A 300-year-old former farmworkers' house overlooking a beach and within shucking distance of the West Mersea Oyster Bar, this coastal cottage sleeps five (seven if you count a sofa bed) in homely comfort... Photograph: PR
Simple but carefully chosen furnishings in whites, blues, greens and woods mean it's characterful without being twee or cluttered, and a great space to unwind in. There's also a pretty garden.
• 07973 741148, monkeybeachcottage.co.uk. From £575 a week Photograph: PR
It may be suburban-looking on the outside but this house's blue-grey painted door and windows are a hint that swirly carpets are unlikely to be found inside. Sleeping five, its interior verges on retro, with modern fittings offset by flea market finds and Jelly Bean-bright splashes of colour livening up a tasteful, neutral backdrop... Photograph: PR
The huge kitchen is the real seller here, with hi-tech appliances and a funky dining area.
• 01728 638058, best-escapes.com. From £350 a week. Sleeps five Photograph: PR
The trouble with many British beach huts is that you can't stay in them overnight. This one – with Cath Kidston-inspired interiors – dodges that with the accompaniment of a similarly vintage chic-bedecked four-berth caravan... Photograph: PR
The latter – five minutes' walk from the beach and the hut – comes with old-fashioned diversions, from board games to a rope swing. It is surrounded by willow trees and nature reserves and is the perfect spot for fossil hunting, seal spotting or sailing or birdwatching.
• No phone, holidaylettings.co.uk. From £363 a week Photograph: PR
Part of a small collection of family-friendly holiday barns set on a farm (the site has a children's play area and lots of friendly animals to visit), The Granary is the largest property of the bunch and the most glamorous... Photograph: PR
Sleeping eight, its four en suite bedrooms peel off from a dramatic central living and dining area (complete with huge 17th-century mirror, antique furniture and French doors that open onto a supersize decked patio) and there's a large modern kitchen to boot. All of which makes it a great place for a celebratory gathering.
• 07725 082885, creekseaplacebarns.com. From £1,150 a week Photograph: PR
If you can't afford your own private island, here's a chance to stay on one. This gingerbread-style, open-plan hideaway for two is one of several rental cottages on Osea, in the Blackwater estuary. Inside, beneath a beamed ceiling, is a breezy lounge, a white-tiled kitchen and a bedroom with pencil-post bed... Photograph: PR
Guests can use a shared pool, tennis court and cinema and games rooms. Or go for a bike ride, a walk, spot little terns and ringed plovers, listen out for owls, dip your toes in the sea and take great gulps of salt-tinged air.
• 0844 847 1356, hoseasons.co.uk. From £337 a week Photograph: Hoseasons
