Actually in Pembury, Kent this hotel proved to be a convenient base for our “Just Go! Holidays”:http://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/partner/1043-just-go-holidays Churchill and Kipling’s Kent tour.
There is ample free parking and check-in had already been completed by our Tour Manager, so he just handed over our room keys.
The hotel is styled around an Oast house and parts were built in the 18th century, so whilst that added character to the premises, it meant that there was no lift between floors. There are a number of ground floor rooms, but even some of these are reached via a handful of steps, so work with Just Go! or the hotel to choose a room suitable for your mobility needs.
Our room (133) was spacious and had a very comfortable double bed, en-suite facilities with a shower over the bath and ample wardrobe space and drawers for our 4 night stay. The room was equipped with tea and coffee making facilities (it’s in the wardrobe when you arrive), iron and board, trouser press, TV, hairdryer, shower gel and shampoo, plus a security feature so that you can safely leave your window open in the ground floor rooms. Unfortunately the bedroom area only had two bedside lights that were not that powerful, so it made the room seem a bit dull and reading difficult after dark. Our rom backed onto the inner courtyard, so was quiet and we slept well during our stay.
We ate dinner and breakfast in the pleasant dining room each day. There was a good selection of cereals, juices, bread etc. available plus a hot full English, all self serve buffet style. Dinner for our tour was a 3 course menu, chosen the day before, with 3 choices per course. We enjoyed the food; good quality, generous portions and well presented, although there was little variety in the breakfast menu, so that became a little tedious after 4 days. On the final night my choice was fish cakes, roast turkey dinner, followed by bread and butter pudding. An excellent meal, in fact I’d be delighted if that was served to me on Christmas Day. The bar is located between the dining room and reception and provides a nice place to meet or relax, but we found that the drinks prices were a bit steep, even by South-East standards.
There is a leisure centre with pool and spa for guests use but no Gym.
There is also a Tesco within easy walking distance if you need anything you’ve forgotten.
We enjoyed our stay at the hotel and it proved to be a comfortable base for our tour.
