Port Lympne Hotel — Hotel in Folkestone and Hythe District

Have just returned from an overnight stay in a Bear Lodge cabin/tent - positive The taxi service down to the restaurant & the pick up after last night was very welcome (which I will get to) The food at Babydoll’s pizza was delicious & I didn’t think that unreasonably priced, we had a fussy, small person with us & they were so helpful. Breakfast at the Bear Lodge this morning was also sublime, I opted for the pancakes with bacon & I couldn’t have received a nicer birthday breakfast. The main park was easily accessible via a gate off to the side & being able to wander around at leisure was an amazing perk. The lodge itself was clean & well presented, with ample towels, good quality blankets & bed linen & we enjoyed toasting the complimentary marshmallows on the wood burner. However, with a yellow weather warning for over 60mph wind, I do question whether the tents should have been in use at all. I have lived in some rustic accommodation & am no stranger to a bit of discomfort, but the high winds on arrival made these dwellings feel unsafe. The flapping was annoying, but the buffeting I think was risking damage, some of the other tents did, with panels having blown off. My Sister brought her three year old & I don’t think she slept much at all as it was so concerning. I don’t know if moving people to more secure places was possible, but I definitely think it should have been considered. Not exactly restful, the shower in the bathroom was perfectly fine, the kettle & fridge too. The truck safari was brilliant! exceeded my expectations actually, given the park is so vast, it’s great to get to sit back & just enjoy being driven around given tons of information. Any time we encountered personnel, whether for Bear Lodge or in the park they could not have been more polite & helpful. Our waitress in Babydoll’s was telling my niece all about her cats, the taxi driver was incredibly knowledgeable & clearly has a real love for the reserve, the gentleman on the desk at Port Lympne really helped me out of a jam & was extremely kind. Howletts too, from the rangers to the keepers were so happy to spend time with you answering questions. I booked myself a rhino experience which was led by Berry & what a nice lady she is, really oozed enthusiasm for her charges & gave me such incredible memories with them. We will definitely be back, we’re already planning it, but I don’t think we’d stay up the hill like that again, it’s very exposed in poor weather & those tents are cold when the wind is...

So whilst we can not comment on, nor rate the rooms/accommodation we can certainly provide 5* for the Afternoon Tea.

Our Afternoon Tea was bought via Buyagift. To book we had to call Port Lympne directly, this was a straightforward and easy process. Staff were friendly and helpful.

We arrived at the Hotel/Mansion slightly earlier than our booking. We were directed to the Martin Jordan Room whereby staff were more than happy for us to be seated at the earlier time.

What can we say about the room, simply amazing and impressive; with exquisite floor to ceiling hand painted murals of endangered wildlife. Most of the scenes appeared to depict threats our wildlife sadly face.

We were provided with a printed Menu and asked whether we wanted Tea, Coffee or Hot Chocolate. We noticed a variety of Tea options on the menu but initially opted for a Coffee & Hot Chocolate. Having heard other guests being seated we were then aware that there was also various Coffee options available.

We are asked if would like Bubbles, I did ask whether there was a drinks menu, but now writing this recall one was never brought to us, so missed out this time.

Our Afternoon Tea comprised of; Egg Mayo & Spring Onion Sandwich. Smoked Salmon, Lemon & Caper Butter Sandwich Pork & Sage Sausage Roll Salt Beef with Dijon Mustard Brioche Roll.

2 x Scones with Jam & Clotted Cream.

4 Cakes including Chocolate & Orange Battenberg and a Hazelnut Cake.

Unlimited tea (Birchalls loose tea), Coffee or Hot Chocolate.

The China tea set was quaint and we really liked the Perfect Tea Timer gadget too. Having never personally used loose tea; this was novel, an experience.

We were asked whether we had any dietary requirements or allergies, they seemed to be hot on this which was great to see.

Staff/chef were extremely accommodating; when asked if it was possible to have no onion, they were able to provide one 3 tiered tray serving without any form of onion. This made my serving even more enjoyable.

I struggled to eat all of the cakes and one scone; therefore, was pleased when I was offered a takeaway box. I would have hated to have wasted such lovely food and really did not want to over eat. I certainly did not want to spoil the fabulous food.

So in short, this was the best Afternoon Tea we have yet to have. The cakes were of exceptional quality, the egg Mayo sandwiches and Scones were to die for. Great service and fabulous artwork.

Look out for the hidden face of John Aspinall...

The hotel, grounds and views are absolutely stunning. Our room (Rex Whistler) was beautiful, with a view over the hippo pond. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful, as were the team working with the animals. Everyone was happy to chat and provide information about the animals. The hotel left a birthday card in our room for my husband, which was a really lovely touch. The golf buggies are a great idea and we really enjoyed using them to get around the site. It was amazing to have access to see the animals out of usual opening hours and we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. The animals are incredibly well looked after and their enclosures are clean, spacious and well maintained. The breakfast in the Garden Room restaurant was lovely but they didn't have any gluten free sausages available. They did however have gluten free toast. The lion experience was excellent!

Disliked · I contacted the hotel in advance of our stay for advice on where was best to have dinner on my husband's birthday, as he has coeliac. I was advised to book the Baby Doll restaurant and told that they have the best selection of gluten free food. They said they make both gluten free pasta and pizza dishes. On this advice I booked a table at the Baby Doll and we were really looking forward to a gluten free pizza but we were informed on arrival that there were none available. There was also no gluten free bread available to have with our meat platter starter, so we ended up with just a board of meats. Considering I had informed them in advance and they knew they had gluten free diners that evening, I think they should have ensured they had these items available. Our meal was incredibly expensive for what it was. A sharing meat platter (with no bread), 2 bowls of pasta, 2 desserts and a bottle of screw top rose was £116. I was very disappointed, as it was supposed to be a special birthday meal. Such a shame seeing as the rest of our stay...