Answers to Questions

You will need your own car to get to Bressenden as it is not served by any form of public transport. Here is a link to Bressenden's location on Google maps. Google's street view images are shown here. Half way along the road that runs between the villages of Biddenden and Benenden is a small lane marked "Frogs Hole Lane". Bressenden is on the other side of the road from this junction. Look for a wooden gate with a picture of a black cat. The house is in an isolated rural location where there are no street lights. It is set back from the road, so it can be difficult to find at night. It is a good idea bring a pocket light for use after nightfall. The entrance gate is shown below. Further directions and information for GPS/satnav users are on this page.
To check in and unload your luggage (and load up again when you leave), you may park on the turning circle as you come up the drive on the left. At all other times you may park on any gravelled area within the property, as long as you are not blocking other cars from going in and out. Please remember to keep the roadside entrance gate closed at all times — we have precious pet animals that we do not want to be killed on the road!
Check-in is from 16:00 until 19:00. Outside those hours, there may not be anyone around to let you in! If you are delayed, please phone/text +44 77 1234 8342 as soon as possible so that arrangements may be made to let you in. I regret that I cannot accommodate early check-ins. Those five hours between guests in the middle of the day are needed to clean the rooms, prepare the house to receive more guests, maintenance and other chores, and to purchase food supplies. I also schedule my own appointments, leisure activities and social visits during those few hours. Check-out is up to 11:00, and rooms must be vacated by 11.30.
No, but there are several pubs and restaurants within a four-mile radius. A kitchen may be used by guests who wish to bring their own snacks or heat up a takeaway. It has a small cooker, microwave, crockery, cutlery and a good sized table and four chairs. Foodstuffs cannot be kept in the fridge, so guests are advised to equip themselves with a coolbox if necessary.
The nearest restaurants are in Biddenden, 1.75 miles away. Turn left outside the gate, carry straight on over the (dangerous!) crossroads and keep going in the same direction until you reach the village on your left. The ­village car park is on the left just before the left turn into the High Street.
  • West House Restaurant (Highly rated. Reservation required). 28 High Street, Biddenden TN27 8AH (Tel. 01580 291341).
  • The Red Lion (Pub). 14 High Street, Biddenden TN27 8AH (Tel. 01580 854780). Lunch and evening meals served every day.
  • The Three Chimneys (Historic pub and highly rated restaurant, outside Biddenden, 3.7 miles in the direction of Sissinghurst – reservation recommended). Hareplain Road, Biddenden TN27 8LW (Tel. 01580 291472).
Other options
  • The Raja of Kent (Indian food to eat in or take away). Biddenden Road, High Halden TN30 6SX (Tel. 01233 851191). This is the best of the local Indian restaurants, and is 6-minute drive away (3.2 miles) in the direction of Ashford.
  • The Bull (Pub with good food. Closed Monday and Tuesday — 2.75 miles). The Street, Benenden TN17 4DE (Tel. 01580 240054).
  • The Bull Inn (Pub with good food — 2.78 miles). 1 Regent Street, Rolvenden, TN17 4PB (Tel. 01580 241212).
The two small towns of Tenterden (3 miles) and Cranbrook (4 miles) have many restaurants, pubs and cafés. Tenterden's White Lion (tel. 01580 765077) has a varied menu which includes pizzas made in a wood-fired oven. It is in the centre of town, on the opposite side of the High Street to the church.
Cooked breakfast is served from 08:00 (8:30 during winter time). If you have any special dietary requirements, please let me know beforehand.
  • Orange juice
  • Fresh fruit salad
  • Yoghurt (homemade)
  • Muesli & granola or porridge
  • Sourdough bread (homemade, white and brown)
  • Croissants
  • Butter from the local farm
  • Large selection of jams and spreads*
  • Bacon
  • Chipolata sausages
  • Eggs
  • Mushrooms
  • Tomatoes
  • Vegetarian option (by prior arrangement)
  • Coffee, tea or hot chocolate
Please also see this page about special dietary requirements. Bressenden has been awarded a rating of five stars for food hygiene by the Food Standards Agency. *The chocolate spread contains no palm oil and no nuts.
If you need a local taxi during your stay, you could try these companies:
The self-contained East Wing unit has its own private bathroom next to the bedroom. The two double/twin rooms share a private bathroom. If you booked our Rose Room together with our Blue Room the occupants of these two rooms will need to share the bathroom, but you will have been advised of this at the time of booking. The Rose and Blue Rooms are never let out to separate bookers at the same time, so no one will have to share a bathroom unless you have booked both rooms together. In other words, as soon as one of the two rooms is booked, we disable third-party bookings for the other room. This is to ensure that your bathroom will remain your own private bathroom for your sole use.
The East Wing has a king-size bed (5ft) and a narrow single bed (2ft 6ins). The Green Room has a king-size bed (5ft). The Blue and Rose Rooms have beds that can be configured either as two singles (3ft) or one superking-size (6ft). If you booked a twin/double room online you will have been asked to state a bed preference. If you requested twin beds, your preference will always be honoured. If you requested a superking bed your preference will usually be honoured, except in the case of single-person bookings or if you booked two twin rooms in the same booking. If you booked both the Rose and Blue Rooms, one room will have a superking bed and the other room will have twin beds.
No. All the bedrooms are upstairs. The staircase is divided into three flights, with 15 steps in total. The depth of the treads is 26cm and the risers are 16cm high. The East Wing has a further four steps to negotiate, which are a little more difficult, having tread depths of 22cm and risers of 19cm.
Whether you you book online or by phone, you will be required to provide an email address and a phone contact number at the time of booking. These will not used for any marketing or for any purpose other than essential communication pertaining to your reservation and to enable you to submit a review after your visit. In addition, we are required by law to maintain a register of guests. Residents of the United Kingdom shall on check-in be asked to provide their name and permanent address. All overseas guests will need to give the same information, plus details of their next destination and the number of a valid passport. You agree that we may retain this information for 12 months. See the Privacy Notice for more detailed information.
No. Bressenden is a private house whose resident owner offers bed and breakfast to paying guests. Here is some more information about some of the differences between a hotel and a B&B establishment.
There is a Nespresso machine in the small kitchen that guests can use. One coffee capsule per person per night is included in the room rate. Additional capsules will be added to the bill at the end of your stay. You can of course bring your own capsules (original, not Vertuo). If you prefer to travel with your own coffee beans, there is a coffee grinder and a variety of coffee jugs, filters and cafetières in the kitchen.
I accept payment by these methods:
  • Cash
  • Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, etc)
  • Bank Debit Card
  • Apple Pay
  • Android Pay
  • PayPal QR codes
I do not accept cheques
Bressenden is in a fairly isolated rural spot, dependent on overhead cables for its electricity and wifi supplies. The signal strength for cell phones can be erratic, depending on your provider. Broadband provision is normally excellent, with fast, full fibre optic cable to the premises (FTTP). Guests and prospective burglars should note that HD security cameras are installed in the public areas outside and inside the house. Privacy Notice has more detailed information about the cameras. In winter or at times of high winds, this area is prone to electricity power outages which can sometimes last for several hours. Burst water mains are an unfortunate regular inconvenience in this area. They can occur at any time without warning and disrupt water supplies. Our night skies are unusually dark for the south of England — this is great for seeing the Milky Way but can be disconcerting if you are a city dweller. In short, a stay in the country may be very different from what you are used to, especially in the winter months when night temperatures go down several degrees lower than in towns. In cooler months, please bring warm clothes and read this page. Finally, remember that cats live here, so allergy sufferers should take note.