Port Lympne Mansion Hotel

We stayed in Giraffe Cottage as a group of 6 and had a wonderful time: great food, wonderful hosts, and so many animals to see in our safari: despite the usual UK July rain…

The stay was booked as a birthday treat for my wife as she loves giraffes. Interesting and amusing safaris between reception and giraffe lodge. The food served at dinner and breakfast was excellent. All staff were very friendly and polite.

Nice place to stay. It’s amazing you can see a rhino just through the window of your room. It’s really an unforgettable experience!!

I am writing to express our deep disappointment and dissatisfaction following our recent visit to your property. Having stayed with you several times since 2019, our most recent experience has unfortunately highlighted a significant decline in the standard of both accommodation and service, which has compelled me to raise our concerns. Upon arrival, we were asked to return to reception due to an error in the check-in process. This was not only inconvenient but was handled in a discourteous manner. The tone of the elderly lady on reception was particularly rude and unwelcoming, setting a poor precedent for the rest of our stay. We also encountered issues with the card payment system, where transactions were repeatedly declined due to what we were told was a system fault. Despite this being an internal issue, the situation was handled in a way that made us feel embarrassed—as though we lacked funds—when this was not the case. This was especially frustrating given that we had just spent close to £200 on lunch in your garden restaurant. The Hog Deer Creek hut was in a notably poor state of repair. We found hair on the floor, visible dirt behind the sofa, damp stains, and general grime on the blinds. The sofa was heavily worn and overall the hut felt tired and unloved—certainly not the standard we have come to expect from previous visits. Additionally, the lack of towel hooks or storage within the hut was frustrating, especially as a family of four trying to manage wet clothing and towels after showers. Then to find a screw in the bed my 4 year old was sleeping in that had possibly come out of the light above the bunk bed? The experience worsened when we visited the area near the Bubble Lodge for an afternoon snack. We arrived at 3:55pm, only to be turned away as the huts were “closing” at 4pm. We were refused service despite arriving before closing time. This felt rigid and unaccommodating—certainly not the customer-first attitude we remember from previous visits. We were also disappointed by the current buggy routes, which no longer provide the access they once did. The benefit of hiring a buggy has always been the ease of movement and the ability to get close to wildlife, but that is no longer the case. Instead, we found ourselves needing to walk to most areas, which was a significant inconvenience. Lastly, the staff we encountered across the restaurants were largely disengaged. There was a lack of warmth and attentiveness.

We had a lovely night at bear lodge. Checking etc was smooth and the tent was very clean- bathroom was a little dated and tired but spotless. We ordered a Babydolls Pizza and two were great but one was cold. The log burner in the room was lovely. We enjoyed Howletts before check in and Port Lympne the day of check out. We enjoyed the safari but we were incredibly disappointed that it didn’t venture to the African Experience section which was going to be the highlight of the trip (given the animals there and that they are our children’s favourite). We left with a disappointed child which was a real shame as the rest of the stay was overall good.

great park, well run, love the buggies, great food but dissapointing that they have now reduced the safari element and started charging for the giraffe part separately now