Need to know
Rooms
12, including one suite, and two cottages.
Check–Out
10:30am, check-in 3pm, but both are flexible, subject to availability.
At the hotel
Free WiFi in communal areas and in the Kingshill Farmhouse and Elmley Cottage. In rooms: Roberts digital radio (in the cottage and Farmhouse only), kettle, tea and coffee, fire wood, Verden bath products. There’s a projector and DVD player which can be used on request.
Our favourite rooms
Each of the large huts has bifold doors opening out onto goosebump-inducing views across the landscape. All cabins and large huts have the extra allure of an outdoor vintage bath tub. The Damson also has a hammock above the bed, if you’ve got a mini Smith in tow.
Spa
Treatments by British brands Votary and Verden – in one of the reserve's Swale Studios, which look out to the namesake river – can be booked.
Packing tips
In summer months don’t forget your towel; the reserve's private Cockleshell beach is a fine spot for an afternoon dip.
Also
The Linhay is wheelchair accessible, and there’s a ground-floor bedroom in the cottage, too.
Pet‐friendly
The hotel doesn't allow pets, due to the reserve's special wildlife. See more pet-friendly hotels in Kent.
Children
All ages are welcome in the Shepherds Huts, where travel cots can be added upon request, and both cottages.
Best for
Babies and up
Recommended rooms
The huts have handy kitchenettes as well as hanging hammocks and pull out beds, but larger families should go for Elmley Cottage or Kingshill Farmhouse for maximum personal space.
Activities
The property's in-house guide offers tours of the reserve, and during school holidays they offer plenty of additional kids activities. On rainy days there’s plenty to keep idle hands busy too – children’s books, board games and colouring books.
Meals
You can order dishes for kids and grown-ups to your cabin, and a wide range of mealtime kit is available to borrow on request – including highchairs, bibs, beakers and cutlery. The Pizza Shack is also open from May to September.
No need to pack
A travel cot or baby bedlinen.
Also
Some paths are shingle or grass, so bring a sturdy, off-road-ready buggy if possible – or prepare to carry your tyke in a sling.
Sustainability efforts
Naturally. All fresh ingredients are seasonal and sourced from local farm shops, and meat is pasture-fed. The hotel generates its own electricity, and conservation is key: sheets aren’t washed every day for stays of longer than one night in an effort to save water. Food waste and coffee granules are used for compost, there are water butts to collect rainwater and power comes from solar panels. Huts are built using sustainably sourced wood and reclaimed materials, they’re well-insulated to reduce heat loss. Natural cycles and habitats are respected – so bees, moths and butterflies are left undisturbed.