My base for the weekend is a beautiful, topsy-turvy Georgian townhouse constructed in 1835 and perched on the secluded, leafy Hawley Square. The sq. itself is steeped in historical past, having been developed in the 1760s as a response to the rise in guests being suggested by medical professionals to “take in the sea air.” How very Jane Austen of them. Just just a few doorways down is the somewhat dilapidated Theatre Royal, which closed for restoration in 2022, the bones of that are strikingly lovely regardless of the haunted look.
Back to my Airbnb, nevertheless, and there’s no haunted feeling right here; it feels really lived in, and that’s precisely what it’s. The home is owned and occupied (when not rented out) by architect Sam and their associate, Carlos, an artist who travels between Margate and Bogota often for work. What units this property aside is the care, love, and creativity that you simply really feel in each nook and element all through. Eclectic art work covers a lot of the wall area. Forget about generic prints of Big Ben or wishy-washy seascapes in ill-fitting frames; right here, expansive items span total partitions, palm bushes climb by furnishings, towers of baked-bean cans stand sentry, and hammers are purposefully lodged in the lounge wall. The partitions themselves resemble art work, too, with distressed paint including texture and character. Everything about this place appears to breathe as if it has a thoughts of its personal, giving new that means to the phrase “if these walls could talk.”
On the bottom ground is a big and shiny eating room with south-facing bay home windows. A curved archway leads right into a glossy kitchen with a purposeful island that’s outfitted for precise use (not the compulsory single pan and incomplete set of cutlery that plagues the bog-standard Airbnb). We wend our manner up the winding staircase to the primary ground, a shiny and ethereal lounge that glows in the afternoon gentle. There are two double bedrooms obtainable, each outfitted with beautiful walnut mattress frames and feathery Egyptian cotton sheets. The major bed room is on the highest ground with views skimming the rooftops of Margate. In the adjoining rest room, dusty pink tiles make my coronary heart sing, and a big rolltop bathtub couldn’t assist however entice me in after a protracted day’s stomping spherical galleries and classic retailers.
In phrases of location, this is a perfect spot to take advantage of Margate. Just a 10-minute stroll from the station and a mere 5 minutes to the seafront, Turner Contemporary, and the Old Town, every thing you can want is inside simple attain. We would come out to the close by Curve cafe for our morning espresso and pastry repair earlier than ambling round galleries or stopping for lunch by the seafront. Afternoons are whiled away on the native market and spent getting misplaced amidst antiques and books in the varied retailers crammed with fascinating bric-a-brac. With the searching itch suitably scratched, we might relaxation our laurels on the cosy George & Heart pub for a restorative drink earlier than a recent seafood supper at one of many many stylish eating addresses which have sprung up through the years—Sargasso and Dory’s are our favorites on this event. The subsequent day, we wandered to fashionable Cliftonville for a hefty brunch of sausage sandwiches and specialty espresso.
It was unhappy to show the important thing and say goodbye to this quirky Hawley Square home, and I can solely hope to return subsequent autumn. Maybe it can even entice me to go to in the busy summer season months?
More of our editors’ favourite Airbnb stays:
A model of this text was initially printed on Conde Nast Traveller UK.