Most of our holidays over the last couple of years have involved going on road trips around the country, staying in each place for just a night or two. The prospect of staying in one place for several nights sounded blissful when we booked a self-catered cottage at Kionslieu Farm Cottages and we weren’t disappointed by the reality. It was the first time that we’ve rented a cottage as a family and it was so lovely that we will definitely be doing it again.
Our cottage, Redwheel Cottage, was a two-bedroom cottage, suitable for up to 4 people. There were bunkbeds in the children’s bedroom (which are also big enough for an adult to sleep in) although we didn’t actually use these during our stay as Jessica usually co-sleeps with us. The huge bed in the master bedroom was my favourite thing about the cottage – two large single beds zipped together to make a 6ft wide bed. We were provided with a travel cot for Sophie, but a bout of croup meant that she was quite unsettled, and so we ended up having all four of us in the bed and embracing a family bed for the week. The bed was so comfortable and so roomy that we all slept beautifully.
The living room/kitchen/dining area was a big open plan space with plenty of room for the children to play. There were a few things that needed moving when we first arrived to make it more child-friendly (dried flowers in the fireplace, ornaments on the mantelpiece) – my only concern was the potential risk of them being able to tip the large bookcase in the room as this wasn’t fixed to the wall. The children’s books were on the top shelf when we first arrived and the girls were trying to climb the bookcase to get to them – once we moved them to the bottom shelf though, there were no further climbing attempts.
The kitchen was well-stocked with pots and pans, crockery and cutlery and a highchair was provided for Sophie.  We didn’t eat out once during our stay – it was so much nicer to go back to the cottage where we could relax and cook dinner ourselves. I was pleasantly surprised to find there was a dishwasher in the cottage with dishwasher tablets provided – much easier than having to wash up by hand all the time!
There was a selection of soft toys in the second bedroom for the children and a couple of children’s DVDs in the bookcase. More DVDs were available from the laundry room near the cottage, which also contained information leaflets and some children’s toys, including buckets and spades which we were encouraged to take out with us on our trip to the beach. There was a play area near the cottage which the girls loved and hubby quite enjoyed the swing ball set there too. The shed near the play area also contained various trikes and scooters and outdoor toys which the girls could play with. Although I didn’t need to use the laundry room during our stay, it was good to know that it was there if needed.
Fiona and Tony, the owners of the farm and cottages, were very friendly and welcoming and gave us some helpful advice on things to see and do during our stay. Location-wise, we were fairly central which was great as we spent most of our time out and about exploring the island. We didn’t spend a lot of time on the farm, but there were rabbits, chickens, goats and sheep for the girls to see and Fiona took us to see the horses on our last morning.
The only slight downside to staying in the cottages was that we struggled with internet access due to patchy signal on our phones. There was a small room with an internet router just outside the cottage where we could connect to the internet if needed, but we didn’t use it. It was actually quite nice to be offline for a few days and take a break from it all!
Overall, it was clean, tidy, comfortable and welcoming and if you planning a visit to the Isle of Man, I would definitely recommend Kionslieu Farm Cottages as a place to stay. We paid ÂŁ625 for five nights (ÂŁ125 per night) which seemed quite reasonable, especially as our stay was during the summer holidays.
We booked our stay at Kionslieu Farm Cottages after finding them on the official Isle of Man visitor website. I have not received any compensation for writing this review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Looks like a lovely stay – I love cottage holidays as they are nice and relaxed and you had the added bonus of staying on a farm too which is nice. The nearby play area looks gorgeous too x
Thank you – it was lovely and relaxed and the girls loved the play area 🙂
It looks and sounds so nice and cosey. I’ve never stayed in a self catered cottage before and I’ve never been sure about trying one but this does sound really nice!
It was lovely – would definitely recommend 🙂
What a lovely time – cute cottage too #triedtested
Thank you 🙂
I’ve never visited the Isle of Man but that cottage looks really cosy x
It was a lovely place to stay 🙂
what a cute cottage, It sounds like you had a lovely time . I would love to do something like this with my own children as I don’t want to go abroad until they are older xx #TriedTested
Thank you – we really enjoyed our stay there 🙂
Glad you had a lovely break.
The cottage sounds very accommodating, and a good price too 🙂 x
Thanks Jayne, it was a lovely place to stay 🙂
This is a lovely review and it sounds like the cottages come very well stocked up and perfect for arriving with a family. Loving the setting too, and that you can dip in and out of what you do.
We’ve stayed in self catering cottages many times with the children and love the freedom of it, many from personal recommendations so this is another to add to our list.
Lovely review xx
#triedtested
Thanks Tracey – it is lovely to have the freedom of staying in a cottage, isn’t it? 🙂