Tuesday, March 5, 2019

The Mermaid Inn: Rye, East Sussex



It's not every day that one of your primary reasons for visiting a town is the accommodations, but then the Mermaid Inn isn't your average hotel. For one thing, it actually pre-dates the town's charter by over 100 years; the inn dates to 1156, and the town officially to 1289. The charter, of course, is just the official establishment--Rye has existed in some form since Roman times--but even so, staying in an establishment that's over 600 years older than my country (even the building is over 350 years older!) is not an opportunity I have every day.

In addition to its age, the Mermaid holds a history that not many other inns can claim, having been visited by patrons ranging from ruffians to religious refugees to royals--and for me, this is the primary draw. It was the headquarters for the notorious Hawkhurst gang, smugglers who terrorized the coast and openly committed crimes in the port town largely without consequence in the mid 1700s. Secret tunnels between the Mermaid Inn and other buildings in Rye were used by the gang and still exist today. Before it became a crime center, however, the Mermaid was also a refuge; Catholic priests from continental Europe fled during the Reformation and were housed there in safety in the 1500s.  It was also around the same time that my favorite monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, visited and stayed in the Inn. Talk about a range--and those are just the highlights!

As for our visit, it was a dream. The Mermaid Inn is rumored to be haunted--no surprise for a building of its age and varied, somewhat violent history--but our stay was quiet and ghost free. Our room looked out over Mermaid Street, and we had the most heavenly bathtub of any place I've ever stayed. I'm typically very no-baths-in-hotels (it just freaks me out, I have no idea why), but after dinner downstairs I made a definite exception and read nearly an entire book while soaking. The building itself is full of nooks and crannies to curl up in, and the exposed beams and collected artifacts makes it feel incredibly cozy. You know you've found a treasure of an inn when you don't even want to leave the building in a town as beautiful as Rye. On a slower-paced trip I would have definitely made time for an extra day--and I probably would have spent the whole thing in the Mermaid Inn. I'll definitely be back. 

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