From the Dover Mercury, 3 July, 2008

HOTEL AND RESTAURANT GURU WORKS HIS MAGIC AT THE WHITE CLIFFS.

A KENT businessman who transformed a once derelict manor house into an award-winning hotel has launched another project at St Margaret's following a £1.5 million investment.

Gavin Oakley, who heads the team behind the four-star "Wallett's Court" Country House Hotel and Spa in Westcliffe, has opened for business at The "White Cliffs Hotel."

The historic hotel and restaurant, formerly The "Garden House Hotel," is in the heart of St Margaret's and centres around a traditional Kentish weather-boarded inn, parts of which dates back to Elizabethan times.

Many of the hotel's 15 bedrooms have been refurbished and restyled to give them a contemporary New England twist, while the loft has been converted into a luxury micro spa offering ‘his and hers' treatments using organic, hand-made products. The hotel also features the White Cliffs Trading Company store, which sells exclusive ranges of home and garden products from top British, Scandinavian and Italian designers.

Gavin, who won two AA dining rosettes for his restaurant at "Wallett's Court," and plaudits in a number of guides, including The Good Food Guide, hopes to build on that reputation to provide a complementary hotel and restaurant offering at the three-star "White Cliffs Hotel." Nearly 40 people are employed at both hotels.

He said: “We're taking a new approach to rural and village hotel accommodation.

“We want to capture the essence of life in coastal England by introducing a fresh, contemporary look and feel that will appeal to a wide audience. At the same time we'll be maintaining the same level of quality and service that guests have come to expect from "Wallett's Court."

“The Bay Restaurant is already very popular and we hope to build on that success by introducing innovative new menu ideas, which will reflect our passion for locally sourced, organic, free-range produce.” The "White Cliffs Hotel" and The Bay Restaurant caters for weddings, meetings and conferences, as well as parties and private dining.

From the Dover Mercury, 3 December, 2009

Hotel's free wine and pies for churchgoers

PEOPLE who attend the Christingle service at St Margaret's Church will be treated to mulled wine and mince pies afterwards.

Chefs at the Bay Restaurant, at the White Cliffs Hotel in the village, will be serving up some festive cheer to the churchgoers. The service is at 5pm on Christmas Eve.

Restaurant owner Gavin Oakley said: "The mulled wine and mince pies will be on the house and we'll also be putting on some live folk music. But we will be inviting visitors to contribute to our charity collection to support the church.

"There's always a really fantastic community spirit in St Margaret's village at Christmas time and we hope everyone will come and join us."

The restaurant, which was recommended by readers of the Good Food Guide, has just launched its new winter menus. Dishes range from rock oysters with chorizo, lemon and shallot to roasted breast of goose and slow-roasted belly of fruit-fed freerange pork.

For more details call 01304 852229 or visit www.thewhitecliffs.com

From the Dover Mercury, Thursday 27 May, 2010.

STARS VISIT RESTAURANT - AND STAFF ARE FILMED

SURPRISED villagers at St Margaret's found themselves rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars when they popped into their local restaurant and bar for the evening.

Actors Sean Bean and Danny Dyer, together with a film crew, spent time socialising with delighted locals in The Bay restaurant and bar at The White Cliffs Hotel in St Margaret's.

They were staying at the hotel for a few days while filming the Second World War action drama Age of Heroes.

Hotel staff were even recruited as extras, along with players from sister hotel "Wallett's Court's" football club.

They were enlisted to play the part of special forces operatives and were kitted out in full period costumes before shooting scenes at nearby Connaught Barracks.

Great bunch

Gavin Oakley, who owns The White Cliffs and Wallett's Court hotels, said: "Staff and guests at The White Cliffs gave Sean, Danny and the team a very warm welcome.

"They were a great bunch and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves."

Age of Heroes, the first of a trilogy of war movies, tells the true story of the formation of the 30 Commando Unit, a precursor for the SAS, which counted former St Margaret's resident author Ian Fleming among its ranks.

The film is due for release in October. The award-winning White Cliffs Hotel is fast becoming a firm favourite with crew and cast members.

Recent visitors have included the makers of BBC's Springwatch and the team behind the popular Coast series.

From the Dover Mercury, 5 May, 2016.

Pint and a loaf please!

Proprietor Gavin Oakley and his staff pulled plenty of pints at the very first "White Cliffs" Beer and Bread Festival.

Doughy treats were served up, with a new speciality each day of the Bank Holiday weekend - washed down with an impressive variety of ales.

FESTIVAL OF FOOD AND DRINK.

Raising a glass to a pub in St Margaret’s presented its inaugural Great British Beer and Bread Festival to the village during the bank holiday weekend.

The free event at The White Cliffs Hotel in the High Street, put on a selection of traditional real ales, new craft beers and doughy delights.

The programme also included live music entertainment.

Each day brought a new food special and a pint for just £10.

On Friday, as the venue launched its greatly anticipated Weisse Cliffs Wheat Beer, the designated accompaniment was a giant sausage sourdough.

Saturday’s special was a ploughman’s with crusty Kentish cobs, while Sunday’s was a rare roast beef sandwich. On Monday they served up wood-fired pizza.

The world famous Bettesteiner Footstompers kick-started the weekend of music with their foot tapping, thigh slapping tunes.

On Saturday, The Ben Milberry Band featured from 2pm followed by Will Scott and Jemima Harris.

The Dulcie-May Moreno Trio wowed the crowds on Sunday afternoon.

Proprietor Gavin Oakley said: “The festival was a great opportunity to discover the local pub in the heart of St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe, one of Kent’s most beautiful villages.

“A place where you can eat, drink and have fun in surroundings that reflect the coastal area with a wide selection of local traditional real ales and new craft beers alongside fresh, local food and live music from our flourishing local music scene.”

A 140-year-old pub and hotel is to be converted into flats despite an outcry from residents.

The White Cliffs Hotel in the centre of St Margaret’s at Cliffe has served customers since 1885 but has struggled in recent years.

The Grade II listed building was originally used as school classrooms in the mid 1800s but has remained a landmark on the high street since.

The owner, Gavin Oakley, has blamed Brexit and the pandemic for its downturn and last year the hotel made a loss of £28,000.

This led to their decision to convert the Grade n listed building into three flats with plans submitted in 2020.

Owner Gavin Oakley.

While planning officers recognised it would be at odds with the Council’s tourism strategy, they felt they couldn’t stand in the way of a failing business.

In a viability report the Oakleys said they couldn’t earn a minimum wage if it was run in the same way.

But this has led to an outcry from residents and St Margaret’s at Cliffe parish council and 59 objections have been sent to the district council. The parish said it will challenge the decision in a judicial review.

At a planning committee on Thursday there was disagreement over whether the building was a hotel or a pub, with the owners saying it was a hotel while residents claiming it acted as a pub too.

If counted as a pub, there are two in the village, the White Cliffs and the "Smugglers Inn" down the High Street.

During the debate Cllr Oliver Richardson (Con) slammed the council’s own report which claimed there were four pubs in the village: “A 140-year-old hospitality business deserves every chance. If residents can’t use the Cliffs they’ll go down to one pub. Is this sloppy report writing or something else?

“The remaining pub, the "Smugglers," is doing well. It doesn’t offer a large restaurant, bar or outside space but it has its own successful niche. To quote their website the Cliffs “is the hub of the village” and in the past it would’ve hosted 100 people in a pie and quiz night.”

Representing the parish council, Cllr Rebecca Simcox also criticised the council’s findings: “It says there is strong competition in the area, what?

“Try and get a table at the "Smugglers," in our village the two businesses complement rather than compete.”

This is not the first time the current owners have made changes to the pub, as four houses have been approved around the hotel since 2019, taking up much of the original car park, but have yet to be built.

While there was a unanimous feeling of loss among councillors, some members were critical of the running of the pub as Cllr Peter Jull (Con) said: “If this hotel is unable to operate an acceptable profit with seven bedrooms, how come so many other hotels of similar size are able to do so?

Meanwhile others sympathised with the owners as Cllr Charles Woodgate (Lab) said: “Across the country pubs have closed down, I live in Tilmanstone and the "Ravens" was there for 500 years and closed down sadly.

“No one likes a pub more than me. But nonetheless the owner, if that was my property and I was losing shed loads of money, I’d like to turn it into houses and get my money back.”

The plans were accepted in a close vote, with four in favour and four against and had to be decided by the chair of the committee, Cllr James Back (Con).

He said: “I’ve got to vote with my planning head and not my heart.”