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Staying with us

Holidays are important, which is why we tailor yours to be the best it can be.

Booking a holiday in Cornwall with Orange Roofs

Orange Roofs is a boutique self-catering holiday accommodation agency based in St Ives. Why boutique? We are a small agency with just under 45-holiday properties (and will remain small) and so, with that comes a personalised experience for guests. Out of our team of four members of staff, three are born and raised in St Ives, one from Penzance and the other from Wales! What we all have in common is a true passion for where we live and an appreciation for Cornwall, particularly St Ives and West Cornwall because of its natural, unique beauty. Having all lived here for decades, we know the ebbs and flow of the seasons across Cornwall and where it’s most glorious in Spring/ Summer and, during the colder Autumn/ Winter months where we recommend to visit, wrapped up warm and cosy taking in the breath-taking scenery. Our everyday lives take in St Ives whether it’s for work; nipping around the town visiting the beautiful holiday cottages we manage or, during our downtime, enjoying the coastal life and supporting the local shops, businesses, and environment. We all live in or very near St Ives in West Cornwall and so believe our fingers are firmly on its pulse being able to talk knowledgeably about places to visit and things to do while on holiday in Cornwall.

What’s most important to us? We can’t wait to share our love for Cornwall with you and so work hard behind the scenes to make holidays and stays at luxury holiday accommodation in Cornwall the best they can be for you and your family.

 

Answers and advice when choosing a holiday cottage

Our office is in St Ives, specifically on Park Avenue. Our working week starts on Monday at 10 am and closes again at 4 pm then Tuesday to Friday we are open 9 am until 4 pm. Then Saturday we’re all go between 10 am to 4 pm.  To meet the team behind Orange Roofs holiday accommodation, click here to put faces to names. We are all regularly on foot in St Ives visiting our holiday homes and so can provide you with up-to-date information from what the weather is doing to which restaurants or shops have changed hands on Fore Street or along the harbour front!

Being a small team means you will always chat with the same person, and you won’t get lost in a phone system. You certainly won’t be an anonymous guest! We love to form long-lasting relationships with our guests so we can cater to each person’s needs when searching for the best holiday cottage. The closeness of our team also translates to us all being familiar with what is happening with enquiries providing a seamless and uninterrupted service to our guests. You call the one Orange Roofs office number – 01736 806100 – and you will speak to either Billie, Torrie, Sam or Ross. Most frequently, it will be Billie and Torrie who will jump in and be super keen to receive calls and make holidays happen.

What would you like to know?

  • How far away is your chosen holiday cottage from a beach?
  • What deposit do you need to pay if you book now?
  • Where is the best place to park in St Ives?
  • Looking for a pet-friendly holiday cottage in St Ives?
  • Is there a coffee machine in the accommodation?
  • Can we arrange for balloons and birthday cake for a special day?
  • Where is the nearest surf school to the holiday property booked?
  • Which restaurants are open in the winter?
  • Where can I book for a Sunday Roast in St Ives?

The answers to the above and so many more are what we love to help with. We care. For that reason, we want to make sure you choose the best holiday property in Cornwall and, when you arrive in Cornwall, you are fully ready to relax and re-charge your batteries.

We are very familiar with the holiday properties we manage. We visit most of them over the course of each month. We know how to get to them on foot or by car. We know where the nearest public car parks are to them if they don’t come with parking, and we know just how close they are to the beach or shops. We walk it regularly. We know the shortcuts to reach them and avoid the crowds. We have documented the way things work at each property in detail and this is shared with guests via our Orange Roofs App, so it feels like a home from home experience with a real sense of holiday self-sufficiency. However, if you get stuck, one of us is here to help quickly!

Porthgwidden Beach and Cafe

 

The care and support continues once you’ve booked

From the moment we hear from you, we care. We are not the bish, bash, bosh kind of agency that takes a booking, processes your payment and then forgets. For us, your guest journey starts from the very beginning, and we like to be on hand to help every step of the way so, by the time the countdown to your holiday starts, we have all bases covered and are ready and waiting to make your holiday the best it can be. The keys to your holiday cottage are placed in the key safe once the property is professionally cleaned, and your welcome goodies are placed in readiness for your arrival. Welcome hampers are individually bought by the owners who wish to offer you a welcome gift on your arrival, we have made suggestions on what sort of minimum hamper foodie gifts they leave so we hope you like them!

The art of providing a seamless holiday experience where guests relax and unwind from the moment they arrive is, according to our team at Orange Roofs, down to the preparations. The work that goes on behind the scenes is all done to ensure the holiday cottage of your choice is safe, warm and operational! Our team spends their working year ensuring all legal holiday compliance checks are carried out and signed off to keep guests safe. That’s chimneys swept, fire alarms tested and updated, boilers serviced, and gas safety certificates issued to name a few checks. We speak regularly to the owners of the holiday properties about maintenance and manages tradesmen visits and DIY jobs. We put ourselves in your shoes to make sure that every experience at one of our managed properties is the best it can be which goes down to the finer detail of kitchen utensils and spare bulbs!

There is no guesswork on the day of your arrival, or beforehand to that matter, thanks to our comprehensive and super handy Orange Roofs App. Once booked, visit your App store, and simply search for Orange Roofs. The App is free plus quick and easy to install. Here is a photo of what you will see once logged in. Each header collapses, when selected, to give helpful guidance and easy direction. A digital welcome folder is accessible with specific information per holiday home plus really helpful tips and hints on local information from restaurants, taxi firms, surf schools and local vets. Each digital folder has a property inventory so you can check what’s provided before packing up the car and using valuable space in the boot! If in doubt, we are happy to receive a call or email from you to answer any specific questions you have about any of our self-catering accommodation in St Ives and West Cornwall.

On your arrival day to Cornwall and during your holiday

Each of our holiday cottages in St Ives and West Cornwall has a key safe box. This means you can let yourselves in as soon as the key safe code is released and you are notified via an Orange Roofs App notification. It’s always a great idea to download the App before leaving home; so, even if you are in an area of no mobile reception, by opening the App and refreshing you will see your key safe code. What we have also found brilliant about key safes is, leave a set of keys in the key safe box during your holiday, and you will never be locked out!

Check-in at our holiday cottages is from either 3 pm or 4 pm depending on which one is booked. Why so late in the day you may ask? And it’s a good question. Check out is 10 am and so that leaves those available hours to mobilise the troops and get your holiday property properly cleaned after the last guests who stayed, carry out any maintenance, top up the inventory (if anything has been broken accidentally or batteries need changing) and then finally checked with the finer details ticked off such as fire alarm testing and welcome goodies delivered. Quite often the housekeeping teams (employed by the owners of the holiday homes) clean more than just one property per changeover day and so they may arrive to clean the home after having cleaned another. Our communication with each of the housekeepers, who dedicate their energies to making holiday cottages sparkly clean, is top class! Billie and Torrie are in constant contact with them and so, if a holiday home has had every box ticked, we release the key safe code notification before 3 or 4 pm. That, we know, is often THE best news to hear on arrival day. We appreciate that, we really do and so, believe us when we say we can’t wait to release the key safe code to you earlier as soon as we are told it’s good to go. Until the key safe code is released, the practice of patience (we are afraid) is what is needed.

Let yourselves into your chosen holiday home, put your feet up and take that well-earned exhale of holiday happiness. Know that the team are on hand to help if you need anything and, if we’ve gone home for the day, there is an emergency phone number for any maintenance issues that need to be fixed as a matter of urgency.

Balcony overlooking St Ives Harbour with prosecco and beer

After you’ve stayed and you’re homeward bound

We have already mentioned a squad of housekeepers descend upon holiday homes across Cornwall on changeover days and quite often it means they too are scrabbling around to find parking if it is a busy town like St Ives. They are laden with heavy clean laundry sacks, cleaning materials and sometimes a spare hoover! For this reason, we do ask if a holiday home comes with parking, this is made available soon after the check-out time of 10 am to make their jobs as bearable as possible. Any forgotten belongings at holiday homes are normally stored for a period of two weeks by the housekeeper (or Orange Roofs) and then, if not claimed, are donated to local charities. If contacted, we are very happy to return left items, all guests need to do is simply send us a pre-paid parcel bag and we will pop down to the post office to get it sent back with their belongings.

We positively thrive on guest feedback! As a team, we take all comments seriously, they are taken onboard and reinvested in our efforts and commitment in delivering excellent and note-worthy customer service as well as providing immaculately presented, fabulous holiday cottages. We work closely with the holiday homeowners who are equally invested in helping make your holidays through Orange Roofs as special as possible so, your considered feedback about their homes is certainly passed on and acted upon. We send an invite for a review via email, text and App notification and that review gets published online. Other feedback that you feel is worthy of our attention is very much welcomed via email to holidays@orangeroofs.co.uk and Torrie promises to give it her full attention.

We have an active presence on Instagram and Facebook often sharing beautiful scenic photos of St Ives and West Cornwall so, after your holiday, be sure to give us a follow and stay topped up on your ‘great holiday endorphins! Billie will often do Reels of properties as well as Live tours so you can interact online and get to see properties ‘virtually’ first-hand. Look out for the launch of our YouTube videos this year. Some Orange Roofs wit will keep you entertained as well as super informed as to whazzon (said in our truest Cornish accent) in St Ives and Cornwall. If you want to sit and gaze at St Ives harbour views from your office computer or tablet at home, Orange Roofs webcam may well keep that itch scratched until your next holiday with us!

What our guests say...

I just wanted to send a quick email thanking you for a fantastic stay and brilliant service. Orange Roofs were incredibly helpful from start to finish. Communication before and during our visit was superb and the welcome hamper on arrival was a lovely touch. The app is also brilliant - all the information we needed for our trip. Customer service was outstanding, we even had a call prior to our trip to offer us restaurant bookings that other clients had to cancel. We plan to use you again next year (you will hear from us v shortly!) and have already recommended you to friends.

Anjali Webb

Orange Roofs was extremely helpful from start to finish and communication is spot on with the app for property details and access information. I have to say this company certainly gives other local agencies a run for their money and we shall not hesitate in booking this property or indeed with Orange Roofs again.

Veronica Newton

Thank you Orange Roofs for ensuring we had everything we needed for our stay in St Ives. The app was a fountain of knowledge for us which helped so much during our stay. A first class service which gave us the confidence we needed to book again with you for next summer!

Adele Dowson

Would highly recommend booking through Orange Roofs, the communication was great and check in/check out was very smooth. The Orange Roofs app included lots of useful information and the welcome hamper left in the apartment for our arrival was lovely! Thanks for a great stay.

Emma

Excellent service provided by Orange Roofs from the time of booking to the day we left. Lots of helpful information ahead of our stay. The accommodation was ready ahead of time and was clean, tidy and provided an excellent base for our holiday. We would recommend and have no hesitation in using again.

John Love

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