The ABode Canterbury is part of a new chain of four-star, stylish but not overpriced hotels with properties in Glasgow and Exeter, and two more to come in Manchester and Chester.

At first glance, it is a slick operation. The lobby opens up into a large champagne bar to the right and reception in front. Aubergine carpet is interspersed with Paul Smith-like multiple lines of colour throughout the building. Walls feature photographs of Canterbury at drunken angles.

On arrival I am held up by staff dealing with a backlog of restaurant bookings. But I am pleased to be given an upgrade — admittedly from a small to a not quite so small room.

It is the coldest day of the year and there is no warm welcome in the bedroom as the sash window has been left open. I have to rely on a fan heater to ease the chill — and there is no heating at all in the bathroom.

The bed is good, wide and comfy. However, the flat-screen TV is bizarrely at bed height so you have to have feet the size of a doll’s to watch it if you are lying down. The bathroom is quite bland and uninviting, but the toiletries are from Arran Aromatics — grapefruit soap, coconut body lotion, bergamot and ginger hand cream — all quite lush. In essence the bedroom is adequate, but the meagre heating is not good enough for the published price of £125.

You can warm up in Canterbury’s first truly chic restaurant. This is a Michael Caines franchise with a fine chef, Mark Rossi, overseeing the kitchen. The open design provides 74 seats with a glass wall dividing the main restaurant from a private dining room.

Three courses for £30 is good value when you remember that there is also an appetiser and a predessert. Joel, the maître d, is extremely jolly and puts guests at their ease instantly. I let him guide me to an excellent Australian pinot noir Dromana Estate 2003 (though, at £25, I felt it was overpriced). The house wine (red Rhône or South African chenin blanc) is a reasonable £16.50.

The food is fantastic. The breads — olive bread, crunchy mini stick, fluffy roll — are all made from French flour. The homemade grissini and taramasalata appetiser has a delicate, authentic taste. My starter is pan-fried veal sweetbreads, which are succulent, juicy and crispy, and then I hunt down a sublime pithvier filled with pheasant and chestnuts and surrounded by mushrooms. This is bliss.

All in all, come along...but bring your thermals.

Bottom line: Kieran Falconer paid £125 B&B.
Sampling the fare: Good service in the restaurant with a delicious menu.
What we think: Perfect for a good night out.
Worst thing: The 3am trip to the bathroom when my toes froze to the floor tiles.
Access all areas: Two rooms, plus restaurant and bar, wheelchair accessible.
Room: 6 out of 10.
Food: 9 out of 10.
Service: 8 out of 10.

Need to know: ABode Canterbury (01227 766266, www.abodehotels.co.uk), High Street, Canterbury.

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