The Ship & Trades

An amazing transformation over the years. I haven't visited Chatham for 15 years so to see how this little sports pub has turned into an amazing, comfortable, friendly hotel/restaurant is amazing. Staff are very friendly and will go above and beyond to help you. I tried the breakfast and was blown away. The room service adds a personal touch for any introverted guests. The hotel is next to a co-op for casual food shopping and a quality fish and chip shop should you want a slice of Kent-ish traditionalism. The food is amazing and is cooked with real love. I stayed in room 12 which overlooks the marina with a large balcony. The room is generously sized with a beauty ensuite bathroom (bath and shower). The windows are huge and let the light in. The room is very quiet and even on the weekend you would be pressed to hear the restaurant.

The ONLY tiny complaint I have is the Wifi. It uses the Shepherd Neame free wifi where you have to sign into it using a social media account before it works. This means that you can not use the smart tv features on the TV directly. If they had their own local wifi for guest they it would then allow guests to use the streaming services without hooking up a laptop via HDMI cable.

Loved the modern and old style features, in keeping with the building's history. Not had an actual key for ages! Easy the check in. Not far to room, which was great. Lovely selection of teas and coffees and toiletries. Dinner and breakfast was delicious, with lots of choice for both. Staff all efficient, professional and friendly. 3 small points stopped it being a 10 out of 10 - I'd definitely stay again snd highly recommended the hotel and restaurant. Everything looked clean and well looked after, with nods to the style and age of the building. Corridor decor well cared for toowith lovely pics, decor snd accessories.

Very overlooked, so curtains needed pulling often. Shower whined loudly, but was effective as a shower. Toilet flush was so powerful it splashed the seat and floor, even with the seat down!

View of Chatham marina from our terrace was great and it was a bonus to see Upnor castle in the distance. We had the vegan breakfast which was tasty/cooked really well, it was nice to have a pot of coffee on our table/no need to request a top-up, the member of staff taking our order was very friendly. Free car parking for guests.

Unfortunately there was no coffee machine in the room, just instant sachets. We booked a superior/deluxe room so was surprised that this was not included. There was some very noisy guests in the room next to us who had a kid jumping/banging around and running through the corridor right outside. At 10:30pm I had to knock and ask them to be mindful of the time.... this was no fault of the establishment however, just rudeness from the other guests. We stayed during the bank holiday and there was a very busy event going on at the marina, the bar was jam packed and we didn't have the chance to eat there.

it is fab! our romantic last minute getaway couldn’t have been set in a place more perfect for us. overlooking the docks, fabulous terrace, great bar which stocked some great whiskeys and lovely food (we just shared a load of starters as we were going into town later for dinner and drinks). all in all it was a great atmosphere and added to the buzz of being away without the kids for the first time ever!

the mirrors! not designed by a woman, clearly lol! the mirrors were tiny so doing my makeup was nearly impossible - especially as the lighting was also extremely poor. we resulted in using my phone’s torch and my partner holding the room’s mirror up to my face… also there wasn’t a full length mirror to be seen in the place - a must have. even just on the back of the door! i am lucky I trust my partner to tell me if my outfit is good or if my hair is out of place or if my dress is tucked into my knickers…! just the mirrors let us down… that’s all!

Good was excellent staff in restaurant and reception also very good.view from room was great.

The facilities are looking very tired and in need of care.the lift was very poor needing cleaned.the reception area is woeful small desk situated in lobby with toilets for bad clients.not very welcoming.the glass doors also needing a clean.with some proper manage.ent by owners and injection of funds could be a true boutique hotel.hotel section needs separated from bar area.given how pleasant staff are investment in infrastructure will be repaid.

The staff were so efficient from the booking in process (as we extended our stay) - Elle was super good and totally on the ball and Tracey who was on the housekeeping team as we left was wonderful in retrieving items that we'd left behind - even finding us in the car park to reconnect me with my boots that I'd forgotten!! Breakfast was really good too. The Marina setting is lovely .

The restaurant service in the evening was really very slow . The table staff were great and apologised but we did wait for over an hour for food even though it wasn't busy.

The room was really lovely and spacious and the outside area was really lovely looking over the marina. Breakfast was excellent except we weren't told that there was cereal and juice available round the corner of the restaurant area.

The room was really hot, the towel rail in the bathroom couldn't be switched off and was on the whole time despite it being about 26° outside. It was very noisy outside and was woken just after 6.30 by a delivery downstairs and what sounded like a Harley Davison in the csrpark.

Comfortable rooms, quiet, lovely location. Nice toiletries and refreshments in the room. Breakfast is excellent, lovely menu with plenty of choice. Evening meal menu reasonable.

Couple of things not available on the menu and the vegetarian selection is a little limited. The wrong meal was brought and the server tried to blame us for ordering the wrong thing (we hadn't) so a bit frustrating and generally not well dealt with by the staff. The meal was nice enough, just not what was ordered. The water in one of the rooms was only lukewarm which was disappointing.

I love this place - the room decor, the friendly helpful staff, the location with a great view, ample parking and supermarket and chippy next door. Has everything a girl needs to get party ready! Good lighting, plug next to the mirror! Although a full length mirror would have been nice.

The smell! There was a very strong drain smell that seemed to be coming from the bathroom but the receptionist said it only appears when it rains and was coming from outside, although we couldn’t smell it outside.

No instant response receptionist is annoying, particularly prior to arrival when we were uncertain, despite asking for confirmation, whether we had reserved parking. Staff friendly and everything clean and tidy. Great position though probably had best room.

Lack of receptionist as above. No vegan option available, nor muesli/fruit for breakfast despite on-line literature. Shower controls tricky, broken toilet roll holder, window locks with no key. (Contrary to fire escape protocol?)