Hempstead House Hotel

This could be a great hotel - but frankly, I've left with a distinctly bad taste in my mouth and wondering whether someone had deliberately set out to rip me off. The room was fine - but on booking on the telephone no-one told me that we would be overlooking the hotel's own construction site. The corridor stank of smoke from our arrival, due to a regular guest in the next door room, who, we were told always flouted the smoking ban. Fair enough though the reception came up and asked him to stop which he did. The bill for dinner took three attempts to get right but this was nothing compared to the final bill which tried to overcharge us by just under £200 - including the mysterious marking up of a bottle of wine which had been charged correctly on the previous night's dinner bill, plus an additional night's accommodation, charging my eighteen month old son for lunch when he merely ate from my plate, an erroneous bar bill and additional bottle of wine. I was left feeling that I was somehow being tight by continuing to question items and when I told the 'manageress' the complaint was met with disinterest.

We had our engagement dinner and subsequent wedding ceremony and reception at Hempstead House Hotel in 2004. Sounds a while ago to be writing a review but we have been back since for meals and have always found the service and food to be superb. The food was one of the main reasons we decided to have our wedding at this hotel and we were not disappointed. During our wedding celebrations we and some of our guests stayed and Mandy and her staff could not do enough for us to make sure our stay and wedding was fabulous - some of our wedding photos are used in the brochures - but we are not biased!. The hotel is not cheap but we would recommend it for the ambience, friendly staff and great food alone. We had New Years Day lunch there today and again, we were not disappointed. If you are near Sittingbourne then Hempstead House house is well worth a visit.

For out 12th anniversary we decided to have a night away at this hotel. We only live 10-15 miles away and have driven passed it and always wondered what it looked like on the inside. We weren't disapointed. We stayed in the old part of the hotel and had one of the rooms that is pictured on most brochures. We had a drink in the lounge in the afternoon and was surprised that the drinks weren't that overpriced as you somethimes find in hotels. The evening meal was outstanding, so nice to go to a restaurant and not see chips on the menu! They made us feel very special without making us feel uncomfortable. This was the first time I had tasted scallops and sea bass, which were amazing. The breakfast was lovely as well. The only problem we had was the room was so hot and the shower was very disappointing, apart from that we enjoyed our stay and would recommend it.

We chose this country house hotel for its 'dog friendly' policy. To our delight, it was nevertheless immaculate. It was a stressful time for us, so it was especially welcome that the staff were so helpful. For instance, they suggested nearby dog walks, and later when we worried about leaving our dog in the room while we had dinner in case she barked they said to try as there was no one in the adjoining room. In the event we opted for room service which was beautifully presented. A real country house ambience, and a quality place to stay.

I stayed here for 3 nights in July 2007 on business. The Hotel was lovely and tucked away out of the main part of Sittingbourne. The Hotel has a restaurant and bar. The food was great as was the room service food. My room was lovely and had everything that I needed including iron and Ironing board. The only thing lacking was a fridge. The only negative that I have to say about the room was that it was far too hot and as I was in the old part of the hotel, it was noisy when people walked about on the stairs, landing or above me. The hotel has a small outdoor pool and a nice sitting area outside. The staff were all really friendly and helpful. I would stay here again.

We had Sunday lunch at Hempstead House when driving back to London from Whitstable. The food was delicious and the service excellent. (I even forgot my umbrella and they kindly posted back to me!). We didn't stay for the night but the place looked beautiful and very well taken care of. We will definitely go back to stay for the weekend!

I recently stayed at Hempstead House and felt that I needed to post a report here to convey how lovely my 2 night stay was. The hotel is beautiful, both the old house and the new Heritage Suite. The service is exemplary. All of the staff, without exception, were happy, professional and courteous. I couldn't fault this hotel at all. It is independantly run which gives a really nice atmosphere. Very different to 'chain' hotels. I am now looking forward to my next stay there. I would recommend Hempstead House to anyone and already have!!

We didn't stay at the hotel but did go to their New Years Eve function. On this occasion we paid £70 per person for an extremely average, function style, three course meal plus a glass of champagne and a disco. We were promised a table magician which didn't materialise, and were told firstly that he was unable to come round the tables because of the lack of space and then, on the following day, a lie, that he had performed in the bar. The entertainment was one of the reasons we were attracted to this particular venue. We had paid a deposit and then the remainder ( £500) was taken from our credit card without authorisation. We would not consider eating or staying at this hotel again.

Stayed at this hotel late January 07 for one night. Hotel pretty average for cost. Reception staff were pleasant and helpful, in a more family than professional style. Bedroom & ensuite clean and newly decorated, bathrooom fittings/decor appeared new but in 1980's fashion. Shower pressure very weak, had to give up and take a bath. Restaurant was exceptionally good for this grade of hotel, (although styled a bit out of character with the building with fancy plaster/plastic columns etc.) good quality food and a comprehensive and reasonably priced wine list. Dinner was excellent, with professional service too, and a good bottle of pauillac for £ 33.00. Good selection of cheaper and more expensive wine also available. Breakfast buffet and english breakfast below expectation though. All in all fair value and I would stay there again - mainly for the restaurant- but I would check the shower worked properly.

I booked a last minute bank holiday weekend break at this hotel for my wife and I. The hotel obviously was a very large, grand house which has been extended fairly recently. When you first drive into the hotel you see its modern conference centre extension which is pretty ugly. The entrance to the actual hotel part is around the other side through the old part of the building and is traditional country house hotel style. I imagine it would be lovely in the winter when they light all the open fires. The room we stayed in was very nice, clean and modern. The food in the restaurant was very good but the night we ate there, only one other couple was dining in the main restaurant so it was somewhat lacking in atmosphere. (I think all the other guests were there for a wedding and were elsewhere in the hotel). We had a very enjoyable time in the area, exploring the coast and eating and drinking in the excellent fish restaurants around Whitstable harbour. We also loved the historic dockyard at Chatham. Generally, its a decent hotel, slightly let down by its unsympathetic extension