Campanile Dartford

There is no air conditioning in the hotel and this may be an issue if you’re staying in the middle of summer.

Wi-Fi wireless internet access is available but costs £8 for 24 hours.

There is also a restaurant on site, which doesn’t look that special, although reports from other guests say that the food is much better than you would expect. Perhaps that is a sign of the hotel’s French management that put a priority on quality food even in a budget hotel. The hotel restaurant accounts for a large portion of Campanile’s business and in France, where 85% of Campanile hotels are located, 60% of customers do not sleep at the hotel and go there just for the food.

It is a cheap place to stay that is more or less identical to other hotels in the Campanile chain. The decor is spartan and it certainly isn’t anything special, but it does the job if you’re driving and need a cheap place to stay on the outskirts of London.

The immediate area is comprised of an office park with industrial buildings and warehouses but it is a surprisingly nice location with lots of parks and nice lakes that you can walk around. There is not a lot nearby so you will probably find yourself eating at the hotel restaurant if you don’t have a car. However, if you do have a car you can get to the massive Bluewater shopping centre in just six minutes (it is a 40-minute walk).

Free parking is a bonus and it is a 15-minute walk to Stone Crossing railway station, which has four trains per hour into central London. It could be a good budget option if you’re driving and would rather stay somewhere on the edge of town and take the train into the city, although the nearby Travelodge Dartford hotel is a similar price but is much closer to the railway station.