Giants Fireplace Bar at The Mermaid Inn in Rother

We had an excellent time. Were able to oscillate between the lunch time and dinner menus for our stay. We were able to entertain our friends who were staying in Rye at the Mermaid and they thoroughly enjoyed their meal.

A fantastic stay at the Mermaid Inn! A turn back in time sitting in the cosy fireplace lounges amongst the beautiful historic decor. Rooms very well equipped, mouthwatering food, staff extremely helpful will be back again some day 👍

A Smuggler paradise. Full of history and hospitality.

Old and historic hotel in the center of Rye. Full of amazing history and charm. We stayed here 1 night and loved the history of the room and hotel. Unfortunately due to the age of the hotel, the walls and floors are paper thin. This means you can hear your neighbors and the people above you. We had some restless people above us moving around all night and it persistently woke me up. So we slept very poorly unfortunately. Because of that I wouldn't stay again. I also did not find the reception to be particularly friendly or helpful. Our dinner and breakfast at the hotel were both very nice so we were very satisfied about that part. Lots of pros and cons here.

Superb meal, very friendly and attentive staff.

It's really interesting and has lots of history. They have a big fireplace that is so nice after a long, windy walk around Rye.

We only went to the pub for drinks. Lovely building. The food looked delicious and people seemed to be enjoying it.

Popped in for just a drink. Nice little oldy worldy building. Small bar and can get quite busy.

I Didn't stay in a room. I just had lunch, but it was excellent as was the service

We booked for dinner and really enjoyed drinks in the bar and a good nose around the historic building staffed by friendly, welcoming, and accommodating staff. However, the experience of the meal itself left a lot to be desired. The amuses bouches and entrées were good: scallops were prepared well and the wood pigeon wellington was tasty and well presented. Yet the mains were more than disappointing. My wife ordered skate—which seemed unusually to be an entire wing… Unfortunately it also came with a pungent smell of ammonia, which means it was either rotten or very poorly prepared indeed—which is hard to say. There’s no excuse for serving terrible fish in a fishing port. At the least, the cook might have soaked it in milk to remove the ammonia or poached it before frying to similar effect. My lamb was edible but lacked flavour, but at least it was edible! We felt sorry for the serving staff who responded to our feedback admirably and and with empathy. There are no hard feelings, these things do happen on occasion, it’s just a shame when it happens to you—especially when you’ve had such a wonderful day up until that point.

Photo trip around Rye area. Quaint, quirky, ye old world hotel. Circa1400. Creaking floors, na'er a square in a room and rumours of a ghost. Many hallways and stairways . Bar, restaurant and lounges. Magic little piece of bygone age but with modcons. Perfectly brilliant.

Stayed for two nights in Q3 2023. Pros: amazing historic building, great location inside Rye, roaring fire in the bar, bookable car parking for residents . Cons: didn’t like the food, quite run down . Would not return, but would recommend to friends looking for an interesting weekend break.

We have been and stayed in other hotel/BnBs and always promised ourselves we would stay in the Mermaid and we did . It was so worth it and had a nice time. Would go back and stay again

Great pub and hotel in a wonderful medieval building. Good food and large portions. Also, should there be an invasion the walls are covered with antique weapons to make a last stand.. Highly recommended 👌🏼

We stayed the Monday night at the mermaid. Absolutely amazing place, and so were the staff. We cannot recommend this hotel more highly. Thank you all so much. Roy & Linda Lambert.

Gorgeous food, with attentive service in a superbly kept and convivial setting. Highly recommended

Wonderful to sit next to the fire and enjoy a pot of tea

From the start of our stay we had a fantastic experience! Big thank you to the staff for making our time so special. Highly recommended for a romantic stay!

Rye es un pueblecito inglés para pasar un fin de semana idílico. Y el Mermaid Inn ofrece una experiencia única e inolvidable. Cada habitación tiene su historia, el personal es muy amable y cercano. El restaurante ofrece un menú de festejos delicioso y en el bar, con su gran chimenea tienes un lugar estupendo para tomar una pinta.

Definitely a must visit when in Rye. In fact, a must visit if anywhere nearby. Ancient, fascinating, and rather nice.

Absolutely loving hotel with a lot of history. Lovely staff. Breakfast was lovely, lots of choices.

A lovely restaurant with a lot of history and character. The staff were attentive and considerate, really accommodating of my toddler. It's a great restaurant for a special dinner.

What a delightful place to stay in this historic old town. The staff here are so helpful and provided a high level of service throughout. Creaky floorboards, four poster beds and twisty staircases all combine to add to the atmosphere here. Dining was superb in the ambience of smuggling history. We will certainly come back. A note of caution to visitors over 6ft tall - mind your head and check the size of the bed.

Very special. Staff excellent and considerate. Food delicious. Was ideal to enjoy the Rye Christmas Festival.

Great log fired and selection of drinks. Just what was needed when it was cold and wet outside.

What a fabulous old building. The public bar is small and can be busy at times, but such a great place to enjoy a pint!

The absolute best experience I could have had! It’s like a fairytale town & the people are so kind & amazing! I miss it already! The food is good & there are many places to eat. I highly recommend staying here! The Inn is so historic & beautiful! The staff is very friendly as well. I wish I could give it more stars because I would!

Had a fabulous tour of the hotel led by the owner. Good meeting and a pleasant meal

Great ancient Inn with loads of character a good food. Not stayed so cannot comment on rooms.

Lieu magnifique, typique, original

This is a stunning hotel located in central Rye with parking. Inside it is quirky, historical and well kept within character. I was going to deduct one star for service as we had a very condescending receptionist who did not make us feel very welcome on arrival (the other receptionist was lovely) BUT all of the other staff were friendly efficient and very helpful so left as five stars. Our room was clean and a great character room, perhaps a shower curtain would have been useful to stop water on the floor but lovely to have tea tray and water supplied. We ate bar food here which was OK but did not use the restaurant as the menu did not suit our tastes and was expensive. Overall yes we would definitely go there again.

여기서 식사만 했음. 1420년에 지은 만큼 매우 분위기가 고풍스럽고 벽난로도 있어 중세시대 느낌남. 요리도 오늘의 생선 요리를 먹었는데 진짜 맛있었음.

Beautiful old Inn/hotel dating back to Medieval times. If you want to get a feel for how it would have been to have a drink in Rye, hundreds of years ago, this place is a must. Didn't have a meal. But drinks service was professional, warm and friendly.

We went for an evening meal in the restaurant and it was superb,impeccable service and amazing food and pleasantly surprised when the bill arrived. Highly recommended.

Lovely place to go for food, service impeccable and reasonable prices. We'll worth a visit, but watch your head going in the door as its quite low

Lovely, very old, Inn full of character, with a very interesting past. Stayed there with my girlfriend and two others for an early Halloween spooky stay. The Inn is famous as the most haunted Inn in the Country. However, did not experience any paranormal activity at all during our stay and long time staff hadn't yet experienced anything. The old floorboards are creaky of course and you can really hear people in other rooms talking and doing other things too 🤣. Looking at the floor plan whilst there I noticed that the allegedly haunted rooms are predominantly the biggest and most expensive rooms to stay in. I am not making any aspersions though. Bed was very comfortable and very nice free toiletries provided. Nice hot water for a relaxing hot bath. Quality breakfast the next morning and a good service. Staff friendly. Nice walk up the cobbled Street to the Inn. All in all a very enjoyable stay that will make for a good topic of conversation.

Super creaky pub and hotel full of character and history. Really recommend the tour, really interesting. Good lunch too.

This pub is amazing, so much history and really descent beer

Oct 23 Always a must when in Rye. Great service with staff always polite and professional. The historic nature of the venue is worth the visit. We had drinks but food served to other patrons looked lovely.

Had a meal in the restaurant and it was very tasty. Great atmosphere and excellent staff. Tried their battered fish and it was crispy coating with tender fish, the chips were crispy and everything was hot. Very pleasant wait staff who took good care of us. Loved the old room.

All staff were very friendly and helpful.

Incredible old building that feels like you’ve stepped back in time. Every room filled with character. Amazing atmosphere, lovely staff, great food and drinks. Can’t wait to return.

How can you not love it!? Shame the car park is in the middle would make a lovely court yard.

Wonderful historic inn with superb food and staff. Room was a bit hot!

Love this place ,so steeped in history. Didn't stay only had lunch . The staff are friendly and the food hot and enjoyable. Would definitely recommend.

Love The Mermaid Inn & Rye, been lucky enough to stay there for over 45 years Querky, historical, unchanged. Food and service fabulous.

A beautiful building, I was so looking forward to our anniversary dinner here but i felt like it was very overrated for what we had and how much it cost. The food was nicely presented but not very flavourful, there was no music and the lights were very bright. Little ambience and it didn’t feel like the experience matched the price at all. I wouldn’t return for food but the building is very interesting so I would at least recommend a tour or a drink.

Great restaurant. You can enjoy traditional style of building, furniture, and atmosphere.

Had an amazing time. Everything was wonderful, highly recommended

Neat building (especially for history buffs), decent service, decent food, good atmosphere.

History and old fashioned service and two thumping good lunches. See it to believe it.

AMAZING staff, food and accommodation.

Beautiful historic inn. Totally unique. Higher standards than most.

Beautiful piece of history. Excellent service, great selection on the menu. Pretty setting.

We only visited and stayed for lunch ... excellent

Superb food & outstanding service. Do your homework before you write a negative review about creaky floorboards. It's an oldisted building.

Very popular, so was only able to get bar food. But the service was excellent & what a gorgeously historic place!

Highly highly highly recommend dining here. I was visiting from London for the day and wandered into the pub. Great staff, delicious food and an wonderful experience overall. If you are gluten free they make a delicious GF fish and chips… some of the best I’ve had.

Stopped here for a lunchtime snack. Very tasty vegan option.

Popped in for a drink and a sandwich, it was a lovely seating area and great service and food

Absolutely fabulous! The food, service by lovely staff and atmosphere just magical. Can't wait to go back.

Spent a couple of hours there on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Enjoying a couple glasses of wine...

Great food, don't dine late though, because everyone around you will have the soufflé, but you won't =(.

Picturesque olde worlde pub in the heart of Rye. Watch your head on the rear entrance!

We visited the Mermaid Inn for our anniversary. The staff were polite and they even gave us a card which was very thoughtful. The building was beautiful and the interior was very romantic & historical. I would give the staff and experience 5stars but… The huge let down however was the food. Again I find that the vegetarian options are very limited which you would have thought in this day and age would’ve been thought out a bit better. I had the beetroot tartare to start which was so over flavoured I really could not eat another bite. The main, was red roasted peppers which was sloppy and again, to full of flavour… We also ordered the chips which came cold. This place is great to come for a drink but I really wouldn’t recommend the food.

We were told not to go in. Very unfriendly. Young woman obviously something going on.

Stopped for lunch. Food not very good chips tasted like they had been cooked in very old oil. Staff not observant to peoples needs

What an amazing place with an incredible history. Exquisite food, plenty of ales on tap. Just to walk within the walls of this ancient place is humbling. You can't go past without checking it out.

There is something a bit iffy about a pub that won’t let dogs into the bar. One to stay clear of in my opinion. No food Wednesdays or Thursdays

The building and decor is exquisite with good food to boot. However the lighting situation is nothing short of a tragedy. Please, please, please reduce the white lighting in this place - it feels like you’re at the dentist.

Grab a seat in the cosy bar by the giant fire and relax. Real ales of Harveys Sussex Best, Tribute and London Pride all in good order.

Absolutely fantastic place, so much history in rye love this place

We unfortunately had a really bad experience at the Mermaid Inn. We expected such a historic building to be creaky and have poor sound insulation, so we brought earplugs but nothing could have prepared us for the horrible night we spent. The walls are paper thin, and I mean they are merely a thin wooden division between the rooms. The person in the room next to us snored all night and it was so loud it seemed he was lying between us! We tossed and turned all night trying to drown it out but the uncomfortable pillows and incredibly creaky beds didn't help on that front. Neither did the macerator which regularly kicked in in the bathroom to deal with the old pipework (there was also a pretty disgusting sewage smell in the bathroom, no doubt due to the same old pipes) Our room was also facing out to the parking lot (noisy patrons late at night and early deliveries from 7 am). what really took the cake was that the room (room 18) was right above the exhaust vent of the restaurant, which was humming loudly but more importantly spewing the aroma of rancid fryer oil and fish directly into our bedroom. It was incredibl stuffy even though we had turned the heating off but it was impossible to open the window given the stench. I am shocked that we were asked to pay £200 for a room with so many obvious drawbacks, more akin to a cheap motel than a supposedly fancy Inn. Breakfast in the morning was alright until the English breakfast arrived and all the fried items were totally inedible since they had clearly been fried in the same old oil that was stinking up our bedroom. Made us rather glad that we had opted out of the restaurant for dinner and gone instead to one of the many excellent other dining options in town with a focus on truly fresh produce. Overall this is a beautiful building with a fascinating history but unless you plan to drink yourself close to unconscious in the cozy bar, don't expect to have a good night's sleep here. Or at least not in room 18!

The place is as old as expected great Tudor hotel (1420 built) experience

Had a very enjoyable lunch and pre-lunch drink. Very historic, dates from the 1500's I think, building that is very comfortable. Good food at a reasonable price.

Very nice hotel if you like Tudor buildings with creaky floors and low ceilings. I think it's great.

We stayed here on Monday, for our Wedding Anniversary. It was busy, being Valentine's Day, but not uncomfortably so. Every member of staff was incredibly pleasant and helpful, absolutely everyone. The Valentine's dinner was superb. Our room (35) was great, with a lovely 4-poster bed, although not one of the more historic rooms, but we'll take one next time, and there will be a next time. Rye is a lovely characterful, historic, place to visit, easy to explore, and the Mermaid Inn is historic character central. The Mermaid Inn was everything I expected it to be, and more.

Absolutely amazing old Inn, in the beautiful town of Rye. The fire was roaring and its so cozy I could of stayed all night.

Outstanding... wonderful staff, beautiful building, food excellent... we will definitely be back...

Fantastic. Very Friendly staff. Room was breath taking. Food Lovely. The Best part was Actually seeing a white mist/shape walk past the bed at 3am!!! Spooky. A++++

Most amazing place great food great service

Super cool place, we stayed there at Christmas time, lots of character and interesting history

What a building! Steeped in old character. There was a fire in the huge walk in fireplace taking the chill off beautifully. My partner and I enjoyed sharing a bowl of chips. Perfectly crispy. It was not crowded and the conversation flowed. The atmosphere was relaxed and the very old building presented a several backdrop. This was my first visit and mist enjoyable it was too.

We had a delicious lunch here. The Inn is magical, the ambiance is restful and the service is perfect. We will definitely be coming back!

We stayed here for 3 nights and had a fantastic time. Rye itself is beautiful and it's true you really can walk to everything in Rye its compact and a little hilly but all very doable (we are in our 60s with arthritis). The food at the Mermaid was great. We ate in the bar (bar menu) first night, freshly cooked, served hot and plenty on the plate. Breakfasts were not either/or cooked or continental but you could mix and match what you wanted. Again freshly cooked and plentiful. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant one evening the menu was small, varied and interesting and again delicious. Our standard double room was warm, cosy and spotlessly clean. The bed was small but comfy. Now to the staff..... all credit to them, they work hard but maintain a friendly and approachable attitude. The Mermaid seems well staffed reception, housekeeping, waiting, and porters all smart, helpful and friendly not one single criticism. Special shout out to the young lady in the dining area (with lovely long hair) and to Pat. The weather was more than kind to us, but the Mermaid made our trip special.

Fabulous history and quaint hotel with all the creaks low doors you would expect to see from such an old hotel. Breakfast was a little disappointing.

Always good atmosphere. Fish sandwiches rather disappointing

Lovely place to stay, we enjoyed Rye

Beautiful traditional old coach house. Always busy. So much to see inside. A must do place to see. Lovely food.

Period property with medieval charm. Quality of the food is good, service is attentive but not wholly efficient. There was a veritable army of staff, but still they couldn't organise the car parking very well (yes it is in short supply despite what the listings say) and couldn't manage to ensure that up-to-date room service menus are in the rooms. A so-called "Deluxe Room" (£200) should have a Nespresso machine in this day and age, not just a kettle and a few instant coffee sachets. Apart from a four-poster bed, I was hard pressed to see what justified the lofty title or room rate. Prices generally are just too high; a glass of average port should not cost £18 and the cooked breakfast, while tasty, was not worth the £18.50 asking price. If olde-worlde crooked floors and ceilings are your particular fetish, this might be worth a stay, otherwise save yourself a heap of cash and stay somewhere better.

Absolutely beautiful, if you want a day out with family this is the place to go. Beautiful historic buildings breathe taking views

Lovely Inn full of history, and in a great spot in Rye. Food was great although on the more expensive side, and felt there were more cheaper options elsewhere. Quirky corridors going into interesting rooms. Stayed in the Fleur -de- Lys room which was nice but had the worst 2 nights sleep of my life as the mattress was so hard and not flat- not great with the room getting so hot. Also, being right next to the v small car park, had guests make a lot of noise in the early hours so did not feel rested at all.

Stayed for what was originally 4 nights over Christmas, but loved it so much that I booked an extra night. The staff were all very good, the wonderful night porter was an absolute star every night, handling all our requests when myself and other customers all lingered chatting late into the night. Spending so much of my life on the Romney Marsh it was no surprise to hear some of the old smuggling tales and tell of haunted rooms, secret passages and tunnels. It's something else though when you have a secret staircase in your very bathroom and meet a regular guest who had a few ghostly tales to tell sitting by a roaring fire at gone midnight with the floorboards creeking. The food was wonderful, both the Christmas menu and the normal menu when Christmas was over. Loved the bar and the lounges, so cozy and from another time. I almost felt like I had gone back in time myself; especially when returning from a late walk, through a typically misty Marsh night. What a wonderful experience, I can't wait to return.

I love the place. The food very nice too

Great atmosphere lovely roaring open fire.

Lovely cosy atmosphere. Some would say spooky. Went for the Christmas dinner menu and it was good. Only marked down due to service. The staff use really loud annoying walkie talkies. Other than that recommended

I liked this small village of Rye. Beautiful place. Beautiful streets. 👍👍

Well deserved reputation for excellent food and service. In particular the pigeon starter and local beef fillet were both fantastic. Wine also good value and delicious.

Stayed here for my birhday, loved every second!

Beautiful history building. Fabulous food and service.