THE LOWDOWN

If your idea of a perfect weekend away is stylish house rental on the coast, I have just the thing. The Crewhouse – yes, the clue is in the title – is set in a private road looking directly over the marina in lovely Hamble-le-Rice, a yachting mecca on the south coast in Hampshire that gets super-buzzy in the spring and summer sailing seasons and famous for its starring role in Eighties BBC drama Howards’ Way.

Sleeping 14 across six bedrooms, it’s a sleek, stylish, supersize reimagining of the modest dock worker’s bungalow it once was. Part for the brilliant Luxury Cottages portfolio, whose USP is super-special, premium properties and the kind of guest care you’d get in a top hotel, it’s ideal for multi or extended families, a special occasion venue or even how I used it – as a last minute bolt hole over half term with the kids.

THE VIBE

The house is modern and light, with a huge atrium and a striking rotunda design in the kitchen and, directly above it, the lounge area. With its clean lines, views from all angles and balcony out onto the marina, it’s like someone’s dropped an LA condo onto the wharf, albeit one with a hankering for British seascape and countryside oil paintings.

As you’d expect, this is a super-sociable space with a huge curved sofa in the living room – ideal for relaxing in the day or watching a movie on the huge projector screen that descends with a push of the button from the wall.

The living room also leads out onto the balcony, where there’s another generous entertaining space and sofa and a BBQ. Unfortunately my visit handily coincided with Storm Ciarán, so I gave that one a swerve in favour of the indoor hot tub (yeah go on, feel my pain).

There’s a fitness room that’s largely weights-based which, again, I swerved – no excuse for that one though. You’ll also find a small but perfectly formed garden for an aperitif or letting the kids run off steam, a large utility room with all mod cons, and of course the bedrooms, all with en suites.

THE BEDROOMS

There are two bedrooms on the first floor, off the living room, and I nabbed the master suite with views directly onto the marina. Fortunately there are very effective blinds that means the marina doesn’t also have views directly onto you.

The other bedrooms are accessed along a corridor of the atrium on the ground floor, but all are similar in the sense of simple furnishings, comfy beds, crisp white bed linen, large windows and en suites, two of which have baths.

My bathroom was bigger than my living room with the kind of high pressure waterfall shower that you want to stay in forever. Nice touch on the bathroom towels too which were big, soft and felt very ‘hotel’.

SCOFF & QUAFF

Clearly the kitchen here has all the mod cons and tech you could possibly want, including a fridge-freezer big enough to float across the Solent, but I’m never in the mood to cook when I’m away from home. Luckily Hamble is blessed with more than its fair share of good pubs and restaurants around the square and running down towards the wharf. I tested out The Bugle pub, which turned out to be an excellent gastro option for dinner (a charming maitre d’ there too) and The King and Queen pub which is less polished but had a lovely atmosphere for a Sunday roast – come hungry, the portions are huge. I also tried the Thai restaurant Thaiger Lounge as I’d been recommended it – great takeaway and lovely owners.

OUT & ABOUT

The big draw of this area is clearly the sailing. After Cowes (a few miles directly south across the Solent), Hamble is one of the UK’s most important yachting destinations. Hamble itself is picturesque in its old centre and you’ll amble around happily for an hour or so, but you’ll want to explore beyond the village. I attempted four times to do the two hour circular trail that starts with the gorgeous little pink ferry ride from Hamble across to Washall that was supposed to deliver me back to Hamble via The Jolly Sailor pub at the half way point. Storm Ciaran put the brakes on that – there were floods everywhere – so instead I drove to Netley Abbey around 20 minutes away for some fresh air. Originally the 13th century home to Cistercian monks before being transformed into a private mansion for one of Henry VIII’s courtiers it’s a ruin now, but a very lovely one.

Further afield, both Southampton and Portsmouth are within 30 mins, though arguably Portsmouth edges it as an all-day tourist attraction with the Mary Rose Museum, HMS Victory and the Spinnaker Tower. The New Forest is a 20 minute drive if you want to get absolutely away from it all and share your space with the wild ponies.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

GOOD FOR: Yachties will be in heaven, obvs, but the size of the house, amenities in Hamble, and proximity to marina, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton and New Forest offers enticing options for multi-gen stays, those with younger or older kids, or groups of friends looking to kick back.

NOT FOR: The indoor eating space is the large semi-circular breakfast bar in the kitchen, so if you’re imagining Tuscan-style marathon eating sessions at a long wooden table, think again. Raucous hen and stag parties will be better placed somewhere less sedate.

THE DAMAGE:  From £676 – £1,871 per night.

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