GreyFriars

We wanted somewhere close to the castle, as we were attending a concert. It doesn't get much closer than this. The room was perfect, comfortable and clean. The staff were very friendly too. Perfect stay

Nothing

Well maintained

The dining room was too dark , the room adjoining could have been lit to enhance the lighting

Room nice but on a very noisy road although I requested a quiet room, and had a junior suite and checked it would be quiet ahead of arriving.

Road noise meant no sleep for me. The robes are a strange polyester not like usual cotton hotel robes so a bit icky after bathing. Really disappointed that my letting the hotel know I left an item while also sending thanks was ignored. I followed up and am told for a considerable fee I can pay for it to be posted then the difference refunded. Hardly the kind of service of a five star hotel, it would cost about 3.50 to post. Colchester itself is in a poor state, shabby and aside from a few historic places just doesn't feel safe. It is not charming anymore.

The hotel was spotless room exactly what we would expect. Breakfast perhaps not quite what I expected you could only have a cooked breakfast and nothing else or continental. However that did not worry us too much. The parking was great behind a gate. The position perfect right on the high street where everything was. They had a lovely courtyard with plenty of seating where you can get crink cocktails and food

Awesome hotel and very convenient for our stay

Breakfast choice and quality was excellent. Reception and bar staff were very good. Secure Car Parking with no additional charges. Hotel public spaces were beautiful, traditional and extremely well presented. Standards of Cleanliness was very good. Location of the Hotel was excellent.

The Hotel advertised being pet friendly and leave a bowl and a few treats in the room for arrival, however that is where the consideration for pets ends. There is no dog poop bin to be found, and there is only one small grass area at the end of the car park for dogs personal needs. This was not well maintained and covered in leaves. There is a additional charge over the very high room costs of £25 per night. I really question why? The room was not hoovered daily? there was no meals included for the dog and we were very restricted where we could take the dog for eating in Hotel. i.e. no separate or zoned area in breakfast room. We could eat in the bar where the tables are lower than your knees or on the terrace which was run over with squirrels sending my dog wild. The Dog room was also at the top of two flights of stairs the second of which was really steep. Not ideal for taking the dog out for wee's etc.

Amaing location and lovely place

Perfect location on the edge of the town. The hotel is stunning. Secure parking.

The breakfast was not good. We were told the fish was fresh, but was delivered 3days earlier and smelled and tasted bad. Sausage under cooked and the bubble and squeak was very over powering. Evening meal expensive.

Well presented & clean

Our room was up two flights of stairs with no lift.

Very nice breakfast but didn’t like some of the options that came with full English, disappointed there is no beans ? Great location for walking into town, great room with big bed, air con, nice big bathroom with big silver bath

At Dinner they seem to of ran out of some items, filet steak and other food, the ice cream dessert was a very cheap and icey, also lack of flavours and also ran out so wasn’t much of a choice, took a while to get drinks, forgot soup spoons, forgot steak knife, but overall it was a really nice dinner

The quirky rooms layout The staffs friendliness The food

Liked it all

Well positioned in centre of city but very quiet ( at the back), parking on site. Good food well presented. . Friendly staff.

Friendly, helpful staff. Comfortable room. Lovely food. Good bar.

Location it’s extremely central. The staff are helpful and friendly and make you feel welcome.

I think it could do with an overhaul. Looking a bit shabby.

Lovely reception, welcoming staff, clean , great bed, great bathroom

Poor breakfast service , room a little small

Excellent evening meal good value and very good-including the wine. Bathroom excellent.

Hardly slept due to green Night Light causing powerful reflection on wall-and humming too!

Beautiful clean rooms and spacious

The pillows are very flat and the breakfast waitress was shocking behaviour….. language and rudeness was what I did not expect especially the young girl with the nose ring..

We had lunch at the bar after checking in. Lovely sandwich, not cheap but well made. Staff friendly and polite. Allergy friendly and took peanut and nut allergy seriously. Met the resident cat :)

The hotel had a smell throughout corridors etc that reminded me of an old church. Think that could be fixed by changing the scent around the place and make it more pleasant. No view from our room which was a shame.

Absolutely everything

Nothing

Close proximity to castle park for an event, luxurious rooms and facilities and super lovely staff

The location was good.

The room was outdated and disappointing for the price. We stayed in a suite and there no sofa, just two uncomfortable chairs and an office set up.

The afternoon staff, although on numerous occasions I had to go search when I wanted food or drinks.

The staff at breakfast, as non attentive, untrained and waited almost 25 minutes to get a second cup of coffee, also didn't appreciate the full English being laid out a sausage in the middle of my place pointing up and the mushroom and black pudding placed as its base ... offencive

The hotel was way beyond what I was expecting, the food, room and location were all excellent. But in particular the service and especially at bar staff was outstanding. While i was there i decided to rebook for christmas.

Ligging/ mooie kamer/ prachtige badkamer Mooi terras aan het hotel Ligging super centraal

Niks

Great location

Room 26, top of winding set of stairs, had an awful smell which was reported. The bar shuts at 10pm which in reality isn't late as per the hotel book in the room, disappointing. Breakfast is table service only but only when you're remembered by staff that you've day down, took 40 minutes from sitting down to getting breakfast served. The issue with the smell was sorted on checkout with a room discount being applied.

Great location.

Bed upstairs toilet downstairs. This is disappointing as a luxury room was same price.

Breakfast was superb and staff in the bar and rose room were amazing very warm and welcome felt most at ease.

Fantastic Colchester location almost next door to the castle but just a little away from the hustle of the city. Beautiful accommodation in the spacious Junior Suite couldn’t be faulted. The best bathroom we have ever seen!! Professional friendly staff, great breakfast, parking on site. Best choice.

Nothing

Staff were friendly and helpful. Hotel was nicely finished. Lots of parking when found parking area. Bright and airy decor. Close proximity to shops and restaurants if required.

Evening meal had to be taken outside as the restaurant had a no shorts policy this was evident during the booking process. Meal choice was limited. Air con in room was not very good. The emergency light indicator was very bright and lit the room up. Breakfast didn't start till 7AM 06-30 would be better. The post code takes you to front of hotel and parking is at rear this should be the postcode.

Very clean, convenient for town Centre and staff service always exceptional.

I loved room 23 with courtyard. Bed bath everything was lovely. Thank you. Trevor Everything was spot on.

Everything was just perfect.

Location and the bedroom were excellent. Very comfortable bed and good facilities. Hotel is in great location very close to the Castle and High Street Very clean hotel

Breakfast service let the hotel down badly. Food was OK, although back bacon was way over cooked. Staff seemed to be more focused on having a chat together rather than serving customers, no visible management, staff were constantly walking back into the kitchen empty handed despite walking passed tables full of used plates and cups. While we were eating over half of the tables were left uncleared. There were customers arriving that had to wait standing in a door way as there were no clean tables. When we had finished our main plate, staff just ignored us and no plates were taken away, so we spent the whole of breakfast with dirty plates on our table and looking at other dirty tables. No information on where fresh fruit juice was, staff ignored customers asking for help, no interaction with the customers to ask how the food was, or whether we would have liked more coffee or tea (Coffee was cold). It has put us off returning to the hotel, which is a shame as the hotel itself is lovely.

As always, staying here was lovely. The rooms are a good size, the beds are super comfortable, the breakfast is great, and the location is perfect for staying in town.

A shame there were fewer complimentary extras this time, and we ended up in an accessible room, which meant things were generally too low for us (we're quite tall).

Great location

Uncomfortable bed, rock hard.

Room for perfect, staff was very nice especially gentleman behind the bar

We were upgraded to a junior suite which was lovely. Large and well equipped and really comfortable pus air conditioning!

Bar had poor choice of drinks particularly beers

The staff were helpful before and during our stay. It was very comfortable despite the heatwave. The food was excellent.

Beautiful hotel immaculately decorated. Stylish but practical. All staff were eager to help and went the extra mile although they needed more of them in the bar. Very good menu with local fish. All dishes beautifully prepared and fairly priced.

Just need more staff in places

A beautiful hotel in the center of Colchester with private gated free parking. The hotel was very clean and the staff very polite and accommodating. The breakfast was excellent and plentiful. Our room was clean, large with mini fridge and coffee machine. The restaurant food was very good and once again good sized portions. The hotel also had an outside terrace where you could get drinks and food.

Nothing

there is no darkness in the rooms and you have to sleep with a weird green nightlight which is very uncomfortable. Otherwise this hotel is great!

Beautiful hotel, comfortable rooms and a very relaxing terrace in a lovely garden setting

The tables on the terrace could have been cleaned more regularly. The mattress was on the hard side for us. Coffee was made well but then watered down too much.

The overall place was very nice

No staff at the bar

The location is excellent and the standard of decor is also very good.

I requested a room that I had previously stayed in but my request was not acknowledged and I was allocated an inferior room.

Lovely building

Several mistakes on our bar bill, took three attempts to not be charged for bottles of wine we hadn’t had. Dinner was average, smallest scallops ive ever had, on menu as King Scallops, but were very small, more like queenies. First steak came very overcooked, took another 20 minutes to prepare a medium rare fillet, rest of the table had finished eating by the time my re prepared meal came.

Lovely building and it was interesting to google the history of it all.

A few areas of the room needed touching up, slightly dated as in the painted walls had marks all over and could do with re-doing. The blinds in the room were old and the top part of them need attention as starting to come away and let light in.

Staff were excellent!!! Really made our trip very special

We had 2 rooms, one had a mini bar with drinks in and the other didn't, no big deal but would have liked both rooms to have the same supplies, including in the bathroom

Location 8n centre of Colchester. PARKING available

This is lovely hotel, very historic. It has a calm outdoor terrace for cocktails. Breakfast is excellent with a good choice for vegetarians.

Beautiful hotel and great location / loved the superior king room despite some issues

Had a lovely 1 night stay at Greyfriars in Rm 27 (superior king room), amazed by size which felt like a suite despite there not being any shower gel/hair conditioner (obviously housekeeping not checked properly)? Luckily took our own. Beware though when getting into bath/shower very high to climb in (can be dangerous) & toilet quite low so again beware if you have back/knee problems. Curtains in front of bed do not close sufficiently so let’s light in. Did not book breakfast originally but as it displayed winning an award for 2026 booked it for following morning. Was ok but nothing special - poached eggs not runny!!! Table not laid & waitress brought cups followed by side plates, napkins with cutlery & left us to lay the table. Eventually came up and asked what we wanted to order. She brought pot of tea but no milk so had to ask for it. When full English breakfast was brought at no time did waitress ask if everything was ok or even ask us if we needed any accompaniments. She appeared stressed and not attentive at all? In fact due to our honesty we only paid for breakfast as we informed reception that we’d had it - it had not been notified to them by the waitress as it was not booked at the time of booking. As we had a great stay decided to book another night but upgraded to a junior suite & was excited by advertised photos of rooms. VERY disappointed!!! Was given room 11 - no bigger than a Premier Inn room - in fact had bigger there!! Nothing like pictures on Website or booking.com and when reported to reception - receptionist told us it was a junior suite as it had a bath and separate shower and not all rooms are the same. Get that but to be upgraded to a room smaller than the superior one and smaller than a Premier Inn was not satisfactory so cancelled the booking and went home!!! A very disappointed customer and not happy with the receptionist who had no empathy and no smile - cancelled and went home - VERY disappointed!!!

Luxurious

Nothing

Fantastisch

Alles was perfect

We liked the proximity of the room to the rest of the hotel. We also enjoyed the use of the complimentary items provided in the fridge. We also liked the security of the car park. All staff were friendly and very helpful, especially when we needed an adaptor to charge up our mobile phones.

We didn't understand the breakfast pricing and was not able to get a definitive answer. (The website implied it was £20 but we might of misunderstood this so made arrangements to have breakfast elsewhere in town). We also felt that the mattress was very firm which didn't make sleep the best we've ever had. Also, our phone in the room did not work which meant that any issue or concern we had, we had to go to the main reception desk rather than being able to call our concern through. One other observation was the quality of the toilet paper, which was very thin and did not reflect the luxury of the room nor the hotel. On a personal note, I was disappointed with the coffee and the machine. Not ever owning one, and not having any instructions to use, I was uncertain of the amount of coffee delivered from the machine ( which appeared to be very small!) and the flavour and aroma given off from the product. An aroma of coffee did not permeate within the room and the taste of the coffee I did try was not very flavoursome.

Beautiful hotel with fabulous staff. The rooms are lovely and comfy. The food is exceptional. Highly recommended

Hotel im altehrwürdigen englischen Stil, sehr gutes Frühstück, tolle Lage am Rand des Zentrums und des Schlossparks. Bequemes Bett, großes Bad. Minibar (ein Bier und Softdrinks) im Preis inbegriffen. Kaffee und Wasserkocher.

War nicht perfekt sauber und es gab einige nicht so herzliche Mitarbeiter.

Its character and grandeur

No air con as it stated it had on the advertisement

Lovely spacious air conditioned room and very clean. A complementary beer which was a nice touch.

The only issue is reception said they would need a holding deposit of £50 and it wouldn’t be taken out of my account unless needed. It was taken out of my account without reason and still waiting on refund which was arranged last week.

Hôtel très confortable et propre. Style ancienne maison très bien aménagée on s'y sent très bien, ambiance très agréable. Nous avons eu la chance d'être surclassé en suite, calme et grande. Le personnel est très sympathique (réception, petit déjeuner, ménage). Le petit déjeuner est également original et fabuleux, servi à table avec des plats typiques copieux dans un cadre somptueux. Le parking est très aisé, sécurisé, à l'arrière de hôtel au calme. L'hôtel est situé à proximité d'un grand parc du chateau et du centre-ville.

Really lovely top class hotel. Staff friendly and helpful. Location great in centre of Colchester with its own free car park. Food excellent.

Great position

Could have done with more staff on duty

We stayed here after our legal wedding ceremony at the town hall, the hotel staff had decorated our room with balloons, rose petals and chocolates/macarons. (I have since found out my friends got in contact with the hotel staff, and arranged the room package). But it was honestly perfect, the hotel did an amazing job at making our night so special. The room was beautiful and we couldn’t have asked for anything more, for our first night as a married couple. Thank you so much!

Nothing

I honestly couldn't fault our stay at GreyFriars Hotel in Colchester. From the moment we arrived, everything exceeded our expectations. The grounds are absolutely stunning, with plenty of convenient parking. The team on reception gave us such a warm welcome and made check-in effortless. The hotel itself is beautiful, immaculately maintained, spotlessly clean, and decorated with such elegance and style. Every area feels luxurious without being over the top. Our suite was exceptional. It was spacious, beautifully presented, and had everything we needed, including a TV in each room. Nothing felt worn or tired and everything was finished to a very high standard. Breakfast was another highlight. The food was delicious, beautifully cooked, and the service was outstanding. The staff were professional, polite, attentive, and genuinely couldn't do enough to make our morning enjoyable. It really felt like silver-service hospitality. This is without doubt one of the nicest hotels we've stayed in. A well-deserved 10/10, and we wouldn't hesitate to return. Highly recommended!

Maybe a gym would be nice, but its not essential for a hotel.

Lovely hotel, central location, secure parking, staff were lovely.

Room was tired in some areas and a lot of cobwebs that had been there for a long time, ceiling wallpaper peeling and walls could could do with a paint touch up to get get rid of scuff marks,also if you a decaffeinated coffee drinker you only get one capsule and no offerings for decaf tea, cooked English breakfast was disappointing, apart for the eggs,

Heerlijk hotel met ruime mooie kamers

Nice size room and bathroom / great breakfast

N/a

Bright & clean. Interesting decor. Staff happy to help when we wanted to change rooms. Bed really comfortable. Bathroom lovely.

Blank

The politeness of your staff, the well stocked complimentary drinks and refreshments, the branded bathroom kit, equiped with bathrobes, nice traditional English breakfast and environment, free parking for my whole stay period

I have to carry my heavy suitcases to walk the stairs even its not long! No sleepers, and the breakfast was served a bit slow

Room was great, small but had everything we needed. The bed was very comfortable and air con was welcome. The breakfast was excellent quality too. The bar staff in the evening were very good indeed.

Nothing I can think of.

No running water in bathroom

Gute Lage miidealem Parkplatz

Das Personal in der Bar war etwas unaufmerksam

Due to the age of the building there was quite a lot of noice from the floor above. Creaking and audible footsteps etc was disappointing.

It was great staff, nice stay

Maybe wine instead of beer in the fridge :) but nice selection otherwise

Great locations, nice and cosy room

Front desk staff were very helpful. The garden area and bar were very nice and the service was good

Having booked into the restaurant it was dissapointing to wait 45 minutes for a simple pasta dish becuase "our oven takes ages to boil water", to be told there was no bread as they had 'sold out' and also to have to sit next to a dirty table for 8 that had clearly been used several hours before but that still had everything left on it. Not what was expected from a high class restaurant... Sleep was impossible due to a very bright green light directly above the bed. Whilst safety is important it is also important that guests can sleep. The green light illuminated the whole room brighter than the bedside lights.

Very enjoyable and comfortable stay! Good rooms, lovely hotel, great location and very lovely staff.

Very comfortable stay. Good brekky! Great location.

Lovely hotel- classy decor- everything great quality- food was excellent .

No biscuits in the room- no instructions for Aircon. We were not told that you could choose both continental and cooked breakfast for the inclusive price.

It was beautifully appointed great service lovely surrounding and great food very gentille

The robes in the rooms were made for children!! Certainly they didn’t fit either my husband or myself and I’m only 5’1”!!! Shame as everything else was great but this really let the enjoyment down.

The hotel was excellent, staff were friendly, polite and helpful. Car Park was secure and safe. The location was superb.

All was good.

Comfortable bed, air conditioning worked just right plus fans and an additional AC unit for back up Spacious accommodation, all mod cons, bath robes, nice, quality decor, good information pack Parking made things easy Reception service great Friendly and well presented staff

Really disappointed that the "smart/casual" rules were not observed by some of the residents i.e. - tee-shirts, shorts and flip flops worn in the main restaurant for evening meals! We are by no means expecting dinner suits and ball gowns, but seems pointless packing proper trousers, long sleeve shirts and formal shoes if no one else is going to bother Understand relaxation of rules for breakfast of course.. Thought the "gardens" could have been tended a little better, but probably a fairly big job to maintain in the long term Areas were fairly tidy and no rubbish about though, so all fairly good

I was asked to leave because of my strange “behaviour” I didn’t drink any alcohol or eat any food. I was informed I would get a full refund.

It was dated and I was expected to take my luggage to my room by myself. Other guests were treated differently.

A good central location for Colchester. Good car parking. Breakfast was lovely and service was very good. Reception staff were very friendly and helpful.

Overall, a good hotel, where we'd be happy to stay in future. Good location for reaching the town and its restaurants, and hotel's own dinner was good too. Parking easy and secure.

The green status light on room 10 bedroom ceiling was much too bright, and positioned right over our heads. Many people will want to block the light in some way, or wear an eye mask. It was disappointing that a hotel of this quality didn't have a small library of books to read. It even has a room called 'the Library' - with no books!

Beautiful rooms and furniture and spotless

Unfortunately, on this day, I was given a room that didn’t have many Windows and made the room look dark. Previously, I have always had a light and airy room with larger windows.

Başta konumu çok güzeldi çalışanlar çok güler yüzlü ve bize çok yardımcı oldular Yemekleri çok lezzetli ancak biraz daha çeşit olabilirdi Genel olarak çok beğendik teşekkürler

Herşeyi güzeldi

The location is great and the communal areas of the hotel are very nice. We've stayed a number of times in a number of different rooms and the ones we stay in tend to be nice and spacious. The breakfast is very good. Checking in and out is always quick and painless.

It was really hot, we couldn't open the windows and then air con didn't work. I suspect this was a known issue as when I rang reception in the middle of the night there was no surprise, we should have been provided with a fan at the out set, it would have saved me having to spend time and effort trying in vain different setting to get the thing to work. It lead to a poor nights sleep.

Stayed here a few times. We had a free upgrade to the Venetian suite and it was amazing. Could not find fault. Great break away.

One slight criticism was waitresses at breakfast were not very engaging!! Both my husband and I asked for 1 egg but got two. Maybe they were new and not very confident.

Camera curata si spatioasa. Facilitati la discretie in camera, apa si sucuri fara a fi taxat. Iluminatul in camere are reglaj al intensitatii. Camerele au un design clasic aparte ce te face sa te simti ca acasa imediat ce ai intrat in hotel.

Die Lage ist perfekt. Ausreichend Parkplätze sind vorhanden.

Unser Zimmer lag im Dachgeschoss vom Nebengebäude. Es gibt keinen Aufzug und das Gepäck muss über eine steile, schmale Stiege nach oben getragen werden.

The photos actually match the rooms.

The facilities advertised air conditioning but upon arrival the receptionist informed me it wasn’t working. They then arranged a cooler but it was blowing hot air. We had to leave and they agreed to a full refund.

The hotel is beautiful in a great location. Not to central but close enough to everything you need. The room is amazing with complementary drinks and L'occitane products. The stuff is wonderful. I didn't have the breakfast but heard it's great. The bar was lovely though.

Everything was great.

Lovely old building beautifully converted into the hotel, in an excellent town centre location. The room was small but comfortable and the staff are all really friendly and welcoming.

The only criticism is that there wasn’t a convenient place to dry my hair where a socket and mirror were in easy proximity.

Bathroom was absolutely stunning. Very good location, close to town centre.

Over priced for what it was.

herausragendes und freundliches Personal => das allein macht den Aufenthalt schon sehr angenehm; altehrwürdiges Hotel mit sehr hochwertiger Einrichtung; sehr gutes Frühstück; sehr gutes Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis

Complimentary water and treats in mini bar. Secure car park with lots of parking. Lovely breakfast in Rose room.

Split level stairs very dangerous

Very central and a/c

The emergency exit light lite the whole room up all night making a good nights sleep impossible terrible way of doing things

The room was excellent. The breakfast and dinner staff excellent, but the bar bistro staff less efficient.

Snack menu poor

Exceptional hotel. We have also stayed in other hotels in the area with near-similar prices, but this stands out a mile above the rest. Outstandingly friendly and professional staff.

n/a

Well maintained, clean, good location, staff were polite and friendly, breakfast was good

We were in room 11 and the air conditioning did not work.

Location, cleanliness

Room was smaller than expected, and uncomfortable to sleep in. The emergency lighting was unnecessarily too bright to be able to sleep well, and the air conditioning too loud to use so it was hot and uncomfortable. No USB charging which seems ridiculous in a hotel of this price and the pillows are awful!!