Michael and Eileen Travallion, selling their four-bedroom thatched cottage in Shalbourne, Wiltshire, were advised by Knight Frank not to spend on anything more than a lick of paint.

There are also four-bedroom cottages apart from the main house which are ideal for families or groups.

This year, they're completing a four-bedroom cottage with a large, open living room, wide views of the ocean and an antique wood-burning cooking stove they brought over from Belgium.

At this funkily furnished four-bedroom cottage the kids can amuse themselves in the well-equipped playroom and the enclosed meadow, parents can relax in the hot tub.

And on either shore are clusters of three- and four-bedroom cottages.

Besides the main house, Mr. Small's property has a four-bedroom cottage, which he rents every summer, as well as a smokehouse, two docks and a boathouse.

They have pretty gardens and an orchard, and grow all their own veg, but are now selling the four-bedroom cottage at £695,000 through Chesterton Humberts (01308 422215).

She owns a spacious condominium here and a four-bedroom cottage on Lake Michigan.

For $2,000, you can rent a four-bedroom cottage, while a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house a 10-minute walk from the water is $500.

All are return guests, except for a group from Connecticut that is renting a four-bedroom cottage adjacent to the bed and breakfast.