Although as a local girl I have visited both Port Lympne and Howletts many times over the years, this year we decided to splash out and go for one of the overnight packages that Port Lympne have started offering over recent years. The reason was for my mum's 70th birthday - my sister and I decided to treat her as she's mad about animals. I will preface this whole post by saying that, unless you have lots of money to spare, you really need a good reason or a special celebration to book one of the Port Lympne short breaks. I won't detail prices, as my mum might read this, but suffice to say they are not cheap! They are, however, pretty special and make for a very unique night or few days away. Port Lympne offer a range of different types (and prices) of accommodation. We chose the Treehouse Hotel, but if you visit the website you can find more details on the other types of accommodation available.
What was the accommodation like?
We opted for the Treehouse Hotel because we figured it was the best option for our group of three (and couldn't really imagine my mum glamping!), but it would also work particularly well for families. Although called a 'hotel', the Treehouse Hotel actually consists of several individual self-catering units, each accessed up a steep flight of stairs (although there is also an accessible option). The units comprise a twin bedroom, a double bedroom, a bathroom, an open-plan kitchen and lounge, and a large balcony, with views over a rhino and cheetah enclosure and the Hythe bay. The bedrooms were very comfortable, with robes and slippers included, and the swish bathroom - with bath and integral shower - included a selection of Bamford toiletries.
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| Double bedroom |
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| Twin bedroom |
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| Twin bedroom |
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| Bathroom |
The lounge had air conditioning, several comfy sofas and a huge TV, and the kitchen was well stocked with plenty of crockery and cutlery, a dishwasher, oven, toaster and Nespresso machine. There was milk in the fridge and a selection of hot drinks, all complimentary - there was also a basket of goodies you could pay for, although they were appropriately priced for their captive consumers, and you would be much better advised to bring your own snacks.
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| Lounge |
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| Dining table |
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| Kitchen |
The balcony was huge, with a large table and chairs, plus a comfy sofa. The only downside was that we had a downpour shortly before checking into the hotel - and with no canopy over the furniture, the cushions on the sofa and the chairs were completely soaked, rendering them unusable.
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| Dining table on the balcony |
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| View from the balcony |
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| View from the balcony |
Overall, the accommodation was very comfortable and felt luxurious - our only real complaint (apart from the rain) was that we didn't have enough time in it to fully enjoy it!
What's included?
It goes without saying that your park entrance, from opening time on the day you arrive until closing time on the day you leave, is included in the cost. Entrance to Howletts, around half an hour's drive away, is also included - although if you are only staying for one night, like we were, you won't be able to fit this in without missing out on some of Port Lympne. If you choose to book an animal enounter (more on this below), you get a discount on the cost equalling the price of the entry fee. If you are staying at the Treehouse Hotel, there is a clubhouse next to the rhino encounter, where you receive a free welcome drink and can toast marshmallows over the fire. It has a bar and I believe that it is open into the evening, if you want to relax there with a drink instead of in your treehouse, but I think this depends on the day and season (it seemed to close quite early when were there). One of the best things about staying is the use of a golf buggy - quite apart from being good fun to drive (if rather difficult to get used to - who knew it was easier to drive a car?!), it is also invaluable in getting around the park, which is huge and very hilly.
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| My mum and sister by our golf buggy |
Another advantage to booking an overnight stay is that you get exclusive access to Port Lympne after the day visitors have gone home (and before they arrive the next day). Not only is it quite nice having the zoo to yourselves (well, apart from the other overnighters zipping around on their golf buggies), but you also get to see some of the animals who only tend to come out at night or at quieter/cooler times.
Where can you eat?
There are a number of eating places in Port Lympne, at varying prices. At lunchtime on the first day, we ate at a cafe that I can't find a name for, near Base Camp (where you check in on arrival and where you queue for the safari truck - more below). It has a variety of pasties, ready-made sandwiches, cakes, snacks and drinks and is an easy lunch option. On the second day, we hoped to have lunch in the Pinewood Cafe near the entrance, where they also do a variety of hot lunches - something with pulled pork jumped out - but we were in the wrong part of the park. They had a small 'kiosk' near Babydoll's (more later) also selling hot food, but sadly this was closed while we were there. We ended up grabbing a sandwich at the kiosk near the meerkats, which was disappointing if I'm honest, but it was late and it was literally the last one left. Luckily, the gelato from the ice cream van next door made up for it! The aforementioned Babydoll's was our choice for dinner. Named after the last surviving original Howlett's gorillas, it's Italian themed and serves a mix of pasta and pizzas. There wasn't a huge choice but everything we ate was delicious. You can eat outside if the weather's good, although we chose to eat indoors - it was relatively quiet when we were there, although I'd imagine it's a different story at peak times. There were plenty of children there and the prices were mid-range, so this would be a good choice for dinner if you were there on a family trip.
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| Outside Babydoll's |
The other dinner choices were the Pinewood Cafe - reasonably priced but I would suspect that it lacks the ambience you'd want for an evening meal - and the restaurant inside the Port Lympne Hotel itself, the original Grade 2 listed mansion house. The Port Lympne Hotel also serves up afternoon tea; unfortunately, the prices for both this and the evening meals were a little over our budget after paying for the stay in the first place!
There are a whole host of animals at Port Lympne, although that doesn't necessarily mean you'll see all of them! The nature of the park means that the enclosures are generally very large, with lots of places for animals to hide away - so if they don't want to show themselves, they won't! As I mentioned earlier, accessing the park in the evening or early morning can increase your chances of seeing some of the harder-to-spot animals - for example, there was no sign of the wolves during the day but in the evening they were out playing (and we heard them howling from our balcony later on!). There are plenty of primates - lemurs, langurs, gibbons, drills, howler monkeys and, my personal favourite, gorillas. These are usually the highlight of my trip to Port Lympne or Howletts but most of them sadly seemed to be hiding this time.
There are lots of cats - lions, tigers, cheetahs and smaller cats such as the fishing cat or the Scottish wildcat. You can also expect to see rhinos, meerkats, tapirs, red pandas and a whole host of other animals while you wander round the park (or scoot around in your golf buggy).
In addition to those animals you can see independently, all visitors to the park get to go on a safari truck to see some more animals in as natural a habitat as possible - and believe me, there were plenty of moments on the safari when you could quite believe you were on the plains of Africa. The safari ride takes around an hour, with the guide providing information as you go and stopping to get a better look at those animals that are nearby - or to wait for a rhino to get out of the way! As well as rhinos, you can expect to see giraffes (they have recently had several babies born), zebras, camels, water buffalo, ostriches and more species of deer and antelope than I have a hope of recalling. I think the procedure for booking onto the safari varies depending on the time of year - this time, we were able to book a convenient time and were given a ticket to get on, but on my previous visit (during the school holidays), we simply had to queue (for some time) for the next available truck.
What else is there to see?
Slightly incongruously, there is also a fairly newly opened Dinosaur Forest in Port Lympne - this is a (long) walk along a wooded track filled with life-sized models of dinosaurs, along with corresponding information. Along with the obvious T-Rex, stegosaurus, triceratops and so on, there are also plenty of lesser-known (and rather unusual looking) specimens. It's great fun for children, but still interesting for adults.
It is also well worth a wander around the grounds of the mansion house (now the Port Lympne Hotel). Beautifully landscaped, expect to see ponds, a maze, statues, steps with a view and lots of colourful flowers. If there's no wedding going on, you can also have a wander through the mansion house itself. From the amazing murals on the walls to the picturesque Moroccan courtyard, you can see why it's a popular wedding venue.
Can I get up close to the animals?
As mentioned previously, the animals are free to come and go as they please within their enclosures, so how close you get depends on whether they want to show themselves! However, Port Lympne do offer a number of experiences to allow you to get a more 'personal' view of the animals. As well as smaller and one-to-one safaris, you can also book animal encounters with select animals (at a price similarly eye-watering to the hotel but, again, well worth it if you like animals). My mum chose to have a tapir encounter in the hope that it might be more 'hands-on' than some of the other encounters (I certainly had no desire to get up close and personal with the big cats!). The encounters are usually in small groups but we were lucky that it was just the three of us. We got to spend time with the keeper behind the scenes in the tapir house, learning all about tapirs and getting very close indeed. Turns out tapirs love having their tummies rubbed, and they also have quite a liking for sweat, given how much my mum was licked! (I should probably add here that it was a very hot day!) We got to meet Kingut, who, at 40, is the world's oldest Malayan tapir - apparently, he can get quite over-excited and nip sometimes, but we caught him in a lazy mood, where he wanted nothing more than to lie on his side while we rubbed his tummy. For anyone concerned that the encounter is intrusive for the tapirs, I will say that it was very evident that the animals also enjoyed and benefited from the human contact. The keeper was very knowledgeable and had clearly built up relationships with the tapirs, and I have no doubt that all encounters are handled very sensitively and put the needs of the animals as paramount. While I can only speak for the tapir experience, it really was an amazing opportunity to get face to face with an animal you would never expect to encounter!
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| You taste nice! |
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| Kingut - the oldest Malayan tapir in the world! |
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| Tapirs love a tummy rub! |
Is there anything else I need to know?
Firstly, as mentioned above, the park is very large and full of steep hills. Wear comfy shoes because you'll be doing a lot of walking!
Although there are plenty of places to eat, you're quite welcome to bring your own food for a picnic. The Treehouse Hotel is set up for self-catering, so you can bring your own food to cook if you so wish. We brought croissants, bread, jam and cereal so that we could have breakfast on our balcony (and save ourselves the cost of breakfast in one of the restaurants!).
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| Breakfast with a view |
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| Who needs a selfie stick when you have a reflection in a window?! |
Although you can get to the park as soon as it opens (9.30 am), you can't check in to the treehouse until 3.00 pm (this could be an issue if you have any food that needs refrigeration!). There is a centrally positioned car park reserved for hotel guests, so you can leave your stuff in the car until you check in. You're taken to the clubhouse along with your luggage in a little truck (the treehouses aren't accessible on foot), where you receive your golf buggy (along with instructions on how to drive it) and your key. You have to check out at 11.00 am the morning you leave, although you get to keep the golf buggy until 1.00 pm. You can either take your luggage back to the car in the golf buggy or the staff will transport it for you in a truck. You can still stay at the park until closing time - 6.30 pm in summer and 5.30 pm in winter.
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