Cockroaches were discovered at one of Kent’s top hotels during a food hygiene inspection.

The insects were found in several traps in the basement and floating in a pool of water in the kitchen at ABode Canterbury.

Hotel logs reveal the critters had been “active in the premises for at least a year”.

The four-star city centre venue - with nightly rates up to £630 - is rated among the best in the county, earning praise for its contemporary decor and refined cuisine.

But following an assessment of its kitchen and food storage areas in March, ABode scored a two out of five hygiene rating score - meaning some improvement is necessary.

Officers from Canterbury City Council said a deep clean was needed “from top to bottom”.

Bosses at the luxury hotel in High Street say improvements have already been made and expect a formal inspection in the coming weeks to result in the rating returning to five stars.

The inspectors’ report says “cockroaches were noted in several traps in the basement” and floating in a pool of water beside a faulty dishwasher in the kitchen.

The hotel’s pest control records indicated the insects had been “active in the premises for at least a year”.

The report says: “I note you have a treatment plan in place. However, cleaning requires your attention, and after several deep cleans and a complaint highlighting concerns about cleaning, I was still able to see numerous areas of improvement required to cleaning within the kitchen.”

Council officers found better cleaning was needed throughout the inspected areas, under appliances and food preparation tables.

The coffee machine, sandwich press, fridge and kitchen knives were also found to be in need of a scrub.

“Carry out a deep clean from top to bottom, and continue to work with your pest control operator,” inspectors said.

“Ensure you deep clean and maintain all areas within your premises where food is stored and handled immediately.”

Inspectors told staff to replace or have repaired numerous pieces of disused equipment to minimise the risk of contamination and aid pest control.

They also raised questions about food safety practices.

“I noted the chef wearing his cloth over his shoulder several times. This presents a risk of contamination,” continued the report.

“Food should be chilled to a temperature ready for refrigeration within 90 minutes of being cooled. However, in practice, several foods were left in the blast chiller at midday today from the day before.”

A spokesperson for ABode said: “Having held a five-star food hygiene rating for many years, the rating at ABode Canterbury has been lowered to two stars during a recent inspection, indicating some improvements were required.

“These improvements have already been put in place and an interim informal visit has indicated that the local authority is satisfied with standards throughout the hotel.

“A formal inspection is due within the coming weeks and the hotel is looking forward to this, in order to reinstate its rating.”