Cabu by the Sea — Hotel in Folkestone and Hythe District

I really wanted to give this a 5* review but unfortunately our experience didn’t meet our initial expectations.

What we loved- Cosy cabin with stylish interior, nice towels and robes, board games, nice crockery with glass wear, toaster, kettle and multi use oven/microwave Cute bunnies hopping around Lovely long seafront walks Ping pong table in the outdoor area

What wasn’t so good- Location is next to a loud main road, behind a concrete sea wall, you can’t actually see the sea until you go beyond this wall. The cabins are spaced out randomly, ours was so close to another (thankfully empty) as we would be directly in their sight in the hot tub. The room missed small things like having no slippers, no milk for the tea and coffee that’s provided, no firelighters (we did get some from Adam and we were able to light the fire the day after) There’s no curtain on the big doorway, if you were in the shower with the door open anyone could see in. Lots of cob webs on the roof Shower gel was a multi purpose liquid with a weird oily texture, you wouldn’t want to wash your hair with it. The pressure of the shower was non existent and barely got warm enough. The hot tub was brand new, we were told by maintenance that they had some issues with the water being discoloured by the tannins in the wood, I noticed the water was a bit murky in the daylight and my toes were stained after using it and a goopy layer of residue was around the edge and on the blue cover which wasn’t particularly nice to touch. No hooks outside for towels for the hot tub. Behind our cabin was really messy with old hot tub parts, chopped up decking, a hose pipe and wheel barrow, you could see this from the car park and from the window. On check out the cleaners had all the luggage trolleys so we had to do extra trips to the car which meant we were longer checking out, the cleaner wasn’t very professional and took our key from us as if she had been waiting ages for us to leave even though check out is 10am and it was 10am.

We weren’t told about spa massages or bikes on check in, the Cabu House which is advertised online as being a hub for everything you need actually had revised hours which they told us on day 1 closed at 7pm and day 2 we were told at 4pm they shut at 5pm, perhaps online they should advertise these hours being shortened instead of 8am-9pm, you really need to be prepared should you want anything from their pantry this wasn’t open after that.

We were celebrating my husbands big birthday and I asked before arrival via email if I could organise a surprise for him in the cabin, the email was helpful and told me they would have a banner in the room and I could organise a hamper with items from the Cabu House on ice ready for our check in. Unfortunately when we arrived the hamper and banner weren’t there. I did ask, much to one of the staffs confusion, but we did get the hamper delivered, no ice in the bucket or banner was supplied however. On check out we were incorrectly charged for the items which has been addressed with the team.

I completely understand that we visited mid week in Feb which is a quiet period but I was surprised that even with the quiet nature things were messy and missed, I felt as though we were more of an inconvenience rather than paying customers, we did get a very good deal for our stay and I think this is the only reason I haven’t marked this down further, if I had paid more I would be incredibly disappointed. I am sad that even though the staff were aware of our celebrations nothing was said, the hamper was missed we were charged incorrectly and my husband realised what happened which deducted from the whole surprise, I wish I’d just brought the items myself from home. Overall I wouldn’t return to Cabu by the sea, I would potentially give the brand another try but not at...

Me and my partner had a really nice time at CABÜ. The lodges and nice and stylish, as is all the shared area decor. Very thoughtful small details from the pizza ovens, to smores and bbq grilling, makes for a sweet couples trip. The room upgrade was also really great.

CABU focuses mostly on entertainment which provides a lot of fun, such as bicycles and a huge range of game options. However, I feel the focus upon entertainment creates a lack of focus in guest comfort. This is an area I believe requires a lot of improvement, especially having stayed in some of the leading hotels of the world. Two factors in particular negatively impacted my stay: Bedding. I found the sheets to be extremely itchy and scratchy which really impacted my first night of sleep which was horrendous. Sheets need to be much softer. Toiletries. There is nothing I can’t stand more than “2in1” toiletries especially in places that label and price themselves as luxury. However CABU is particularly bad for this in that they only use one toiletry for everything, being 18 in 1. Seriously, 18?! Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, hand wash, moisturiser, soap, I don’t even know what else. This liquid left a horrible sticky rubbery feeling after, like a layer that would not wash away as it didn’t foam. On both hands and body. Worse, it means the soap is not antibacterial which is really just unhygienic. Also, if you hate the smell of peppermint good luck. It is so strong I could barely breathe and also meant my contact lenses burnt to put in. Separate toiletries are seriously required and need to be implemented immediately, it’s unacceptable to have just 1 bottle for everything.

There are also several other things that I believe are important to note and should be fixed, though not as much as bedding and toiletries. The website provides the impression each cabin gets a hot tub, this is not the case. Only one cabin of 20 have a hot tub and this is not stated anywhere on the website, not even if you book the same type of cabin. Though you don’t get your own hot tub, you can use the site hot tub. Okay, that will be fine just guess! However, not so fast. You actually only get one use (or pay extra) regardless of how long you stay. This should be dependant on the number of nights booked and not be charged since you don’t even get to use it freely. Especially since you’re capped at an hour. Features like this are what downgrades CABU for me as having to pay for these extra bits is very stingy, whereas real comfort hotels would never do this. The website also gives the impression you get some privacy with your hot tub use, however you don’t. There are actually two hot tubs on site, which is good so people can go at different times, but they are not separated. They are in fact right next to each other with no space or division or separation so it’s pretty awkward. A divider or screen of sorts is definitely necessary. The hot tubs are cold. Ours was basically lukewarm water and I was shivering whilst inside. They need to be much hotter. TV’s are weirdly small and a very odd size choice for the size of the big cabins....

We recently stayed at CABÜ by the Sea for two nights from Friday to Sunday as a group of 30, comprising 8 families with 16 adults and 14 children. We opted for a combination of Beach Houses, Loft Houses, and Boat Houses to accommodate our numbers. Our family stayed in the Beach House, which was perfect for us with two bedrooms – the boys absolutely loved the bunk bed! There was plenty of space for our family of four.

One of the highlights of our stay was the Sitooterie, which was fantastic for group gatherings. It had a fully equipped kitchen, two BBQs (one being rather large), and two pizza ovens. We made our own pizzas, and the children were thrilled – there’s something about that pizza oven that makes everything taste better! You can also buy Crosta & Mollica pizzas for £6.50 from CABÜ House, their onsite concept store, which was a lovely touch.

I highly recommend coming with a group, although couples or smaller families would still enjoy it. The facilities are perfect for larger gatherings. The onsite porter was incredibly helpful, especially with getting the ovens and BBQs going, and they made sure everything was clean and refreshed throughout the day, including providing clean kitchen towels after meals. Of course, we did clean up after ourselves, but with a group this size, it would be unfair to leave a mess behind.

One minor issue was the lack of enamel and plastic cups in the Sitooterie, so we ended up bringing crockery and glasses from our cabins. It wasn’t a major problem, but it’s worth noting that you’ll need to remember to take them back, and glass breakages are always a concern. I’d suggest they replenish the kitchenware regularly. We also noticed that our drying rack was missing, which was a bit inconvenient since there’s a pool, sauna, and hot tub onsite, and you’d want to dry your swimwear quickly. They kindly offered to dry our clothes in their tumble dryer, but swimwear isn’t suitable for that.

Speaking of the hot tub and sauna, the adults loved the one-hour complimentary session, and you can book additional sessions (£20 each) if you like. Some even had massages with Bunmi, who was highly recommended by everyone. The children had a blast in the outdoor heated pool – although it was a bit chilly, they were more resilient than most of us adults! The smaller, shallow pool was ideal for younger kids.

We also rented beach buggies for both kids and adults, which were only £5 for two hours – plenty of time for everyone to have a go. Many of the families brought their own scooters and bikes, so there wasn’t much need to rent them from CABÜ, but for those interested, they are £15/day per person. Helmets, locks, and child seats are included, with sizes ranging from small to large.

One thing I really appreciated was not having to bring kitchenware. I prepped a chicken marinade at home and packed the chicken in a large zip-lock bag, so all we had to do was grill it when we arrived – such a simple and stress-free approach.

All in all, I would definitely recommend a stay at CABÜ by the Sea. I really cannot wait to go back! I’m already looking forward to trying out CABÜ in The...