The Pig at Bridge Place to open in May

A sixth Pig hotel, the first of a trio of new openings announced earlier this year, is set to open in May 2019.

Owner Home Grown Hotels announced a £30m expansion of its Pig litter in January, with the 28-bedroom Pig at Bridge Place to be located within a Grade II*-listed, 17th-century manor house.

The Pig at Harlyn Bay near Padstow in Cornwall will open in Spring 2020, while the Pig on the South Downs near Arundel in West Sussex will open in Summer 2020.

Originally a family home known as Bridge Place Manor, the Kent property has operated for the past 50 years as a music venue under the name of Bridge Place Country Club, where the likes of Moody Blues and Manfred Mann played during the 1970s. It was listed for sale last year off a guide price of £2.5m.

Outside the main building a new Coach House will accommodate 12 bedrooms; seven ‘Hop Pickers' Huts' will each have a double bedroom with a bathroom and wood-burning stove; and a newly restored gate lodge will offer two further bedrooms.

The Coach House will also contain a greenhouse restaurant with an open kitchen; and the Old Stables will contain two treatment rooms.

Robin Hutson, said: “We’ve had a great couple of years, with customers seeming to love what we do. Occupancy is in the mid 90%’s in our rural locations and we know from our guests and their invaluable feedback that they want more Pigs. After searching far and wide for truly unique properties, we really are over the moon about our new hotel in Kent.”

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