About Us

About Us

Reuben O'Connell and Becky Carter started Isle of Mull Cottages in 2006, after coming to the island together for a seasonal job and deciding they wanted to stay for longer than one summer.  The business has gradually grown since then, and the Agency now hosts a great range of self-catering cottages, in all corners of the island, from Tobermory to Fionnphort.  Reuben and Becky live in the beautiful village of Dervaig with their two children and love to promote the Isle of Mull as a holiday destination, being keen travellers themselves.

Lauren Fraser is our Customer Service Manager and moved to Mull in 2019 after she stayed in one of our cottages and got in touch with us about writing some creative content.  She impressed us so much with her approach that we decided to make her a job offer soon after.  Lauren brings excellent customer service, creative writing and more to our small team!   

At Isle of Mull Cottages we believe in promoting quality holiday accommodation, so that visitors to the island have an excellent experience when booking a cottage through our Agency.  We aim to provide the best possible customer service to both our guests and cottage owners. Our local knowledge serves us well in being able to advise guests how to get the most out of their stay, and we welcome your feedback, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any comments or queries.

General Information

Customer Service

When you contact Isle of Mull Cottages, you will speak to people who live on the island and are familiar with the cottage you are thinking of booking. We provide a professional and efficient service with a friendly, personal touch. If you have any questions about your stay on the Isle of Mull, we will do our best to advise you.

Quality Accommodation

We keep in close contact with the owners of the properties we have on our website and encourage them to make improvements each year, to ensure a high standard is maintained in all of the self-catering properties we advertise. We send our feedback surveys to all guests and review them each season and make suggestions to our owners for improvements. We are the booking agent for the houses on our website and do not manage any of the properties we advertise.

All Inclusive

All the properties we advertise are well equipped for self-catering purposes and the electricity and heating costs for every house is included in the rental price (you may have to pay extra for fuel for wood burning stoves). We do not charge a security deposit, but ask that guests leave the property in a clean and tidy condition on departure, and reserve the right to request a cleaning surcharge if the house isn’t left in a satisfactory state (see our terms and conditions for further information).

Pet Friendly

We have lots of pet-friendly options on our books and we encourage owners to make their property available to dog owners. We know a lot of our guests are keen on the outdoors and often have pets they want to bring on holiday with them. We ask that dogs are never left unattended in a property for a long period of time, are kept off the furniture, and that guests make sure they tidy up after their pets.

Property Information

You will receive Directions and General Information; Property Information and a Visitor Guide from Isle of Mull Cottages when you pay your balance, to give you all the information you need about the property you are staying in as well as helpful information about the island. This includes key information about the particular property you have booked (how to work the heating etc) and contact information for the relevant caretaker/property owner who manages the cottage.

Holiday Insurance

We do not operate a holiday insurance scheme, so advise guests to take out the relevant holiday insurance for their booking. If you would like cover for cancelling your trip for reasons beyond your control; medical expenses; or protection for baggage/money/belongings, we recommend you take out suitable protection.

Your Feedback

We ask all of our guests for feedback at the end of their stay and to review the holiday home on our website. This means we can pick up on any recurring issues, so that we can let owners know of anything that needs addressing. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any comments about a house you have stayed in, or the service we provide.

More Information

We provide a Visitor Guide to guests, giving you information about places to eat, things to do, walks and attractions. If you have any questions about the Isle of Mull, please just ask as we are more than happy to advise. If you’d like more information about making a booking with us and our cancellation policy, our FAQs are a good place to start (see below).

Frequently Asked Questions

Take a look at our FAQs to help answer regular queries on making a booking with us. Just get in touch if you need to clarify anything. Click here to see our full Terms & Conditions.

What happens when I make a booking?

When you call or fill in a booking form, we will reserve the cottage for you for five days, during which time we ask that you pay a deposit, with the remainder due six weeks before the start of your rental. The exception to this is that if the booking arrival date is less than six weeks away, when we ask for full payment to be made within 24 hours. We send you a reminder via email regarding your balance, five days before it is due. You will be given all the details of how to pay in an email, including a link to a secure payment page where card payments can be taken online. There is a £20 booking fee applied to all bookings, which is collected with your balance payment and is entirely non-refundable.

How do I pay?

We accept all debit and credit card payments, apart from American Express. You can pay online using the link we provide when you book, or if you prefer, you can call our office during working hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), and we can take your details over the phone (01688 400682). Please note that we do not accept cheques or bank transfers.

When is my balance due?

Your balance is due six weeks before your arrival. We will send you a reminder five days before your payment is due with a link to our secure payment page. We will not collect your balance automatically and if we do not hear from you, we will email and call you to make sure you are aware of the due date (using the contact details you provide when you book). If we are unable to get in touch and do not receive your balance, as per our terms, your booking will be cancelled and re-advertised.

What happens if I need to cancel my booking?

Cancellation insurance is not included in the booking fee and we strongly recommend that you take out appropriate holiday insurance, so that in event of you having to cancel your holiday, you have appropriate cover. Please note that we must receive something in writing (email is sufficient) if you decide to cancel a booking you have made with us. If you cancel your holiday, we cannot return any funds received unless we manage to re-book the cottage for the same hire period. If the cottage is re-let at a discount, we will refund the total received from you, less the discount. A £30 administration fee is also deducted from any refund we provide, and our booking fee is non-refundable. In circumstances where the cancellation is made less than two weeks before arrival, there will be no refund made and we will not attempt to re-let the property.

What do I need to bring?

We provide a detailed description of each cottage on our website, describing the layout, furniture and facilities at the house. If you have any specific questions about kitchen equipment; bed linen; or any particular requirements you have, we ask that you contact the caretaker or owner direct, who will be best placed to answer your questions. Their contact information is provided in the property information we send out when you pay your balance.

Can I arrive early?

We often get asked by guests if they are able to arrive prior to the entry time on their booking information. We will always advise that it is best for you to arrive on or after that time, as that gives the housekeeper the full changeover period (which means they can properly prepare the cottage for you). It also depends on how the previous guests left the house as to how long the changeover will take, so it’s not possible for us to know whether the house might be finished early.

Should I bring shopping with me?

If you haven’t been to Mull before, you may be wondering how easy it is to get shopping on the island. We will send you detailed information in our Visitor Guide, pre-arrival, outlining places to buy local food and letting you know where village shops have basic provisions and where local produce can be sourced. We highly recommend shopping locally if possible, but if you are coming with a larger family group, or for an extended stay, you can use one of larger supermarkets in Oban (not far from the ferry terminal) for basics and then top-up whilst on Mull.

How do I make a complaint?

We do of course hope that no problems arise during your stay, or indeed that you have any problem with our service. Unforeseeable circumstances do occasionally arise, such as loss of services etc at a property. In this sort of instance, we would ask, as per our terms or hire, that you give the owner/caretaker the chance to address any problems in a timely manner. The same applies if you feel there is anything that needs addressing at the property that you are staying in. It is imperative that you contact us immediately, not after your stay, to raise any concerns or a formal complaint. The contact details for the property caretaker or owner are provided in the information we send out to your pre-arrival, along with next steps to take, if necessary. We will liaise between guest and owner to resolve issues as quickly as possible.

Can I arrive on a different day to the changeover day listed?

During the main season (April to October), we can’t be flexible on the changeover days at our cottages, as they are based on the housekeeper’s availability and would impact on bookings to either side. You are, of course, welcome to book for the week and arrive a day later if you need to, please just let us know so we can make sure the owner is aware. Most of our cottages have Friday or Saturday arrival days, but we have a few on Sunday and Monday too, so please feel free to give us a call and we’ll do our best to find a cottage to suit your plans. Out of season (November to March), we often have more flexibility and each cottage is set up individually with calendars showing possible start dates at that time.

Can I add extra guests to my booking?

Absolutely – so long as you don’t exceed the maximum number of guests advertised on the website for the particular property. Just let us know and we can update your booking details – it is important our records are accurate. With apologies, we can’t exceed the maximum occupancy for a cottage, as it can invalidate the owner’s insurance and would be in breach of our booking terms and conditions, including should you want additional guests to camp in the garden or in a campervan on the drive.

The cottage I want to book doesn’t welcome pets – is there any flexibility on that?

Unfortunately, where a property is designated ‘no pets’, this is not something we can be flexible on, as other guests may book on that basis owing to allergies etc. The good news is that we have a super collection of almost 50 pet friendly cottages on our books for you to choose from, and are always keen to encourage new owners to make their properties available to guests with dogs too.

Can you send me a printed brochure?

You’ll find all the details, including a property description, overview of facilities, full range of photos and a video for each cottage on the website, along with a location page to show you the property’s location on a map, more photos and more about the local area. We’re keen to keep our carbon footprint low, so we don’t have a printed brochure to showcase our cottages. If you have any questions or would like some advice, please feel free to give us a call – we’re always happy to help.

How do we get to Mull? What happens if the ferry is cancelled?

Mull is served by three different ferry crossings, all operated by CalMac. For guests travelling from the south, the most popular route is from Oban (mainland) to Craignure (Mull) and we advise guests to book well in advance to ensure they get the sailing they want. Please note we offer no compensation/have no liability if for any reason the ferry is cancelled. In adverse weather conditions, the most reliable service to Mull is the Lochaline to Fishnish crossing (which operates on a turn up and go service) and is sometimes used by guests as an alternative (please ask Calmac for up to date advice on your date of travel).

When can I book for the following season?

In December each year, we ask owners to confirm availability for the subsequent season (so in December 2023, we'll be asking starting to release availability for 2025). If you have a particular property in mind, you can email us with your preferred choice and when we have the position confirmed for that particular property, we will get in touch with you to let you know. We can’t reserve dates in advance of receiving confirmation from the owner.

Supporting Local Projects and Charities

As a small business, we like to support local causes that benefit the community we are part of, as well as contribute to a couple of national charities that do excellent work in Scotland and abroad.

We regularly contribute to this well-known international charity providing humanitarian support to children

The second charity we make regular contributions to, campaigning for tenant rights in Scotland

We have made contributions to the ladies rugby team and kids football team this yaer

We give annual contributions to both the Salen and Bunessan agricultural shows on Mull

The hub of the local community, we are proud to continue to support the local village hall

Contributing to the lovely annual event lighting up Tobermory for Christmas