Meet James
Sociable, Listener, Friendly
Guests are free to access the dining-cum-office desk for any official work, also access to the kitchen and to the back garden for sun bathing, resting or doing barbecues.
On a typical day...
I have a very open house. My house is your house.
When I host guests...
I can answer questions but let my guests do their own thing.
Family Hobbies
Football, Television, Nature
Hosting guests since
2022
About the Homestay
- Welcomes
- Males
- Females
- Couples
- Families
- Students
The house has unique and rare features not found in many houses: a toilet in the ground floor, a master bathroom, two master en-suite bedrooms. This gives you own toilet and shower room in your bedroom so you do not share with anyone else. The ensuite-bedroom have double size beds and third room has a single bed. All bedrooms have wardrobes, side tables, wall pictures and flower plants, and side lights. The living room has two large sofas, one of which is a sofa bed for the occasional extra visitor, a there is a separate dining room-cum-office with a hard glass table and exquisite chairs, high speed Wi-fi, and computer working space. There are TVs in every bedroom and also in the Dining room. There are flower plants placed all over the house and wall artwork pictures in all the rooms. The kitchen has a clothes washing and drying machine, a modern cooker, a Ninja frier, a rice cooker, a dishwasher etc. which are all available to visitors. Behind the house there is a garden where visitors are welcome to do their barbeques. There is a table with 4 chairs and a canopy. So you can bask in the sun while doing your barbecues, or work on your computer in the open fresh air. Street parking is reserved for residents and visitors so there is no traffic congestion. There is a Council parking charge of £2.10 per day for the visitors. There is a treadmill available to visitors who may wish to improve their health through exercise. The house has smoke the necessary smoke sensors,Carbon monoxide alarm in every room, a fire extinguisher and First Aid kit.
House Facilities
- Garden
- Laundry
- Barbecue
- Parking
- TV
- Internet Access
- Smoke alarm
- Gym at home
- Air Conditioning
Bedrooms available for booking
About the Area
The house is situated within an interesting environment of Gillingham where there are various places of interest for visitors/tourist as shown below:
Gillingham was recorded in the Domesday Book as Gelingeham in 1086. It is said to have been named after a warlord, Gyllingas—from the old English gyllan, meaning "to shout". He was a notable man in Kent history as he led his warriors into battle screaming and shouting. At the time of the Norman Conquest, Gillingham was a small hamlet. By the 14th Century, Gillingham had achieved considerable prominence, and received permission to hold an annual fair and weekly market.
The Strand in Gillingham-is about 5 minutes walk from the house. The Strand is an attractive tourist area sprawling to the beach. The Strand was once owned by the Davenport family in 1635, the Davenport family included a Mayor of Gillingham, pie makers and key holders of Gillingham.
Within the Strand is the Strand Lido and Leisure Park which is a popular destination for visitors, full of great things to do including: Excellent recreational centre for families with children.
• Summer outdoor pool
• River walks
• Cafe
• Play park areas for children
The Strand Lido Pool is not artificially heated and is a saltwater pool.
It was opened in 1896 and is the only remaining riverside tidal saltwater pool in the country
The Strand Leisure Park has unique facilities for the disabled such as:
• Disabled access
• Disabled parking
• Disabled changing facilities
• Disabled toilets
• Disabled social areas.
Tesco Express is about 3 minutes walk from the house while ASDA Pier Supermarket is 9 minutes walk from the house. Gillingham Town Centre High Street is about 3 minutes drive from the house. Here you will find major banks like Lloyds Bank, Halifax, HSBC, Santander, Cooperative Bank, Post Office, Restaurants, Cafes, Wilko, Sports Direct, Fresh Vegetable shops, Poundland, New Look, WHSmith, Kids Zone, open market, Holland & Barret, Nisa Extra, Iceland supermarket, Pharmacies, etc. So you have can get all you need within a radius of 3 minutes only.
The Royal Engineers Museum is 2 minutes drive or 11 minutes walk from the house. Interesting features include the Wellington's map of Waterloo, Chard's weapons from the Zulu War, an amazing collection of bridge laying tanks the world’s first useable guided torpedo, a huge piece of the Berlin Wall, a Harrier Jump Jet and a deadly V2 Rocket, etc. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is about 6 minutes drive from the house. For more than four centuries The Historic Dockyard Chatham was one of Britain’s most important centres of warship building and repair. Over 400 warships were built here, allowing the Royal Navy to dominate the seas of Europe and beyond. Today it is the world’s most complete dockyard of the Age of Sail. The Medway Maritime Hospital is about 6 minutes drive from the house.
Waterfront Leisure Front…visit…
The house is in close to three Universities at Medway. Gillingham is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway. Universities at Medway is a unique partnership which has brought together the University of Greenwich, the University of Kent, and Canterbury Christ Church University on a shared campus at Chatham Maritime. Each institution offers its own range of courses, both full and part-time, drawing on its own individual academic strengths, and has its own buildings. By being on a shared campus, students have access to a wide range of first-class facilities.
About 8 minutes drive from the house lies the expansive Gillingham Business Park which is Kent’s number one location for business Gillingham Business Park is an established self-contained mixed-use business park situated between London, the Channel Tunnel and the South East coast ports of Folkestone and Dover. The Park comprises a mature development of some 100 acres (40 hectares) providing over 140,000 sq m (1,500,000 sq ft) of industrial, office, retail, and leisure accommodation.
The Gillingham Business Park has many amenities nearby including a Tesco Superstore, Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre with M&S, BHS and many other retailers, many dining outlets like Costa Coffee, Nandos, Bella Italia, M&S Café, Subway etc, within a 3 minute drive.
About 9 minutes walk from the house is the historic Gillingham parish church which is a Grade: II listed building, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. The Normans built the church in the 13th century, with the addition of the tower in the 15th century. Further additions and extensions occurred during the 14th century.
For you boats enthusiasts, the Gillingham Marina is the place to be for you. It specialises in tourism and is only 3 minutes from the house. Apart from a secure berth for your boat the Marina offers a new member's bar and restaurant, a pleasant place to meet exclusively for berth holders and their guests, refurbished showers, toilets and laundry room, a children's playground. Its Chandlery shop is open to the public with adequate car parking at the door, customers can browse and purchase from the extensive stock of Gill, Musto, Helly Hanson, Henri Lloyds clothing, Dubarry and Quayside boots and shoes, a wide range of chandlery, books and charts, etc.
Local Area Facilities
- Park
- Beach
- Shopping Centre
- Bus Stop
- Train station
- Hospital
Meals
Hosts can offer a complimentary light breakfast at their discretion. All other meals, including a full breakfast, might incur an additional cost, if offered. Meals and any additional payment should be arranged directly with your host.
Included in the stay
- Complimentary Light Breakfast
- Use of Kitchen
House Rules
To Be Done
Smoking Rules
Your host is a non-smoker.
Smoking is not allowed.
5 Reviews
November 2023
Good, around 3 - 5 minutes walking you can reach the midway river, good place as in that area needs.
The owner is very kind and helpful.June 2023
Good for isle of grain work
May 2023
James is a good host. Made my stay very comfortable in his neat and orderly house.
October 2022
Bon accueil du propriétaire. Chambre avec salle de bain ensuite comme décrite. Petit déjeuner offert. Le bord de mer de Gillingham est très agréable et offre de belles balades. Tesco market se trouve à 2 pas ainsi que quelques restaurants pour manger sur le pouce. Ville étudiante donc très animée.
September 2022
James was the most welcoming, friendly and accomadating host you could ever wish to meet. His room was clean, comfortable and so enjoyable. It really felt like a home from home and I would highly recommend anyone to book a room at James's house. Nothing was too much trouble and his hosting was second to none. Please, if you are looking for a room in Gillingham, contact James. I feel he has become a real true friend during my stay with him.
How do I book?
Contact the host to check their availability and ask them any questions you have about staying with them. Once the host confirms they’re available for your dates, you can complete your booking.
When do I pay?
Once a host confirms they're available, you can go ahead and pay the 15% booking fee (maximum of 250 $£€ for longer term bookings) and a 25% deposit using a choice of payments: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, Laser, JCB & PayPal. The deposit is collected in advance on behalf of the host to protect against no show or late cancellations (within 7 days of arrival). You then pay your host the balance due on arrival. The 25% deposit payment is made to the host 2 business days after your scheduled arrival date. This deposit payment will only be refunded if you cancel the booking at least 7 full days prior to arrival.
When can I share my contact details?
Host and Guest email address, phone number and home address will be exchanged in a confirmation email sent to both immediately after a booking is completed. It's against our policy for Guests and Hosts to exchange direct contact details via our messaging system.