Stunning visuals to boost bookings

An award-winning design and an integrated booking system gave Padstow Breaks a website that empowers customers, cuts down admin costs, and looks spectacular.

Project launch: January 2019

View live website

Project Scope

Branding

User Experience

API Integration

About the Client

Since 2008, Padstow Breaks have offered holiday accommodation in the pretty Cornish town of Padstow, known for its high end food, art and culture.

Their properties and the luxury service had rave reviews online, but the website looked old, outdated and didn’t reflect the outstanding quality of the accommodation. They needed a website that truly represented their luxury service, giving confidence to users looking to book directly.

Modern, high end branding
Interactive maps to promote the area
Integrated booking system
Easy, intuitive UX

Design and branding

The old logo was very bland, and lacked that touch of professional creativity. We knew that this would be the first step to establishing Padstow Breaks as the luxury brand they are.

We created the new brand with a new colour scheme, typography, tone of voice and logo. Then we expanded these elements into the web design to create a full brand identity that balanced a professional, luxury feel with quaint style and personality.

The new brand had a high end feel without taking itself too seriously. It reflected Padstow’s Brand values of being a luxury, but approachable brand.

Interactive features

No matter how gorgeous the properties, people will only book if they see Padstow as the perfect destination. So we created two map tools to promote the town itself, and what’s going on nearby. We also made use of photography of the surrounding areas, as well as Padstow’s pretty streets and harbour to really show off the style and ambience of the location.

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Illustrative Padstow map
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Offset information layout
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Interactive map
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Booking process
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Property tiles
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Inner property page
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Prominent subscription call-to-action
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Testimonials throughout design
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Home page hero slider
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Unique information layout

Mobile first design

During our research, we discovered that a huge proportion of existing web traffic - 80% - was coming from mobile and tablet devices. We knew that the mobile experience had to be absolutely perfect - fast, intuitive and easy.

We did extensive UX testing on mobile, tablet and desktop versions of the website, making minor tweaks along the way, ensuring a fully optimised user experience on all devices.

Booking API integration

A big issue with the previous website had been customers requesting dates that had already been booked. But by integrating with a 3rd party booking system, Padstow Breaks could provide real time booking updates and pricing.

Having one central location to make updates cuts down on admin time - but also means that customers aren’t experiencing the immediate dissatisfaction of trying to book and being disappointed.

This system required an API integration so that the website could pull through pricing information and availability calendars, giving customers the autonomy to book themselves, without disappointment.

The best of both worlds

The new Padstow Breaks website strikes a perfect balance between a design that reflects the luxury and style of their properties, and a carefully planned user journey and features that make booking easy and obvious.