The Cosy Retreats

Hay on Wye – the book and festival town on the Welsh-English border – is full of cute corners, bookshops, cafes, galleries, organic food shops and vintage stores. For cosy accommodation to match, there's no better bolthole than the lovely self-catering apartments at Cosy Retreats, upstairs at the equally enticing Cosy Cafe, right in the heart of town. With the local market (Thursday and some Saturdays) unfolding right outside the door, you really couldn't be better placed to explore this most charming and bookish of towns.

There are two light and airy apartments above the cafe – 1 Cosy Retreats has one bedroom, and a little veranda overlooking the street; 2 Cosy Retreats has a second bedroom and bathroom (so sleeps up to four people), and light on all sides from large picture windows. The second apartment would be the one to book if you're coming as a family. Both apartments have been lovingly renovated in a modern Welsh style, with wooden floors, stylish armchairs and solid oak furniture, rugs, sheepskins and Welsh blankets throughout. The gleaming kitchens are fully equipped (though you can get breakfast and lunch downstairs in the cafe if you like), and the cosy lounges come with smart TVs and Bluetooth speakers, and windows right onto the heart of Hay itself. Other touches signal that you're in very thoughtful hands here, from the DeLonghi espresso machines (with locally ground coffee provided) to the eco-friendly washer and dishwasher supplies. You can park to unload, and then you'll have to move your car, but there are free car parks a short walk away or longer-term paid parking.

There's a third apartment, too, the Cosy Corner, just up the street, renovated in the same contemporary Welsh style, and with all the same amenities and facilities. You don't have the cafe underneath you here, but you won't mind a jot because what you do have is access to a small, landscaped private garden with outdoor furniture, barbecue, and most importantly, a wood-fired hot tub, which takes the 'cosy' concept to a whole new level. (You pay an extra fee to use the hot tub for your stay,  with as much wood as you need.) This really is a fabulous location for a book-loving couple to kick back and relax for a few days – not too relaxed, mind, or you'll drop your book in the hot tub, and that would never do in Hay on Wye.