The Hotel Continental — Restaurant in Canterbury

Somewhat bizarrely, I think I prefer the British seaside in the autumn than I do at the height of summer. It's quieter. And if you get a sunny day, you're much more grateful. We had a weekend in Whitstable, that gentrified, trendy little town just along the Kent Coast from London. ||Last time I was in Whitstable, I spotted the Hotel Continental at the end of the main drag, tucked away in a nice little corner. And it seemed too good an opportunity not to try and stay there. I booked a room a good couple of weeks in advance, and we had a pleasant check-in on arrival. We were shown to our premium King Seaview room, which was delightful, with a gorgeous view of the sea straight out of the window. A comfortable bed and a small chaise tucked under one of the windows. It was a nice room, with cans of water in the fridge, glasses, coffee and tea, and a small bathroom with a shower. ||The television seemed connected to the internet, which was a bit of a fuss because it wouldn't take another source, such as an iPad plugged in, to show movies. Still, it wasn't connected to the internet because you could sign into your account for a streamer service. No matter, we watched some TV in bed on our iPad one night. |||The rooms are nice, but not noise-proof. From our room, we could hear everyone passing in the corridors, the people in the room above walking around, and the pimple in the room next door at quite an intimate level.||Car parking is somewhat limited, and unfortunately, after a traffic-filled journey down from London on Friday, we didn't get there until nearly 6 pm, by which time all the car parking spaces in the tiny car park had gone. On-street parking is payable up to 9 pm. So, it did add another 45 pounds to park outside the front of the hotel from Friday through the middle of Sunday. There might be some free parking a further walk away, but as we'd had a difficult journey, we wanted to park up and get cosy. ||We didn't eat at the hotel as Whitstable has an absolute glut of excellent restaurants.|| So, the only meal we had there was breakfast, which was a little disappointing. There's an excellent hot breakfast table and some cereal. There are a few bananas and croissants—no range of pastries, fruits, or yoghurts. What most irritated me when the hotel charged me over 200 pounds a night was that coffee was filter coffee or tea. They did have a big coffee machine, but if you wanted a cappuccino or a latte, you had to pay for it. And given the beer was London prices, i.e. 7 pounds per pint, I'm sure the coffee wasn't cheap either. I think it is a little mean-spirited to charge for coffee within a bed and breakfast rate. But if you're looking for somewhere lovely in the town with a relaxed ambience, then Hotel Continental could...

Went for a two night stay and I must say that Whistable far exceeded my expectations. Beautiful little seaside village and I was lucky to have gorgeous sunny skies. The hotel doesn't look too inviting from the outside but was very pretty and well appointed inside. Everything is very small though!!! I arrived half an hour early and was told that I had to wait until the official check in time. Fair enough but the tone was a bit off. My room was a sea facing one on the first floor and the stairs are extremely narrow - luckily I only had a small carry bag. Can't really imagine lugging big suitcases up there.||The room was tiny but had everything I needed and a really lovely view of the sea. I found the bed very low but it was comfortable and I did have a good night's sleep. The bathroom is really small, and I can't imagine how anyone who is slightly overweight would fit in it. But I did ..... so all was well.||The breakfast was adequate and honestly reminded me of a boarding school canteen type buffet. But it seemed to fit right in with the place. I ate dinner once in the hotel and the food was fair - I only had the chowder soup and a dessert.||I travelled alone and there were times where I felt that I was almost an inconvenience. I noticed the big difference in service between me and couples/groups. For instance when I sat down to dinner I was never offered any bread for the table, but everyone else was. It was that type of difference that caught my attention.||The staff did their jobs adequately (hence the overall rating). I found that if I didn't make a concerted effort to be friendly with them, they weren't going to bother with me. Not surly, not rude, but not friendly either. I asked the lady at reception to organise me a taxi and she proceeded to push two taxi business cards into my hand and told me that I could call either one. She only agreed to call on my behalf when I actually asked her. That's not great service at all, especially as she knew that I was an overseas traveler without roaming on my phone (which I told them when I checked in). Calling taxis for guests is a service offered by hotel receptionists world-wide, it shouldn't have been an issue.||Despite these odd little annoyances, I did enjoy my stay there and would recommend it with the caveat of 'not expecting...

In short, I found this pretty disappointing, and had been looking forward to going there for years. I'm amazed why it gets so many brilliant reviews. If you're looking for a quiet, romantic spot, this isn't it. We stayed in hut one, as a romantic getaway. It's overlooking the guests' car park, not on the beach as stated. The cars are crammed into tiny spots on gravel, and so in the morning you hear cars manoeuvring in and out on the gravel at the bottom of your bed, from 7AM onwards. No joke. Also, there's a cafe right outside the window, and so there's no such thing as a lie in. There are no curtains on the windows, and so if you want to take in the lovely sea view, everyone sees you as you walk around the room. So, we had to half close the shutters with a belt, so that we had air, light, but a little bit of privacy. A gauze blind would do the trick. It's a beach hut. It is what it is, I get that and, as an experienced travel writer, I've written about a zillion glamping, cool places to stay over the years, so I've seen it all. But I just want to share the above so that others can manage their expectations. There were other aspects of the accommodation that I found to be shoddy, given the price (£150-175 per night). In fact, even if it was £50 a night, I wouldn't expect the woodwork on the bedhead to be dirty, with makeup stains and paint coming off. Same on the banister. The shower was pretty grotty, in need of a makeover, and the furnishings are cheap, reminiscent of student accommodation. The hotel may tell us 'it's the end of the season, and in need of attention' but that doesn't really work when you're paying for a treat night or two away. The bed was two single mattresses pushed together with a dip in the middle. And honestly, in this day and age, a coffee machine or cafetiere instead of instant coffee, and packets or UHT milk, is sort of expected. Not crazy about the single use plastics in the bathroom either. Times have changed Hotel Continental. You can do better than this. ||(On another note, and nothing to do with the quality of the accommodation of course -if you are new to Whitstable, check the tide times if you want to swim. It goes out for miles and so if you want to swim, get in here at the right time if you can, otherwise you may be...