The blush-pink Margate House opened in the south-east’s hipster seaside hub in July, following an extensive, two-year renovation of a Victorian B&B by a London property developer, who wants to establish it as an all-seasons bolthole. Sumptuous and stylish, it is also refreshingly good value.
The location
The “eighth-coolest neighbourhood in the world” (according to a recent Time Out survey): Cliftonville. The survey hailed this part of Margate’s “record shops, cafés and conscious grocery shops” as well as “thriving artistic communities” in places like Resort Studios and influx of creative ex-Londoners drawn to the area’s affordable housing.
While not pretty like Margate Old Town – Cliftonville West is one of Thanet’s most deprived wards – both a community spirit and seeds of change are tangible. Members of The Libertines have a guesthouse around the corner, and a conservation initiative has seen several of the Victorian properties on the sea-facing Dalby Square – on which Margate House sits – refurbished. Nearby it is hoped that the boarded-up Winter Gardens, where The Beatles had a six-night residency in 1963, will be brought back to life.
Margate train station, with connections to London and the south coast, is 20 minutes’ walk away and there is free parking on the square in front.
The ambience
When we arrive, we are offered a glass of orange wine (what else?) while windswept guests in waterproofs revive themselves in the elegantly cosy drawing room.
If you want to socialise, sink into the deep velvet sofa for a chat. If you’ve got a magpie eye, browse the high-end Ormaie and Vyrao fragrances, trinkets and coffee table books on the sideboard – or indeed the impressive range of homewares, furniture and art on display, all sourced from local creatives. And if you take a particular shine to anything, it is pretty much all for sale.
The rooms
A trained furniture-maker, owner Will Jenkins has had plenty commissioned for the nine bedrooms, from wave-like headboards to sideboards that conceal a midnight-feast store of goodies, tea, coffee and a fridge.
Following the colour-theme, they are all crimson, terracotta and dusky pink, with an exposed brick wall here, and vintage Polish posters galore.
Beds are big and plump, and a sweet “night night, sleep tight” card appears on the linen at turndown. However, none of the rooms are adapted for wheelchair users and all are accessed via the main staircase.
There are no televisions, though we more missed the luxury of a bath to sink into (all rooms have rainfall showers, and gallons of local seaweed-based Haeckels toiletries).
Food and drink
There is an honesty bar in the drawing room, from which you can ferry drinks back up to your room. In the morning, breakfast (pastries from local artisan bakery Staple) can be delivered to your door. If you fancy something more substantial, the guesthouse partners with Middle Eastern diner The Good Egg – it is absolutely worth indulging.
Jenkins is also putting the finishing touches to Margate House’s own all-day café, which he says will be called Flump and will be open to non-residents too.
There are excellent restaurants nearby, including Sète wine bar and kitchen and Angela’s for seafood.
What to do
After an evening out at vintage-themed amusement park Dreamland (also a great live music venue), we blew away the cobwebs the following morning at the beachside Sea Scrub Sauna.
Margate is now well-established on the art scene, with the Turner Contemporary, Carl Freedman Gallery and Tracey Emin’s TKE Studios among the big hitters.
Quirkier attractions include the Shell Grotto, Tudor House and Margate Caves, as well as Walpole Bay’s tidal pool. And of course, there are golden sands galore.
You’ll love…
Jenkins – who has moved to Margate himself – says his aim was to create a home from home (“I want all our guests to buy each other presents at Christmas,” he says) and locals are already dropping in.
Yes, there is loads going on in town, but you could just as easily go for beach walks then return to get stuck into a book or a chat in the drawing room.
To book
Margate House, 6 Dalby Square, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent CT9 2ER. Doubles from £115, including breakfast.
