Kent's luxury hotels, where £3,000 will get you your own chef and cinema screen for two nights
Published: 05:00, 20 March 2023
Fancy a hotel room complete with its own cinema screen? Or perhaps with a pool which looks like a Roman bath? Then we're here to tell you exactly where you can experience it right here in Kent.
We take a look at some of the most luxurious hotels and escapes around the county, as judged by visitors to Tripadvisor... and how much much a two-night stay for two people over the weekend of June 9-11 will set you back.
Cave Hotel & Golf Resort
The Cave Hotel offers something a little different to your normal hotel - and describes itself as Kent's most luxurious. A big boast and one which has attracted a host of celebrities.
Opening in 2019 after a £12m investment, it is set in the grounds of Boughton Golf Club between Faversham and Canterbury.
Its biggest room is The Penthouse which comes with a cinema screen, wrap-around balcony, separate dining area and, get this, your own chef.
The Penthouse, sadly, wasn't available on our dates, but a Signature Suite, with views of the golf course, could be yours, on a room-only basis for a mere, ahem, £1,462. A regular Cave Room on the same dates? £835. Want The Penthouse during the week? Two nights will set you back a cool £2,940.
Rowhill Grange Hotel & Utopia Spa
Dartford may not be the first place that springs to mind for a romantic getaway... but then you may not have considered Rowhill Grange nestling in nearby Wilmington.
A former country house, it has four silver stars to its name (which means its service and food put it a cut above regular four-stars).
Its Utopia Spa is a big attraction, with what it describes as "Romanesque split-level pools, saunas, steam room and whirlpools".
Prices for an available (at time of writing) two-night stay (which includes dinner, bed and breakfast) in a 'Comfy Double' start at £720. But if money is no object, then the Master Suite could be yours for a mere £1,280. It boasts a 45sq m room, complete with sofa, dining table and an oversized bath tub.
Hever Castle Bed and Breakfast
Think B&B and you may not think back to years gone by when the initials were rarely a by-word for luxury. But in the 21st century, Hever Castle's Bed and Breakfast is a rather more salubrious affair.
Here you get to stay in one of 27 bedrooms in the Astor or Anne Boleyn wings of the historic house.
The service and accommodation has achieved B&B five gold star status.
If you're lucky enough to book a stay (and there are precious few dates left for the next six months - our test dates were all sold out - so be quick) then a standard double will cost you around £210 a night (so £420 in total). While if you wanted to 'live like a king' then you could plump for the Edward VII suite which, for two nights, would set you back around £725. That does, however, include entrance to the house and gardens during your stay.
Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve
Want to wake up with a lion peering in through your window? Then a Lion Lodge at Port Lympne might just be for you.
It is one of a number of lodges set within the grounds of the wildlife park which brings you nose-to-nose (albeit with reinforced glass inbetween) with the likes of lions, tigers, rhino or giraffes.
The popular tourist attraction in Lympne, near Hythe, isn't for the faint-hearted though. The Lion Lodge was sold out for our dates, but a two-night midweek stay in July would set you back £4,500. It does include breakfast, entrance to the park and a safari. But still. The cheapest on our dates was a pod (within the park's grounds) costing £538. But there's no en-suite which means a jaunt to the nearby toilet block.
Earlier in the week, you could stay in a treehouse for £1,298 or get a double-room in the more traditional hotel in the park for £678.
Champneys Eastwell Manor Hotel & Health Spa
Eastwell Manor was always a swanky getaway destination. And then Champneys took over and gave it an internationally recognised brand alongside it.
Situated down a long drive in Boughton Lees, just outside Ashford, it sits perched within a sizeable country estate.
The four-star country house has an extensive spa which includes indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a whirlpool, steam room and sauna as well as s 3,000sq ft gym. Oh, and there's tennis and petanque courts as well as a croquet lawn.
For our dates, the only rooms available were in its Mews building and, room only (with limited spa access), would cost £420 for the two nights. A room in the main house, if available, would add about an additional £100 to your bill. A luxe room in the manor house an additional £100. If you wanted to add a full-on spa package - which includes all meals and spa access whenever you fancy then add an extra £400.
Albion House Hotel
Thanet is one of the county's jewels... but it does have precious few upmarket hotels.
Albion House looks to change that though. Perched high overlooking Ramsgate's Royal Harbour, the hotel itself has regal heritage - once playing host to Queen Victoria while she was just a princess.
There's also a restaurant with a range of locally sourced dishes and extensive cocktail menu.
As for the price? Well, our sample dates were sold out, but the following weekend, June 16-18, could see you in its smallest room for £500 for bed and breakfast. Feeling flush? Well then you could go for a suite with sea views and a balcony. Yours for £1,065 for the two nights.
Broome Park Hotel
Sat in Barham, just outside Canterbury, is the Broome Park Hotel. With its centrepiece 17th Mansion House home to 18 suites, residents can peer out of the window at the ornate gardens or the 18-hole parkland golf course.
There are, in addition, 14 woodland lodges on the estate's 250-acres. All very nice.
The hotel has four fat stars to its name and if you want to book a room for our sample weekend... well you'll be limited to one of the lodges. The price is £628.20 but you can get six people in - which makes it less painful if you're travelling en masse.
By way of a guide, if you wanted to stay in Mansion House earlier in the week, then a two-night stay would set you back £250.20... while you'd get two nights in a lodge for around £323. So a midweek stay may be the way to go for a better deal.
Chilston Park Hotel
If you want a big dollop of heritage then Chilston Park is hard to beat. The main building, with its sweeping staircase, dates back to 1100.
Boasting four stars, the hotel has 53 rooms and is based in Lenham, close to Maidstone.
Trying to book a Saturday night stay over the coming months is a challenge and our dates were unavailable. However, for a 'cosy double' you'll be looking at around £238 per room per night (£476 in total).
If you want to dive into the Manor House Suite though, boasting a four-poster bed and 78m sq then you'll be shelling out just shy of £750 for a two-night stay - and, it should be noted, that doesn't include breakfast.
The Pig at Bridge Place
A regular on 'top places to stay' lists, The Pig at Bridge Place, just outside Canterbury, has come along way in a short time.
Bought in 2019 - it was formerly the Bridge Country Club. It had £8 million of refurbishments before the 17th century manor house welcomed guests.
Today it offers 29 rooms as well as a swanky restaurant.
Not surprisingly, it's in high demand, which means our weekend would set you back, in a Hop Pickers' Hut, wait for it, £910 or up to £1,270 for the rather plush The Barn room. And that doesn't include breakfast.
All a bit much? Well these four-star destinations, all highly rated on Tripadvisor, offer a stay at a slightly more reasonable price...
Hampton by Hilton Ashford International
Not to be confused with another fellow four-star hotel in the town - the more established Ashford International - this newcomer is perched close to the town's railway station and was, we kid you not, constructed out of a number of shipping containers. Luxury? Well, maybe.
Prefabricated, they were shipped in from China and put in place, with a swish facade erected to disguise them.
Boasting 140 rooms, the hotel only opened in September 2021.
And the price? For a two-night stay, you can get a King Room for £364 which also includes breakfast.
The Plough Inn
It would be easy to overlook The Plough in Stalisfield, situated about midway between Faversham and Ashford.
Situated on the top of the North Downs the pub - which has scooped awards for its food - is a 15th century Wealdon Hall house with rooms to book above.
As for the price, well going on our dates limits you to a choice of suites with prices starting at £420 for two nights and rising to £520. Other dates can see you get a stay for £360.
Prices exclude breakfast, mind.
Rocksalt Rooms
The Rocksalt restaurant in Folkestone has won plenty of plaudits over the years. But you may not have heard of the Rocksalt Rooms - four 'bolt holes' on the quayside within walking distance of the eatery.
Two of which boast views across the harbour and sea.
They're clearly popular too as they were all sold out for our dates, as indeed they are every weekend for pretty much the rest of the year.
Go for the Sunday and Monday instead though, and prices - which include breakfast - start at £245 and reach £305 for a sea-view.
The Yarrow
You wouldn't think a hotel designed to provide real-life work experience for hospitality students could be quite so polished.
But The Yarrow in Broadstairs, slap bang next to the EKC Group's Broadstairs College, has quickly developed a rather enviable reputation.
Boasting four-stars it sits in a large, imposing Jacobean-style property.
Price wise? The real question is whether you can find a spare Saturday night - it's in high demand and our dates were already sold out. The previous weekend limited us to a deluxe double for £370 or the large Master Suite for £520. Both include brekkie. Go during the week, and a small double will set you back £310 for two nights.
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Chris Britcher