About the Acorn rating
To help find the best cottage for you, we have created our own quality rating system for our holiday cottages called the Acorn rating. Ranging from 1-5 Acorns, the rating gives you an indication of a property’s facilities, fixtures and fittings, with five being the highest quality level.
The Acorn rating is not connected to any other industry rating system that may be used for holiday cottages and is only to be used as a guide that covers location, style of interior and the facilities you may be looking for. We do not set our cottage pricing based on the Acorn rating we have given a cottage as all our cottages are of an individual nature. Therefore, we recommend that all factors are considered when making your choice. In addition, some of our cottages are curated to be sympathetic to their time period. This means that they might not have all of the aspects of modern living, but impress in so many other ways.
Please note, that bothies and bunkhouses have limited facilities and do not have an Acorn rating.
Bothy: A bothy offers a ‘camping with walls’ experience, usually with no electricity or running water.
Bunkhouse: Bunkhouses provide simple, accommodation for small groups – mostly dormitories with bunk-beds – showers, electricity and heating.
1 Acorn: simple living accommodation with basic furniture and fixtures fit for purpose and clean. Running water and a toilet are provided. There could be some limitations to heating and washing facilities – details of these will be stated clearly on the cottage's webpage. Bedding, linen and towels are supplied with a few exceptions, which are again clearly stated. Facilities for basic catering and living are provided. In general, a 1 Acorn cottage does not have WiFi. *Please note, that while bothies and bunkhouses have a 1 Acorn rating on this site, facilities are more limited. A bothy offers a ‘camping with walls’ experience, usually with no electricity or running water. Bunkhouses provide simple accommodation for groups – mostly dormitories with bunk-beds – with showers, electricity and heating.
2 Acorn: a mid-quality range of furniture and fittings. Bathroom facilities are basic or there may be a high number of guests to bathroom ratio depending on the size of the cottage. Very few 2 Acorn cottages have WiFi and the kitchen white goods and washing facilities are basic. Bedding, linen and towels are supplied in all 2-5 Acorn cottages.
3 Acorn: a good, standard offer. Generally it is correctly proportioned for the number of guests but could have a few compromises, for example a small kitchen, or a lower bathroom to guest ratio. The variety of white goods available will be better than a 2 Acorn cottage.
4 Acorn: these cottages have more premium furniture, fittings and lighting. Additionally the ratio of bathrooms to guests is likely to be higher, and the bathrooms would be more likely to have separate and spacious showers instead of showers over baths.
5 Acorn: a luxury accommodation offer with very few limiting factors. This is the highest offer available. It is well-equipped and has spacious facilities throughout the cottage or is set within an extraordinary location or building. The furniture is of a high standard, and has real comfort for modern living.