White River Cottages

Rooms

The 13 tiny stone houses ooze rustic charm. Unlock your stable door with the massive iron key and you’ll find yourself in a cosy sitting-dining room built against the rockface. They are simply but brightly furnished, with white-washed walls, beamed ceilings and mauve-striped bedspreads (the inbuilt sofas double up as extra beds). Off this lies a small kitchen, a bedroom and a simple bathroom (curtained shower, hairdryer). It may not be the height of luxury, but it is clean, well-kept, tranquil and extremely cosy. And the beautifully tended gardens around add a splash of colour and softness to the views.

The houses are divided into three types; you should specify which type you prefer (but the actual house is normally allotted later, not at the time of booking).

Studios are the smallest, with a single open-plan space incorporating bedroom, sitting area and kitchen corner.

Small cottages (or apartments) have a double bedroom and a separate kitchen / sitting room, normally with one inbuilt sofa which can double up as an extra bed. They would suit a couple with child. #7 has plenty of charm and is very near the swimming pool – which could be a plus or a minus.

Large cottages (or apartments) are similar but with two (or more) sofabeds, thus suiting families. House #6 has a sitting-dining room with double and single sofabeds, a separate double bedroom, 2 bathrooms and a shady sitout at the back. House #11 has, besides its double bedroom, bathroom and outside patio, a decent-sized kitchen-diner separated from the sitting room (2 sofabeds) by an arch growing out of the living rock.

All rooms have air-conditioning (cold or hot air), solar-and immersion-heated hot water, mozzie screens on the windows (which weren’t totally effective during our visit), a phone, an iron and a hairdryer. There is also free WiFi in all the cottages.

There is sometimes evidence of damp, so bring a warm jumper if visiting in April or October, and check there are spare blankets. Be aware these are not full service rooms - there is cleaning and linen changing every few days but guests are expected to dispose of garbage in the bins provided; it will not be collected daily.