The vast poetic landscape of Dungeness is the backdrop for this stunning designer beach house, with glorious sea views and an internal railway carriage!
- Designer beach house
- Direct access to the beach and the sea
- Located on the Dungeness estate
- Featured in The Times '50 Coolest Cottages in the UK'.
About El Ray
"Hip name, even hipper design, and just 20 minutes along Dungeness Beach from lobster lunches at the Snack Shack: this cuboid masterpiece is filled with quirky, contemporary design, including a kitchen built into a stripped-back Victorian railway carriage, retro-cool moulded black plastic dining chairs and sliding doors that open to the big-sky shingle beach." - The Times (March, 2018)
El Ray stands like a beacon to contemporary design against the huge seascape beyond its glass wall and yet inside, the kitchen is built around an original 19th-century railway carriage. It is this juxtaposition of ancient and modern that makes El Ray truly unique.
This gorgeous holiday home has an open plan living space with central wood burner and looks out onto a south facing sunny deck, which is built to provide shelter from the winds. The 180 degree views from the deck are spectacular across this unique shingle spit dubbed as Britain's only desert - the perfect location for a romantic holiday getaway. The two bedrooms look onto two internal courtyards which provide lovely sheltered sun traps.
The Dungeness Nature Reserve is a magical place to visit all year round. A recognised Site of Special Scientific Interest, it is an area of shingle beach, saltmarsh & sand dunes. The unique landscape is a nature lover's paradise, perfect for walking and popular with photographers worldwide.
Service rating : efficient service from start to finish
Product : El Ray is a lovely property located in a wonderful place.
It has many unique aspects to the interior that make it stand out. it would definitely be a "5 star" property if a few but important niggles were addressed:
1] the details refer to underfloor heating but this is limited to the bedrooms and the bathroom and the provision of a small electric heater for the main living area to compensate for this doesn't really match the price paid;
2] the access to the property is very difficult to navigate but could be addressed with clearer markings and/ or use of natural barriers to avoid going off track.
Thank you for your feedback which will be passed to the owners for their consideration. Unfortunately, clearer markings are not permitted as Dungeness is within a Special Area of Conservation.
Service rating : Great Service.
Product : A wonderful place to stay. Hopefully we will be back again very soon.
Thank you for your review, we hope to see you again soon.
Service rating : Great service, made sure we had all of the relevant information and clear directions to get to the cottage.
Product : Amazing building and location unlike anywhere we have been before.
What would have been better would have been more information about the area but also about the amazing building and the build of it in that location.
There were a few bits and pieces of kitchen equipment that we could have used - we like to cook, and found it a bit restrictive. Similarly the fridge didn’t allow for storage of much food particularly if frozen - wouldn’t have wanted to feed a family for a week!
We thought the threat of £100 deduction if we failed to lock the front door correctly was a bit punitive, especially when the reason for the difficulty in locking was the fault of the ill fitting door itself, I didn’t always shut at the bottom perfectly. Don’t blame the guests for something that is a fault in the premises!
Thank you for taking the time to review your recent stay at El Ray. Your comments have been relayed to the owner who appreciates your kind words about the building and location. On multiple occasions, El Ray has been left unsecured which is why the owner felt the need for the instructions to be detailed as they are. We hope you can understand and would welcome you to stay with Mulberry Cottages again.
Service rating : I think their administrative work was first class. It was easy to book, pay for and find the accommodation.
It would have been nice to have a welcome pack after a long journey and there was nothing laid out...in particular there was to have been a bottle of Prosecco!
Also for the rather high rent I would not have expected to have to go out and buy toilet paper and dishwashing tabs! The door of the dishwasher should have been repaired as it was difficult to operate.....cladding missing, therefore door catapulted up when loading machine.
Product : Very efficient and professional.
Thank you for your great review, your comments have been relayed to the owners for their consideration regarding a potential welcome pack and the other incidentals that you have mentioned. We are very happy to hear that otherwise you enjoyed your stay at El Ray and hope to see you again in the future!
Service rating : Easy to contact and online forms easy to complete.
Product : Loved this property and it's location. If you want a 'get away from it all' experience this is definitely the place.
Thank you very much for the review, we are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay at El Ray. We hope to see you again soon.
We had a great stay in an awesome beach house at Dungeness. We have always loved this place, but never quite managed to stay until now.
Vendor Comment:Thank you for your review. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay and we hope to see you again in the future!
Service rating : An efficient booking service which was courteous and helpful.
Product : A delightful house, beautifully designed and equipped. The huge, bright windows looking out to the beach were a joy.
Thank you for your review. Its great to hear that you found our booking service efficient and helpful. We hope to see you again in the future!
Service rating : Fantastic and almost instant service. One phone call and within minutes I’d received exactly the information I needed.
The property we stayed at was fantastic, perfect in fact.
If only everything was this strife free!! I’ll definjtely be back!
Product : Idyllic! Cannot recommend El Ray highly enough. The owner was incredibly accommodating, charming and ensured our stay was heavenly! We’ll definitely be back!
Service rating : Another outstanding short stay with Mulberry Cottages. El Ray is architecturally stunning and the owner has put a lot of thought into ensuring guests are immediately at home - even a bottle of fizz in the fridge. Excellent holiday - will definitely return and would certainly recommend Mulberry Cottages to anyone.
Product : El Ray is a gorgeous and architecturally exciting building. The owner has put a lot of thought into making the guests welcome and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.
Thank you for your feedback!
Feedback like this is what we strive for and we're glad to hear yet again that your whole experience with us was of a high standard, including your stay at El Ray.
We hope to see you again in the near future.
Service rating : The booking was very easy and the photos of the property were very helpful. However our arrival was chaotic. There was a problem with the door lock at the property and the cleaner and builder were still at the property when we arrived. Mulberry phoned us to see when we were arriving but didn't explain there was a problem....we would have liked to have been told so that we could have arrived after the problem had been had been fixed.
Product : El Ray was in a fantastic location and beautifully designed...we loved it. A few things to improve.....not enough cutlery,mugs or water/beer glasses for 4 adults if you are going to use the dishwasher. For letting in Autumn/Winter a proper supply of wood and firelighters is needed for the wood burner as this is the only source of heat and some hooks in the hall to hang up damp coats etc would help. A reading light needed in the sitting room too.
Service rating : Excellent ..
Product : Fantastic. top quallity .will use again
WHEN
DO YOU WANT TO STAY?
What makes this area
So special...
The Old Lighthouse is a popular visitor attraction, as is the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch steam railway which passes close by, a wonderful way to enjoy Kent's scenery.There are two pubs on the reserve, The Britannia and The Pilot, and the unique 'Fish Hut' selling caught-on-the day fresh fish and lobster rolls in summer.
Property details
Sleeps 4 in 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom
Parking for 2 cars
Open garden
Ground Floor
Entrance hall leading to large open plan kitchen, sitting/dining room with wood burner and TV/DVD player (the TV is for DVD use only)
Kitchen with electric oven and hob, larder fridge, washing machine
Glass doors opening on to decked area
Bedroom 1 (sleeps 2), double bed
Bedroom 2 (sleeps 2), double bed
Bathroom with walk in shower, basin and WC
Outside
A large south facing deck with garden furniture overlooking the shingle beach and sea
Two internal courtyards protected from the wind
Services
Wi-Fi / Broadband
Electric underfloor heating and wood burner
What you need to know
El Ray welcomes up to 2 dogs, however as the property has no boundaries, please keep your dogs on a lead in the vicinity of the property. Due to the high quality finishings in the property the owner would be most grateful if guests could ensure their dogs' nails are clipped prior to arrival.
2 private car parking spaces
The TV is for DVD use only
The property has direct access to the sea so please ensure children are supervised at all times
BBQ not provided
Please note that if the doors of El Ray are not locked as per house information pack, £100 will be deducted from the security deposit
Please note if you wish to hold a photo shoot or a TV/film production at this property an additional fee will apply. The necessary licences must also be obtained from The Dungeness Estate - http://www.dungenessestate.c
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