From Deal pier, on the left is the Royal Hotel, which has been a historic landmark in the town for centuries and used to be a favourite gathering place for mariners and fishermen meeting in the bar.

Deal was the childhood town of William Horwood, the most prominent British author of anthropomorphic novels in the latter part of the 20th century. His boyhood here was not very happy, as he came from a broken family, and a moving account of his life here can be found in his book, The Boy Who Had No Shoes.