Hotel Kitty

Cannot rate this place highly enough, my cats were so happy, clean and relaxed when we picked them up it was amazing. The suite my 2 occupied had climbing areas and an outside space which, when I checked the webcam they were clearly making the most of. To be honest it costs more than your average cattery but it's worth it, the owner is lovely, really happy to take time to talk and obviously an animal and cat lover. If you want peace of mind that your pets are happy and well cared for when you go away, then this is the place for you!!

Summary: * Tried to overcharge by £78. * Refused to change dates due to COVID and kept the £100 deposit. * Shocking attitude to customer service. * Struggling business, pay with caution. Very disappointing experience during the latest announcement of the pandemic as we and Hotel Kitty were moved into tier 4. I booked before Kent moved into Tier 4 of the national covid restrictions. I paid a £100 deposit for a booking over Christmas with a booking receipt confirming £45 left to pay. I was later contacted by Darren & Natalie requesting I pay an outstanding £118. I questioned this and there was an error in the way their booking system handled the quote, they did not honour the original booking but we agreed I would pay £63 instead of the £45. Tier 4 restrictions were then introduced on 20th December and we were unable to travel, hence had no need for boarding. Admittedly, in the chaos which ensued I did not notify Hotel Kitty of this until they emailed on 22nd chasing payment of the balance £63. I had not appreciated that Hotel Kitty were actually allowed to stay open during Tier 4 restrictions because there was no communication from them about this. I requested to move the booking to another weekend, the response from Hotel Kitty: --- Booking are not transferable or refundable. Kind Regards Darren & Natalie Songhurst --- I was surprised any business would take this stance, I had not experienced this with any business at any time during the pandemic, most go out of there way to accommodate customers. So I replied: --- Wow! Really shocked you would take that position. Would you mind sending me the booking terms and conditions where it shows that please? --- The email response came: --- Dear Dave Our terms and conditions are clear on our website, it also stated that any booking cancelled with under 14 days notice are fully chargeable. We sent you an email on the 10th of this month requesting the paperwork to be completed and also asking what food was required as part of the a la carte menu We have not received any of this and If I hadn’t sent you that email today you would not even had notified us that you would not be turning up tomorrow. And you say Wow I cannot believe we are taking that stance!! We are trying to run a business in very difficult circumstances. If you booked a package holiday and decided not to go, do you think the tour operator would just move your booking even though you didn’t have the courtesy to let them know?? I think a reality check is required Kind Regards Darren & Natalie Hotel Kitty & KittyKamp --- This email was incorrect. The email they referred to on 10th had been replied to because this is where I challenged them attempting to overcharge me by £73. The booking form and food order was provided in the same email. Ignoring the factual errors in the email, the customer service is shocking: 1. It would have been helpful to send a link to the terms & conditions rather than just telling me to go trawl their website for them. I eventually found them and they were factually correct in their statement but how they handled their response was awful. 2. Many companies have honoured bookings and moved dates due to pandemic impact. To keep the deposit but throw away the balance and future bookings is very poor business sense. 3. To tell a customer that they require 'a reality check' is frankly rude. Who even does that these days? 4. This could have been handled much more professionally with some simple customer courtesy in their messages. Many businesses are struggling due to this awful and unprecedented situation. I absolutely should have notified Hotel Kitty on 21st that we would not be travelling instead of waiting until 22nd however their position would have been the same and they do not do refunds or move bookings cancelled within 14 days. As this is a small local business, I do hope they continue to grow and thrive, I hope they make improvements to their attitude to customer service and I urge anyone considering booking with them during the pandemic to be cautious.

We are really pleased with Hotel Kitty in Kent and wouldn't hesitate in recommending them. Our two kittens will definitely be returning there next time we go away. Darren was fantastic with them, and clearly they warmed to him. He's a lovely chap and it's obvious that he loves his job. We live in South East London and it took around 1h 15m to get to Hotel Kitty, but it was definitely worth it. We researched a lot of the catteries near us and just couldn't get comfortable with leaving our two kittens in a caged environment. We're so happy that we found Hotel Kitty instead! The suites are lovely, clean and spacious - and they have the option to go outside on the 'balcony' to watch the wildlife. There is plenty in the suites to keep them entertained and the general atmosphere is lovely. It was great to be able to see the girls on the 'kitty cam' whilst we were away - and also chat to them!! Darren also sent us an update during the week with a lovely photo of the girls. Thank you, Darren. Luna and Phoebe will definitely be back! :)

Very good service. Our cats come back so happy. The get so much attention. The place is spotless and the owner is extremely trustworthy. Solved our cats dietary problems through a food recommendation we couldn't believe it as we where close to given the cats away but not we are just so happy with them and it's all thanks to hotel kitty and it incredible outstanding service. I would recommend to the queen.

Our cat stayed for 5 days and was perfectly happy, so much so she didn’t want to go in her basket to go home. The app on your phone so you can see your cat any time of the day or night is amazing, and reassuring that they are happy. We were so impressed with hotel kitty we have booked her in for another holiday.