I stayed in one of the multimillion-pound Omaze houses. This is what it was like

Telegraph

19-07-2025

Every time I pick up my phone for a guilty scroll on Instagram, or turn on the TV mid-day, there it is: an advert for Omaze. It's usually a jolly media personality extolling the virtues of the latest prize – a swimming pool here, a cinema there.
The company has recognised something in the British public that has enabled them to captivate the nation; our love of a good raffle mixed with our addiction to property porn, tied up with a neat feel-good factor bow (a guaranteed minimum donation of £1m and 17 per cent of ticket sales from each draw go to charity).
The prize may be a multimillion pound house, but – with upkeep costs sky high – an overwhelming trend has seen all but a handful of the 39 winners to date choose to sell up and cash out, rather than move in. Indeed, April's prize, a Highland Perthshire property on the banks of Loch Rannoch, won by 81-year-old Patricia Moule, went on the market almost immediately – at the end of June – and is currently listed on Rightmove for £3,975,000.
There is one alternative, however: renting out the property to holidaymakers.
This is what Lisa Morgan chose to do, after she won a £4.5m home in Cornwall, along with £250,000 in cash, in September 2024 (and hit the headlines when she turned up for her 11.5 hour shift as an NHS nurse in Merseyside the next day). Her home, Seahorses, in Maenporth near Falmouth, is one of just two properties in the UK openly advertised as an Omaze-winner's home – the other being Post Knott Lodge in Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District.
The opportunity for a real-life snoop around one of these media-famous houses was too tempting an opportunity to pass up, so I tracked Seahorses down on Cornish Holiday Cottages, booked in, and bundled my family off for a weekend by the sea.
I'll admit, the struggle to get our compact crossover SUV up the steep incline approaching the house filled me with a sudden apprehension – but once I was out of the car, punching in the code for the electric gate and confronted with the spectacular views, my fears abated.
If the south Cornwall coast is good for anything, it's a touch of drama. It was a rare, sunny day in early May with clear blue skies and a bracing breeze, and across the lawn I could see straight out to sea, with Falmouth blinking in the sun on the horizon.
I traced the coastal path – accessible through the gate at the end of the garden – scrawling away through the lush green clifftops opposite, the grass dropping into dramatic granite grey towards the crashing seas below, while Pendennis Castle stood in stately, historic contrast to the glass-clad luxury home beside me.
'Swimming pool!' screamed my three-year-old son, breaking me from my quiet moment of wonder. The family had begun exploring, and my husband was already rolling back the electric top on the outdoor heated pool – my children watching, delighted, from the safety of the pool house.
Seahorses feels like the sort of place that's been designed so that you hardly ever need to leave it – and over the next three days, aside from a trip to a local supermarket (to supplement the lovely Cornish Food Box which was left for us), and a spot of exploring, we barely did.
Open plan in design, its two lounges have very distinct purposes: a smaller room with sofas, an Xbox and even a VR headset was clearly intended for teens; while a larger communal living space was connected to the kitchen and offered sublime sea views.
There were also indoor and outdoor dining areas, a barbecue, fire pit, hot tub, four additional bedrooms – all with electronic blinds – multiple bathrooms, a boot room and utility space. There was even a wine room – although this, sadly (if not unsurprisingly), had not been stocked.
But the highlight (for me at least) was the turret, reached by a winding, wooden, floating staircase, at the top of which was a desk and telescope, and a door opening onto a large, private terrace complete with sun loungers. A sun trap with outstanding views.
'From the moment I walked into the house I knew I had to keep it,' Morgan told me. 'The emotion I felt was quite overwhelming, knowing what I was about to give to my family.'
A flick through the guest book made it clear that this generosity has been felt far beyond her own family, however. Inside, I found personal messages that suggested fond familiarity with the owner, signed off in shortened names and with kisses.
'This house couldn't have 'happened' to a nicer, [more] hard-working family,' one read. 'Memories made to last a lifetime,' said another.
Morgan's passion for the home is undeniable. 'The decision to set Seahorses up as a holiday home was an easy choice because we didn't want to leave it empty for long periods of time,' she told me. 'I want others to be able to share in the magic and make lasting happy memories here. Families these days are so spread out, and Seahorses is an ideal place to bring everyone back together.'
Her words are borne out in love and care which has clearly gone into making the house feel like a home. It's packed with thoughtful details – a wide variety of glass types (essential), plenty of washing powder, and baskets of blankets dotted throughout the common spaces, allowing you to roll back the doors and let the cool, refreshing sea air roll in while keeping warm.
What was missing? Shampoo – though, to be fair, this is an omission typical of many a self-catering property. And search though I did across the many, many drawers of the five large bedrooms, I could not find a hairdryer (a small inconvenience, I know, but when there's a VR headset downstairs, a somewhat surprising one). Otherwise, however, our every need had been met.
We also made time for a bit of exploring – or as much as you can do with a one- and three-year-old in tow – heading out for a walk along the undulating coast path (my son more interested in the discovery of abundant sticky weed than the views), and making the two-minute drive down to Maenporth Beach, where there was plenty of parking, soft sand and a café.
The children also enjoyed nearby Trebah gardens, an eight-minute drive to the west, where a great adventure playground, small beach and – as the name suggests – pretty gardens made for a lovely day out. For those keen to venture further, popular Falmouth is just 10 minutes away by car (or 45 minutes on foot), and links by tiny ferry to even more popular St Mawes across the Carrick Roads estuary.
It's a wonderful part of the world – but lovely as it was to explore the area (and put some money in the pockets of local businesses), it was even more lovely to come back to Seahorses each time; our tucked-away, temporary idyll.
After a weekend of bubbling in the hot tub, splashing in the pool and barbecuing by the open log fire, my family returned home, as promised, with memories to last a lifetime. And, in my case, a monthly subscription to Omaze.
Essentials
Penny Walker was a guest of Cornish Holiday Cottages (01326 250339). Seahorses has five bedrooms (sleeps up to 10) and six bathrooms, plus a hot tub, swimming pool, electric car point, dishwasher and woodburner. It is also pet-friendly. There is limited availability in August and September, although the calendar opens up in October. From £3,096 a week.