Take a look inside the 19th century Stoneleigh cottage turned into an AirBnB
A local video game developer has taken the plunge to turn her 160-year-old home in Stoneleigh into an AirBnB.
Katherine Parr has now welcomed her first guests to 10 The Bank, after months of "umming and erring" as to whether to let out the property.
Having lived there for two years herself, Katherine had originally tried to sell the two-bedroom home as she looked to move in with her partner in Finham, Coventry.
Having not been able to find a buyer, she began investigating using it as a holiday let, before eventually taking the plunge and taking her first booking in May.
"I absolutely love the property. I have lived there for about two years and have taken a lot of pride in it and want to look after it," she told Nub News.
"It is a perfect property to have as a holiday let really, it is very peaceful and relaxing.
"And I had already put in a lot of effort into the decorations for myself, so it meant it was ready to be turned into somewhere for other people to enjoy."
Having finally decided to go with the idea, Katherine listed her home on AirBnB and Booking.com, and then started the process of completing all the checks that go with running a holiday let.
This was then followed by a "crazy two weeks" of cleaning, preparing and moving her stuff out the property to get it ready for the first booking on 24 May.
Since then, the bookings and five-star reviews have started to roll in.
"Having the first guests was exciting and then you just hope everyone enjoys it," she added.
"We have already had six, five-star reviews which is great. A couple of little bits of feedback too which is great - I was expecting more!
"I was expecting people to enjoy the property, but the most difficult bit was choosing the price, and whether people thought it was value for money.
The building, which dates back to 1856, was originally built as one of four new almshouses by Margaret, Dowager Lady Leigh of Stoneleigh Abbey.
They were built in the memory of her late husband, Lord Chandos Leigh - the date of his death is even inscribed in a stone over the door.
The history of the house alongside the views from the garden were what made Katherine first fall in love with it.
"The view from the garden overlooking the village is stunning," she said.
"It is pretty in the pictures, but when you stand there and see the views, with the birds chirping in the background, you just go 'wow'.
"It is such a beautiful spot in a historic village. It has some really cool history too, which I have featured in the guide book too."
Katherine said she was surprised at how many bookings she had already received, telling us there had only been a couple of nights recently without a booking being made.
She says the cottage would be a perfect place of guests of Warwickshire locals to come and stay when visiting.
And looking ahead, she is hoping to bring tourists from further afar to make the most of the property as a base for exploring the local area.
"We are lucky to have the events centres nearby but I would like to get some more touristy bookings too," Katherine added.
"This area of the country is a beautiful place to come and visit but people don't necessarily think about it.
"The house serves as a wonderful base for people to explore Warwickshire and the Cotswolds."
See the full listing on the AirBnB website here.
A gallery of images can be seen at the top of this page.
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