‘SHIPPING CONTAINER’ HOTEL SET TO OPEN

SUMMER TARGET FOR LONG-AWAITED 140-ROOM HAMPTON BY HILTON

A long-awaited six-storey hotel is set to open this year after the pandemic delayed construction work.

Bosses at Hampton by Hilton say they hope to welcome guests to their new Ashford site in the summer.

The 140-room structure is being built on the junction of Victoria Road and Beaver Road, opposite the Ashford International train station.

A sign has now gone up displaying the Hilton Hotel subsidiary’s name following 14 months of construction.

It features shipping container-like modules, which arrive as completed rooms and just require electricity and water to be attached for the room to be ready.

This method, which Hampton by Hilton notes is now widely used in the industry, required the rooms to be constructed in China and shipped over.

Of course this was naturally disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, so the initial launch deadline of December 2020 was postponed.

Regardless, the chain is excited to finally open its doors following a lengthy planning process.

The proposal was originally submitted in 2015, with approval being granted in November 2016.

But a range of amendments requested by both the council’s planning officers and the applicant - including adding 20 rooms - meant final approval was only granted in January last year.

Councillors had raised concerns over the design, but it was tweaked and given the go-ahead.

Since construction started, residents lambasted the use of shipped modules on social media.

However a spokeswoman told the Kentish Express: “I assure you, it’s going to look nothing like a shipping container, or stack thereof, once it’s finished.”

Upon opening, the hotel will create 25 jobs.

It will face stiff competition from the nearby Travelodge in Elwick Place, which only opened in December 2018.

■ Also in Victoria Road, a new bistro opened on Tuesday despite the lockdown restrictions.

Cafe Grace, run by Danielle and Dan Bullard, is offering a wide range of cakes, omelettes, jacket potatoes and paninis.

Hoping to support Ashford businesses, Cafe Grace will be getting loaves and rolls of bread delivered fresh every morning from Davies Family Bakery, an independent bakery in nearby Beaver Road.

The bistro - which has opened opposite Curious Brewery - is named after the couple’s daughter, and is being launched on the back of Danielle’s years of experience working in cafes.

One of the bedrooms at the long-awaited Hampton by Hilton hotel; the site is set to open in the summer, creating 25 jobs

Serving a wide range of cakes, Cafe Grace opened in Victoria Road on Tuesday, filling a unit opposite the town’s Curious Brewery

A Hampton by Hilton sign has now appeared at the top of the six-storey hotel

How the 140-room hotel is set to look