"I travel a lot with my job so I’ve become a bit spoilt as I get to stay in a lot of boutique hotels. Parc Vean, despite it’s beautiful, rustic location, was like a home from home. Cool, chic, yet totally laid-back. Wonderful.”

“My wife and I love it here. If you’ve got kids, it’s a godsend. There’s so much for them to do! The nearby beach, the trampoline, the football nets, the fort - they never get bored. I just wish this place had existed when I was a kid.”

“I’ve stayed at Parc Vean twice now. Once was at the height of Summer and the other time was during the Autumn. Both breaks were amazingly uplifting and peaceful. The area is so unspoilt and untouristy (Thank God!). For long, rambling walks it can’t be beaten. The free car and boat were surprising and excellent additions to perfect stays. Highly recommended.”

In the know

House style

1930s bungalow with a twist of 1950s interior styling

Grounds

Parc Vean sits in two acres of lush, rolling garden, and has an adjoining field. A steep driveway sweeps from the gates up to the side of the house where a decked terrace is furnished with wooden dining furniture, sun loungers and an outdoor shower.

Sleeps

2–7

Ideal for

Cosy family holidays or intimate groups of friends. Design-literate guests will enjoy the eclectic interior style, and the young at heart (of any age) will love the many toys and games in and around the place.

Rates

Low season: November to April, £650 a week; mid season: May, June, September, October, £750; High season: July, August, Easter holiday, Christmas and new year, school half-term holidays, £1,500. SHORT BREAKS: Long weekends (Friday to Monday) and midweek breaks (Monday to Friday), low: £400; mid: £500.

Minimum hire

Three nights, but weeks preferred.

Also

No pets and no smoking

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Interior

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Bedrooms 

Bedroom 1: Kingsize bed, side view over the garden and fields and en suite bathroom with bath/shower.

Bedroom 2: Corner room with bunk beds, table football and a puppet theatre (with puppets). This room has garden views in two directions.

Bedroom 3: Smaller double room with antique French painted queensize bed and view of sun terrace at the back.

Bathroom 4: Cream timber-clad bathroom with bath/shower.

Kitchen The kitchen has a small Smeg fridge, Smeg cooker, Siemens dishwasher, double sink, round marble table with six chairs, and stripped wooden floorboards. There’s a washing machine, tumble dryer, microwave, freezer and travel cot in the utility room off the kitchen.

Living room There are two connecting living rooms with plenty of sofas and chairs, an open log fire with smart curved glass fire guard, desk with iPod dock, upright piano, small flatscreen TV/DVD player and radio/CD player. There are lovely garden views from the bay windows.

Dining room There is no dining room at Parc Vean, but the circular dining table in the kitchen seats six and there are two large garden tables outside, one to the front and one to the back of the house, which can each seat up to eight.

Other 

Outdoor

Poolside There is no pool but Parc Vean has a sun terrace with two wooden loungers and an outdoor shower, and the house is minutes’ walk from a bay so secluded it could almost be a private beach.

Gardens Parc Vean sits in two acres of lush, rolling garden, and its adjoining field is home to a wooden fort that children will love besieging. A steep driveway sweeps from the gates up to the side of the property where a generous decked terrace is furnished with wooden dining furniture, sun loungers and an outdoor shower.

Parking There is free parking for at least three cars. The space at the top of the drive is for one car and is good for unloading. The driveway at the bottom of the garden comfortably fits two cars.

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Planes Newquay airport is a 40-minute drive from Parc Vean.

Trains Trains take four hours from London Paddington to St Austell, which is 20 minutes from Parc Vean.

Local taxi service Yeo’s taxis, freephone: 0808 155 8850; www.yeostaxis.com. They can provide a people carrier for larger groups if you book ahead.

Directions by road Leave London on the M4. At Junction 20 exit onto the M5. At Junction 31 exit onto the A30 signposted to Okehampton. Turn off onto the B3275 to Tregony, then take the A3078 from Tregony and drive for about two miles. When you pass a Jet Garage take a left turn following signs to Veryan. Take the second left after about one mile following signs to a camp site and Portholland. Pass the campsite and then take the first right following the sign to Portholland. Continue on this road for about two miles going past a farm on the right. Parc Vean is on the left-hand side after descending a steep hill about one mile before West Portholland. If you reach the sea you have gone too far and need to turn back. The house has a green gate marked Parc Vean. There is a large garden and you can see the house on the top of the hill and a trampoline on the lawn.

Review

Tucked away in the remote Cornish hamlet of West Portholland, this quirky yet stylish three-bedroom 1930s bungalow is charming on the outside and candy-sweet on the inside, with its contemporary spin on 1950s interior design. A profusion of vividly coloured textiles and objets trouvés is perfectly offset by the sleek, neutral tones of the walls and the neat lines of the furniture. Cosy up in front of the open fire and have some good, old-fashioned fun: Parc Vean has board games galore, and the Etch-A-Sketch and vintage Ladybird books will transport you straight back to happy hols of yore. The flatscreen TV, iPod dock and free WiFi will satisfy higher-tech yearnings, or for a more wholesome high, pluck a pair of wellies from the boot rack outside and explore the delightful grounds. With plump ginger cows studding the surrounding hills, a babbling brook in the garden and a nearby sandy bay, this is every inch the textbook Cornish idyll.

Reviewed by Louiza Patikas

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