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We hadn't planned to stay here but I had booked us in at the Stansted Holiday Inn Express on the wrong night so Chrissy at Stansted kindly found us a room for the night at Braintree as we had a early flight the next day. The staff on check in who also cooked and served our food and drink were absolutely brilliant. This hotel seems to have been left behind a bit with any refit as it is very tired and dated however the amazing staff made up for it hence the 4 stars. We'd tried the Toby carvery but they weren't taking walkins probably due to being so busy so we headed back to the hotel to see what they could rustle up for us. Although the menu was extremely limited as quite a lot of items were unavailable (not sure why?) We had spicy wings and soup to start so tasty and wonderfully presented. Followed by a shared toastie and then 2 fab puddings. Full bellies and v.happy thankyou. We were up and about before breakfast but the chap said he would happily let us have a take away coffee and any cold items to take with us as they were complimentary anyway. Overall a good stay.

Our home from home stay We booked the laurels via my work employee benefits portal but had a look at a few reviews prior to visiting. Let me tell you how relaxing and quiet this stay was. The owner Stan met us at the door when we arrived, was friendly and sociable. The house was immaculate and extremely well presented. Guests have the ability to use the main lounge and a tasty breakfast is served in the morning in the dining room. There was a great selection of food and it was fresh and tasty and cooked to our preference. Our room was the luxury deluxe double and was very comfortable and clean with some little luxury additions of body wash and lotion ( and essentials for the ladies ) The queen bed and pillows enable a lovely deep sleep. The en-suite was a wet room and hot water on tap with some super soft bath towels. I had three showers and hot water available at each time. The brilliant furnishings and home comforts of the room added to the relaxing stay. However I must comment on the host’s Stan and Tricia. They made our stay all the more enjoyable their obvious high standards and pride of their BnB is extremely evident and is the main reason we will be back again in the future. They are extremely communicative and I felt they were available during our stay for anything we needed. We had struggled to get a taxi due to the village location and Stan advised us he would have fetched us. ( next time we will arrange this, Thanks Stan ) The little added touch of the purified water in the decanter in the fridge and the tray of biscuits and selections of tea and coffee in our room felt like a luxury. The Dyson fan was a great addition during a warm evening. The Laurels is a lovely beautifully decorated and well situated place to stay . If you are looking for a home from home break then look no further than the Laurels because it has all you need. I would highly recommend it. See you again soon Tricia and Stan. Ari and James

I booked to stay here as I was going to the theatre and this is really close to there and the train station. The lady who checked us in said they're renovating which may explain the mound of rubbish we had to walk past to get up the outside stairs to access the rooms (you don't go through the pub to get to the rooms). Our room was nice (well stocked tea tray) and the bed really comfy and the shower was nice and powerful. There is a lot of stairs and to find the room was a bit of a maze (even though our room was above the bar), the hall smelt fusty and needs to have windows open in the daytime although I appreciate in winter that would make the place cold. I didn't like the fact that the outer door doesn't close automatically so anyone could walk into the building from the car park next to the pub, and it was also very noisy at night - its a busy road and also the other guests were loud and kept slamming doors and shouting on their phones in the corridor but that's not the pubs fault. I think for the price breakfast should be included.

Reception staff very friendly and helpful. When I tried to check in the staff didn’t have my name but only my friends even though I was the one that paid for the room? Bar food was nice enough but quite expensive over £18 for 1 panini, 1 chips, soft drink & a tea! Room was clean and tidy and very quiet but unfortunately didn’t have the best sleep as bed was really uncomfortable, springs coming through the mattress and really lumpy hard pillows also which was a shame! Stayed there as music event was on at the Colchester Park and looked like it was the nearest hotel to it but walking there was a bit tricky as had to go across a main road and through a dodgy alleyway behind an industrial building which wasn’t signposted after the event had to walk the long way around through the town to get back to the hotel.