This is the hippest holiday let in Scarborough thanks to army veteran Joe Healey

The first was a large, three-bedroom apartment named The Townhouse, which is set over three floors, and the second was The Loft, a one bedroom apartment.

The location couldn’t be better with the beach at South Bay less than 200 yards away and Scarborough Castle just a five minute walk.

By the time he left the army in 2016, work and friendships had taken him to Manchester and then he met his fiance Rebecca and moved to London to be with her.

“The plan was to put the Scarborough properties up for sale but I really didn’t want to sell them so I started looking at Airbnb instead,” says Joe, whose love of travel and design meant that he had picked up plenty of ideas on what to do and what not to do when it came to creating holiday lets.

“I realised the importance of a good night’s sleep whilst serving in the British Army and I also wanted to incorporate ideas from some of the hotels I’d stayed at in America, Europe and Africa,” he says.

There was much to be done before the Townhouse could be turned into a holiday let as it had been badly treated by a tenant. “It was horrendous. They had stopped paying rent, painted it black and every surface was damaged,” says Joe.

He was upset to say the least but he rallied, helped by his best friend Ryan Hammond, a gifted joiner and kitchen fitter who worked wonders in helping to restore the property.

“He is a brilliant joiner and his attention to detail is phenomenal, plus he can turn his hand to just about anything,” says Joe, who made it his mission to furnish the flats in style. His budget was not enormous but he splashed out where it matters most.

So the mattresses are top quality, all the bed linen is in Egyptian cotton from Out of Eden and there’s high speed WiFi, Netflix, a Tassimo coffee machine and an Amazon Alexa.

The layout includes a Howdens kitchen plus a separate dining room on the ground floor, while upstairs on the first floor there is a sitting room and a bedroom with a king-size bed and a bathroom with a rainforest shower over the bath. Up on the second floor, there is a twin bedroom plus a large third bedroom plus an ensuite shower for the master bedroom.

The furniture includes a host of fabulous finds including design classics. “I didn’t have a huge amount of money left but I didn’t want to buy cheap and flimsy new furniture,” says Joe, who instead began hunting on Facebook Marketplace and eBay for high quality bargains.

Living in London helped enormously because you get a better class of cast offs there due to a wealthier demographic. “The other reason there are some great finds there is that people in London tend to move frequently so I often found pieces that were only six months old,” says Joe, who used Shiply to get everything from London to Scarborough.

Amongst the finds are Heals furniture, a Made.com sofa, Tom Dixon Jack Lights and Feather and Black single beds, which he had resprayed. The fabulous Fish and Chips shop sign was from a junk shop in Forest Hill and the cinema chairs are a Facebook Marketplace seller in Brighton. The tea chests that are now bedside tables were a fiver each.

The walls are neutral and enlivened by a wonderful collection of art, which is one of Joe’s passions. There is work by by Pure Evil and Cassandra Yatt, along with a print by the Connor Brothers featuring the Frida Khalo quote “I tried to drown my sorrows but the bastards learned how to swim” and the brilliant “Yorkshire Is Always a Good Idea” print by Dave Buonaguidi, aka Real Hackney Dave.

Joe’s love of vintage Penguin books shows in the bookcase, which is full of them.

The Loft apartment in the church is similarly super stylish as is the Taproom, a third apartment Joe bought in the Old Brewery development in Scarborough.

The look and location means there is no shortage of visitors to Joe’s three holiday lets. They include holidaymakers, actors and those who appreciate great design.

The only real competitor style wise is The Bike and Boot Hotel and Joe says: “The Bike and Boot is great and the fact that the owners based it here shows that they recognise Scarborough’s potential.”

From its heyday as Britain’s first ever seaside resort and a favourite place for family holidays, the town’s tourist economy declined due to foreign holidays but says Joe, there are many reasons to be cheerful. “We have a great creative community here and, of course, our theatres.”

He adds: “I love Scarborough and I come back here a lot to see my family. If you look at old paintings and photographs of the old town and south bay, it hasn’t changed much. It is still one of the most beautiful places in England.”

*Find all three of Joe’s holiday lets at https://churchhousescarborough.co.uk and find him and them on Instagram @churchhousesscarborough