Luna Domes started off as Eutierria Domes, a name formed from the meaning “To be in touch with nature and the Earth”. However, the team quickly realised that the name was confusing and hard to pronounce, so listening to feedback we chose something that was easier to remember and associated with the shape of a Dome.
As with any business there have been many challenges along the way, possibly more so given it was a newfound market and sector within the travel industry. Being the first, we were certain that we had to set the bar and strove to find ways to do this.
The idea for Luna Domes came about when Dan had sold his business in 2019 whilst travelling as he was looking for a new venture to get his teeth stuck into. It was the end of 2019 when he stumbled across an Instagram post of a dome hotel in the Alps that really inspired him (it still does!). Fast forward a few months and Dan had founded what is now Luna Domes Ltd with his long-term friend Johnny Palmer, visited Poland where the dome structures are manufactured, found a proposed site and ordered 3 new domes.
The first proposed site was already a popular local area for walkers and had an onsite food offering as well as a fitness area. Sadly this fell through, which now we realise was not bad thing as we feel the site would not have offered the privacy and exclusivity of our current site at Hoath House. By chance, Dan met an old contact from his former events business, in a MOT station whilst waiting for his car. They both got chatting and within the week had a site deal. Dan is a firm believer of things happening for a reason and this was clearly another example of being proved right. The new site, Hoath House, is a privately-owned estate brimming with over 500 years of history and set in the picturesque countryside of West Kent.
It has show gardens, plenty of meadow lands, woodlands and further character self-catering accommodation to hire as well as an events space. It was the perfect fit. It’s also in the dead centre of all the local tourist attractions and fine places to eat. It couldn’t be any better.
Fast forward to March 2020 - Covid lockdown hit with full force. Being optimistic entrepreneurs Dan & Johnny remained positive and knew that in bleak times, opportunities often presented themselves. The first 3 domes arrived in April and with the new government guidelines they were allowed to start building the structures. Given the lockdown, although materials were hard to source, labour was of course easy to find with many people sitting bored at home. The weather that year was also glorious which allowed many long days of building.
Working day and night, the first Dome, (named Chartwell after the local historic site of Winston Churchill’s home) was ready to be open to the public at the end of September 2020. This was followed by Dome number two called Hever (A village locally famous for its castle, the home of Ann Boleyn) opening to the public for NYE with the final Dome Knole opening just a few months later. Knole is named after a historic park in the local town of Sevenoaks.
Lockdowns were interesting for Luna Domes, as whilst there were periods that we could not open, due to our focus on the guest experience and our brand mission we were able to portray this across our social media platform which saw booms in business as and when we were able to open to our guests.
As we entered into 2021 we could quickly see that Luna Domes was becoming a success so we ordered another 3 domes with the view to open up another site in a neighbouring field, further improving the dome design and guest offering as we went.
Having learnt so much from the first 3 which we continually improve, we are well into the second location site build in 2022 with the aim to complete in early 2023.
Luna Domes has since been approached by numerous site owners offering land for joint ventures across the UK and Europe. As we look to the future our vision is to open more sites in key tourist destinations with Bristol & Bath in our sights.
Wherever we go, we will always bring our passion, vision and high-quality brand with us striving to provide the best Glamping sites we can.
