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The Marquis of Granby is the quiet one: a village inn in the Alkham Valley, inland from Dover. AA's listing credits it with an AA Rosette restaurant cooking local, seasonal produce and individually designed rooms, some with rolltop baths — about 6.8 road miles from the cruise terminals by our routing.
Its own site lists ten rooms, each with air conditioning, and shows AA Rosette badges for 2022 and 2023 — but no prices, no check-in times and nothing on breakfast. That's too thin to score against the hotels, so it isn't in our fourteen.
The AA says parking is ample. Nobody says whether you can leave a car while you cruise, or whether breakfast comes with the room.
Book it for a Rosette dinner in the country, and phone ahead about breakfast and the car.
Book it if
- A Rosette dinner the night before
- A quiet valley, not a town
- Drivers — the AA says parking is ample
Look elsewhere if
- You want the rate and the breakfast terms in writing before you book.
- You're arriving by train.
- You need breakfast confirmed before you book.
What Marquis of Granby offers, and what it leaves out
What the Marquis of Granby gives you, as the AA lists it: green is there, gold costs extra or has a catch, grey nobody says.
Your night before, from here
A night at the Marquis of Granby before the ship, from AA's listing.
An AA Rosette restaurant cooking local, seasonal produce, per AA's listing.
Book your taxi to the Western Docks for the morning; the inn lists no transport.
AA's listing doesn't say whether breakfast is included.
About 6.8 road miles to CT1 and CT2 by our routing — around 10 minutes on a clear road.
Ample parking on site, per the AA; nothing on leaving it while you sail.
Getting here, and on to the ship
Pick where you start. A question mark is a ride you book — from Alkham, that's a short drive or a booked taxi.
AA's listing doesn't mention airport transport.
Nothing on AA's listing about transport to the port. Book a taxi ahead — there's no Uber in Dover.
About 6.8 mi to the terminals — our routing.
From LHR without a hotel shuttle
No airport ride is listed. By our routing Heathrow is about 97.5 road miles away and Gatwick about 77.9. The airport page covers the train via St Pancras and the fixed-fare taxis.
AA's listing doesn't mention airport transport.
Nothing on AA's listing about transport to the port. Book a taxi ahead — there's no Uber in Dover.
About 6.8 mi to the terminals — our routing.
From LGW without a hotel shuttle
No airport ride is listed. By our routing Heathrow is about 97.5 road miles away and Gatwick about 77.9. The airport page covers the train via St Pancras and the fixed-fare taxis.
AA's listing says there's ample parking on site. It doesn't say whether a car can stay for the length of a cruise.
Parking for your stay: "Ample" on-site parking, per the AA.
Nothing on AA's listing about transport to the port. Book a taxi ahead — there's no Uber in Dover.
About 6.8 mi to the terminals — our routing.
Flying in on sail day? Check your landing time first.
Distance
~6.8 mi, our routingAA's listing gives no distance to the port. Our routing puts Cruise Terminals 1 and 2 about 6.8 miles by road, around 10 minutes with no traffic.
Source: marquisofgranby.co.ukCruise shuttle
Shuttle not statedNothing on AA's listing about transport to the port. Book a taxi ahead — there's no Uber in Dover.
Source: ratedtrips.comParking while you sail
At the inn
Cruise parking unconfirmedAA's listing says there's ample parking on site. It doesn't say whether a car can stay for the length of a cruise.
Source: ratedtrips.comParking for the cruise
Relyon, £9 (about US$12) a dayLeaving the car for the week? Relyon's park-and-ride is about 4.8 road miles away by our routing, £9 a day with a £30 (about US$40) minimum and a door-to-door shuttle — Dover cruise parking has the rest.
Source: relyongroup.co.ukDriving in? Dover cruise parking compares the port valet with the park-and-rides, and our Dover cruise guide covers the terminals.
The night you’re paying for
The evening
Food or drinks on siteAn AA Rosette restaurant cooking local, seasonal produce, per AA's listing.
Source: ratedtrips.comBreakfast
Not statedAA's listing doesn't say whether breakfast is included.
Address
Alkham Valley Road, AlkhamAlkham Valley Rd, Alkham, Dover, Kent CT15 7DF
AA listing
Ratings
AA RosetteAA's listing on RatedTrips calls it an AA 4 Star Inn with a 1-Rosette restaurant; the inn's own site shows Rosette badges for 2022 and 2023. We didn't check Michelin or Forbes.
Source: ratedtrips.comThe fine print, in one place
Times and house rules aren't on AA's listing or the inn's own rooms page. Where a line is empty, neither source says.
Check-in and check-out
Minimum age
Not stated by the hotel.
Extra fees
None stated
Wi-Fi
Not stated
Parking for your stay
"Ample" on-site parking, per the AA
For the cruise itself, see Parking.
Breakfast
Not stated
Pool
No pool mentioned on the pages we read
Pets
AA's listing doesn't mention pets.
Food and drink on site
- RestaurantAA Rosette; local, seasonal produce
Rooms
Ten rooms, all with air conditioning, per the inn; some with rolltop baths, per the AA.
Accessibility
Marquis of Granby’s AA listing says nothing on accessible rooms — ask before you book.
On site
- EV chargingNot stated
- Guest laundryNot stated
- GymNot stated
- Pets allowedNot stated
Also worth knowing
- Its own site: marquisofgranby.co.uk, phone 01304 873410
- AA Rosette badges for 2022 and 2023 on its own site
Before you book
Worth knowing
- Ten rooms with air conditioning, per the inn's own site.
- AA 4 Star Inn and a 1-Rosette restaurant, on AA's RatedTrips listing.
- About 10 minutes to the terminals on clear roads, by our routing.
What we couldn’t confirm
- Check-in and check-out times
- Whether breakfast is included
- Whether a car can stay while you cruise
The Marquis of Granby's details as the AA and the inn's own site showed them on October 4, 2026 — phone the inn (01304 873410) before you count on any of them.
The other splurges near the ship
A Rosette dinner tonight, the Western Docks in the morning.
Send us your sail date and we'll check the Marquis of Granby for the night before. No payment on the form.
Marquis of Granby FAQ
Is the Marquis of Granby in Alkham AA rated?
AA's listing on RatedTrips calls it an AA 4 Star Inn with a 1-Rosette restaurant. The inn's own site shows Rosette badges for 2022 and 2023 and an AA Inn Award from 2022.
Does the Marquis of Granby have air conditioning?
Yes, per its rooms page: every one of the ten rooms lists air conditioning, which plenty of Kent inns can't say.
Is there parking at the Marquis of Granby, Alkham?
Yes — "ample" on-site parking, per the AA. It doesn't say whether you can leave a car while you cruise.
How far is the Marquis of Granby from Dover's cruise terminals?
About 6.8 miles by road, roughly 10 minutes with no traffic, by our routing.
Why isn't the Marquis of Granby in your Dover ranking?
Its own site prints rooms and awards but no parking, breakfast or check-in terms, which is what our score runs on. So it sits on the splurge list for the dinner, not in the fourteen.
Booking the cruise too?
Sailing from Dover? Send your dates and we'll pair Marquis of Granby with the cruise and the ride to the terminals. No obligation.
Got it — thank you.
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