What’s the Saracens Head Hotel like?
This historic coaching inn is located in the heart of the Essex market town of Great Dunmow. While it has an attractive Georgian frontage, parts of the inn date back to the 15th Century and many original features remain. The hotel is run by the Coaching Inn Group, which was voted the Best Large Hotel Group for 2025 by Which?. Great Dunmow is around five miles from Stansted Airport.
How dog-friendly is the Saracens Head Hotel?
Good. No special provisions are provided in the rooms, but dogs are very welcome here. When we went down for dinner, the boys were immediately offered some treats and a bowl of water and the staff made a real fuss of them, which they adored. While pets are not allowed in the main restaurant, they can join their owners in the bar and ‘snug’ tucked away behind the hotel reception desk. There’s an additional nightly charge of £15 for up to two dogs to stay.
Tell me more about the Saracens Head Hotel
There are 30 rooms and suites at the hotel, ranging in size and style from Classic to Superior and Deluxe. Many have original features, such as wooden beams, but our dog-friendly room, in an annexe away from the main pub building, was nice and modern. We stayed in No.5, which was an incredibly spacious Classic room on the ground floor. It was decorated in soothing shades of grey and the walls were adorned with pictures of historic local houses.
We loved the huge bed (which I think was two singles joined together) and there was lots of storage, as well as a desk and an armchair. The retro Roberts radio was a nice touch, and we also had good WiFi, a flatscreen TV, complimentary biscuits and bottles of water, plus tea and coffee-making facilities. The bathroom, while compact, had everything we needed, including lush H2K of Harrogate toiletries, fluffy towels and the famous Coaching Inn Group rubber duck.
Our room overlooked the car park, which can get rather busy so it’s sometimes tricky to find a space. But handily, there are two pay and display car parks on either side of the hotel, and they are very reasonably priced. On Sundays, for example, it costs just £1 to park all day.
What’s the food like at the Saracens Head Hotel?
Tasty. Food is served all day long and there are a wide range of freshly cooked dishes on the menu, from fish and chips to sausage and mash. It was nice to see some imaginative vegetarian and vegan options, too – including the vegan lasagne, pictured above, and aubergine schnitzel. You can even ‘chip in’ to help a charity while you dine by ordering some Invisible Chips for £2. All proceeds go to Hospitality Action.
Breakfast also sounds good on paper but when we visited, it was a bit disappointing. The continental buffet had been pretty much picked clean and, 40 minutes after we placed our order, our cooked breakfasts arrived with half the contents missing. We stayed over a weekend, so I appreciate it’s probably the hotel’s busiest time – but at least the boys got their breakfast sausages, which is the most important thing!
Are there resident dogs at the Saracens Head Hotel?
No, but you may well bump into some local pooches and their owners in the bar.
Where are the best dog walks near the Saracens Head Hotel?
The Flitch Way – a 15-mile, traffic-free route following the path of a former railway line – skirts around Great Dunmow and makes for a lovely walk all year round. It starts in Braintree and runs all the way to Bishop’s Stortford and is hugely popular with cyclists, hikers and dog walkers. As well as being an attraction in itself, the Flitch Way has a number of great spots to stop at en-route, such as Great Notley Country Park and Hatfield Forest. To see a map of the full route, click here.
If you visit during the summer months, be sure to head to the Gardens of Easton Lodge, pictured above, just 10 minutes from Great Dunmow. This Grade II listed garden dates back to the Tudor times and in recent years, it has been partially restored by a team of volunteers. Charges apply to visit the 23-acre garden but a series of open days also take place out of season, so be sure to check the website before you go. We visited in February to see the snowdrops, for example. Dogs on leads are welcome.
What Ernie and Stan loved about the Saracens Head Hotel
The sausage for breakfast, the fuss from staff, having easy access to the outside space
What I loved about the Saracens Head Hotel
The comfortable room, the tasty food, the friendly staff
How to book the Saracens Head Hotel
Overnight stays start from £80, on a room-only basis. For more information or to book, call 01371 873901 or visit the Saracens Head Hotel website.