Holiday Inn Southend

Dogfriendly Magazine Review

Read our comprehensive review of this listing printed in our bi-monthly magazine.

The Holiday Inn, Southend. By Helen Price.

So, when you hear Southend-on-Sea for a weekend break, I am sure you are thinking about, arcades and amusement parks and wondering what the area offers us dog friendly fans. The answer to this would be lots of hidden gems.

On arrival, with my husband Ben and our two terriers, Tilly the Jack Russell aged 14 and Orla the Norfolk Terrier (1), we visited a local English Heritage site called Hadleigh Castle, which dates to 1215 and became a royal residence for Edward II almost 100 years later. He was the first king to realise the castle’s vantage point as a base for defending the Thames Estuary against French raids during the Hundred Years War.  Dogs should be kept on a lead around the castle remains, but you can walk through to a gate which leads you out of the English Heritage area and on to a public footpath, which is signposted towards Leigh-on–Sea. This walk is so pretty and follows a hilltop path running all the way to the town with pretty views along the walk.  It was a gorgeous summer’s day with the perfect breeze in the air when we arrived, so of course we headed straight for one of the ice cream parlours in town called Cookies & Cones, a must visit for a little treat at the end of the walk. I had a lovely cookie sandwich and Ben got an ice cream cone and we headed to a bench looking over the sea and sat with the girls and enjoyed the afternoon sun before heading back. It really was a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Following our wonderful walk we set off for our hotel for the weekend, The Holiday Inn, Southend. This is a four-star hotel situated next to Southend Airport. We had the most fabulous welcome with the girls from the staff. In all the places I have stayed with our dogs over the years I have to say this was one of the warmest of welcomes we have received. Tilly and Orla were lapping up the attention as we were shown to our room. Treats were waiting for team terrier when we entered our big spacious bedroom for the weekend, and Orla was in absolute heaven watching the ‘Giant Bird’ (known to us humans as a plane) land and taxi to its parking spot for the night. The hotel is sound proofed so there is no noise from the planes comings and goings, although at the time of our stay air travel was only just beginning to return.

There aren’t a lot of rules for your canine companion at the hotel. They simply request that do not leave the dog unattended in the room, unless you are going to have dinner in the restaurant and just let the reception know. The dogs aren’t allowed in the main restaurant or bar, but you could take them to eat with you in the lounge area for meals. The girls were shattered after their afternoon’s adventure so we decided to let them snooze while we had dinner in the main restaurant. It was called 1935, named for the year the airport was built. It has a rooftop bar with views of the airport.

We loved watching the airport comings and goings with a beautiful summer’s day sky as the backdrop. The food was utterly amazing. We both had three courses and each and every course was well presented, perfect portion size and tasted brilliant – we really would recommend you try the restaurant when you stay. The bar staff are also very talented mixologists as I tried their yummy daiquiris and the girls on the table next to us were both enjoying their own different cocktails. If a gin cocktail is your tipple then you really won’t be disappointed. Following dinner we went to take the girls for their last evening comfort break. There isn’t a secure toilet break area but the hotel is off of a residential street with plenty of grassy areas for the dogs to use and a bin by the corner shop at the end of the road for pooh bags. There is also a little park a short distance away if you wished to use that instead.

Saturday morning, we enjoyed breakfast in bed so we could stay with our girls for the morning and get ready for our day. It was delicious. We opted for full English breakfasts and the hotel did a grand job. After our brief visit to Leigh-on-Sea the day before we went back in the car and parked in one of the town’s little car parks so we could explore. We had a walk along the seafront following the pavement, as dogs are not permitted on the beaches from the start of May until the end of September. Dogs are allowed on Thorney Bay Beach and Canvey Island, a little way away. Louise at the Holiday Inn had suggested Sara’s Tea Garden as a great dog lover’s destination, so we booked a table for a bite to eat in the afternoon. It is such an adorable place we sat in a pretty little corner of the covered patio. Our youngest Orla was in heaven with lots of other dogs to say hello to and both girls enjoyed cuddles and fuss from everyone. The staff are genuine dog lovers and want to greet all of the dogs. There is even a dog menu for your pups to choose from. For our girls we obviously chose the lamb Terrier biscuits. There are also options such as sausages and a sausage omelette for your dog. They really have put thought into the details.

Following our pit stop and afternoon snacks, we all needed a leg stretch so we went to explore Belfairs Woodland Centre run by the Essex Wildlife Trust. There is a café and car parking at the centre for cars along with several charging ports for electric cars and a bike shelter with parking. What struck me about Belfairs Woods and our trip to Essex in general was how friendly everyone was. Most dogs were off lead having a good sniff around and play – owners all laughing and chatting, children passing all seemed dog savvy. We even had a family who stopped and sat down for cuddles with our little terriers and asked if they could send photos of them with them to their granny. It has great walks to explore and even a sculpture trail to follow.

There is a brook that runs around the edge of a section of the woods which Ben managed to convince Orla to go and have a paddle in. Tilly, our very own veteran, however, decided she didn’t want to get her toes wet so stood with me on the edge.

There are several dog friendly pubs in the Southend area however we chose to visit The Angel Inn in Shoeburyness for our Saturday evening dinner and were not disappointed. The food was so nice, great menu to pick from and the staff were great fun. On leaving the Angel Inn we decided to go for a drive to find somewhere for an evening jaunt with the girls. We spotted some cute and colourful beach huts along the seafront and pulled into a car park. 

We were on Shoeburyness front. It was a windy summer’s evening, but the girls loved it. Orla was making us giggle with the wind blowing through her crazy wire hair and Tilly’s ears were flapping in the wind. After a short walk, we carried on to the famous Southend-on-Sea. Being a first time visitor to Southend my only knowledge of the area was the age-old stereotypes. But I have to say they are a thing of the past, as it really was a bright, colourful, modern seaside town. At the time of our visit the town had an event on called Hare About Town where local artists had been invited to design their own giant hares as part of a local charity fundraiser. They were all so fabulous and creative. We took Tilly and Orla to go and meet one of them and Orla had a little bark at it but being big and brave in the end she eventually settled. A couple of good pit stops along the Southend front during our visit that we recommend are Roberto’s who have the yummiest sugared donuts and tasty sauces and Rossi Ice Cream Parlour, also full of lots of sweet treats.

Sunday consisted of a little lie in and then back to Southend-on-Sea. As we walked along the Southend front we spotted a little café called Dog & Co so crossed the road to check it out. This is a dog friendly café which is really well styled on the inside and sells lots of wonderful dog treats. We met Lynne the lovely owner and came away saying about how friendly the people were in this lovely Essex seaside town. Following our last walk in the town we decided to end the weekend as we started with one final leg stretch from Hadleigh Castle. 

Southend and Leigh-on-Sea gave us a wonderful weekend exploring so many locations in such a dog loving town.

Holiday Inn Southend, review by Helen Price and appears in DogFriendly magazine issue 68. For more information on the DogFriendly magazine visit  https://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/magazine