Built on what used to be a dreary car park on the corner of London Road and Hitchen Hatch Lane, the brand new hotel is located just yards away from Sevenoaks railway station
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Sevenoaks has suffered from a lack of hotel rooms for many years.
The Moorings Hotel on Hitchen Hatch lane was rated terrible by 76 per cent of guests, and in January permission was granted to demolish the hotel in order to replace it with a block of nine flats.
Plus, the Royal Oak Hotel on the Upper High Street is currently closed for a complete refurbishment, with plans to reopen later this year.
There are a number of bed and breakfasts in the district, but none are located particularly closely to amenities such as the railway station.
So the brand new, 83 bedroom Premier Inn hopes to revitalise the tourism and leisure offering in Sevenoaks – and Kent Live was invited to an exclusive tour and sneak peek before its grand opening on Friday, August 3.
Built on what used to be a dreary car park on the corner of London Road and Hitchen Hatch Lane, the brand new hotel is located just steps away from both the station and the BT building, one of the town's largest offices.
The district council invested between £8million of council tax payers' money into purchasing the hotel, which is now owned by the council outright and leased to Premier Inn,
Council leader Peter Fleming believes it is a hugely important asset for the town and its residents.
He said: "I'm so excited to be at the end of what hasn't been a lengthy process, but it feels longer than it actually has been.
"We've got an 83 bed hotel on what was a small car park that wasn't doing the business.
"It's fantastic meeting the staff, they seem incredible, so anybody who goes to stay here will have a really good stay."
The council believes giving people an option to stay in the town rather than travel is likely to generate a further £10 million for the local economy, by encouraging people to spend in the district's restaurants, shops and other services.
Cllr Fleming added: "We are a tourist destination already, with everything we have to offer – Knole Park, Hever Castle, the Himalayan Gardens, Chartwell – but what we lack is people have not been able to stay in the district.
"This hotel was so badly needed in the district. It will be amazing for the economy.
"We are not just looking at opportunities where there are financial benefits, but another priority of the council in this case is a great return on council taxpayers' money – that helps us pay for services."
The brand new Premier Inn will open its doors to guests this Friday (August 3) – but rooms can already be booked on their website.
Approximately 10 per cent of the 83 rooms have already been booked for its first night on Friday.
Walking into the hotel, it's obvious this branch is brand new and top-spec. There are electronic checking-in machines for guests in a rush, as well as a manned reception for those who would rather speak to a person.
Guests can even use the check-in machines to pre-select their dinner and breakfast choices.
The hotel's Thyme restaurant has a seasonal menu alongside its more traditional offerings, offering meals from prawn cocktail to chicken katsu curry.
The four accessible bedrooms are located on the ground floor, and they are extra large to accommodate for wheelchairs and other equipment. The beds have been lowered, and two have accessible bathrooms while the others have wetrooms.
Every bedroom in the hotel comes with free WiFi, free tea and coffee, a choice of pillows, and Freeview on the television.
Guests can check in from 2pm, and check out is at midday.
The new Premier Inn will bring 26 brand new jobs to the district – and 15 of these went to people who were previously unemployed and out of education, in partnership with the local job centre.
The hotel represents a huge step up on the career ladder for head chef of its Thyme restaurant, Craig Wadey.
Mr Wadey, from Orpington, had previously worked as a chef in a number of locations across the county, including as far as Camber Sands, mostly on zero hour contracts.
But now he has stepped up into his first ever full-time head chef role, in a brand new kitchen he can make his own.
Mr Wadey said: "This is a massive step up. I've got a brilliant team.
"I want to work my way up to become a trainer and hopefully own my own hotel. The sky's the limit."
The council gave the go ahead to make preparations for the construction of a decked car park on the Bradbourne car park site.
This freed up the Sennocke car park, on the junction of London Road and Hitchen Hatch Lane, for a new hotel.
Planning permission is granted to deck Bradbourne car park.
Bradbourne car park closed so building works could begin.
Planning permission was approved for the Premier Inn.
The new, decked Bradbourne car park reopened. Parking capacity was increased from 168 to 420 spaces.
The Sennocke car park was also closed to allow construction work on the hotel to begin.
The brand new Sevenoaks Premier Inn will open its doors.
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