Godremamog Mill
Godremamog Mill is a self-catering accommodation in South West Wales; featuring 4 self-contained apartments and surrounded by a historic watermill, salmon river and waterwheel.
Back in 2011, Samantha and Chris Hogarth decided to install a Camping Cabin Barbecue Hut at Godremamog Mill. We recently caught up with them to see just how their investment has lasted over the past decade...
Where did you hear about Camping Cabins?
"From a friend in the local village who had bought from your sister company Arctic Cabins. We were visiting one day and they showed us theirs - we simply fell in love with it! Immediately we could see the difference it could make to our business. We did a fair bit of research and looked at other cabins on the market, and even went to see some, but Camping Cabins were definitely the best for us because of the comfort and quality."
How have your guest's reacted to the BBQ Hut?
"The children absolutely adore it - they call it the hobbit house. We show them round as they arrive and we always get an "oooooohh". The cabin is used every weekend and most nights during the season. We've had everything from "leaving university" bashes to 80th birthday parties and even one 90th birthday party. Children have to be supervised for obvious reasons but we've had pretty much every age group coming for pretty much every reason to party! Guests at the mill are free to use it any time and tend to sort themselves out, which works pretty well. We light up the garden where the BBQ hut stands until midnight and prefer it if people vacate by then but some have been known to stay in there later! It's also very handy for keeping their towels dry when they go in the hot tub or swimming pool. Guests have been known to cook more than they originally intended. We had one lovely party who came for 3 nights and planned to BBQ on the 2nd night - they brought so much food that they cooked on the 1st night too. Then they still had food left on day 3 and BBQ'd again!"
How has the cabin affected your business?
"Since installing the BBQ hut and the hot tub and pool, we have seen our turnover increase by more than 50% because of the extra bookings out of season and because we have been able to increase our prices because of the extra facilities available. It's a very unusual thing to be able to offer to our guests and sits well with the quality accommodation that we offer. West Wales is an amazing place to visit, the mill is an amazing pace to stay and a night in the cabin is an amazing thing to experience - we are all about making memories here at the mill and the memories of a night in the cabin will last a life time. We have an excellence award from Trip Advisor because we have so many 5 star reviews and guests almost always mention the BBQ hut as a highlight in their reviews."
Would you recommend Camping Cabins to others?
We do and have shown people around our BBQ Hut so that they can see if it would work for them. Honestly, it's transformed our business; off season was a problem as we would get couples booking the odd break away out of season. Since installing the BBQ hut, hot tub and pool, we are full most weekends with large groups - family celebrations, friends celebrating big birthdays and the odd hen do. Sometimes, we do get the smaller groups and the BBQ hut is amazing for them too - different parties have been known to go in together and several firm friendships have been forged over a burger in there. Others take turns - whatever suits them. We give people logs from our woodland and they love sitting in there, telling stories and chatting through the evening."