We at Select Cottages are proud to be able to offer all our customers a unique and memorable holiday escape. We have cottages in three fabulous, contrasting locations; the Lake District, Brittany and Provence and everyone who visits us enjoys an exclusive, extraordinary experience, before they leave us refreshed, invigorated and inspired.
As a small family run business, now in our 30th year, we take great care to provide all our guests with an exceptional level of personal, friendly service, the antithesis of what many larger corporations are able to provide. We are constantly looking to improve and update each and every one of the properties in order to ensure that our customers’ expectations are exceeded. Founder, Greg Poole, initially renovated most of the properties almost from scratch as most of them were uninhabitable at their time of purchase. In the cottages, you may be interested to see the photos, which show their original condition and how we found them. You will no doubt be amazed at how beautifully they have been transformed from empty stone barns into the luxury accommodation that you delight in before you. We have paid extra attention to preserve and immaculately maintain all the ancient features and architecture of the cottages - rest assured, even the ardent historian among you will not be disappointed!
Greg is especially proud of his connections with Premier Cottages. As one of the founding members and original Directors he came up with the name “Premier Cottages” and served on the Board for the first 4 years of its existence, with responsibility for the brochure, marketing and recruitment. Premier Cottages is a marketing cooperative for owners of 4 and 5 star cottages throughout the British Isles and Bridge End Farm is one of less than a dozen properties that have remained under the same ownership and have continuously advertised in Premier Cottages over all 20 years of its existence.
We are delighted to welcome Mark to the team at Select Cottages. Greg and Mark played veterans hockey together for about 15 years. Mark is a keen follower of rugby and cricket and a transatlantic sailor who in 2015 won the Azores and back race for his yacht class with his two sons William and Tommy. Mark is a retired dentist and whilst looking for something to keep him busy between sailing adventures offered to help us with pretty well everything from phone calls to emails and painting to gardening! It has been great to have you on board!
Greg’s daughter Natasha now manages the 'behind the scenes’ admin and is our marketing guru. Natasha adores France and the Lake District and occasionally she gets involved with the ‘front of house’ too, answering the phone and responding to emails. She can turn her hand to pretty well anything! Her spare time, if you can call it that, is spent training and travelling off to races as she is a competitive triathlete.
At each of our three locations, Brittany, Provence and the Lake District, our staff are warm and welcoming, ready to assist you with anything you may require. So let’s introduce you to the team!
BRIDGE END FARM LAKE DISTRICT COTTAGES
Amy Penellum, our housekeeper, has recently rejoined the team at Select Cottages and we are really excited to have her back! Amy started with us at the young age of 15, helping out on a Saturday morning, then at the age of 17 took on the role of housekeeper. After several successful years in the role, Amy took a break to explore other career paths. Nevertheless, after a couple of years in the corporate world, she decided that she would rather help us manage the cottages and, as you can imagine, we were thrilled to hear this! Amy's knowledge of the cottages as well as the local area is excellent and no doubt you will have the pleasure of meeting her during your time with us.
Bob, our groundsman at Bridge End Farm Cottages has been with us for 17 years now. He too knows the properties and Boot village inside out. You will no doubt meet him during your stay or come across him attending to our glorious gardens.
LA GARENNE BRITTANY COTTAGES
Jeanine Guillo has presided over La Garenne and these beautiful Breton gites for almost as long as we have! Jeanine started as caretaker in 1990 during our first season of renting the cottages after the renovations and looks after La Garenne as if it were her own. She is a vivacious, lively lady who you will immediately warm to. If you need help with anything inside your cottage our outside in the garden or by the pool, Jeanine will come to your rescue! Indeed, if you simply want to practise your French, she will be more than happy to oblige and you can enjoy chatting away in the sun!