The Kingfisher

Food

Small, uncomfortable bar seating area

Nice setting

Great surrounding for the wedding we attended.

Lovely vibe, excellent staff!

N/A

It was fine, only there a short time but perfectly ok

Great location next to the river. Good facilities. Lovely place for a wedding. The reception we attended was well organised, food was very good. Our room was lovely.

Nothing.

The food, staff and General service are the best I experience in all the places I travel to. It's my favourite stay and I stay at a lot of places.

Only slight gripe is that the wifi could be better

Being able to sit by the river. The cleaning staff were excellent.

Room was disappointing. Fans running on and off outside all night. Delivery vans early morning 3.40am. Breakfast disappointing.

Lovely staff and a safe place for my bicycle. A spacious room and bathroom, comfortable bed.

We had a large well-appointed room with a very comfortable bed and a large bathroom

0

The room and nosh were o.k.

The band in the dining room playing on arrival - apply the death penalty. And pull the plug on the bass music that microwaves the innards at 8.a.m. on a Sunday morning.

Fantastic stay

Lots of parking , easy to find, great location. The room was comfortable with a nice big ensuite bathroom. The staff at check in and out were really helpful.

The service in the restaurant. We had dinner here and breakfast. The food was excellent but the service was sketchy after the food was delivered. Even at breakfast. We had ordered a cappuchino, and although we waited, and waited, it never came. It did show up on the bill although the staff did take it off. We didnt eat here the next day as we didnt want to waste the time.

The size of the room was good, clean and serviced well, had lots of options for breakfast, we had stayed before last year and the customer service was great, when my wife informed them it was the husband birthday, they provided choc's and a bottle of bubby, which was lovely, second time round nothing, had to pay for the bubby, but decided not too in the end,

no, sockets next to the bed, had to charge the phones other side of the room, double glazing, to keep the noise level low, as we could hear the generator come on and off all night in room 45, A delivery on our last day at 5.45am woke us up, Customer service at reception could be better, looks a little tired, needs updating,

Location was ideal for meeting up with friends at a different location

Reception ataff came across as a bit rude on check in and not very friendly. Wasnt offered to book any breakfasts or dinner on check in. Charged £15 per dog per night which WASN'T PUBLISHED WHEN WE BOOKED! So this came as a bit of a shock at £60 to pay on check in.and had we had known we probably wouldn't have chosen this hotel due to such an extra cost. Not a dog treat or bed in sight so not sure what this cost was actually for! Very disappointing especially as it said charges may apply, well either they do or they dont?! As nothing was mentioned when it was booked we assumed NOT! 2 weddings made parking very difficult over the weekend dragging luggage from furthest away space that was left on arrival. Car parks were also flooded in places. Disabled parking needs to be better marked out on the ground as people were taking up 2 spaces each at 1 point! Hotel needs updating as a little tired in places. A fridge in the room, maybe some complimentary water in the room would be nice especially for the money we paid, thats the least guests should expect at this cost. Lighting in the room was very poor, had to switch on 3 lamps just to get light in the bedroom. Room was hot on arrival, maybe you could have opened the window and or put the fan on at least? Overall a great location for what we needed it for but a poor stay overall and hotel needs to perhaps focus on hotel paying guests experience if you want repeat business!

Lovely venue. Polite staff. Especially a bartender called Illias. Great service with a smile and happy disposition.

We weren't able to get a table in the restaurant for lunch. But had a racket in the bar, but the food , service and time it took wasn't great. Our room was good. Clean and the bathroom clean. But the window locks and screws were falling out. House maintenance needed. The worst thing for us was being woke up from 6am by various delivery vans and bin wagon. All beeping and banging. It really ruined our sleep. They should realise how loud they are and all the guests rooms right by.

Location is very nice, staff were friendly and helpful

Lack of ventilation in the room. It was hit and stuffy and an fan or AC would have made the difference

The beer garden by the river.

Nothing.

Great riverside location with excellent food

The room was spacious and comfortable. Well equipped, although our son (6'1) had to bend to get under the rainfall shower. Super large bed, comfortable. The breakfast was good. No selection of meat and cheese, but a menu of to-order specials such as eggs benedict, and these were well prepared. The buffet was good.

Bit of a mix up over the package- breakfast wasn't included, then it was... Communication in the restaurant was a bit vague as to where we were sitting (we were a large party) There was a disco in a separate area that was quite loud in the evening.

Room was spacious and clean

Furniture very dated and I have been charged twice, so need to sort out a refund.?

The location to major road networks and the lovely situation by the River Ouse

Our 1st room was extremely poor. Unable to open window due to kitchen AC units- noise and food smells in room. Outside refrigeration unit turning on and off every 10 mins with loud droning noise. Our room on ground floor, 6am food delivery with reverse beepers. No AC in room so hot. Ate in restaurant 1st evening - it was very busy- food disappointing.

Location

Breakfast times Some staff

We assumed breakfast was included,you need to make it clear breakfast is not included.It was a big shock.

More tea bags,2 not enough!

Really nice place and close to river

The ground floor hotel room felt a bit dark

Everything was good pleasant helpful staff, breakfast was easy to help yourself. Evening meal was comfy good service and nice view.

Our only problem was the distance from the river festival an hours walk each way but we stayed with you for evening meal as a result and that was worth it.

How close and easy the hotel was to the motorway, just 1 minute! And also that it was on a river, a beautiful setting and the reason I chose it - it didn’t disappoint! The staff were also very lovely. I had a long drive getting to the hotel as a stop over at night and misread the correct breakfast time for the morning so I missed breakfast. However, they made sure I had something to eat and was looked after which was really nice of them. A nice touch that they have live music on some weekends and a jetty bar as well next to the hotel that they do boat trips from. I took a peek and it was amazing.

Nothing

Lovely hotel in pretty riverside location near to parkland

Slightly noisy

Nice location, beautiful rooms

The bathroom had clumsy repair jobs, the host of the restaurant forgot multiple things.

Lovely location right on the river. Great value for money. Very clean. Nice bathroom. And staff were all very helpful and friendly.

Bed was a bit too soft for me. Could have done with air conditioning given the very hot weather.

Breakfast was ok, had to ask for orange juice, plates and no butter, food was a little cold but overall ok and staff very helpful as always.

Room was clean and comfortable although nothing special for the increased price.

Very disappointed with the breakfast costing £15 each. When we stayed last year, you ordered a breakfast on being seated and it arrived piping hot having just been cooked. However, this time we were shown a "self service" counter and helped ourselves to a standard choice of breakfast items. However, everything was barely luke warm having been left inside glass lidded containers which, obviously, meant a temperature drop every time the lids were lifted when guests helped themselves to the contents. The only hot item was the toast which we also had to produce ourselves!

Not helpful at all

Not accommodating yet have been a regular customer

Reasonable price, lovely helpful friendly staff, all the staff were excellent. Good breakfast with lots of options. No complaints at all, pretty river views with kingfishers nesting close by and a boat for hire. Great bar and restaurant that went above and beyond.

Nothing really, for the room price I don’t think you could expect more. The only down point was the bin lorry that made quite a lot of noise quite early.

Nice location

All good

Outside bar area

The location was perfect for my needs, easy to find and just off the main road. Super big carpark. The room was large, clean and the bed was comfortable.

No aircon, ground floor windows next to the car park with no way to secure the window open. The wifi was very poor, the fan in the bathroom didnt work adding to the humidity. The staff were efficient but certainly not overly friendly, but equally not rude. The room was clean, the usual bad plumbing for a hotel of that age but OMG was it a sweat box. The nightime temp outside was 22°c but inside was close to 30°c.

Comfort and decor

N/a

A little bit out of the centre, but an uber wasn't much, beautiful location on the river, would stay here again

Nothing

Location, breakfast, clean room, quiet relaxed ambience and friendly reception. Good quality of food for Sunday dinner.

Staff in dining area need more training - told by reception to arrive by 9pm for last orders but informed in the restaurant at 20.50 that no more orders were being taken after 8.30 pm that Saturday night. Menu handed to us on Sunday night but informed c10 mins. later that several main course and dessert items were off the menu.

The location and the staff.

The kitchen smells in the room.

Well proportioned rooms. Friendly, welcoming staff

As I’m recovering from a knee injury, would have been great if there was a lift available. This is a very minor gripe.

Location.

Because we got a deal on booking.com we was given a room right next to the unloading area.And there was a continuous drone from Air conditioning units near the kitchen. Will not be going again.

Location by the river

Pillows not great. No airco. Food was bad and they tried to charge us for it and the staff argued about it. I did not choose this hotel as it was for a wedding. Would have preferred one with airco. Wedding was backward and forward in 2 rooms. Soup was awful and butter was melted to liquid. Noone else's was

We needed a location out of town with parking and this fitted the billing. The young men working behind the bar on both the Friday and Saturday night were charming and extremely helpful. One of them on the first night did everything the receptionist didn’t. He was smiley, chatty, got us a map of Bedford and was a delight. Breakfast was a good selection but sadly no pancakes on either day.

When we arrived late on the Friday night (which I had notified them of) the receptionist was not the slightest bit welcoming we had asked if we could have adjoining rooms and they understandably said they couldn’t guarantee it. When we arrived we were told no well you are the last to check in and we can’t move people (which we had never ever even hinted at). It was not a problem but her attitude was. She didn’t tell us when or where breakfast was just saying ‘it’s on the key card and through there’. No, “how was your journey welcome to the hotel”. No smile no acknowledgment of our presence. If you don’t want to be in hospitality, you know don’t apply for the job. We also had only one bedside light and because there is no central light in the room you could not read without your phone torch. Asked for one the next day and was told there were no spares as they had prob removed ours to go in a room with a broken one. Odd. Also no bedside sockets (room 41) at all, neither standard plugs or USB, just odd in this day and age when nearly everyone has phones to plug in. Our friend in another room had them. Saying all this if needed I would stay again but just make sure I asked for a room with sockets.

Easy to find, nice building and good size room.

Parking was a little tight.

The food was delicious - i particularly loved the Eggs Benedict. The Jetty area was lovely - very relaxing, great atmosphere and would recommend spending time there. I arrived early and the check in staff were very kind and helpful allowing me to check in to my room.

The pricing on food and drink seemed a little steep - £6 for a pint and over £10 for large glasses of wine - feel just on the too expensive side. I stayed for 3 nights but i only dined once as i was travelling for work this fell outside my per diem amount.

The room was nice, big and clean

Staff unwelcoming and lethargic

Convenient ,close to riverside, family

How hard the bed was

The room was very comfortable and practical. Some staff pleasant

The hand held shower falling off the wall completely The lack of staff for breakfast. Attitude of staff felt like we were an inconvenience Not all food was available on menu. Tea was not great when eventually got around to serve. After checking in had drinks out on beautiful sunny patio and got asked to move tables as food service was going to be starting Felt obliged to hurry drinks and leave

Incredibly quiet even though they had a wedding going on, you couldn't hear anything at night. Beautiful room, very clean fan, iron, ironing board and TV available in room. Shower and bath, full size shampoo/shower gel fluffy towels also included. The staff were lovely and the food in the restaurant was delicious and affordable. Did not have breakfast as I had to leave before it started at 8 am for an event I was attending

My only mild dislike was breakfast did not start till 8 and I had to be at an event before that time but that's just a personal thing

I had lunch by the canal which was lovely. The room was cosy and the bed was really comfortable. I had a great night sleep

Super relaxed vibe in the outside areas. Sat on the side garden for drinks, ate in the restaurant, staff aware of gluten free requirements, stayed overnight before our onward journey. Would stay here again if travelling down South from the North. Lovely temple spa toiletries too.

Nothing

Location/ off street free parking/ nice room/ nice restaurant and terrace by river.

Lack of basic fans / air con in 36 deg heat. Small inadequate fans were in the room. No fans or cooling in restaurant. Grilled chicken and prawns were precooked then seared on BBQ and were tough and chewy.

Comfortable bed Boat trip was fantastic. Breakfast superb

Nothing

Position on the rivet

Some of the staff were miserable

The location on the river - a 25 minute walk to the embankment and 10 mins to Priory Park. Staff are friendly and helpful. Spacious room and good TV.

Food is expensive - no mini-fridge in the room. Limited lighting in the bedroom. Kitchen smells in the room.

Near work place attending

No access to any aircon or consideration to paying guests or staff in such unbearable heat The eating areas where boiling hot over 35 degrees and no aircon or fans available. Yet in the conference rooms ample aircon very inconsiderate 😒!! No acess to disabled parking as everyone parking in the supposed parking and staff gave instructions to people to park anywhere . Will not be visiting in future expensive for size of bed and room tiny double bed but extortionate price

Location, staff overall feel of the hotel was great!

Nothing

WE were upgraded to a suite. The location was great for us (we needed otbe near the athletics track. Food in restaurant was good and staff were very friendly

Room was quite warm, but thats the UK in summer!

It was a very hot evening and no air conditioning. A fan would have been really helpful.

Stayed there for one night for a wedding. Wedding venue was great, hotel is nice, staff are friendly and helpful.

Everything

It was a shame that the heatwave prevented us from eating outside

Beautiful place - lovely terrace along the River . The staff were exceptional from a warm welcome to helping with bags and directions . They all went that extra mile to make our stay perfect 😊

Loved it all

Really first class, friendly and efficient staff despite being frazzled by oppressively hot weather, lovely river side situation, great food reasonable pub prices. Six foot bed.

I would have liked a better choice of British beers as I'm not a fan of lager.

Good location, nice and peaceful

Pleasant staff, friendly welcome. Plenty of parking space. Pleasant dining room and delightful riverside terrace. Staff were helpful in arrnging a table at short notice on a busy Saturday night.

Room was extremely poorly lit. No overhead lighting at all. A study lamp next to the tea/coffee and a standard lamp in the corner. The bedside lights could not be adjusted or focussed and were seriously underpowered. It was impossible to read in bed. The overall lighting shoiuld be reviwed urgently. It would be impossible to do any serious computer e.g. spreadsheet work in these conditions if travelling on business. Another quibble - no handheld showerhead, only the fixed overhead shower.

I arrived later than intended, staff helpful in arranging later dinner

A major issue was that I could not get out of the bath without great difficulty. Bath itself is slippery when wet, and although there are grab handles, there needs to be an extra one fastened at mid-height towards the back end of the bath. I have a similar set-up at home which is no problem at all, and I am not in any way disabled. I used the bath twice, same issue each time, it took around 10 minutes to get out. Further: your Sunday breakfast starts too late. It needs to commence at 07.30.Air show locally for which I had to be in the queue before (a.m. having breakfasted, checked out and paid.

Everything

Nothing

Everything plus the afternoon tea

Nothing.

The weather was very hot but the room fan helped a great deal. I only had breakfast one morning but it was excellent. Very tasty.

8am was a bit late for breakfast at the weekend and a room fridge might have helped as well but that's about it.

Dinner on the terrace was lovely Room was spacious and clean Staff were very helpful and friendly. They even let us order our evening meal over the phone on our way up so we didn't miss the 8.30pm deadline - we arrived just in time at 8.20pm

We stayed on one of the hottest evenings. There was a fan in the room but it needed air conditioning and you can't open the window very wide either, though I know that is for safety reasons.

The venue itself

The location being on the River and easy access with a taxi into town

The room was clean, the bathroom modern and well appointed.. The staff were doing their best.

One word for this stay, AWFUL The room was not the superior standard option we payed for . It was small we could not pass each other in any part of it 1 small window of which only half opened (it was 32 degree heat), and the view was overlooking BIFFA Waste bins and the staff smoking area.. Our first choice of lunch snack was not available. The humus we ordered instead had crusty corners, as though left out for a while. Breakfast self serve bacon had obviously been kept hot for a significantly long as it was like overcooked cardboard. We did not have the self serve catering scrambled egg . My husband ordered fried eggs which were OK but cold. I asked for poached eggs which came hard boiled and inedible. There was no air conditioning anywhere in the hotel, and the only air in all the public spaces came via open outside doors (not many) none of the windows had the facility to open.. I state again that this was during 32 deg heat. A really dire experience and would not even have been worth half the price charged

Very helpful receptionist. Easy parking for Blue badge holders. Very quiet overnight.

If your going to install a rain shower, please supply shower caps!

Great little find - excellent value for money

Very comfortable and breakfast was very nice. The eggs Benedict was very nicely cooked.

The only thing missing was the option of gluten free cereal which would have been nice.

Good location excellent staff good food…breakfast excellent

No air con (due to its listed status) Safe in room not useable

Lovely location. Very pretty. The room was not exceptional but it was clean and comfortable. Blackout curtains were a bonus.

Ran out of toilet paper. Two new rolls were not put into the room. We were out for most of the time so that is how little there was. If you’re going to buy small, cheap rolls they should be replenished regularly. Also if tissues are going to be added as an extra it would be nice to have more than one. It was also extremely hot. The desk fans are not good enough for the extreme heat we are now experiencing more regularly.

Location and service of staff. Relaxed atmosphere.

Good location, beautiful surroundings, room was clean and comfortable.

Attractive location. Pleasant and quiet room.

N/a

Overall a lovely stay. the bar and staff were lovely thank you

Our view was ok, delivery area. if the grass and pots had been maintain to make a better prospect

Staff were very inattentive, especially in the restaurant, had to ask for everything more than once and they weren’t proactive at all. Especially at breakfast, often the buffet was empty and had to ask for more items to be bought out, also had to ask for coffee multiple times

We stayed for family wedding and enjoyed our stay. Breakfast selection was good.

A fridge in the room would have been handy

Stunning location

Staff members were not very on the ball, stood waiting for 15 minutes to be seated while staff stood chatting and not paying attention. When we were seated we had 4 different members of staff ask us the same question, they were very disorganised

Friendly waiting staff. Lovely and quiet on the nights we stayed. Loved that you could open the window and were not 'locked in' with air con! Lovely and dark too - curtains shielded any outside light well so we were able to sleep well. Was a great location for our needs.

Food was mediocre and not in keeping with the hotel's promoted image. We ate Breakfast and an early evening tapas and expected better given the price charged. Our initial encounter with an older receptionsist on arrival was not very welcoming (but a different younger member of staff on reception on a different day was very helpful). Cobwebs evident on the ceiling above the bed and near the tv. Very cheap toilet roll! Shower leaked.

Location was lovely situated on river

Not have breakfast included in price

Location and reception staff were very helpful

At the evening reception the food was taken away with no warning while people were still wanting it. The staff could smile a bit more as well

Well positioned

NA

Large comfy room

No body lotion

Ideal location for where we were going. Room was a good size and clean and comfortable. Food was good with decent sized portions and good value for money. Staff were first class, helpful and friendly. Not the cheapest hotel in the area but still worth the stay.

Sunday roast although good size portion could have done to have been hotter and the roast potatoes were a bit hard and dry.

We loved this place, you expect it to be tucked away in a little village but it’s so close to transport links, hidden away right next to the river, the grounds are amazing, rooms are basic but ok and very quiet, we didn’t hear any noise. The staff were all super friendly, Made sure we were well watered 😀 In the evening we sat out next to the river watching all the wildlife until late and they even got us blankets. The last day we wanted to hire a bot on the river which you can from reception but the weather forecast wasn’t good , save that for next time.

Nothing

Staff were lovely and moved us rooms because there was no plug at the bedhead as i requested for a Cpap machine

Found the stairs difficult. Thought i had a ground floor room but didnt say anything as they went out of the way to find us a new room. Needs upgrading a little old

Lovely location by the river and decent with lovely helpful staff

Nothing really,

It was a good location with river views from the restaurant and bar at the rear. The staff were friendly and polite. The roast dinner on Sunday was good. The breakfast was very nice but could have been hotter.

Food

End of meal three nights running not keen for on giving bill, one night three reminders over 25 minutes

Restaurant staff were a delight and would have given full marks if scoring on rooms, decor, restaurant & their staff.

The receptionist in hotel was rude and abrupt. Really not a good representation of this property.

Really enjoyed the food I- both in the evening and for breakfast. Also the "wine by the glass" selection was pretty good.

Room decor a little dated.