Gardens and grounds here are showstoppers, or maybe just where the whole show begins. Lawns sprawl forever, punctuated with terraces and seating areas perfect for pals and Prosecco. Beneath the pergola, your huge barbecue offers the works: do it justice with restaurant-at-home service, DineIndulge.
There’s something for everyone here. Kids can explore the climbing frame, trampolines and treehouses, dogs will sniff and snuffle in the enclosed garden, and you’ll simply marinate into a prune in the bubbling, eight-seat hot tub. Finish the day beneath the starlit canopy swapping stories around the firepit.
Live out in the garden if you wish. There’s plenty seating beneath the Indian bean trees. But do come inside or you’ll miss out on fun times around the flaming logs with hot chocolates or cocktails from the bar followed by a friendly game of darts. Amid 300-year-old sandblasted beams, spotlights and wooden floors, it’s all rather agreeable.
Pick your social space or recharging spot and settle back in front of Netflix or Amazon Prime Video with bingeworthy box sets powered by Plusnet Wi-Fi. Or make your own entertainment around the piano. If Desmond Dekker and Bob Marley can make music here, what’s stopping you?
With a bells-and-whistles barbecue out under the garden pergola, you might be tempted to eat al-fresco all day long. But the indoor kitchen gleams and the double oven and induction hob will make a MasterChef of you. Or just call up the pros from DineIndulge and simmer in the hot tub as they slave in the kitchen.
Fill up the American-style fridge/freezer with meaty marvels and veggie delights from Sainsbury’s, Purple Patch deli and Pluckley’s butchers. Or order in takeaway treats from The Rainbow (Chinese), Five Guys, Pizza Express or The Yellow Fisherman for cod and chips and kebabs.
Eat in the delicious dining room beneath centuries-old beams with refreshments from the in-house bar on hand. Pub it at The Red Lion over day-boat fish and chips, Cumberland whirl or harissa-roasted cauliflower. Or head to The Bowl for prime rural hospitality and roast guinea fowl or Kentish sausages.
Enjoy Chinese at Jasmine House or Indian at Spices of Bengal. Tuck into Italian and Sicilian Mediterranean fare at Montalbano, try soul food and British classics at The Dog House Micropub and Vinyl Bar, or Nepalese at Koyla. Stubbs is the place for steaks and Ozgur for Turkish.
Bed down among cosy toppers, pillow protectors and high-thread-count sheets. Honeydew House sleeps 16 in eight special bedrooms that’ll have you hitting snooze once too often. Don’t worry: you won’t be late for work.
Bedroom one comes with a four-poster, smart TV and toilet, while bedroom two offers a kingsize plus a smart TV. Bedroom three provides a double bed, day bed and smart TV, and bedroom four a super kingsize, two singles, smart TV and en-suite. Bedroom five comes with a double bed, three singles and smart TV.
Who knows, you might love Honeydew House so much that you never leave. And why not, with manicured lawns and terraces offering outdoor dining, summer drinks and a long soak in the bubbling hot tub? Book DineIndulge for those special-occasional meals and you need never venture out. This is the ultimate hen (or stag) house.
If you do manage to explore, make sure you find vineyards at Chartham and Barnsole and take home a bottle or two of English sparkling wine to sip with supper. Explore on horseback with Bursted Hill Stables, race your mates on the Buckmore karting circuit, or blast clay pigeons with Willow Farm.
Set up a golf day on the lovely parkland course at Broome Park. Pamper yourself with hot massages and facials at The Pig spa in Bridge Place or Ashford International Hotel. Or create elegantly balanced cocktails under expert mixologist guidance or dirty-dump some old classics on a Falstaff cocktail masterclass in Canterbury.
There’s more to Canterbury than a cathedral, especially for a night out. Enjoy close-up prestidigitation at Houdini’s Magic Bar made all the more magical with the resident cocktails. Neck some more at Tokyo Tea Rooms. Or pick from 14 draught taps and over 100 gins from all around the world at Pegasus Tap Room and Gin Palace.
