Kenley Hotel, Kenley

This is a large roadside pub and hotel, just around the corner from Kenley station and close to the village's attractive Memorial Hall. The pub clearly had a multiple room layout with a two bar set up still evident from the two separate entrances, but sadly it's all been knocked through into one long room now. You emerge into the main bar area with the fine servery taking pride of place in the middle of the back wall. The bar back has some excellent intricate dark woodwork with lots of etched glass in it, whilst the counter boasts an old water font and two large support pillars with decorative capitals. A limited amount of seating can be found opposite the bar, set into the impressive large window bays. To the left is a nice space with three small tables in front of a tiled fireplace which has a large TV screen above it. There is a separate room to the rear left, opened out slightly but still with much of the original wall intact. This forms a nice snug with wooden flooring, a stained glass window on the back wall and another lovely fireplace. The right hand side of the pub is the former public bar and it still has a more spartan feel to it, with standard seating, a TV screen showing county cricket and a few old photos of local scenes on the walls. I thought I caught sight of a pool table as well, but I may have been mistaken. Music played quietly throughout my stay and the cricket commentary was also audible. Unfortunately real ale doesn't seem to be in great demand here, with two hand pumps both dispensing Fullers London Pride. Having said that, my pint was in excellent condition and a reminder that this beer is eminently drinkable in the right hands. The barman was friendly enough and there was a decent band of locals in, making for quite a lively post-work atmosphere. I wasn't expecting much from this visit, so I was surprised to find a well looked after pub with a good deal of interesting original features throughout. A well kept pint was also a bonus and whilst there's not much to make a return visit likely, I'm glad I visited and would recommend it as somewhere to explore if passing.