Canterbury Cathedral Lodge Hotel — Hotel in Canterbury

Stayed here earlier this week. Let me break this review down into 'the good', 'the alright' and the 'oh dear' categories.

Starting with 'the good' things about the place. The location is exceptional. The view of the cathedral is quite stunning. It's also quiet at night as the precincts of the Cathedral are secured overnight and only authorised individuals and guests can gain access. The staff (on Reception) are also very friendly and efficient.

Moving on to 'the alright' parts of the Lodge Hotel. It's clean and warm. The bed was comfortable and the shower was powerful. However, it does look a bit tired in some of the decor, carpets and decoration. It looks a little bit spartan in terms of pictures on the wall or general decorative look when you walk through it.

Now, this is a crunch point for me. This is listed as a four star hotel. However, I struggled to find much in the way of actual facilities. There is a small lounge area with a fairly limited bar (you need to request something from the bar). There are some nice garden areas and outside eating spaces. And....err, that's it! There are obviously conference facilities but there is no food provision outside breakfast (I'll get on to that in a second!) or gym or anything that would make me think this was comparative to other four star options in Canterbury.

If you are going to offer just one meal a day it had better be good. My breakfast experience was really poor. At most hotels you can go and select some fruit, cereals, yoghurts etc but here they serve you that from a list of items. The fruit bowl I got was pretty sparse. I had ordered a full English Breakfast which came out literally less than five mins of me ordering it! You can't cook an English Breakfast in that time, which put me on guard.

My fruit bowl was cleared without being asked and the full English put down by a waiter who had a catering plaster (blue) on his thumb....and his thumb well into my plate. The fried egg was just not cooked. It wasn't a question of how you like it....it was not cooked properly. The rest of the breakfast had obviously been sitting under a heat lamp for an age. Bacon was rock solid and the (solo) sausage was dry. The coffee was luck warm and weak as well! I did comment on my disappointment at the end of the meal but just got a 'Oh, I'm sorry to hear that' from the serving staff and that was that. It was such a poor experience, I went out for breakfast elsewhere on the second morning, even though that meant extra expense.

Now, before you ask why am I talking about the breakfast in such great length, it was the only interaction I had with what the Lodge was actually serving up to guests. It's the one thing they provide and they obviously have some pride over it. It was really poor. The impression it gave me was of an institution trying to make savings.

I'm all for the removal of single use mini shampoo bottles etc from hotel rooms and avoiding washing towels for no good reason, but don't screw up your breakfast! That really stands out.

So, staff, location and general cleanliness = good. However, I don't think what I experienced is what I expect when I book into somewhere that says it's a four star hotel. I'm very sorry to have to write this as I was looking forward...

Stayed here for a couple of days for a wedding in the 17th June! Sorry it’s taken me a while to write this as I came down with the dreaded Covid a week later (not from here !) and am only just recovering!

Entrance is through the cathedral gift shop if the main gate is closed, the staff in the gift shop are very accommodating and helpful especially when trying to usher a wedding party through!

After the shop is closed you exit and entry through a small side door next to the cathedral main entrance, to get out you just talk to a very friendly security guard who are generally on standby and to get back in you just ring a little bell and someone will quickly let you back in again.

The room was very spacious and had a beautiful view from the lovely bay windows across the garden and of the Cathedral itself.

Staying in the hotel you also have access to the Campanile Garden, which was handily accessed on my floor. Lovey garden.

And in the morning there is a lovely breakfast downstairs which is included, you can have an all day breakfast and a selection of pastries should you wish.

I didn’t have breakfast on my first night as I had to dash to get my hair done for the wedding! But me and my beloved now husband very much enjoyed it on the morning after our wedding.

I had my wedding reception here and can’t comment enough on how all the staff were amazing. From the staff on the reception to everyone in the restaurant. Everything was perfect and flowed effortlessly. Nothing was too much trouble.

We all met in the garden after the wedding for Pimms or non alcoholic, and it was lovely to relax and take photos with family and friends before moving into dinner. Dinner flowed smoothly with everyone coming over to check we were ok, the food was fantastic and a little later I had a small buffet so friends from work could have something to eat.

Everyone had an amazing time and I can’t thank everyone enough.

Also would like to mention Tom, who works in the evening, he was great at calming my nerves the evening before and also was lovely to chat to on the day of the wedding. Lovey guy !

The day was amazing, the venue was amazing and all the staff from shop staff, to security and everyone else just made a truly great day!

Thankyou so much !

Love...

The Lodge is set within the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral. A perfect position for us as we were attending a funeral during our two night stay.||Plus side, ideally placed for the Cathedral and the centre of Canterbury. A door pass was given to us both for unlimited free access to the grounds long after the closing times for the general public.|A good varied breakfast was served. Free wifi was available which was important for our two night stay. The staff were all very friendly.||Negative side. The interior of the lodge was in parts scruffy, the hall carpets throughout were stained in places and would benefit from either replacing or cleaning.|The room was small, and basic. Hanging space within the open wardrobe was hindered by the security box. The washroom was small, the shower unit cramped. Anyone who is large in stature would find the shower incompatible.The toiletries were very disappointing. The shower cubicle had a small dispenser of something, which when used, a drop no larger than my small fingernail was dispensed, impossible to use as an effective shower body/ hair wash gel.The same for the dispenser by the wash basin. We had to ask for toiletries at the reception which were supplied. Two small plastic bottles of body wash which were usable.|Upon our check in we were asked if we would like our room serviced the following morning, which we agreed was a good idea.|Upon our return to the room late next morning prior to changing for the funeral, the room had not been serviced.|We had to ask reception to service our room.||Overall, we thought the Lodge to be basic, we classed our stay as a four star Travelodge. At £200 per room we thought excessive.|Tips: supply your own toiletries and drinking water...