Orwell Hotel

Very nice rooms comfortable. Add to that the delicious food served in the restaurant, a great stay!

The staff are nice and the location is good but the hotel itself is old and shabby. The rooms need to be renovated properly. The furniture and fittings are very old. Many things are covered in dust. Windowpanes are corroded and everything looks quite dirty. The bathroom was big but the toilet seat was in a bad condition and needs replacing. The shower is very small and only a small stream of water comes out. I would not stay again unless the rooms have been fully renovated.

Beautiful room, slept like a log, clean room nicely furnished. Certainly return

Attractive building, unfortunately room decor was very tired. Stained sheets on arrival that required changing. Staff were very polite and helpful.

Parked every day as I was informed the parking was free to guests only receive a 38 pound parking charge once I got home

Uncomfortable bed

We had a lovely night and really look forward to seeing the rest of the refurb as and when !! Great to see it’s being bought into the 21st century while retaining its old world charm.

Enjoyable stay.

First night bit noisy but they gave us an upgrade for the next night and free breakfast so cant complain.

Staff very welcoming. Felt very safe as a single lady on their own. The Shops were very close and the seafront was in walking distance. Next to the railway station and easy to find.

We arrived and were assinged a ‘suite’, room 200, which did not have a seating area separate from the bedroom as in the pictures. It was a large-ish room that was fine, but had the single worst view out of any hotel window i’d ever stayed at! No exaggeration, a couple of walls with corridor windows and a filthy flat roof, with ducting and beer cans. We asked to be moved but the hotel was full. They told us this was the only suite without a view (lucky me). We were comped breakfast for our disappointment. After a day exploring the town in the sunshine, we came back and decided to try the newly refurbished and reopened restaurant. It looks amazing, but unfortunately the processes involved in delivering food leaves much to be desired. We waited an hour for our order to arrive, as did other diners. When it finally did turn up, they’d got my partner’s order wrong, delivering a dish with cheese despite us telling them she was intolerant. This was taken away and it was a further 10 or so minute wait until a new dish arrived, during which time she sat watching me eat my food and sampling a little of what i had. Not ideal. The food was good but the wait, apparently due to communication and teething isdues, was way, way too long. This didn’t seem to affect the large table of hotel management, who arrived after us but were served straight away. This hotel could be really good and obviously they are starting to invest after years of neglect but right now it falls well short.

The Hotel and restaurant appeared to be in a period of transition during our stay. It feels like a once grand hotel that had been allowed to slide somewhat and is now on a path to recovery. It is incredibly cheap for what you get Our room was lovely, spacious, and beautifully decorated. The en suite bathroom was lovely, although the wait for hot water to come through was considerable, as is often the case with hotels of this vintage. The bed was comfortable with extra pillows etc available in the wardrobe if required. There were no bedside plugs/charging points which would have been useful. We didn't eat at the hotel, although the menu looked reasonable. We had a couple of drinks in the bar, there was a wait for me service as the bar staff were also covering other duties, but the bar was well stocked and reasonably priced. I'd certainly return in the future.

One night stay in one of the refurbished double rooms, room was well finished and a good size with a good shower in the bathroom and modern illuminated mirror. Beds were comfortable and the room was supplied with a fan, tea, coffee, biscuits and bottled water provided in the room but it would benefit from a kettle that removes from the base so you do not have to unplug from under the table every time. There was an extractor outlet by the window which started up at about 6:30 in preparation for breakfast, maybe an issue for some but did not bother us, view from the room was limited to the roof area but again this was not a problem for us. Breakfast was an improvement on our last stay as the Bain Marie heaters were working under the food which kept it hotter, there was as always a good hot buffet breakfast selection and a continental selection also, good value for money, ample free car parking and staff were as previously very efficient and helpful.

We stayed here for two nights and we were astounded how good the hotel was for the price that we paid. The room was ample size, spotlessly clean and had everything that we needed. The staff were all really friendly and welcoming. The food (both breakfast and dinner) were excellent and great value for money. We have already booked to return next year. Particular praise must go to the lady (I don't know her name) that served behind the bar, served the dinners and worked in the breakfast room in the morning. She was really friendly and she didn't stop working. Whatever they are paying her, it's not enough !

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Yet another lovely stay.Good to see the new owners renovating and upgrading the hotel. The installation of a new accessible toilet is very good to see. It would be nice to see some re-cycling facilities, rather than all rubbish going in the same bins in rooms.

Room was basic but clean however only a small window to open for fresh air and luckily it has cooled down but it was still a warm room. There was a fan in the room but the cable wasn’t very long and so at night it was pointless having it on in bed. Great location and lovely old building with a lot of potential. For the price we paid no complaints but had we paid £80 plus I would have had issues. Would we stay again, yes but not in the summer as it would have been way too uncomfortable.

Visible improvements are being made & are still ongoing. But with that in mind there are few minor issues that leave an impression. My superior room (Room 213) wasn’t that big & torn wallpaper & stained lampshade gave it a bit of an unloved feel. Also for whatever reason the WiFi in the room was slow slow quick quick slow then non existent. Frustrating & when mentioned (not complained) I was reminded it was free. If possible I would have paid for better ! Oh and could someone tidy the car park please as a first impression it’s not good. I visit the hotel often over the past 10 years but still no loyalty or reward scheme so they have no clue whether it’s your first visit or 25th. Still love the building and location.

This would of had a higher score accept when we went to check in, the room we had paid for wasnt available and we had a lower grade room which wasnt great. The hotel couldnt apologise enough and had said that hotels.com hadnt specified the room type when the booking came through. As you can imagine i wasnt impressed when it had been booked since march. I will be raising this with hotels.com but the hotel itself was great and the service was fabulous

Things got off to a bad start - there was a problem with the booking, Expedia failed to sort it, we ended up in a room that was below the standard we booked and overall our expectations were not met. The hotel put all of the blame on Expedia and said they often have problems with Expedia bookings. Some things to note: None of the superior double rooms have a bathtub (contrary to the room description) and the room we were offered (202) was very small, having only a 4ft. 6in bed. and a shower cubicle. The room was certainly not big enough to fit in the sofa that was depicted in the photos on the room description. So to get a bathtub we had to accept a standard double room and our request for a refund of the price difference was refused. The dinner menu is a bit limited and basic, but okay if you are hungry and a bit tired to go out to get supper. Reviews of the buffet breakfast put us off trying it. There are some cafes nearby that serve good coffee.