The Orwell Hotel

Shower room was excellent. Breakfast really good.

We stayed previously at this hotel and the room was really good, it had a big double bed, wardrobe, fridge and although old it was lovely The room this time was small, dark, no drawers, no fridge and smaller bed. Had we known it was going to be so different we would not have booked.

Orwell is a grand but quirky hotel from an era gone by. We spent 2 nights in a basic room which was comfortable but very dated. Furniture was well worn, not totally clean and we found the bathroom reminded us of something from the 60’s. The overhead shower needed very careful tweaking to establish an even temperature. However, the staff were pleasant and helpful,although some were very new recruits, breakfast and dinner was of high quality and well presented. The hotel is undergoing a slow updating programme which could take some time before bringing it to modern standards. Location is perfect and not too noisy being on a main road, there is plenty of free parking spaces. It may be wise to view a room before unpacking if yours is below the standard expected. We intend to stay again in the future to see what progress is made.

Scruffy entrance lobby, restaurant and bar overlooking a busy roundabout.

I booked this for my elderly Uncle and Aunt so these answers reflect their opinions....I liked the way the room was changed when I requested a quiet area for them (as there was a late function due on one of their nights)...I liked the easy pickup by the front door as they are not good walkers..One evening we met a family member at the hotel and the reception staff quickly got us some extra arm chairs.

I was a bit disappointed (for my Uncle and Aunt) that they didnt seem to get good value from the breakfasts. They were asked to pay upfront for breakfasts and, as far as they told me, they only ate cereal/toast and eggs...My Uncle had unfortunate experience on Saturday(17th June) when his poached eggs took ages to appear, despite him asking, and when they arrived ,one egg was rock hard,,and the other hardly cooked. He said a refund was offered but being of that generation, he was not inclined to accept it! I told him differently but I dont know the result. Virginia Cook

Fantastic old building with character, a good location with plenty of car parking and across from the train station, wonderful and helpful reception staff, comfy bed, fluffy white towels and an excellent breakfast We were given a suite on arrival instead of the luxury double we had booked the room was a little tired (I understand it is due to be renovated shortly) but quirky and loads of space

House keeping in the room could have been better, everywhere quite dusty, stained pillows (no pillow protectors) very dirty glass on hospitality tray, I dropped my glasses behind the bed side table had to move it out to retrieve them only to find popcorn, some kind of red fake petals and extremely dusty, such a shame the house keeping let it down.

As always it was super clean, lovely stay

The property was great as always, however there were a group of people staying who had no respect for other people. They came in at 2 am and made so much noise until past 3.30 am, this was not dealt with by staff. I was asked if I reported it but as our Romans were on the first floor right above reception I did not as I assumed this would be sorted. It would have been heard by the whole hotel and that is no exaggeration. It will not stop us from visiting again, but I would not expect the same lack of response as this if it did happen again.

Lovely traditional building at the top of the high street, easy to find, lovely gardens and outdoor seating areas. Lift. Top quality decor, from chandeliers to comfy seats, dining facilities, quiet lounge, and so much else.

We only chose the basic double, so traditional bathroom; if you pay for the better room you will get a proper walk-in shower and full refurb. But since it was priced accordingly, it was excellent. Lovely kingsize bed. Quiet hotel - though be careful if they have a late-night event/or music event on. All prepaid as stated, and the breakfast price and quality were as expected.

Staff very friendly and accommodating , even though hotel is going through a refurb it’s still very clean, the evening meals were fantastic, the sea front not far from hotel and a nice little town to have a walk about. I love the atmosphere in this hotel, you can easily find a little area where you can talk and have a drink or somewhere more quiet if you wanted to just chill.

It’s nothing drastic as the hotel is in the middle of a refurb but our room was a little dated but still had everything we needed and the towels and bedding spotless

I stayed at The Orwell Hotel about 10 years ago and liked it very much. On arrival on Thursday I noted that the old building had been looked after, my wife could understand why I wanted her to see it. We were greeted at reception, asked if we had had a pleasant journey then given our key together with directions to our room, {104}. What a lovely room it was. Very clean and well decorated, with a very large shower room. As we were meeting up with Cousin's we did not have dinner at the Hotel until our last evening and that was nothing short of superb. I had the braised Ox Cheek, do try it. For breakfast my wife and I had Corn Flakes, Toast and Tea. The service by the staff was excellent at both meals.

Nothing in the Hotel. Just the weather, it was very cold.

receptionist was helpful and friendly in a genuine way, nothing false. I loved the building and decor. Great to have free parking. The bar staff were friendly too. Little touches like the folded towels and toilet paper. Soap and shower gel/shampoo, especially as I had forgotten mine!

i couldnt turn the lights on by the bed. there wasnt a variety of teas and alternative milk in the bedroom eg decaf, herbal, soya/oat milk. I felt the breakfast was expensive for what I got - being df and gf the only option was cornflakes, there was no juice left, my full english was 2 slices of bacon, a poached egg, 2 slices of toast, a hash brown, a mushroom and some baked beans, with stork margarine for the toast, so the breakfast was disappointing, it was edible, I just had higher expectations. These are really minor things really but the little things count.

This hotel does so much right. Great location for my on-going travels, easy to find. From the lovely entrance with the revolving door to the welcoming reception. Has a bar with very reasonable prices and plenty of areas to sit down for relaxing. Breakfast is efficiently organised and cooked really well. Plenty of choice too. Rooms are clean and comfortable and warm. Water temperature and flow was adequate in my bath with shower over. Overall a quaint hotel that does it right. I'd stay again if in the area.

I didn't ask or look as I was there for one night only but I would like to have seen displays of pictures and explanations of the hotel's history as it looks like quite a grand building from the front...