Aside from the glorious promise of unlimited luxury and pampering that English Cottage Vacation is known for, at the heart of everything are live-in hosts Nathan and Laura.
Laura doubles as the in-house chef – throughout your vacation she spends her time cooking up a storm so you can get a taste of fine British cuisine through the delectable meals she serves.
Nathan is the resident beverages expert who can pick out or mix up the perfect drink to go with every meal. He’s also your personal chauffeur, ready to drive you wherever you need to go. Whether it’s for an awesome excursion or just a spot of shopping, he’ll get you there safely and in good time.
There’s a lot more to know about this awesome power couple behind English Cottage Vacation and here are a few details Laura has shared to help you get to know them better:
How Did You Two Meet?
Nathan and I grew up in the same town. I lived in a little village next to the town called Chilcompton while he lived in Midsomer Norton. Even though our schools were close together, we didn’t know each other then but we had mutual friends. Funnily enough, we actually met through our previous-partners and we connected when we realised we had so much in common. Our mutual love of water sports and boating brought us together and when we started dating, we decided that we wanted to work on the water. That decision is what really cemented our relationship together to begin with.
How Do You Live & Work Together 24 Hours A Day?
It all comes down to communication. We can always feel when there’s a lack of communication – like when tension, confusion, or frustration set in.
We’ve found that communicating what we need, feel, expect, or what we’re doing helps us stay on the same page. Because of the nature of our work, there’s always a crossover between living and working so we always try to have each other’s back through everything.
That means practicing forgiveness and just being supportive of each other. We don’t believe in giving each other the silent treatment and when we have disagreements, we talk about them and move on straight away.
Having fun and not taking things too seriously is also a really important part of living and working together. As well as our belief in the power of positive thinking and believing that what we’re doing is working and will continue to do so.
Considering How Much Time You Spend Together, Do You Feel Like You Can Communicate Without Speaking?
Not at all. We’re very different people, outside of all the things we have in common. I’m more of an emotional person and wear my heart on my sleeve while Nathan is much more thoughtful and concise about things that he does.
Communicating without speaking is one of those things we are personally not able to do. In fact, most times speaking needs to take place for the greater good of our guests so we’ve just never had the need to learn to do it without words as these conversations usually happen behind closed doors.
Does This Help Or Hinder You With Your Work?
Sometimes it helps, sometimes it hinders. Work wise, communicating with our words helps us do a better job most of the time. For our personal relationship, it means we can’t exactly read each other’s minds, which I would prefer because then communication would be easier!
We do have one unique thing though that guests find quite interesting. Since we began working on yachts, we learned to communicate through a whistle. Like if we’re looking for each other, rather than shout each other’s names, we whistle.
It’s come in handy in everyday life too, like when we’re shopping in the supermarket and need to find each other.
What Do You Love About Each Other With Regards To Your Jobs?
From my point of view, what I most love about Nathan concerning our jobs is how he completely knows what his roles are and he’s very good at getting them done. I also love how supportive he is when I fall behind or need a bit of support.
It’s also really great that, as a couple, we can show our love to our guests in a way that shows we have a great relationship. That positive energy also spreads to our guests and just creates this happy holiday atmosphere.
When Do You Get Your Down Time?
When we have guests, our jobs are full on. There’s no downtime, or getting away, or squeezing in some private time. But when we don’t have guests, we have the freedom to pack our stuff up and go on vacation or visit family and friends around the world.
So most of our down time is through winter, usually from November to mid-April and also in between our guests coming to stay with us for the summer. Sometimes that’s anything between a day and four days that we don’t spend getting ready for our next guests.
What Is Your Biggest Challenge About Running English Cottage Vacation?
We try our very best to design and grow our business in a way that allows us to live life to the fullest. We work hard, but we also make sure we enjoy the life we are building along the way.
Since starting English Cottage Vacation, the cost of living has increased significantly, and like many small businesses, we have had to adapt as margins become tighter. This has made staying ahead with marketing and PR more important than ever. It is certainly one of our biggest challenges, but it has also pushed us to keep learning, improving, and finding new ways to share what we offer. Our business is so unique and there is not always an obvious path to follow when trying to reach the right audience
However, now that we are more established, we are seeing much more word-of-mouth business, which is incredibly encouraging. It is a lovely reminder that the effort, uncertainty, and hard work are paying off, and that our guests genuinely value the experience we have created.
What Are Your Current & Future Business Goals?
It may sound a little sentimental, but at the heart of it all, we simply want to keep delivering exceptional vacations for our guests. We have recently launched an additional location option, which feels like a small but exciting step towards growing the business. Looking ahead, we are also very keen to develop health and wellness retreats centred around our beautiful cottage setting.
The idea is to create a restorative itinerary that brings together gentle exercise, healthy food, spiritual excursions, artisan activities, mindfulness workshops, spa treatments, yoga, meditation, and plenty of time for restful sleep, relaxation, and simply being in nature. It is all about creating space to slow down, recharge, and enjoy a truly peaceful countryside escape.
So, stay tuned — this itinerary is coming soon.
Final Word
You can learn more about Nathan and Laura and their incredible business while enjoying a luxury vacation yourself over at our quaint cottage here in Dorset. Give us a call to find out more about booking your spot for a quintessential British luxury vacation, complete with two attentive live-in hosts.
