Dog & Bear Hotel

Work trips and holidays have brought me here many times over the past 20 years. It's lovely and warm in winter, the food and drink are good quality, and the staff are always great. This time the shower was immense and the bed really comfy.

The buffet was superb, with plenty of food, and the staff couldn't have been more helpful in making sure the party went well. We booked the function room for a family birthday, and it was an ideal size for our 30 guests.

I stayed overnight with six friends and was surprised by how good the room was. There was a really comfortable bed and a well equipped bathroom with plenty of space. I especially enjoyed the Nespresso machine, and breakfast was excellent. The accommodation is good quality and genuinely good value for money.

We couldn't finish our drinks, let alone order more, because it was unbelievably hot inside. The staff were really friendly, and it's a lovely little pub in Lenham, though drink prices are probably about the same as in town. I chose the steak and ale pie with mash, but it was seriously underwhelming. The meat was cooked well, though I couldn't taste any ale, and some of the pastry was raw and flavourless. I love mashed potato, which is why I picked it, but the potatoes were overcooked and waterlogged. Nothing seemed well cared for or seasoned. The veg should have been lovely, but it looked like it had been spooned straight from the bowl onto the plate, with so much water that it washed out what little flavour it had.