Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve - Hythe, UK
- decadentdammers
- Sep 30, 2020
- 5 min read
Lets start with the fact that I struggled, big time, to find an experience with wildlife for my partners surprise birthday trip...
I am really against animals in captivity and ever since seemingly naive visits to the zoo and Sealife waterpark's as a child, could never face going to one again. Let's not even start on "Blackfish" and "Tiger King".
After a lot of internet searches and double checks on PETA approved sites, I stumbled across Port Lympne. It seemed to tie in everything I was looking for, first and foremost, the focus being on the survival of their endangered animals - and then to top it off, a stunning traditional English countryside hotel, with multiple restaurants on site. Everything I wanted from a special weekend away with my animal-obsessed partner, in one place!
The Hotel
Prior to our arrival, I can only say that I was more than pleasantly surprised by the attentiveness of the staff. I had SO many questions, whether it be about the best way to make sure my money went to the protection of the animals, or the various types of accommodation the reserve offered, safari packages and restaurant bookings... Honestly, I was a hassle! I just wanted the trip to be perfect, and for our itinerary to be full of the many wonderful things this place has to offer! The staff were really wonderful and it made me all the more excited to share this trip with my partner for his birthday - they will organise everything for you, from the meal bookings to safari timings.
The Reserve offers multiple accommodations, but I opted for the Port Lympne Mansion Hotel, as the package included Bed & Breakfast, a beautiful room with Bath Tub, free visit to Howletts animal park and use of the Golf Buggy around the reserve throughout our stay. There was also a great bar and restaurant on site. The other options were equally impressive (particularly for larger families) : Bear Lodge, Treehouse Hotel, Hog Deer Creek, Pinewood, Forest Hideaway, Giraffe Lodge, The Bubble, Tiger/Wolf/Rhino Lodges, Giraffe Cottage, Leopard Creek and Giraffe Hall. This place really is just like an African Safari and totally has the vibe of it too! I mean you can literally have a bath whilst glancing through the glass at a family of Tigers...
The Food
I love that the reserve has so many options for dining as a guest and visitor. I planned our itinerary around set meals so we could really make the most of these! All of the restaurants use home grown and local fine quality ingredients. You will find seasonal vegetables on the menu from market gardens near Howletts (Sister reserve, a short drive from Port Lympne), and tasty dairy, meat and fish from Kent artisans. They make great use of celebrating everything food to wine that England has to offer! Being in the heart of the English wine country, local wines and Kentish brews are also served alongside the restaurant dishes.
Bear Lodge - For our first meal, we had lunch at Bear Lodge. It was so cosy, with a family dining vibe. Wicker lanterns, earthy tones and a real log-cabin feel about it! Just what we needed for a scrumptious English Roast & hearty crumble dessert!
BabyDoll's Wood Fired Pizza - We dined here on the evening of our stay and it was so so cute! It was tucked up in the middle of the woods of the reserve and we organised a buggy drop-off (which was a good idea as it was too dark to walk!). The restaurant itself is set within beautiful Mediterranean gardens and is named after the Howletts gorilla Babydoll. The sourdough Pizza was beautiful and the menu also served up pastas and seasonal salads. The woodfire pizza oven added to the winter-warmer feel of this little nook in the reserve grounds and we loved it, surrounded by nature!
Mansion Bar & Terrace - located inside the Port Lympne Hotel where we were staying, it was perfect for a night-cap! On a daytime you see great views of the landscape and sea in the distance. On an evening, its the perfect place to "wine-down", warm and toasty by the fire!
The Hotel also has multiple cafés that serve sandwiches, pastries and coffee throughout the day (including a Meerkat Shack!) and a Moroccan Courtyard where you can enjoy afternoon tea (though this wasn't open during our stay), as well as their new Pop-up Garden Room Restaurant, serving seasonal, unpretentious British plates. Each option offering a unique experience and really great local food!
The Reserve
We saved the best until last. Aside from the pure bliss of enjoying a Period-Mansion stay with mouthwatering comfort food (that really made us proud to be British!), the reserve has so much more to offer with the animals you get to see and learn about. From Safaris, personal-guided buggy adventures, animal experiences, to talks and treks in the wild!
Although I did my research before our trip on the Aspinall Foundation (Internationally renowned animal conservation charity and world leaders in breeding and protection of endangered animals), and the reserves, I learnt so much more about the efforts of the foundation throughout our stay.
Happily roasting marshmallows by the clubhouse fire, whilst reading up on the history of the foundation, it really touched our hearts to read about their mission to halt extinction of species, and return animals back to the wild. Port Lympne specialises in African species mainly , and Howletts, 400 more endangered animals. A lot of the animals in the parks are captive bred and the mission (for those they can return to the wild) is to reintegrate them back into their natural habitat. The best part? Any visit or stay at the reserve provides care, nurture and release of the beautiful animals as part of their mission. I even made sure to book directly on their website so that no other Hotel agents took a profit from my payment and all of my money went directly to the projects.
The animal parks are far from conventional zoos... they are focused on the care of the animals with specific enclosure design, focus on enrichment and breeding success and offer breeding sanctuaries for some of the worlds most rare and endangered animals. The Aspinall Foundation fund and manage animal protection projects in Congo, Gabon, Java and Madagascar and provide financial support to other protection schemes around the world including India and Cambodia. The list of animals they have already successfully returned to the wild include Western lowland gorillas, black rhino, Javan langurs and gibbons, European bison and clouded leopards - all thriving and surviving living their best lives in the wild!
We now follow their Instagram page and track the process of these re-integrations which can often be very emotional and uplifting!
Whether you choose to stay on the reserve (which we highly recommend) or choose a day visit, animal encounter/ feed (ranging around £45-£75 per session), or safari experience (£45-£95), we know you will have an unforgettable time. I am now obsessed with Javan Langur Monkeys, can't stop looking at the baby Gorilla from our "Gorilla Talk", and my partner has a phone full of Lemur photos to last a lifetime! Knowing your visit makes a difference, really is rewarding in itself.
Thank you Port Lympne, Howletts & The Aspinall Foundation for such an unforgettable experience! We really will never forget this. Your conservation efforts and protection of these endangered animals is really outstanding and we were truly inspired by your commitment to reintegrating these incredible species back to their natural habitat in the wild!
Websites: https://www.aspinallfoundation.org/
Address: Aldington Rd, Lympne, Hythe CT21 4LR, United Kingdom
Commentaires