The hotel: I arrive in Harwich on an afternoon of blustery weather. White horses are riding on the harbour; there’s a scurrying grey sky aloft, and a north wind that drives me shivering through the doors of the Pier Hotel. Instant warmth from the receptionist, who smiles hello as if she means it. My rain-soaked anorak is whisked away to be dried somewhere in the nether regions. I’m walking locally tomorrow, I say — would the hotel look after my heavy suitcase for the day? “Oh, certainly, of course; just leave it in your room tomorrow morning and we’ll put it away for you.” These little courtesies, and the pleasant way in which they’re offered, make me feel right at home.

The hotel is brightly and unfussily decorated, with a blue-and-cream keynote. Large, old ferry-company posters adorn the walls, and the interior is flooded with sea light pouring in through the windows. A theme of past maritime glories predominates; appropriately enough for a High Victorian hotel that was built to serve the steamer passengers in the great days of the continental ferry trade.

Yes, all right, but what about the room? The Pier’s 14 bedrooms, like the rest of the hotel, are quietly rather than flashily furnished. Mine is in the annexe. The mustard-and- blue walls, curtains and accoutrements make a cheerful impression straightaway. The bed’s nice and big, the mattress firm. But there are signs of winter wear and tear to the paintwork, the window catch is broken and the window itself wedged into its too-loose frame with paper to stop it rattling in the sea wind. Obliging Lee, the man-of-all-work, hurries in, but he can’t fix it himself. It’ll have to wait for the carpenters — “and who knows when they’ll turn up?” The room looks out on Harwich’s old harbour — a lovely position from which to watch the big boats inch by, but one that has its drawbacks, as I realise when I wake in the night to hear the “beep-beep-beep” of reversing lorries working through the wee hours. The problem is solved by a judicious insertion of earplugs — a must-bring item if yours is to be a room with a harbour view.

Did the food make up for it? It certainly did. The reputation of the Pier’s kitchen rests on its fish dishes, and they didn’t disappoint. There are two restaurants; I opted for the classy Harbourside upstairs rather than the more family-orientated Ha’penny below. The emphasis in both is on locally caught fish: starters of smoked-mackerel brandade, Harwich crab and Colchester oysters; mains of monkfish, turbot and sea bass, or a ragout of fish and shellfish called zarzuela depescado. In the end I went for the Pier’s famous fish and chips. This wasn’t some fussy overdressed nonsense masquerading under a plain-clothes name; it was exactly what it said on the tin, a piece of plaice out of the local sea that tasted like it, and nice fat, fluffy chips.

Around and about? You don’t have to stir far from the Pier for something to do. Old Harwich is a great little town for wandering through quiet, well-kept lanes lined with handsome Georgian houses, either following the Town Trail (leaflet guide available from the Tourist Information Centre: 01255 506139) or your own nose. History lies thick on the place, in forms military (the Redoubt Fort, built 1808-1810 to stave off Napoleon; 01255 503429, www.harwich-society.com) and maritime (the rammed, ramshackle and delightful Maritime Museum on Harwich Green; contact details as for Redoubt). There’s also the Trinity House buoy yard on the seafront with its evocatively labelled and brightly coloured collection of buoys, and the endless bustle and rumpus of ships, cranes and fishing boats to divert the dullest day. Those in need of more than a town stroll can join the waymarked Essex Way at its starting point, High Lighthouse, and follow it by farmland, woods, marshes and estuary (OS 1:25,000 Explorer Sheet 184).

Good for: dining of a fishy persuasion; exceptionally friendly staff.

Bad for: decor sticklers; insomniacs sans earplugs.

• The Pier at Harwich, The Quay, Harwich, Essex (01255 241212, www.milsomhotels.com). Doubles from £95, B&B
  
  

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