New photos and video offer a first look at a newly-opened 'shipping container' hotel in Kent.

The 140-room Hampton by Hilton Hotel in Ashford welcomed its first guests last week.

The first look inside Kent's 'shipping container' hotel

The long-awaited site boasts four different types of rooms housing up to three people, including accessible suites.

Each room (except the accessible options) are built from identical 'shipping containers', pre-fabricated in China and moved into place.

All four types of room boast en-suite bathrooms with a shower, as well as a 49-inch flat-screen TV and soundproofed windows to prevent traffic noise bothering guests.

General manager Arshad Khan says he is "really happy" with how the hotel had been received, and excited for the future.

"We were at capacity last weekend, the reception from everyone in town and coming in from outside the area has been incredibly positive, so we're very happy," he said.

"Lots of people have wanted to come in and see inside, when we opened we had people practically pressed up against the window to have a look in!
"We're looking forward to opening up more as well, we're hoping to potentially open memberships to the hotel gym to the public, and have a few projects in the works.

"We are working closely with the Designer Outlet, because it has meeting rooms and we don't, as well as the Curious Brewery; we are hoping to put a package together with them, where you can stay a night or two with us and go for a tour around the brewery, and maybe have a meal there too."

The building caused a stir among residents after the shipping container modules were seen being put in place.

Mr Khan hailed the tried and tested method of building hotels as "the future" of the industry.

"I think they are definitely the future of hotels, which is great," he said.

"On one hand, it reduces build time by nine months or so, which is great for everyone involved especially when you are building by a crossroads.

"On the other, the modules are all very spacious, safer than normal buildings and they help us guarantee the consistent level of quality you assume with the Hampton by Hilton brand."

The hotel, which was fully booked on its first weekend, was originally planning to open last December after construction started a year earlier, however issues including coronavirus delayed work by several months.

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford