GreyFriars

The hotel was located in an ancient restored building The room was spacious and clean The breakfast was superlative

Luxury hotel in the centre of Colchester about 200yards from the castle. Good secure, free, gated car parking . We were upgraded to a fabulous suite. Staff very pleasant and helpful and food excellent. my only slight hiccup was , that being short and not as agile as I should be there was no grab handle on the bath which was in a massively wide surround. Managed to get a trifle stuck when tried to get out as nothing much to grip onto. .. much to the hilarity of my partner who had to help me.

How delightful to be given an upgrade to a suite. Having checked in it was off for an evening with many old friends. On returning sometime after 10.30 we thought ordering from the late night room service menu would be a good idea. The gentleman who answered the phone went off to check with the kitchen as to which options were available, a curious event in itself. On calling us back we were told that not a single food option was available other than some cheese for sandwiches which "wouldn't come up nice" whatever that may mean. We were offered the choice of buying packets of crisps from the bar or ordering food elsewhere that they would accept at reception for us to collect. What an absolute joke, amateur hour hospitality at it's appalling worst and at a premium price point too. Whether the fault lies with poor recruitment, training, supervision, management or all four is a question that needs answering before anybody reading this review considers staying in this venue. So now it's morning, the temperature in our room is unpleasantly cool. No problem, we turn on the heat pump. It's great at moving air but no heat is to be had, it's cold in here and now we're both sick of the place and just want to leave. The instructions for the heating are badly photocopied and somebody has used the paper to make notes on but nobody has spotted that either. Its nice and warm in the rest of the suite though so we prepare for the day in there. Mustn't forget that we've already struggled twice this morning with the toilet that flushes continuously until you push the buttons in the special way that stops it. The staff told us to do this last night. Ok if you know you have this problem why not do something about it and repair or replace the worn or faulty parts? I've genuinely enjoyed much better standards in the humble Travelodge. Greyfriars from where I sit right is just a poor joke. Breakfast was good, our suite was beautiful, in fact the whole hotel is beautiful. But when you go to bed hungry and wake up cold these things lose their charm

Staff were great, the hotel was clean and smelled fresh everywhere. We enjoyed sitting in the garden with a cocktail. The restaurant had a great atmosphere and the food was delicious. The room had all we could have needed and the bed was comfortable. We also had breakfast brought up to our room and it was still hot and very filling. L’occitane shower gels and soaps were a very nice and luxurious touch. Cannot fault our stay.

Booked a B&B room for night (as we have 10-15 times before) but was very disappointed. We booked a room (10th May) it was a warm day and on check in was informed they upgraded to a split level room. I have stayed here (room 19) before and was not massively pleased with it. However we accepted checked in went to room and noticed it was very hot put air con on and left card in the room to keep air con on. When we came back to the room the downstairs part was cold ( the thermostat was by the door, and cold) however when going up stairs to bed (in roof eves) it was about 10oC warmer. We gave it a go but was incredibly uncomfortable at about 1.30am I went to reception to ask for a different room to sleep in as the design (thermostat downstairs and room up meant room was always hot). The guy on reception questioned me about the air con if it were on etc. it’s 1.30am I just want a room. He then came up to the room and showed me room 20 the same design and then said it works in there. It’s not the case the air con was not working it’s just the outlet is downstairs makes that nice and cool then switches off (they also limit air con to 19oC) He asked to come into room and as it was cold (where air con thermostat was) he said it was ok. In the end I left it. We did not sleep well at all and when checking out mentioned this. All we got was oh sorry about that. One of the basic things about a room is ability to sleep and you failed here and the failed with your service. We will not be staying here again and will use The George going forward and can’t wait for the Moxy to open up in the town. From someone who has stayed here for 15 times I suggest you book elsewhere

My friend and I were visiting this area and it’s Roman sites, so so booked this hotel for us and weren’t disappointed. Friendly staff - all staff note were very friendly. We were both upgraded to suite rooms and they were huge rooms with a small minibar in. The bed was lovely and pillows too, which isn’t always the case. A nice shower and bath too. Early morning call was on time and the breakfast was lovely with all the usual bases covered. Checkout was easy and at 11am today and we were allowed to leave my pal’s car there all day. I would stay here again for sure should I come back to the area.

Recently returned from an overnight stay at GreyFriars Hotel and all in all it was a very enjoyable visit. We upgraded to a Junior Suite and the room was exceptional with plenty of space, comfortable bed and a beautiful bathroom. It was lovely to see that the hotel retains many of its original features which are well integrated with contemporary fittings and sumptuous furnishings. We had dinner and breakfast in the Cloisters restaurant where the food was excellent and all the staff there and throughout the hotel were very attentive and helpful. Car parking was easy in the private car park and there was plenty of space available. When we return to Colchester we will definitely stay there again, it was perfect.

Good comfortable room with plenty of space. Windows did not open so not possible to get any fresh air. Breakfast was good quality and nicely served. The hotel location was handy for the town and parking was easy. I didn't have dinner or use the bar so cannot comment on that.

Stayed one night in a suite in this hotel. Friendly, helpful staff, good food, classy decor, parking (with no rip-off, additional charge) & all at a fair price. Excellent breakfast (not buffet & with waiter service). Will definitely stay again.