The Marine Hotel, Whitstable

Substantial Shepherd Neame hotel towards the western end of the Marine Parade. There is a separate front door to the bar, although the main entrance to reception and restaurant is nearby too (both with steps, disabled access is available too). Quite smart inside the various seating and dining areas (especially the 'orangery' at the back), but on a fine day, the elongated raised bench seating along the rear of the narrow front patio garden is the place to sit (with the lower having their view obscured by a windbreak hedge. Also has a rear beer garden. Duplicated clips for Master Brew and the seasonal Late Red (£5.25) on the bank of six handpumps, with a reversed pair for Whitstable Bay Pale suggesting that is probably a regular too.

On approach we weren’t sure whether to expect a run-down seaside hotel from the 1970s or a super-posh London bolt hole. This was neither. The hotel has been refurbished in the past few years and is now a clean, pleasant establishment which majors on dining but has retained a small bar area in the centre for drinkers and, on this occasion, our dogs. The young waitresses were pleasant and engaging, even taking the dogs - but not us – on a tour around the hotel and its grounds. There is seating at the front and a covered area at the rear, mainly used for dining, plus a car park at the back. The young barman was highly enthusiastic about the beers, proudly explaining the history of each and how he ensures the lines are cleaned and so on. The ales were all Shepherd Neame – Masterbrew, Whitstable Bay Pale Ale, Oast Dodger and Late Red, all in excellent condition. Sundowner and Spitfire were on keg, plus there was the usual bank of megas. This was a surprisingly enjoyable visit and one I should be happy to repeat, maybe even staying over next time and using it as a base for a more extensive local crawl.