Undiscovered: The Bell, overlooking the Stour, is the only hotel in Sandwich
After a bracing and blustery beach walk at Camber Sands, I caught up with Matthew Wolfman, affable owner of The Place Camber Sands, for tea. When The Place opened three years ago, it broke the beach chic mould. No minimalist designer rooms and extortionate prices for Wolfman, just an honest and charming Fifties style motel turned into a simple, comfortable place to stay with an airy bistro serving up tasty local grub. "I'm not interested in luxury. All I want to offer people is a fantastically comfortable bed (we use the same beds as at Gleneagles) and great, local organic food, with good service and simple design."
The result has been a roaring success, attracting trendy film types and families with their buckets and spaces - and with rates from £85 a night, it's not hard to see why. Wolfman's background is in advertising, but, bitten by the hotel bug, he's just signed the papers on his latest venture, The Bell in Sandwich. It's certainly not the obvious sequel to The Place overlooking the river Stour, the old Georgian pile is the only hotel in Sandwich, and the east Kent town is not on the radar to many apart from golfers. "It's undiscovered still." enthuses Wolfman. "There's no pretension." The new Bell has 34 rooms that feel classy and more stylish than The Place, though in keeping with the building, and a smart brasserie - the first in Sandwich. And he's not stopping there on his mission to revitalise the south east coast. Next on his hit list is Worthing, "so close to Brighton and yet crying out for a decent place to stay".
www.theplacehotels.com
19 April 2006 - Alison Tyler
