About Us

Simply Sea Views was launched in 2013 with the ambition of becoming the go-to place for coastal holiday accommodation in the UK. Fast forward a few years and we like to think that we’ve achieved our fledgling goal, offering our users the choice of thousands of cottages, many with great sea views and beach locations. We’ve also expanded to include properties in Ireland. Below are a few FAQs about Simply Sea Views.

I (Josh Williams) own and run Simply Sea Views with the help of my rather wonderful wife, Hannah. We also have a little girl and Hungarian Vizsla, Bean.

I grew up in the most idyllic of coastal counties that is Cornwall. As a child I spent my school holidays and weekends with my friends either camping on the beach at Praa Sands or kayaking up and down the Helford River.

Always creatively minded, I went on to study Graphic Communication at Bath Spa University. After graduating, I taught myself to build websites, which helped raise some funds for a long trip around Australia. Despite ending up living there on what was essentially a desert island near the Great Barrier Reef, without a care I the world, I began to miss home. So I left my hammock and beach bum lifestyle, jumped on a plane home and joined the family business, a small but successful letting agency based in Porthleven where I learned the ins and outs of the self catering industry.

In 2013 I went my own way with Simply Sea Views, my attempt to tie together a love of the sea and the creative and admittedly nerdy skills I’d acquired. I designed and built the website and run the business day to day.

When I’m not on my laptop, I love running along the coast and football (watching rather than playing these days!).

Hannah is the social media and photography genius. She grew up 28 fields away from me (yep, we counted) and enjoyed a similarly joyful childhood skipping along Cornish coast paths and, in more recent years, travelling around Africa and Asia. She has worked as a carer and NHS nurse, and is currently a full-time mum to our little girl.

We live in Penryn, Cornwall and try to make the very most of life by the sea in this magical part of the country.

Here are a few FAQs:

Are you a cottage agency?

No. We list properties from many different independent property owners as well as letting agencies from all over the UK and Ireland. We provide the tools for you to search through thousands of properties and easily communicate with their respective owners or agents.

If you make a booking on or via the site, it will be managed by the respective owner or agent for the property. All further correspondence relating to the booking will be with them.

Do you add booking or pet fees to bookings?

We don't add anything on to the accommodation cost on our side. All prices come direct from the property owner or agent so you shouldn't get a cheaper price anywhere. An owner or agent may have their own booking or pet fee but we always include these in prices shown on our site so there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises.