Royal Victoria and Bull Hotel

The hotel rooms include a TV, tea and coffee-making facilities and en suite bathroom facilities but the historic nature of the building means that it is not suitable for guests requiring disabled access.

The Royal Victoria and Bull is mostly just a place to sleep with minimal public areas and no on-site bar or restaurant. Although, after seeing your room, you’re probably not keen on spending too much time in the hotel anyway and the hotel’s central location means that there are plenty of other places nearby to eat and drink.

The hotel is a traditional coaching inn with over 400 years of history. The hotel’s former guests include Princess Victoria, who stayed here before she became Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens who stayed on several occasions and wrote about the hotel in Great Expectations and the Pickwick Papers.

Unfortunately, the hotel is poorly maintained and well past its heyday with stained carpets, mould on the ceilings and peeling paint around the window frames. It also has old carpets and dated furnishings, which make the hotel feel even more neglected. That’s a real shame as the hotel has a great location and is historically significant. It could be a great place to stay with some investment, tender loving care and professional management.

The hotel has an excellent location in the centre of Rochester. It is right across the road from the Guildhall Museum and the Huguenot Museum, Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral are all less than a five-minute walk away and Rochester railway station and Eastgate House are just a six and seven-minute walk from the hotel.