Arthouse

The bedroom was cozy, with a comfortable bed and lots of warm bedding. Downstairs there’s a pleasant kitchen and shared space, with tea supplies. The house has been renovated beautifully, with care put into every detail. The owners live just around the corner and offered self check-in, but still came by to welcome me. It’s just outside the town centre and has good bus links to town and the universities. I’ll stay here again if I’m back in Canterbury.

The short walk into town, the well equipped kitchen, and the general cleanliness and warmth were all positives. But I wouldn’t return. Getting into and out of the single parking space is hard, with a very narrow drive and a tight 90-degree turn, and there’s no room to turn around before backing out. The house has four floors, reached by very steep, narrow stairs. One bedroom on the fourth floor has its bathroom on the second, and bathroom 1’s door doesn’t close. Bed 1’s mattress is awful, with painful springs sticking up and dips in other spots. Bed 2 and the lounge face the busy London Road, and the noise went on at night so the occupants couldn’t sleep. The lounge appears to have a frame for double glazing, but no glazing is fitted. The carpet at the top of the stairs is getting threadbare.

It felt like a home away from home, with only two rooms and plenty of little personal touches. The place is quirky, the rooms are spacious, and it’s an easy walk to the town centre. Breakfast comes as a voucher for a local cafe, which means you can go whenever suits you. Handy for early starts or a lie-in 😉.

We had a brilliant hen party weekend at the Old Fire Station. The walk into the city was simple, and the location was perfect. The accommodation worked really well for 11 women across all three properties, and the kitchen and main living space in Cedar House gave everyone room to mingle. Highly recommended.