LOCAL STAYS
Extend the festivities by booking yourself into one of the many hotels in and around Sittingbourne and Rainham, all just a short drive or cab ride from the venue.
Tongue Barn – Church Road, Sittingbourne, ME9 9AP
Hotel option number one is Tongue Barn. An elegant country hotel serving up stylish double rooms, all with their own en-suite bathrooms. And it’s not just the name that’s a mouthful, with the choice of a full English or Irish breakfast, this stay delivers comfort, charm, and just enough indulgence to make you stay for more than just the craic.
The Ships & Trades – Maritime Way, Chartham Maritime, Chartham, ME4 3ER
Ahoy, sailors. Hotel option number two invites you to climb aboard The Ships & Trades, an elegant marina-side hotel overlooking the yacht basins of the former Royal Naval Dockyard. With a contemporary bar, restaurant and waterfront seating, you’ll enjoy views across the River Medway and an ever-rotating cast of boats you can casually pretend are yours. The décor leans fully into its nautical heritage, tasteful, stylish, and reassuringly free of actual ropes.
Holiday Inn Sittingbourne – 70 London Road, Sittingbourne, ME10 1NT
Originally built as a private residence in 1880, hotel option number four once had charm, history, and a clear sense of identity. One can only hope some of that survives beneath the generously applied Holiday Inn branding. Guests are rewarded with a hearty buffet breakfast, and a restaurant menu offering Italian, Mediterranean and Pan-Asian cuisine, because nothing says class quite like a menu that doesn’t know where it is.
Travelodge Medway M2 – MSA M2 Motorway Junctions 4-5 Rainham, Rainham, ME8 8PQ
Don’t be fooled by the motorway in the name of hotel option number five, Travelodge Medway knows exactly what it is and makes no apologies. What it lacks in class, comfort and elegance, it more than makes up for in affordability. Widely hailed as a people-watcher’s dream, from the comfort of your own bedroom window you can observe a steady stream of drivers trundling into the service station below in pursuit of Greggs sausage rolls and better life choices.