The Falstaff

Dogfriendly Magazine Review

Read our comprehensive review of this listing printed in our bi-monthly magazine.

Name: The Falstaff Hotel, Ramsgate
Reviewer: Steve Bennett

Having spent my teenage years living in Kent, often visiting Ramsgate at the weekend to enjoy the lovely beach, I was excited to receive an invitation for my family and me to visit the town by Visit Ramsgate, to see the great work they have done to welcome dogs around the town. Some 40 years since I last visited, I was really keen to take a trip down memory lane with my family, which now includes my wife Lin and teenage son Jack and the dogs, our two rescue whippets, Angel and Charlie.

The journey to Ramsgate is easy by car and there is also a train station close to the town, about a 10-minute walk away from the centre, or a speedy bus journey. With close access to many holiday towns in Kent, including Broadstairs, Margate, Herne Bay, Whitstable, Dover, Deal and Walmer, Ramsgate is an ideal base to stay and explore further afield, although there is plenty to do in the town itself.

We had a Friday and Saturday night in October booked at The Falstaff Hotel in the centre of Ramsgate. Although it’s little tricky to find, their car park is behind the hotel, but accessed by a narrow road about 50 yards before it. A quick walk from the car park and we found a pleasant well-kept building, previously a public house in a traditional residential, part shopping street, which is directly off the seafront. The few shops in the street were unique local businesses including children’s clothes, gifts and there was a very handy general store (open late into the evening) opposite the hotel.

We checked in and were directed to the house next door to the hotel, where there is a dog friendly self-catering apartment (room 9) on the ground floor. There is also a dog friendly room in the hotel (room 8). We were shown around the apartment which has an open plan living area, with a kitchen, dining table and lounge area. The kitchen was well equipped and although there was no welcome pack, there is a general store over the road which meant that we could stock up on everything that we needed. Very useful to have a washing machine, although a little quirky to have it in the fireplace.

There were two large and comfortable bedrooms, a double bed on the ground floor, along with a bathroom with shower, toilet, and sink. There are stairs into the basement where the second bedroom is situated below street level, but it is nice and bright with a window looking up to the street above. It has an ample ensuite with shower, toilet and sink. Our son decided to take a bed in the basement room. There are two single beds and he found it to be very comfortable. We unpacked and let the dogs explore their new home. Double doors from the open plan lounge take you into a small concrete seating area which was useful for the dogs to nip out and do what they occasionally need to do.

We decided to take a walk towards the sea with the dogs and at the end of the road, we were greeted by the wonderful panoramic view of the Ramsgate harbour and sea vista. The Visit Ramsgate website has a number of walks to download that take you on an interesting tour of the town. 

We decided to take advantage of the recommended fish and chips takeaway in the harbour (where you can also sit in) and we enjoyed a fish and chip meal in our apartment. Unfortunately we could not get the TV to work properly, so we had a quiet evening reading and relaxing.

Next morning we went into the Falstaff for our breakfast. The room rate includes an ample continental breakfast, which Lin enjoyed, but my son and I decided to pay the extra and had the Full English which was an excellent way to start the day. The dogs sat with us in the breakfast room and we chatted with a fellow customer who had a friendly miniature Schnauzer with him.

There is also a small but atmospheric deli and coffee shop in the hotel where you can enjoy cakes and fresh produce and a great coffee (or tea) throughout the day. The Falstaff restaurant also serves meals at lunchtime and in the evening with half of the restaurant being dog friendly. 

We had booked the intriguing ‘Kingfisher Bird Watching Tour’ around Ramsgate Harbour that morning. We arrived at the meeting point to be greeted by the only person in Ramsgate that looked like a birdwatcher (he was wearing all the gear and had a long lens camera). Keith Ross is the ideal guide – easy to talk to and a very experienced (and interesting) birdwatcher and cameraman.

He explained at the outset that Kingfishers are very solitary and easily ‘spooked’ by humans and the hustle and bustle of a working harbour, so there is no guarantee that we will see the elusive birds. To be honest, even if we had not seen them, the tour would have still been enjoyable with Keith as the guide, but we were lucky enough to see the exquisite little bird several times during the walk. I have only ever seen a Kingfisher once before and I was delighted to see them in the busy harbour, probably the last place that I would have expected to see them. We thoroughly enjoyed the Kingfisher tour and our time with Keith. We did take the dogs with us, but I would recommend that you only do this if you have quiet dogs that are happy to sit and wait a while. Birdwatching requires a lot of standing still and keeping quiet, even more so to spot a Kingfisher.

After the tour, we had a dog friendly boat trip booked with the Sea Searcher which was going to take us to watch the seals. We walked to the meeting point in the harbour and joined our group of visitors on a seafaring vessel with a captain who was very welcoming and had a great sense of humour. My wife Lin decided to stay on terra firma as she is not too comfortable on water and she kept Angel with her. Angel is nearly 14 years old and not that steady on her feet. So Jack, Charlie and I set off out to sea.

We were very lucky with the weather and the sun was shining. The water in the harbour is like a mill pond and it came as a bit of a shock when we left the security of harbour walls and moved into the open sea – the boat really started to move, but Jack and I absolutely loved it. It took a few minutes for Charlie to find his sea legs, but he soon did and after making friends and enjoying the fuss of the other passengers, he settled down with Jack to watch the views.

About 15 minutes after leaving the harbour, we saw the flat lands that were the target of our journey coming into view. We saw lots of birds first of all, but then the seals; there were hundreds of them to see, including pups. The boat trip was fantastic – the excitement of the journey (especially when we got caught in the wash of a cross-channel catamaran) and then the peace and quiet of the seal watching. I would definitely recommend it, as long as the weather is kind.

On arrival back in the harbour, we met up with Lin and Angel and walked to the Archive Home Store on Military Road. The store is set in one of the arches of the harbour wall. It is a lovely café, and incredibly dog friendly. We managed to secure a table upstairs looking over the harbour and enjoyed a wonderful lunch, while Charlie and Angel said hello to the other dogs in the café. The atmosphere was really good, as was the food.

We had hoped to visit the unusually named ‘This Museum is Not Obsolete’, which had been recommended to us and is dog friendly. The museum has a collection of experimental and obsolete scientific and musical technology. Unfortunately, we were running a bit late and it had just closed when we arrived. We decided to walk up the road into the churchyard and I am so glad that we did. While walking around the lovely churchyard (dog bins available), Lin heard a bird call and she was convinced it was a parakeet. I think, to be honest, Jack and I thought she was going mad, until we saw a bright green parakeet fly over our heads, then another. Looking in the trees, there were literally dozens of beautiful parakeets.

We walked the dogs back through Ramsgate town centre, popping into The House of Dawg pet shop on the way to pick up some treats for the dogs and then into the dog friendly Artisan Market. At the back of the market, we spotted an old building – previously the police station, that had been beautifully renovated. We walked over to admire it and were greeted by two lovely ladies at the door who wanted to fuss our dogs. The building is now an exclusive clothes shop, which was very dog friendly and worth a walk around. Charlie and Angel will definitely go again as they received treats, water and lots of cuddles from the staff.

On Saturday evening we had booked a table at the Royal Harbour Brasserie. I had spotted the building earlier in the day when we were on the boat trip. It is an austere looking concrete building at the end of the harbour wall, but I suspected that the views would be amazing. As we had booked the table for the evening, it was unfortunately dark when we arrived, but it was obvious from the big windows all around the room that the views over the open sea and the harbour would be truly wonderful in the day.

The restaurant is dog friendly, with water bowls and a warm welcome for us and the dogs. We thoroughly enjoyed the restaurant. The food was excellent and good value for money. The staff were attentive and friendly and the atmosphere was great. If you visit Ramsgate, even if it is just for a day, I would definitely recommend a visit to the Royal Harbour Brasserie – you will also have the opportunity to enjoy locally caught fish on the menu. Please make sure that you book a table before you visit, otherwise you may be disappointed, as it is popular.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Ramsgate. Clearly the town is making a major effort to embrace the benefits of being dog friendly.

The Falstaff Hotel, review by Steve Bennett and appears in DogFriendly magazine issue 76.  For more information on the DogFriendly magazine visit https://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/magazine