Best hotels in Kent: Where to stay for luxury spa retreats and seaside walks

When you’re planning a trip to Kent, don’t just head to the holiday hotspots – there’s tons more to explore in the county

Wednesday 05 April 2023 07:26 EDT

The county of Kent is bursting with coastal cool and seaside charm (Arthur Knoepflin)

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Home to 150 miles of varied coastline, historic cities, hipster seaside towns and more medieval pubs than you can shake a hop bushel at, there’s even more to Kent than you might think.

Aside from beaches (take your pick from sand, shingle or stone), mighty cathedrals and whimsical castles, the lush Garden of England has gained serious traction among foodies for its natural bounty, with chefs flocking to the county to plunder its fresh seafood, salt-marsh lamb, plump vegetables and soft fruit.

Furthermore, with a long history of brewing beer (Faversham-based Shepherd Neame is Britain’s oldest brewery, dating back more than 300 years), Kentish vineyards are now crafting wines that give the finest from neighbouring France a run for their money.

So, whether you spend your Kentish nights in a fire-warmed shepherd’s hut, grand manor house or medieval pub, be sure to grab a glass of something local and raise a toast to the Kent microclimate.

The best hotels in Kent are:

Best hotel for foodies: The Pig at Bridge Place
Best hotel for families: Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve
Best seaside hotel: Albion House at Ramsgate
Best spa hotel: Eastwell Manor, Champneys Hotel & Spa
Best hotel for history buffs: Leeds Castle

Best hotel for foodies: The Pig at Bridge Place

Neighbourhood: Bridge

If The Pig is known for one thing, it’s fantastic food (The Pig at Bridge Place)

Tucked into the folds of the Kent Downs, with its rambling gardens bisected by the babbling Nailbourne stream, The Pig at Bridge Place’s bucolic setting belies its proximity to London (56 minutes by train to nearby Canterbury).

Yet the rural charms of this 17th-century mansion set in 10 acres of water meadows by the sleepy village of Bridge, pack an unexpectedly sultry punch – the grand pad was a notorious night club in the 1960s, hosting the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Kinks. This decadent past has been preserved in the form of intimate rooms daubed in dark hues, lit by flickering open fires and dotted with plush velvet sofas and oil portraits of voluptuous ladies.

Whether you sleep in one of the seven bedrooms in the main house, 12 coach house rooms, two family-friendly lodges, the two-storey Barn suite or seven Hop Pickers Huts, you’ll find signature Pig interiors, pantries and Bramley toiletries. Great news for foodies – the Bridge Arms, a six-minute walk from the hotel, comes with a Michelin star.

Price: From £225

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Best hotel for families: Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve

Neighbourhood: Hythe

Looking for a weekend in the great outdoors? This is the place (Will Pryce/Country Life/IPC+Syndication)

What better way to instil a sense of adventure in your kids than by sleeping among tigers and waking to the call of howler monkeys? And you don’t even have to leave our emerald shores to enjoy such exotic adventure – simply visit the Aspinall Foundation’s 600-acre Port Lympne wildlife reserve, the Kentish home to over 700 rare and endangered animals.

The choice of accommodation options is almost as diverse as its furry residents, ranging from lavish bedrooms in the Grade II-listed Port Lympne house and swanky private lodges to eight-person safari tents and transparent bubbles for two.

Best seaside hotel: Albion House at Ramsgate

Neighbourhood: Ramsgate

Make Ramsgate your next Kentish destination (Albion House at Ramsgate)

Often overlooked in favour of boho Whitstable, artsy Margate and genteel Broadstairs, Ramsgate is a classic British seaside town that offers something the others do not: a stylish boutique hotel with an excellent restaurant.

The Albion House Hotel is set in a sensitively restored Grade II-listed clifftop house (architecture buffs should know it’s one of 900 listed buildings in Ramsgate) and offers 14 bedrooms and a bustling bar and restaurant.

The property is awash with original Georgian and Regency features, complemented by heritage paint colours and sea views, and even boasts a bedroom in which Princess Victoria recuperated in 1835. Top dog is the suite with wrap-around balcony, which justly claims to be Kent’s most beautiful sea-view hotel bedroom.

Best spa hotel: Eastwell Manor

Neighbourhood: The Kent Downs

Tucked away in the Kent Downs, this 62-acre manor is a slice of paradise (Eastwell Manor)

Arguably the prettiest of the six Champneys spa resorts, Eastwell Manor is set in 62 acres of private grounds in the Kent Downs. The original manor house was home to Prince Alfred during the late 1800s, whose mum, Queen Victoria, visited regularly.

Extensively renovated under Champneys ownership, the hotel features 76 plush bedrooms and suites spread across the Manor House and Mews Cottages, as well as two heated shepherd’s huts tucked away in the gardens.

The spa, one of the best in Kent, is complemented by an outdoor pool with views over the Downs. Other facilities include two restaurants, a nine-hole golf course and falconry centre.

Best hotel for history buffs: Leeds Castle

Neighbourhood: Maidstone

This castle on a lake is bursting with history (Leeds Castle)

You don’t have to be a history bore to enjoy crossing a moat and scaling a 16th-century tower to admire the so-called “loveliest castle in the world” from the comfort of your own suite. Spend a night in Leeds Castle – former home of six of England’s medieval queens, as well as Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon – and you’ll get exclusive out-of-hours access to the castle’s 500 acres of parkland and gardens.

The five bedrooms in the Maiden’s Tower up the luxury ante, while 17 sophisticated bedrooms in the Stable Courtyard offer views over the gardens and lake. Alternatively, bag one of seven charming, self-catering cottages dotted around the estate, or spend the night under striped canvas in a medieval glamping tent.

Best hotel for urban culture: Canterbury Cathedral Lodge

Neighbourhood: Canterbury

Check out the Refectory Restaurant while you’re there (Canterbury Cathedral Lodge)

Sitting quite literally in the shadow of Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral Lodge claims an unbeatable location in this compact, history-rich city. Built using Kentish materials and designed in a contemporary, Marmite “love it or hate it” style to reflect the cathedral’s Gothic architecture, most of the Lodge’s 34 bedrooms offer uninterrupted views of its soaring neighbour (access to which is included in the room rate).

Excellent breakfasts served in the Refectory Restaurant, whose tables spill out into the pretty Campanile Garden in summer, an inviting library and a soundtrack of church bells and birdsong make this a matchless city bolthole.

Best hotel for garden-lovers: The Milk House

Neighbourhood: Sissinghurst

For a proper pub stay, try the Milk House (The Milk House)

The Milk House is the pub we all wish was our local: a 16th-century hall house, complete with original timber beams, a Tudor fireplace and large garden, it serves Kentish ales, beers and wines, plus excellent, locally sourced food. You can tuck into crowd-pleasing classics in the cosy pub, garden or terrace, pizzas hot out of the outdoor pizza oven, or enjoy more refined options in the restaurant before retiring to one of four bedrooms upstairs.

These elegant, if not palatial, rooms offer treats such as roll-top baths, four-poster beds and full-sized Romney Marsh Wools toiletries. Set on the edge of Kent’s lush High Weald, The Milk House is just two minutes’ drive from Sissinghurst Castle and its splendid gardens.

Price: Double from £95