I popped in recently for a drink down there with my wife and its quite nice. There are a few things that need finishing, but that's kind of expected for a refurb. They are supposedly re-opening the restaurant soon as well which I think will help change the image of the pub.
With regards to the down-sizing of the pub, its just a temporary measure. I got told that within about 3-6 months they will be opening the other half which will house live bands on a frequent basis.
p.s. they do have a few real ales)
This is my site The Folkestone Gerald that I built in a fever of excitement when we first moved here sometime in '04. I'd been a regular visitor for a while before that but I am technically one of those Down From Londons you get now. This site was a lot more dynamic with a calendar of events and voting for favourite venues and things, and I hear it was a handy resource for others who were thinking of moving to the area. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though just a couple of miles) it doesn't get as much love as it used to. Ironic really as Folkestone itself is becoming the exciting place we knew it was just about to. My name is not Gerald BTW, the name comes from the name of a fake newspaper in an episode of The Day Today or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, and how there is a local newspaper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are GRATE aren't they? Do contact me if you have anything to offer, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on the twitter.