We have just retuned from five blissful days at Secret Holt. Let me start this review by admitting I am not easy to please when it comes to holiday accommodation - I like my home comforts too much.

All too often we’ve rolled up to somewhere that looked promising online, only to turn the key in the door and come face to face with the place where bad taste came to die. Where everything in the building screams ‘break me if you want. I’m worth more dead than alive anyway.’

We paid a little more for this break than we usually do, but the investment it was well worth it. The Secret Holt feels like an interior designer has loaned you the keys to her cherished holiday home - you can feel the love in all that she’s created. It kisses you squarely on the nose as you enter.

The cabin was small and cosy enough for it to feel like a secret and romantic hideaway, but large enough that we didn’t feel cramped. Close enough to giant Scots pine woodland to make us feel like we were on an youthful adventure, without feeling so remote from civilisation as to remind us that we’re actually middle aged.

The owl hoots, whispering trees and the stars viewed through the bedroom skylight took us back to a time when life was simple and we enjoyed wild camping, yet the comfortable surroundings, soft bed, Wi-Fi and apple TV let us to hang on to those mod cons and home comforts from which we didn’t really want to escape.

The location is great too. We walked the moors, lunched at Jamaica Inn and visited Plymouth and Cornwall. If it’s not already on your doorstep, it’s all within a reasonable drive away.

So… great location - check. Super comfortable, big bed - check. Vintage leather sofa - check. Roaring log fire - check. Wi-fi, Apple TV, roll top bath, woodland setting, fantastic interior design, delicious hamper - check. Gorgeous crockery, teas and coffees, crusty loaf, real butter, milk, feather pillows, velvet, cotton, check check check and check! Exotic antique carved Asian doors throughout - check (okay that was a one-off bonus).

The staff at Unique Homestays are amazing, communication is as good as you’d ever wish for and you certainly get a quality service. Our deposit was returned quickly too.

The owner of the property - Gemma - was perfection. Friendly, generous, welcoming; nearby if we needed her but politely invisible until we requested otherwise, allowing us much appreciated privacy.

Thank you Unique Homestays and Gemma. We will definitely be back.