddenly asking for – cottoned on to the problem and have been acting as unpaid agents ever since!

Also unfortunately the price quoted for a week is actually the lowest – midwinter – price for a short break but most people have realised that a luxury 5 star holiday cottage in the Peak District is going to cost quite a bit more than £275 for a full week even in these straitened times.

Press & Your Comments

Enjoy England Gold Award 2009-2010 for Douglas’s Barn!

Earlier this year we received the news of this award. Apparently the award is ‘for exceptional quality of accommodation and customer service’ made to all Five Star holiday cottages that achieve 91% or over in their overall Quality in Tourism inspection score. We had no idea, so the whole thing came right out of the blue but very pleasingly nonetheless.

Tom’s Barn, which is just as lovely and quite as popular (and we look after you all exactly the same!) just missed the boat, with 90%… We’ll have to do even better next year.