Fodor's Expert Review The Mermaid Inn

Steeped in a history of smuggling—look for Rudyard Kipling's atmospheric poem "A Smuggler's Song" on the wall outside—the 600-year-old Mermaid is Rye's most historic inn; its sloping floors, oak beams, low ceilings, and huge open hearth look like a film set, but it's all totally authentic. Bedrooms are quite small, but some have four-poster beds and stone fireplaces. The restaurant, warmed by a roaring fire in winter, serves good Modern British cuisine.