No42 by GuestHouse, Margate — Hotel in Thanet

Kevin greeted us at the train station to collect our luggage; a wonderful touch and incredibly helpful when travelling with two little ones. He was a very welcoming professional and promptly showed us to our suite.

Sadly, the experience that followed was a little disappointing.

Before our trip we were advised we upgrade to a suite; but we weren't warned this would mean not only do we lose out on a balcony but that there were building works taking place next door. Literally. They were loud during the day with hammering and drilling, and I felt a little frustrated that no one let us know ahead of time.

In addition to the above, a few additional details, that I would ordinarily expect from a suite, were lacking;

1. A little dirty; there were crisps on the floor and the coffee area was a little stained/ dirty from the previous stay. The lamps had cobwebs on the inside, home to some dead spiders and the crib had marks and even a little food left behind. We accidentally spilt a little pasta sauce on our duvet cover on night one, and noticed that after the room had been cleaned on day two, the duvet was turned over rather than changed.

2. The website advertises itself as family friendly; the picture listed on the website shows a little girl playing with a beautiful wooden train set, for example, but on arrival it was a little cold. There was a Yoto Player, which to it's credit & once charged was great, but no toys Not a huge issue at all, but the images and description on the website are a little misleading which is what I found to be disappointing. As a whole, it was also not very pram accessible.

The private entrance is actually just a separate building and not pram accessible, unless with a partner. Every time we wanted to go to the main entrance we'd have to go down the stairs (carrying the pram) and into the road, since the maintenance works meant we couldn't fit onto the pavement. See picture attached.

The sky roof was also not easily accessible since the lift only goes to floor three then you have to carry the pram up a really narrow stair case. The bar man also said that ordinarily they don't allow prams. Again, another detail the website doesn't advertise.

The location was extremely central but also above or next door to quite a loud bar so we could hear the music. Aside from the construction, and considering we were on the busier side, it was actually quite quiet.

Overall a nice room with fantastic views, but I feel the website over delivered. Our main frustration was that no one forewarned us about the construction noise given they had ample time to do so. Had we known, we would have stayed in the main building where we could have also enjoyed...

At 11 weeks postpartum, we wanted to take a short break, leave London for the night, and enjoy our first family getaway. Before booking this hotel, I had wondered how family-friendly the staff and fellow guests would be. It's quite easy to think that bespoke hotels are more geared towards Instagram couples and young(er) people enjoying a few cocktails.

My initial reservations were immediately swept away as I started to breastfeed in the lovely and relaxing reception area, where I sat calmly and comfortably drinking a flat white. Our experience progressed to include a walk to Turner Contemporary and a lovely lunch with friends.

Our large family room was great for pushchair mobility, the crib was clean and well stationed at the side of the bed. We called in advance to check if we needed to bring our own mattress for the crib which we did. As a new family we are figuring all this out but from what I gather bringing your own mattress is standard.

We slept well and woke up to a fantastic sea view. My only comment was that our king-size bed was composed of two beds together with a mattress topper. From my experience, this never really gives me a comfortable night’s rest.

We were dressed at 9:30 and down for breakfast which has to be hands down the best cooked breakfast we've had in a very long time. Chatting to the friendly chef we learnt more about the local produce and the mission behind the hotel.

All in all, we had the best first family night away from home, thanks to the Guest House 42 Margate will always be a special...

Let me start by saying that If it wasn't for Arthur and another member of staff, my review would be 3 stars or less.

We booked one night at No 42 for our Honeymoon at Margate. We had breakfast included, a package for our dog and a package that included early check-in and a cream tea for 2.

We arrived at No 42 at 13:00, the hour of our early check in but our room was not ready, I then speak with a supervisor or manager who had no idea of my package. I then quickly check with Arthur, who was on front desk, and he recognises my packages within my booking and quickly accommodates us in our room. We are then in the room, which was not completely clean and there was not a dog bowl or dog bed in the room. We then communicate that these objects are missing and we are given those shortly after.

On the next day, another very kind member of staff of the Pearly Cow, the restaurant of the hotel. Kindly changes our breakfast time and serves us an amazing breakfast! Finally, Arthur kindly lets me know that due to our room not being ready on time and the other small details, he would take care of us.

If not being for Arthur and the other worker, we would not be happy with some amenities of the hotel. Otherwise, is an amazing hotel with an amazing restaurant. the Views from the rooms or restaurant are very relaxing. you'll see the Margate Sea in its whole wonder. No 42 has all Margate has to offer within a walking distance, a Beach, a dog-friendly beach, a perfect maritime walk, the shops, transport....