THE FALSTAFF: A REVIEW OF THE OLDEST HOTEL IN CANTERBURY, ENGLAND

Last Updated on 1st March 2026 by Bejal

Located in the heart of the Cathedral city, just outside the Westgate tower, sits one of the oldest buildings in the city, which now houses The Falstaff, Canterbury. Its original features mixed with classic yet stylish decor, range of room options and amenities make it a fine choice to stay when visiting the medieval city of Canterbury. We stayed here for two nights, during the Christmas break and found it enchanting and perfectly placed to explore the Canterbury and the surrounding Kent coastal towns.

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History & Location of The Falstaff

The Falstaff hotel is housed in a former 15th century coaching inn which dates back to 1403 and reminders of this can be seen throughout the building. The property however only acquired the name, The Falstaff in 1783, upon popularity of Shakespeare’s writings. Original timber beamed ceilings, narrow doorways, small windows and cute alcoves give the Falstaff a very homely feel but with a stylish, updated edge.

The hotel is made up of three different buildings, situated around a central courtyard. The main house overlooks St Dunstan’s Street and the Westgate Tower, the Woodmill is situated at the rear of the hotel and the Tap rooms face North Lane.

The Reception

As we entered through the low-celling entrance, we were welcomed by the friendly and attentive front of house staff. Check-in is a very express process, where everything we needed to know about our stay is explained along with car parking arrangements and anything other questions we had regarding our two night stay.

The reception is manned 24 hours a day and the team are on-hand to help guests with room amenities, restaurant suggestions as well as sightseeing maps.

Lounge Rooms

After the reception area there are a number of beamed lounge area rooms that are perfect to relax in, enjoy a drink or simply meet friends who are also staying at the hotel. It’s a great communal space that can be enjoyed by all.

The pink and teal room to the left of reception is where we learnt that afternoon teas are served in the colder days but can also be great for a more intimate nightcap or drink during the day. We used the space to relax in after a day out sightseeing and of course enjoyed a cocktail or two before heading to bed.

The larger beamed rooms to the right that wrap around behind the bar and staircases are perfect for lounging throughout  the day, enjoying a cup of tea and great for meetings as the hotel is also open to non-guests for food and drinks. We particularly loved the cosy and relaxed ambience in this spacce.

Guest Rooms At The Falstaff Canterbury

Each of the five categories of rooms available at The Falstaff are individually designed with bespoke fabrics which reflect the historic charm of the hotel as well as Canterbury itself.

Guest rooms are based and graded upon the amenities they  offer and include, a short sweet pied a terre stay in a cosy room as well as classic and superior rooms, right through to luxury rooms and suites.

Cosy Doubles 

Individually designed with quirky features that make the best use of space as they are the hotels smallest category and are ideal for single occupancy as well as a cosy double occupancy. 

We opted for a cosy double which suited our two day stay perfectly, as we did book pretty late and many of the other rooms had been filled a few months in advance.

Cosy Doubles feature walk-in showers, Lefroy Brooks Bathrooms, hairdryers, tea and coffee making facilities, flatscreen LCD-TV’s with Freeview, WIFI access, feather pillows and Damana toiletries.

• Room Extras: small desk and chair
• Cosy Doubles start at £84 per night (based on two people sharing)

Be-lavie Tip: Not all rooms come with bathrobes so if you require one, don’t be afraid to ask the housekeeping team. They are really friendly and helpful and will have one to you within minutes. They don’t usually have them in all rooms to avoid wastage and laundering hence lowering water consumption but it was a particularly chilly night in December and I (bejal) feel the cold!

Classic Rooms

Perfect for a short Canterbury stop-over with slightly larger rooms than the Cosy Double with Kingsize beds that can be twinned, Lefroy Brooks bathroom, showers over the bathtubs, hairdryers, tea and coffee making facilities, flatscreen LCD-TV’s with Freeview, WIFI access, feather pillows and Damana toiletries. 

• Room Extras: Armchair, desk and chairs
• Classic rooms start at £99 per night (based on two people sharing)

Superior Rooms

These rooms are naturally larger than the classic rooms with luxury king-size beds complete with seating. Some superior rooms come with a four-poster bed, pretty courtyard terraces or French doors as well as  Lefroy Brooks bathroom, showers over the bathtubs, hairdryers, tea and coffee making facilities, flatscreen LCD-TV’s with Freeview, WIFI access, feather pillows and Damana toiletries and bottled water.

IMAGE COURTESY: THE FALSTAFF, CANTERBURY

• Room Extras: A cosy seating area with sofas and showers are generally over the bath, bottled water.
• Superior Rooms start at £119 per night 

Luxury Rooms

This category are by far the most romantic rooms on offer and feature a roll-trop bath in the bedroom itself as well as some of them coming complete with four-poster beds and a super king size bed that can be twinned if required. 

All rooms are en suite with walk-in separate showers Lefroy Brooks bathrooms, hairdryers, tea and coffee making facilities and flatscreen televisions with Freeview, as well as waffle robes, bottled water and Damana luxury toiletries.

• Room Extras: Roll-top baths, seating area and table, walk-shower, robes and bottled water
• Luxury Rooms start at £134 per night (based on two people sharing)

Junior Suite

The largest rooms out of all offer, each suite is very different to the next with the use of contemporary fabrics. These spacious suites feature super king-size beds, which can be twinned, and larger seating areas, some with sofa beds (suitable for guests 13 years or younger) or space for a child’s bed, making them ideal for families. All rooms have Lefroy Brook bathrooms, hairdryers, tea and coffee making facilities, flatscreen LCD-TVs with Freeview, Seating area, waffle robes, bottled water and luxury Damana toiletries.

• Room Extras: spacious rooms, sofas, exquisite decor, higher level of luxury, more wardrobe space
• Junior Suites start at £144 per night (based 2 people sharing)

Restaurant & Bar

Francesco’s 

The restaurant at The Falstaff is located to the rear of the ground floor is decorated in a rustic yet stylish finish with bench upholstered seating around the edges of the room, scattered with smaller tables in the centra space. The side doors also open out onto an outside terraced area for summer soirees and the like.

The kitchen have brought a taste of Neapolitan pizza to Canterbury. Sample authentic flavours direct from the kitchen at The Falstaff with Francesco’s. The delicious thin-crust pizza menu is currently available Friday through to Sunday evening with the option of gluten-free basis as well as vegan options. 

All pizzas are 14-inch and baked in-house in the pizza oven with a great selection of fresh toppings. There is a carefully selected range of pizzas on the menu ranging from a classic Margherita, Pepperoni Hot with spicy Nduja sausage, Prosciutto with Fiore di Latte and kalamata olives, the indulgent Truffle Mushrooms with pecorino and black truffle, Broccoletti featuring tender stem broccoli and cast cheese and the Neapolitan of course with Cetera anchovies and capers.

A fine selected list of sides to a accompany pizzas or perfect for snacks include, garlic and rosemary flat bread, honey and garlic focaccia slices with balsamic dipping sauce and chips with truffle and parmesan or sea salt and pepper. 

Oh and because there is always room for dessert you can enjoy an indulgent rich dark chocolate brownie served with Madagascar vanilla ice-cream or the salted caramel sponge cake which come with Himalayan salt and ice-cream on the side.

Bottomless Brunch

Additionally, why not treat yourself to a bottomless pizza brunch every Saturday and Sunday at The Falsfaff?

For a set price, there’s the option to have any of the pizzas already on the menu, as well as the desserts and a bottomless selection of beverages including Prosecco, house red, rose or white wine, Mimosas, Kir Royale, Bellinis, Aperol Spritz, Falstaff Pilsner and fruit juices. 

The brunch is available every Saturday and Sunday between 12:00-16:00.

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea is offered in the beautiful beamed pale hued, peach, pink and teal hued lounge with a variety of options to choose from including tea and cake, which includes either tea and coffee plus a selection of cakes or a cream tea, again with tea or coffee, two warm scones, jam and clotted cream.

There are two other options of afternoon tea which includes the usual choice of tea or coffee, cakes, two warm scones, jam clotted cream, an assortment of sandwiches plus either

• a  glass of Champagne (aka the Champagne Devaux).
• or a cocktail (pair yours with one of these, Pornstar Martini, Vodka Espresso, Tom Collins, Bramble Beefeater, Strawberry Daiquiri or classic Mojito. (aka the Captivating Cocktails)

The Cocktail Bar

The cocktail bar is straight through the reception area with a modern mirrored black bar area and teal cushioned stools. Drinks can also be taken at the adjoining beamed lounges.

The team of mixologists serve excellent quality classic cocktails as well as The Falstaff signature range with seasonal variations. We loved the festive options including a chocolate orange Negroni.

Breakfast

Room rates include breakfast served in the restaurant downstairs and is a choice of continental items which include, pastries, bread, cereals, breads, fruit, a variety of fruit juices to name a few. We really enjoyed the breakfast and that fact they include it room rates is really cost effective.

Tea and coffee or hot drinks orders are taken as you’re seated. There is also a great choice of cooked breakfast available, such as porridge oats, herrings, eggs royale, eggs Benedict, a full Falstaff cooked English breakfast with a vegetarian option also. Breakfast items are beautifully cooked and we found it really relaxing and leisurely to sit in the back space. We would recommend the vegetarian breakfast and some fresh pain au chocolat!

Breakfast times will be taken at the time of check-in or the night before to allow staff to make the necessary preparations.

Car Parking

The hotel has a fair number of spaces at the back of the hotel and are allocated on a first come first serve basis. The charge currently is around £10 to park for 24 hours or up to a day.

Sustainability

We’re alwayas impressed when we see hotels thinking about the energy and water consumption factors their business places on the environment. The Falstaff adopts a level of sustainability through out with in-room service being the option to have your room served daily or on specific days for longer stays that allows for conservation of water by reusing towels and other linens. Toiletries are also on replenished when near ending as with tea, coffee and cookies.

Further replenishment can be requested by guests whenever required.

There is a small continental style breakfast laid out each morning but cooked items must be cooked to order as well as pizzas and menu items for dining.

Guests are asked to make reservations where possible to avoid over-buying produce and therefore keeping waste to a minimum.

The Falstaff Canterbury Round-up

The Falstaff is a luxury historic hotel with a second to none location and amenities. We found during our two night stay, it’s less than ten minutes to Canterbury Cathedral. An ideal location for a solo business or couples leisure stay with facilities to match. The hotels amenities and decor provide a great stylish environment, almost a retreat of calm in sometimes busy popular city. The variety of room category make it idea to suit many tastes and budgets and allows for little snippets of luxury in the form of afternoon tea and The Falstaff’s signature cocktails.

The highlights for us is that the hotel comes with its own parking area for convenience, with a great pizza menu on offer during the weekends if you don’t fancy venturing out into Canterbury. This is a great base also to explore the surrounding area of Kent and it’s stunning coastline but additionally The Falstaff is situated a 5-10 minutes walk to all the major sightseeing and historical sights Canterbury has to offer.

Hotel Details

• Location: The Falstaff Hotel. 8-10 St. Dunstans St, Canterbury CT2 8AF. Tel. 01227 462138
• Find it Here: Map Location
• Read Reviews: See what other others guests are saying
• Car Parking: Yes, to the rear of teh property
• Breakfast: Yes, can be booked
• Price Range: ££

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Resources To Help Plan Your Trip

À bientôt

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