KENT - THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND

HEVER HOTEL & OYSTER OWNERSHIP

Hever Hotel is situated in the village of Hever, just minutes away from Hever Castle, former family home of Anne Boleyn. With easy access from the M25, and its close proximity to London Gatwick Airport, Hever Hotel is ideally placed for a visit to the heart of Kent, well renowned as the garden of England.

 

 

The hotel offers accommodation to suit all tastes, from the Classic bedrooms through to Executive bedrooms and Suites. All rooms feature interactive TV, coffee/tea making facilities, telephone, hairdryer, complimentary toiletries, and very comfortable beds. Bathrooms, in Classic rooms, are equipped with showers, whereas, Executive rooms feature en suite bathrooms with bath tub and bathrobes. There are also suites featuring four poster beds. All rooms benefit from free WiFi, and many rooms have views of the beautiful grounds or the delightful courtyard. Guest bedrooms have names as well as numbers, I was in room 18, 'Alfred The Great', an Executive room.

 



 

Besides the main bedrooms, of which there will be 88 once all rooms have been refurbished, there is also accommodation in the Woodland Cottage. This building offers the discerning guest the opportunity to indulge themselves in a very private environment. The Woodland Cottage consists of three Executive bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms, a fully fitted kitchen, and a lounge/dining area. With a private entrance and a private garden, guests can enjoy complete privacy.

The hotel boasts a fitness room and sauna for those guests wishing to keep fit during their stay, with separate male and female saunas and showers. There is a new spa planned with completion due in 2017. For the more energetic guests there are tennis courts (racquets and balls available), as well as complimentary bike hire with high visibility vests, jackets and helmets. Proving very popular with the golf enthusiast, there is an excellent golf course with pro shop and clubhouse.

 

There are plenty of places for guests to unwind at Hever Hotel. Take your choice of any of the three lounges, the Main Lounge and bar (situated on the ground floor), the Piano Bar, or the Games Room (both situated upstairs, adjacent to each other). Food is served in the Stables Restaurant, a delightful, bright and spacious area, adorned with rustic beams, giving it a wonderful 'olde worlde' charm. The restaurant is also open to non residents, and serves lunch and dinner, as well as breakfast and afternoon tea. In summer months guests can dine alfresco on the terrace. There is also the opportunity for groups of 6 to 28 guests to experience private dinning in a part of the restaurant that feels very separate from the main dinning area, affording guests a far more intimate experience. Food can also be delivered to your room. Breakfast is served from 7am to 10am Monday to Friday, and from 7.30am to 10.30am Saturday and Sunday. Dinner is served from 6.30pm to 9.30pm every evening.

 





 



Hever Hotel also welcomes the business guest, with a variety of meeting rooms accomodating between 20 to 180 delegates, dependent on room set up. Weddings too are catered for with the hire of private rooms (seating between 20 and 100 guests) available.

 



I was visiting Hever Hotel as a guest of Oyster Ownership, a fractional ownership company. Oyster Ownership is a relatively new company, however, it is a sister company to The Fractional Ownership Consultancy Ltd, which has been in operation for almost two decades and has 14,000 owners worldwide. Hever Hotel is one of Oyster Ownership's Home Resorts, other Home Resorts are Melia Dunas Beach Resort and Spa in Cape Verde, and Chateau De Rethondes in France. Members who buy fractional ownership in these properties also benefit from free membership to a world wide exchange programme with Wyndham Worldwide, the worlds largest hotel and resort group.

Oyster Ownership fractions are considered assets, and so can be passed on in a will, or sold at any time. Oyster Ownership does operate a Guaranteed Buy Back Option. Anyone wishing to find out more about Oyster Ownership can do so by visiting their website: www.oysterownership.com There, you will find details of Free Breaks at Hever Hotel, where you can learn all you need to know about fractional ownership.

The staff at Hever Hotel were extremely friendly and helpful, always a smile on their faces and a willingness to please the guest. The beautiful setting of the hotel, along with the wonderful reception from the staff, made my two night stay most enjoyable. Guests won't be short of places to visit whilst staying at Hever Hotel, I myself, visited both Chartwell (former home of Sir Winston Churchill), and Hever Castle, both magnificent properties and very definitely well worth a visit. I also had two exceptional meals in nearby restaurants, The Wheatsheaf at Bough Beech, and The King Henry Vlll (just opposite the castle), both within, approximately, one mile of Hever Hotel. Staff at the hotel are more than happy to suggest places for guests to visit or dine at, and are happy to make telephone bookings on your behalf.

Of course, you could just kick back your heels and relax in the hotel, The Piano Bar boasts a fine piano and a brace of accustic guitars, which musically inclined guests are more than welcome to use. The Games Room has a good variety of games to amuse and entertain guests, as well as a pool table and a dart board. The food in the restaurant is of a very high standard, with a reasonable choice of dinner menu, and an excellent choice of both hot and cold food for breakfast.

 



 

I thoroughly enjoyed my short break at Hever Hotel and would have no reservations in staying there again in the future. It is not only an ideal location for visiting the local area, but is also a far less expensive alternative to staying in a London hotel, whilst still being within just a short road or rail journey from the capital.

 



 

 



For details on Hever Hotel  visit the hotel's website at: www.heverhotel.co.uk or email: reservations@heverhotel.co.uk or telephone: 01732 700700.

The full address for Sat Navs is: Hever Road, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NP