The Print House Inn hotel, Tenterden, achieves four-star rating from AA

A husband-and-wife team have transformed a former high street pub into a town’s highest-rated hotel in less than a year.

Andrew Dixon and his wife Seonaid took over the William Caxton pub in West Cross, Tenterden, in August 2022.

Following a huge refurbishment project - which cost the pair more than £100,000 - they transformed the property and launched The Print House Inn hotel nine months later in May 2023.

The new boutique hotel features six en-suite bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and garden.

And it has now become the first hotel in Tenterden to receive a four-star rating from the AA - one of the few accredited bodies for hospitality in the UK.

The score came following an anonymous visit by an inspector in mid-April.

Following the visit, they said: “The Print House Inn is a popular neighbourhood spot in Tenterden.

“There's a comfortable lounge with a roaring fire where you can play board games if you fancy, enjoy a drink at the bar, or sit outdoors in the walled kitchen garden.

“There are six lovely bedrooms all named after aspects of the printing industry as a tribute to William Caxton - a 15th-century pioneer of printing and bookselling who was born in Tenterden.”

Previously known as the Black Horse, the site, which sits at the junction of the high street and Smallhythe Road, was owned by Shepherd Neame for more than 70 years.

Yet hotel boss Mr Dixon, who has lived in Tenterden for 12 years, says the hotel’s modern style makes it unique to the rural town.

The 63-year-old said: “We took over the pub from Shepherd Neame and carried out a refurb to create The Print House and have been busy ever since.

“It’s meant we have repurposed the building from three letting rooms plus accommodation for the previous tenants, to six en-suite bedrooms.

“The style we have gone for is called boho chic which is something relaxing, modern, quirky which creates a home-from-home feeling.

“It’s also called an Inn because it’s a place where you can come here to eat, drink and sleep.”

He says achieving the four-star rating so soon after the hotel opened is very rewarding.

“An inspector came in as a customer, stayed the night and had dinner and breakfast,” he added.

“After checking out, they then announced who they were which was obviously a surprise at the time.

“We then received the rating, so everything has happened fairly quickly and has meant the building has changed from a pub into the best-rated hotel in Tenterden.

“The AA is the recognised benchmark for hotels, so to get the rating, and to get it so quickly, made us excited and very delighted to be appreciated at that level.

“To achieve this rating within a year as well having never been in this business before makes us very happy.”

When asked what the future holds now for the business, Mr Dixon explained: “Gaining a five-star rating isn’t something which is attainable at the moment given the size of the property, so we have big aims to maintain what we have now.

“We have a bar with a great range of lagers and about 100 wines on our list.

“There are popular food classics like fish and chips, but also fine dining options.

“So we’re very fortunate to have a lovely hotel and some great, local support here.

“Our goal has always been to make our guests happy whether they are just dining or staying with us, and that’s what we’re going to continue to try and do.”

Although The Print House has become the first hotel to achieve a four-star rating in Tenterden, it is not the only form of accommodation in the town to be sitting on such a score.

Little Dane Court in Ashford Road was awarded the same mark earlier this year.

However, the business is a B&B, making it a different form of accommodation to The Print House, which is a hotel and not someone’s home.