The Royal Oak, Hawkhurst

The Royal Oak is a pub with rooms on the High Street in Hawkhurst, in the Weald of Kent, and the welcome here extends past dogs. Guests have arrived with a cat and found the staff happy to accommodate it, which is genuinely worth knowing if you travel with a pet that is not a dog and are used to being turned away. Dog owners report the same easy friendliness: comfortable beds, no fuss made, and staff who are pleasant about the whole thing.

Location is what pet owners rate most highly. There is good park access within walking distance, which makes the first and last walk of the day straightforward, and the village sits in easy reach of the wider Weald for longer routes. The food in the pub draws consistent praise, and the rooms run to a Nespresso machine and a good bath.

Two practical things to plan around. The building does not open until 3pm, so there is nowhere to leave bags, or settle a dog, if you arrive earlier in the day, and that is a real constraint after a long drive with a pet in the car. Breakfast is a hamper left in the room rather than a cooked meal downstairs, which some guests have found underwhelming and others have been perfectly happy with.

The rooms show their age in places, with wear on carpets and walls, the odd loose tap, and at least one that ran hot. Guests describe them as clean and comfortable regardless, and the value for money is what reviewers keep coming back to. The pub provides food and water bowls and allows dogs on a lead in the bar, but no pet charge or limit on numbers is published, so confirm both when you book.

Best suited to travellers who want a friendly, good-value pub base in Kent and are not fussy about polish, and especially to anyone travelling with a cat, which few pet-friendly pubs will take. It earns 4.3/5.