Falstaff

We have stayed here before and so booked this hotel for our wedding anniversary weekend in Canterbury. What a lovely hotel! The staff were excellent, friendly and attentive, especially the lady on reception. We had a cosy room, which was very cosy and comfortable, and the bathroom was great. The WiFi was problematic getting on to, but to be honest we had a strong 5g signal and we weren’t there to stare at our phones. Breakfast was great. Overall a very good hotel, that we shall definitely be returning to. 😀

I arrived at the Falstaff hotel around 16:00 and was immediately concerned with my choice. Locating the hotel car park was a nightmare and what would have been a huge help was to have found information on the website relating to this. It was a significant challenge when I arrived outside the hotel (on a main city centre road) and there was zero signage and I was literally on the High Street. In the end, I had to leave my car on a side street and risk a ticket whilst I ran to the hotel for guidance. This was freely given, however it would’ve been much more helpful had I been provided proactively with this information when booking. There was some vague information on the website, but this was totally inadequate for someone not familiar with the Canterbury. A physical map or photographs would’ve been hugely helpful. The second issue on the back of the above were the arrangements for parking in the hotel car park. The small car park, whilst owned by the hotel, is operated by an external company and you have to register with them after you’ve arrived as space is limited. This can only be done online with the company, however the Wi-Fi at the Falstaff is not the best and securing a connection, or even using my own data, took well in excess of 30 minutes to achieve a successful connection. It was also frustrating that I could only book for one day when I was staying for two. That made it necessary to do a second booking the next morning to increase my stay by 24 hours. I strongly feel that it would be far superior for guests to register their car at reception for the duration of their stay at check in, which is a more common practice with hotels using a parking agency. Having got the negatives out of the way, the positives are that the hotel is very well located for accessing the majority of local sites without the need of using a car. The hotel is quite an old building that has huge character and occupies very attractive premises. Check-in was quite straightforward and all my details were accurately confirmed. I had reserved a luxury room and this was a decent size and had the benefit of a rolltop bath in the bedroom as well as a decent size bathroom with a good-sized shower cubicle. The room did not have air-conditioning, but did have fully opening windows that gave a good flow of fresh air. A fan was also provided. The super king-size bed was very comfortable. I met the housekeeper in the morning and she was very efficient and friendly. The room had a hospitality tray and bottled water, a wall mounted TV, but no safe. Breakfast was taken in a small dining area and parts of the main restaurant were opened if necessary should too many guests arrive at one time. I found Luke to be exceptionally helpful and nothing was too much trouble. He had a good personality and was friendly. Food servings were plentiful and all items were high-quality and tasted fresh. I looked into the possibility of a late check out after my second night, and was accommodated with an extra 30 minutes, which was quite helpful. The price of the hotel is fair for the quality, and my stay was very pleasant and comfortable. The Falstaff is an excellent base when visiting Canterbury.

The hotel is in a lovely location in the centre of Canterbury, the bar and lounge areas are lovely and they have a happy hour with complimentary cheese and meats and 2 for 1 cocktails, all the staff are lovely and helpful, this is why I have given 3 stars, the room I would give 0! We were in room 2, in the rafters and we walked into a tiny, boiling, stuffy room, how they can charge £220 a night for it baffles me! If you are over 5ft 5 you wouldn’t get into the shower! We asked for a different room but they were fully booked, we even tried to book a different hotel as it was unbearable, all booked out. We had to leave the door open and the window open to get some air inside, which wasn’t good as we were on the main road and heard every single noise, not the hotels fault, I know but again not worth the price we paid, I think I got 1 hours sleep. Breakfast was good and again, lovely staff and service. Would I return, maybe, but I would make sure I didn’t have room 1 or 2, but to be honest, I have probably learnt my lesson and will only book hotels with aircon in future.