The house you're not in
Most second homes in the Cotswolds are loved more than they are used. A few long weekends in spring, a fortnight in summer, Christmas if the family can agree. In between, the house waits: heating on low, post gathering on the mat, a garden growing slightly wild.
For many owners, letting the house in those quiet weeks feels like a betrayal of what it is for. It is somewhere private, filled with your own books and your own choice of crockery. The thought of strangers in it is not appealing.
We understand that, because many of the owners we now work with felt the same way.
Your weeks stay yours
Letting a home through Retreats by Mulberry does not mean handing it over. You choose the dates you keep, and we let only the weeks you are happy to release. If plans change and you want the house for a spontaneous weekend in June, we work around you, not the other way round.
The house remains yours in every sense that matters. Personal cupboards stay locked. Favourite pieces can be stored before guests arrive and returned before you do.
A house that is lived in, cared for
There is a practical argument too. Houses left empty tend to age faster: damp settles, small faults go unnoticed, the boiler sulks after weeks of silence. A house that is regularly opened, aired, cleaned and checked is a house that stays well.
Between every stay, our team cleans, changes the linen, checks the house over and puts right anything that needs it. You arrive to a home that has been looked after more closely than if it had stood empty.
Where to begin
Many of the owners whose houses we now manage started as housekeeping clients of Mulberry Housekeeping. They knew our team, trusted them with their keys, and in time asked whether we might look after the bookings too.
If you are already one of those clients, the conversation is a short one. If you are not, we would be glad to visit the house, talk through how you use it, and show you what a sensible letting calendar might look like. There is no obligation, and no rush.
To arrange a conversation, call 0800 027 1180 or write to info@retreatsbymulberry.co.uk.