Hotels near The Blackwater Fair, Colchester

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

Having spent yesterday night here , it’s definitely somewhere we’ll visit again. Friendly staff, great location & rooms of the highest order. Whilst being slightly quirky, we personally thought the furniture & room layout was spot on. The rooms are very individual & spotless. We didn’t have breakfast, as we were on a tight schedule but from what we saw it looked excellent

There is no hair dryer, so be sure to bring your own! !

Good points- Lisa front of house team is a wonderful asset to you, together with the two ladies from the restaurant (sorry didn't get your names). Bad points - outweigh the good sadly. Room was filthy, sheets had the appearance of been slept in and had blood on them. The sofa bed which wasn't made up when we arrived (quickly sorted by Lisa) the mattress protector was soiled. Given these couple of things we glanced at the floor to find that the carpet hadn't seen a vacuum for a while and the previous guests had obviously enjoyed some bombay mix and a couple of chocolate bars as their bits and wrappers were left by the bed. Note this wasn't UNDER the bed, we weren't brave enough for that it was simply next to it. It also appeared the previous guests had made off with the shower gel and spoons. To top off our frightful stay where the dirty linen from all the rooms had been thrown down the stairs the following day we were welcomed by a cockroach scuttling off for it's meal, we nearly stopped it to tell it our room number if it fancied a snack on the carpet buffet in our room. We were promised the room would be deep cleaned the following day and yes the sheets were clean and towels fab but the carpet obviously was a bit too hard for them. To say holiday inn pride themselves on their cleanliness is beyond a joke. It made our stay there very unpleasant and stressful. We were not offered another room as they were fully booked.

The staff were lovely friendly and helpful. My room was comfortable and peaceful and I had everything I needed it was nice to have a few places next to the front to eat ..the manager was really nice my only bad point is that if you don't drive be prepared for the taxi drivers to completely rip you off I had to phone about 10 cab companies to eventually get a cab to the station 2 mins cost me £22 but that is not the hotels fault

This place is fantastic. Really good value for money. The spa is excellent, I had one of the best massages I have ever had. The bar is nice and modern the food for lunch was really nice. The rooms are standard but clean and comfortable. I can’t recommend this place enough for a spa trip. One of the best spas I have been to.

Very chic hotel with well designed rooms and super smart bathrooms and quality toiletries. Amazing choice at breakfast and all the food was good quality. Staff were very helpful. We have a blue badge and they found a space for us when all the disabled spaces had been filled by non-disabled guests. Convenient location and nice outside space by the river. Pleasant lounge area downstairs and all the guests seemed to be having a great time. We thought it was good value as well.

I have lost count how many times i have stayed at the Novotel Ipswich over the past 2 years, but i had not been for 6 months. Nothing has changed, which is good as the hotel is very well located in Ipswich town centre for local pubs, restaurants and the nearby marina. The staff are very helpful and polite and the rooms are always of a high standard. My only gripe is the wi-fi is always hit and miss.

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.