Makeover at the Rose & Crown Hotel

The Rose and Crown Hotel, High Street, Tonbridge

The recent War and Peace Show in Paddock Wood, and a chain of events, led me to the new refurbishment at The Rose & Crown Tonbridge.  It was when freckled faced  Mandy  from New Jersey, USA  asked me the way out of Penshurst Place, and to the nearest bus stop, that it all started.   I was going that way so Mandy walked along with me.  She looked like a child of the 70’s in her flowing dress and pigtailed hair, but it was her pink Doc Martin’s and tattoos that gave her that 21^st century edge.  She told me that she and her partner had travelled to Kent for The War and Peace Show, and whilst he talked tanks and warfare, she visited castles and olde worlde England. 

In no time at all I’d offered Mandy a lift back to her Tonbridge hotel,  and as we drove through the country lanes I pointed out all the notable buildings and oddities of the area, and Mandy chatted about the enchantment of England.  It was her second visit to The War and Peace Show, and also her second visit to The Rose & Crown Hotel, but she missed that old world charm and worn look since the hotel’s makeover.  

‘What is it with you people’,  she puzzled  ‘you want everything new and updated, when we just want to have the original old thing,’  So, as I dropped Mandy outside the hotel  I made a note to return and see the new changes for myself.

I've been aware of the refurbishment at the Rose and Crown for some time now, and let's face it, it was sorely overdue, but I was pleasantly taken aback with their new look when I returned yesterday, and was shown around by the manager Richard who seemed very pleased with the hotel's makeover.

The worn floral prints, dowdy wall coverings and velvet chairs that Mandy remembered, with such American fondness, have all been replaced with leather upholstery and a glossy look.  I was impressed with the open-plan design that is an immense improvement on the former dark isolated spaces, which have now been transformed into a light and spacious area with plenty of comfy sofas and chairs to enjoy a coffee and cake, or something stronger from the bar. 

The Oak Room Bar

The Oak Room Grill

The menu has been updated and the Oak Room Grill offers local produce at a reasonable price. There is seafood from Rye and Whitstable, grilled Sussex meats and Romney Marsh lamb.  Also on the menu are handmade Kentish Sausages, locally grown vegetables and Kentish Bramley apple pie ... all very impressive.  They even serve Oaks Ale which is their own brew.

This place has been totally revamped and all for the better. My only criticism is that it lacks some colourful art or plants ... but that is just a matter of taste, my taste.  But, what an incredible improvement and just what Tonbridge needed.

I will be back and I think freckle-faced Mandy from New Jersey will too when she revisits for the next War & Peace Show.