Back in the Summer I was invited to become one of a team of assessors for Approved Family Friendly. Approved Family Friendly (AFF) is the brain child of the lovely Jane and their aim is wheedle out the Family Friendly businesses from those who aren’t and this is everything from holiday parks, hotels, restaurants and even days out and activities.
The AFF’s strict criteria and real life assessments, from people actually with children (like me!) make sure that every business that receives the coveted Approved Family Friendly Seal of Approval is truly worthy of it. In turn this makes sure that when you visit you’ll have all of the facilities, fun and value for money that you expect on a day or meal out or a family holiday or short break.
My first assessment with AFF was in neighbouring Cornwall at Merlin Farm. Merlin Farm is situated in Mawgan Porth about 5 miles from Newquay and 8 miles from Padstow, one of my favourite places. Merlin Farm is owned by Lucy and Darrel who have had the farm for ten years, five years ago they began their journey into Eco Tourism and now have a total of six contemporary cottages, all of which are eco friendly with the three eco cottages being the greenest.
We stayed in Constantine, which is Merlin Farm’s Baby Friendly Cottage, converted from an old barn it has an open plan living/dining/kitchen area with floor to ceiling windows (great for taking in the view) and a high open beamed ceiling.
Also on the ground floor is a family bathroom with bath and walk in shower and the king size master bedroom. Upstairs in the loft is a twin bedroom with en suite toilet and basin.
This Eco Cottage has everything you could possibly want as a home from home and oozes luxury with high end appliances, including a dishwasher, washer/dryer, TV and DVD combis in both bedrooms as well as the lounge area. It is heated with under floor heating but for the chillier evenings a woodburning stove provides that little bit of extra warmth and cosiness!
Constantine also comes fully equipped with everything you need when travelling with babies and toddlers and when I say everything, I literally do mean EVERYTHING! As well as the things you’d expect such as cot, highchair, stairgates and baby monitors there are the things that you wouldn’t usually expect to find such as mini food blenders, steriliser, baby and toddler cutlery, cups, bowls and plates and even a great selection of toys, books and DVDs and a stroller! You can find the extensive list of what you’ll find in each cottage here.
Merlin Farm is a great place to stay either with children or without, the cottages are immaculately clean, well kept and fabulously equipped with some great attention to detail and small touches that really make you feel welcome. We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay but have agreed that it was too short so we’ll defiantly be back, maybe when we can take a bit more advantage of the beautiful local beaches!
To check out Merlin Farm’s prices and availability or to find out more about it then have a look at their website www.merlin-farm-cottages-cornwall.co.uk