Vac Pack: six homes in use as holiday lets for sale

While we know lots of people come to Inigo in search of a pleasurable place to live, others come with their business hats on. Because while, yes, a second home with holiday potential sounds like the dream, most people have to make such an investment pay its way. And while in theory, pretty much most dwellings can be rented out for short-term stays (planning permission isn’t usually required, but you might still need to check covenants), it’s always reassuring to know that the home you plan to hire out is already a hit with holidaymakers. Enter our roundup here: a collection of lets of the highest calibre, already with proper prospects in place.

Marina, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex

We do like to be beside the seaside – and we’re not the only ones: holidaymakers have been flocking in their droves to the south coast since the Regency era, when fresh air and taking the waters was one’s ticket to corporal salubrity. It was around this time that James Burton, one of London’s most prolific property developers, and his son Decimus turned their canny eyes to a stretch of Sussex coastline, building what we know today as St Leonards-on-Sea. Among the fruits of the duo’s endeavours here was a row of stucco-fronted townhouses overlooking the water, named Marina, and this two-bedroom apartment can be found in one of them.

Though the building itself has since been divided up, the flat – at raised-ground level – has lost none of its Georgian charm: think high ceilings and crisp cornicing. Naturally, the proximity to the beach is this place’s real calling card, though the apartment’s finer details only underscore the benefits; note the mirror-sided tub in which guests can warm up in after a freezing swim (and the grand bay of vast sash windows through which to laugh at those silly enough to get in).

View listing here.

Coast Drive, Lydd-on-Sea, Kent

A well-decorated holiday let is a rare thing indeed, which means that, when you do find one souped up to such a standard you feel you could move in right away, it’s all the more special.

Enter this four-bed on Coast Drive in Lydd-on-Sea, not far from Dungeness. Recently renovated by Bartlett Coote, a design studio that knows its white paint from its white paint, the beach house’s interiors go beyond the usual coastal cliché. Yes, there are blue accents here and there, but don’t expect to find any ‘Gone Fishing’ driftwood signs hanging off hooks. Instead, its tongue-and-groove-clad rooms are livened up by vaguely French-feeling linens, some twinkly Moroccan textiles and coloured enamel bits and bobs, all with an air of chicness not often found in a holiday home. But don’t be fooled into thinking this place was made only for summer lazing (though that decking is inviting…). Come winter, those curled up in front of the woodburner might find it hard to leave.

View listing here.

Mapstone Hill, Lustleigh, Devon

Oh, the green, green grass of… Devon: home for some, home from home for others. And this place – a 14^th-century manor not far from Ashburton, complete with a Victorian coach house currently in use as a holiday let – is exactly that. Offering potential buyers the chance for a little side hustle alongside the bustle of everyday life, it’s an exciting prospect indeed.

While the house itself is exceptional (Grade I-listed, it has one of the oldest domestic timber frames in the south-west), it’s that secondary dwelling that warrants Mapstone Hill’s appearance on this list. Converted in such a way as to celebrate the building’s old stone walls and handsome crucks and with two bedrooms either side of its vast open-plan kitchen, it’s not exactly hard to see the appeal – especially when you know it’s set amid rolling hills of Dartmoor, every walker’s dream.

View listing here.

Broadhempston, Teignbridge, Devon

Another Devon delight, this cottage in the sweet village of Broadhempston looks like it was made for cream teas. Picture the scene: you’re back from a windy stomp on the moor, the wind’s up and the fire’s lit. The scones are in the oven and there’s a fresh pot of clotted cream, crusted gold, so thick you can stand a spoon in it. Just – whatever you do – don’t go jam first…

Whether that’s you in the picture or your guests, the fact remains: this is the epitome of Devonian charm. With two bedrooms and remarkably bright interiors for a centuries-old stone building, the house is proof that plumping for practicality need not mean you have to forgo style (we’re particularly drawn to those warm wooden floors downstairs…). The best bit, we think, may just be the kitchen – not just good for teatime, but the perfect place to rustle up a fishy dinner, picked up from nearby Brixham and enjoyed outside on the terrace. Who needs a holiday abroad?

View listing here.

Freshford House, Freshford, Somerset

Is there anywhere better for a weekend break than Bath? From the Roman spa pools to the Holburne Museum by way of the Georgian architectural masterpieces that explain so much of the city’s cultural cachet, getting lost in Austen-land is never hard. But just as many want to be in the mix of things, a certain strain of sightseer knows that many of Bath’s better-kept secrets lie out of town, in the pretty towns and villages surrounding the centre: the American Museum, Westwood Manor, Iford Gardens and Farleigh Hungerford Castle among them.

Perfectly placed to explore all of these is Freshford, which makes having a holiday let in this small settlement of honey-coloured houses all the more tempting. This particular home, built in the Regency era and with five bedrooms (one’s currently in use as a garden room), is especially enticing for those looking for something low-maintenance (clock the hardwearing seagrass carpet and minimum-effort roof terrace). It’s also six minutes’ walk from the station, where trains run directly to Bristol via Bath in the north, and Weymouth to the south, by way of Frome, Bruton and Castle Cary.

View listing here.

Victoria Mansions, Ramsgate, Kent

We’re back on the Kent coast again, this time in Ramsgate, one of the county’s jolliest seaside towns. While many come for the sandy beaches, endless ice creams and bracing swims, others may well be enticed by its long and illustrious history, thanks in part to it being the only Royal harbour in the country. It was granted its title after George IV visited in 1821, so impressed was he by the hospitality he received here. (Keep an eye out for the park named after the king, with its curved glasshouse from the 19^th century.) Architecture buffs will delight in the various Pugin pieces to be found around town – including his own home – while those interested in more ancient history can explore the replica Viking ship at Pegwell Bay, Kent’s largest nature reserve.

And where better to base yourself for all these delights than the dizzy heights of this four-bedroom apartment perched on top of the soaring escarpment of East Cliff? Its recent renovation – all moody colours, rich velvets and neat textural nods – certainly sets it in the upper echelons of holiday rentals, so much so that we reckon you might just find yourself staying put…

View listing here.