Dolphin Hotel St Ives

Nothing really the wooden shack provided some food at a pricey cost

Never got the room we requested, like a building site no restaurant and to access the bar we had to go outside and enter from another, paid extra for a superior room ground floor with a patio, we got a first floor with balcony my wife has mobility issues so booked with a shower got a bath with a shower in it, total dissatisfied

Location

It truly needs big investment and refresh. Bed and pillows very hard. TV hanging on last life and very slow. Paint and decor aged and worn. Corridors felt like a hostel

The location by the river is lovely. The barman was helpful and friendly

The hotel decor appears very dated. Curtains and windows not very appealing. Could do with an overhaul.

So near the town ,so helpful, changed my room so I had no stairs no problem very gd going bk next year

Cant say nothing

Location

Breakfast was poor ,

The view from our room was lovely,

The whole decoration was quite shabby

The location is excellent. Just a couple of minutes walk , across a beautiful old stone pedestrian only bridge, from St Ives town centre .Plenty of parking included in the price of our rooms , or only £2.00 per day if not. The hotel is located on the banks of the River Great Ouse, which is beautiful. Nice outside seating area at the back of the hotel , outside the bar. Decent size clean room.

There was a strong smell of paint in Reception & piles of decorating equipment left on the way to the bar & rooms. Very messy for a first impression! Check in was very muddled. We had booked 2 king rooms & 1 double. We were handed 3 key cards, without being informed as to which room was which . When we queried this we were told they were all doubles, then that they were all king.! Breakfast was severed in a separate building across the carpark from our rooms, Wouldn't be good in wet or cold weather ! The breakfast was a very underwhelming buffet. Not very hot & poor quality for the price. The name of the hotel, the building ,the bar area & the décor do not fit in with its beautiful setting. It is defiantly not 4 star & wasn't good value for money

The location. A comfortable bed. A clean and equipped room. The domestic staff do their job well.

Being told on arrival the the ‘disabled room’ which had been pre-arranged on Wednesday, 9 September, had been sold to someone else on Friday 11 Sept. Not professional! Not having the room with facilities for disabilities as arranged by telephone in advance, and trying to cope in a standard bathroom caused considerable discomfort. Breakfast was haphazard and poorly laid out.

Comfortable bed, friendly staff

Bathroom lights could not be turned off, shower pressure was very weak. There was no water on the morning we checked out, no one notified us, so we could not wash, clean teeth, flush loo etc.

Handy for town. Good wi-fi. Helpful staff

Bar was like a noisy youth club at night with youth playing pool and loud music being played. We were part of a group meeting up in St Ives. Despite booking a room in advance and arriving at 2.00pm we’re told there was not a room for them! Lack of security-anyone from the adjacent street or riverside terrace could access the bedroom corridor

Location.

The staff were miserable. TV didn't work very well, only worked when the window was open due to the satellite being on the window sill, beds very hard, decor outdated and breakfast was very cold considering breakfast started at 7 and we got there at 7:30 making it un-edible.

Very nice

Comfortable, quiet and excellent breakfast

Automatic extractor fan in bathroom sometimes wouldn't turn off

The area was fantastic

Staff were great

Room size, room comfort, quiet room (mostly), view from room. Plenty of free off-road parking (if river not flooded!) Price compared to all motels in the area

Lack of evening food. Lack of hair dryer in room (not noticed until after shower). Room was clean but NOT spotless (top of mirror in bathroom was dirty). No lift to our floor. People arriving/departing late at night, shouting, slamming doors.

Location on the river

Lovely area, friendly staff

The property was clean and location brilliant

Still a lot needs doing in reception area when you pull up it's not the best first view

The property was undergoing some renovation but overall it was clean and a brilliant locations shame I didn’t get chance to see the beautiful surroundings as we were hosting a wedding but my guests truly loved it . Reception staff Stalin and Seta very helpful and supportive. Even the restaurant manager Eduardo very helpful and let our guests use breakfast room for own food and even offered tea and coffee. Amanda the office manager was very helpful and arrange to help us with gift bags which needed handing out to guests. Overall a professional and supportive service. After wedding party was at the back of the Dolphin hotel which had amazing views and bar tender were cheerful and hospitality. Everyone had a wonderful time and no complaints from hotel management or local which we really appreciate.

Just some rooms did not have fridges or fans despite lovely big rooms. Also, few some rooms no gels and creams in bathrooms . I would suggest AC For future as lovely location and big rooms

The location and friendly staff

A bit dated and anyone can walk into the corridors from outside

nice tea/ nice view off the balcony/the room and bathroom were very clean/comfy bed.

poor selection of breakfast options. For a GF & dairy free person not so much too choose from. No fresh veg/salad available.

I liked the location ☺️ and view

As I entered there was a huge spider, but the staff were very helpful and removed it.

Good location

Location

No pressure in the shower Beds are too soft

the views

noisey cooler unit, bathroom no lock, bath tub broken or missing drainer shower needs descaling

Room was a very good size. Bathroom was great. Clean! Very nice breakfast buffet.

There was no air conditioning. Just a fan. For the weather we had, that was fine. But might be a little hot on warm days.

The room and view was fantastic...breakfast was lovely..staff were brilliant

There was some wallpaper ripped off of the wall in the room..

Great location , clean , quiet , comfortable bed

Rooms decor a bit tired, shower not great, small compact bathroom, headboard dirty marks on it

Room with a beautiful view. Well appointed bathroom and good sized bedroom with well positioned plugs and mirrors. Plenty of storage space.

Windows didn't fit well. Fine as warm and sunny but would be very draughty other times of the year. Kettle needs replacing. Room next door smokers and smell in corridor and unable to sit on our little balcony. Would be far better to have allocated smoking areas away from rooms.

Loved my room, with a small balcony / patio overlooking the water meadow and river basin. Very comfortable and clean. Location adjacent to the town centre was excellent and parking very easy and secure.

Reception was a bit random - not unwelcoming, but no chat or real friendliness when I checked in or check out. That said, I didn't eat in the hotel and it was a one night stay for an early work start. So it was fine.

Friendly check-in, location amazing… staff very friendly

Loud, renovating and breakfast ok

Well located for St Ives, nice meadow and river side views at the back.

A bit scruffy outside in some places but they were having some renovations done.

It was central to St Ives and near the river

The hotel was unfinished. Work was being done to update the hotel, making the reception untidy. The hotel had very gloomy corridors, asking for a deposit upfront for our dog (which has never happened before). we wasnt allowed into the breakfast room with our dog, and they didn't do food. Bar was very overpriced, too

Position

Building work

On arrival we were greeted by a very unkempt reception with building materials around and about, paint tins on chairs and an unconvincing apology for work being in progress - not mentioned in the booking procedure anywhere. !st room TV didn't work (no signal) reluctant receptionist came to look at it and offered room opposite. 2nd room TV didn't work but had key to 1st room and took batteries from remote and put in Rm 2 remote and TV worked. The receptionist had originally expected us to crawl under the tv to take out leads and replace them! Access to trhe Bar was via an exit door to the riverside garden an then in through another door, there was no diret access to the bar from the main building. The exit door from the accommodation gave access to non residents, no security at all for residents and more importantly no security from access to rooms to those other than residents. Finally, I expect to have to pay a little more for the ambience and location of somewhere but for a pint of normal cider and lager at £12.50 is a rip off.

No secured access to rooms. Overpriced beverages in the bar. Dining room in a different location to the main building. Poor customer service.

The wonderful receptionist and bar staff. There is a huge amount of parking, and what a wonderful location. To drink a cold cider on the terrace, overlooking the river, after a long drive was heaven.

All the spiders in the corridor, the dirty windows, weird wiring, loose sink and lack of emergency (or any) information in the rooms and security. Despite AI suggesting that the hotel had been refurbished, since housing asylum seekers, our room door did not automatically shut (i.e. close from the outside) when we exited. I have never before stayed in a hotel which did NOT have guidance in case of fire (e.g. escape route and RVP) clearly posted inside the room. The `gluten-free' (GF) breakfast consisted of GF bread (or toast) and that was it. The condiments were in open jars and so not suitable for a coeliac. Apparently the kitchen staff (kind, but not inspiring) were supposed to have offered a separately cooked option (i.e. not from the buffet) but they did not ask and did not inspire confidence that they would understand the problem if they should use the non-GF implements to cook a GF breakfast.

Fantastic location & really helpful staff . The beer garden was fantastic right next to the river. Will definitely return 👍👍

The hotel has a beautiful view of the river. The bed was comfortable and the room had a large shower. The man on reception was very friendly and helpful.

It was noisy at night time with people walking past the hotel but that couldn't be helped as it is near the town centre. There wasn't a hairdryer in the room.

Excellent location. The property is undergoing renovation and our newly refurbished rooms was fabulous. Cannot wait to see the full refurbishment.

N/A

Lovely location next to the river, room was acceptable, clean & tidy, just looking a little tired. Breakfast was acceptable, buffet style, but seems the buffet trays were filled up early doors, so as the morning goes on everything turns a little like cardboard, tip of the day, get to breakfast early!

Just the breakfast.

WORST HOTEL EXPERIENCE — COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE One of the worst hotel experiences I have ever had. Absolutely shocking management and a complete lack of professionalism. I booked two rooms for 8th and 9th August to attend a wedding, while the wedding host had booked 20+ additional rooms. The hotel was contacted well in advance on 10th July, and my rooms were confirmed. Despite this, the hotel cancelled the wedding host’s 20+ rooms without informing them. Even more shocking, on 8th August at 11:00 AM, guest names were handed to reception and the arrangements were discussed, yet nobody mentioned that the rooms had been cancelled. The issue was only revealed when wedding guests started arriving. This left the wedding host extremely embarrassed and under enormous pressure, having to deal with disappointed guests at the last minute. Completely unacceptable for such an important occasion. Reception staff were poorly trained, understaffed and unable to manage check-ins efficiently. Communication was extremely difficult. The rooms were also dirty and far below an acceptable hotel standard. The hotel appeared to be operating with only two housekeeping staff on 8th August, which clearly affected the service and room quality. What should have been a joyful wedding celebration became a stressful and embarrassing experience because of terrible communication, poor organisation and inadequate management. WORST HOTEL. WORST MANAGEMENT. ZERO COMMUNICATION. ZERO PROFESSIONALISM. I would strongly advise anyone to avoid this hotel, especially for weddings, group bookings or important occasions. I will never stay here again and would not recommend it to anyone.

Visiited St Ives, wanted lunch by the river. Had problems accessing the garden area by the river as we had a mobility scooter, had to go through the hotel car park then through the hotel. The food was ordered and supplied by a gazebo . After ordering took ages then the burger came without the chips, some time later when the chips had arrived we had eaten the burger!!. Wont choose to eat there again.

every thing was spot on

nothing

The location and guy on the reception. The available parking. The outside bar seating overlooking the river.

Mould in the bathroom, especially the shower.

The river views

The restaurant was closed

Great location on the river next to a bridge into the town centre. A very nice little town with plenty of shops, bars & restaurants.

The bar was nice but tended to attract a lot of the local youngsters in the evening. We felt a little out of place and retired early.

Working in progress is exceptional

Fan didn’t reach to window - it is a stiffling summer.

Location

I asked for extra pillows when booking & again on the evening of our stay. They never arrived. The restaurant is undergoing refurbishment. 1 bed was very hard. The catch on 1 window was held on loosely by 1 screw. There was a cobweb on the ceiling. Staff hard to find on the evening we were there. Room not to the standard we expected.

On site parking, but tight. Field overflow. Convenient walk into town. Comfortable bed. Clean shower room. Breakfast available. Pleasant apologetic reception staff. Fan in room. Modern decor being installed.

We booked this hotel via Booking.com on the 20th July for the 31st July. We specifically asked for quiet double room with bath and river view. We had an email from Booking.com the same day to say that this was confirmed. We had tried to book direct but no reply to phone. On the day before arrival (30th) when it was too late to look elsewhere, we received message from Booking.com with T&Cs and stated that river view not available but no mention about the bath. We immediately sent an email about this. When we arrived we were told told no room with a bath bath available either. We were offered twin room with bath but eventually, very reluctantly, accepted a double with shower, on ground floor by public pedestrian road. We were given £15 bar voucher as compensation but having paid £282 for two nights that was not much. The window in our room opened out onto the street but the security lock was broken and we had to climb on chair and on to deep window ledge to shut it so we could not leave it open despite the heat. A wall light was not working. The hotel is being re-furbished so quite a lot of dust in some areas. We had to go outside to get to the bar and across car park to the breakfast room which was OK in fine weather. The windows to the breakfast/ballroom were very dirty with bird droppings smeared down them in many places. The buffet breakfast OK but quality of cooked food was not. The bar and riverside are very popular with non-residents and very busy with a food truck and loud music. and all looking a bit scruffy. It's not the tranquil place the photos indicate. Overall, very disappointing for what was a special wedding anniversary weekend. Would like to hear from management about a partial refund.

Nothing

Everything

Location

Reception staff were very helpful and pleasant. Evening bar staff were atrocious. The young ladies kept closing the bar to go and talk to thier friends, then closed early (Saturday night) because they wanted to go to Cambridge for a night out. No warning, lots of people the bar confused with more customers walking in off the street as it was still early and people were coming back to the hotel after a day out. Hotel was also in the middle of a renovation so lots of building material left lying around. Whole hotel was looking very tired and in need a a good scrub.

Nice location & fair price.

Bar was very expensive.

I was really disappointed with our stay at Dolphin Hotel. We booked a family room, but it was far below what we expected. The water pressure was so poor that showering was frustrating, and one of the single beds was much smaller than a standard single, making it uncomfortable to sleep on. The outdoor seating area was another major issue. Loud music was played for long periods, making it impossible to relax or get any peace and quiet, we had to leave and find a nicer setting. Breakfast was also very poor. The food tasted cheap, was served cold, and much of it was hard, as though it had been sitting out for too long. It certainly wasn't the quality you'd expect when paying for a hotel stay. Overall, this was a very disappointing experience. With uncomfortable rooms, poor facilities, excessive noise, and an underwhelming breakfast, I wouldn't choose to stay here again or recommend it to others

Just stayed here for my 60th with my wife & family for an overnight stay. If you want a hotel with a beautiful setting on the river then this is 5 stars, however...I would not recommend this hotel for the tired rooms, uncomfortable beds( only doubles) & the worst breakfast I have ever had at a hotel. Worst scrambled egg ever, cheap sausages, cheap bacon, burnt hash browns etc etc....but the worst of all is the cheap table sauces, the cheapest of the cheap & proudly displaying the labels, it has to be proper Heinz, HP & Hellmans sauces...nothing else will suffice ! My wife ate half a sausage & half a hash brown, refused to eat anymore, so I subsequently was not paying 10.00 for her breakfast. Everyone in our party complained about the breakfast to each other & the condiments. It has a nice Bar tbf & some excellent table games with seating available for having a drink etc... we had the most tranquil setting on the terrace overlooking the river with good fast food available, but this was all ruined by the 8 hour on site hip hop rave!!... what an headache!!!... just unbelievable!!!....If it was a DJ playing some soulful sounds in the background then yeah would be great...this was a full on headache weed filled Rave up....have that in a field somewhere not at your hotel with that lovely picturesque setting. This is an honest review & I think fair, but I,m sure the management will bite back as they don't like negativity in any form. Overall we enjoyed our stay but we would never stay at this hotel again, but would definitely have a drink on the terrace.

Stayed here with the family for my husbands 60th birthday. Hotel location is absolutely stunning but the hotel itself definitely needs some improvement. We booked two family rooms along with a standard king for ourselves. One family room had a Queen size bed with a single bed but the other had a small double with a kiddies size bed even though the room was big enough for a standard single bed, not sure why these two rooms which cost the same price would not have the same bed sizes. Also our standard king room did definitely not have a king size bed it was a large double. No mattress protector either with a thin cotton sheet. Breakfast was not the best, overcooked scrambled egg, hard hash browns, Luke warm and with cheap budget table sauces with the labels displaying this, maybe at least put them in neutral dispensers! Staff friendly enough but do feel hotel needs a lot of improvement overall .

I loved the location, beautiful view of the river and near the town centre. Good choice at breakfast. Fresh fruit and yoghurt, croissants and a cooked breakfast.

Our room overlooked the street so we could hear people coming home from nights out so it was a bit noisy. However, we had the windows open so it might have been okay if they were shut.

Locatie. Prachtig aan het water en je liep meteen het dorp in

Ontbijt matig. Achteraf gezien teveel moeten betalen

The outside bar and pop up food was very good and lovely views

The breakfast was poor, been kept warm too long. Overgrown landscape and dirty windows. They were refurbishing which we didn't know in advance. The restaurant was closed.

Gentleman on reception couldn't do enough to help us. Arrived in heatwave and he fully opened windows with a key for us. Very friendly and helpful. Bed comfortable. Fan provided. Hot breakfast good and staff at breakfast lovely. Location beautiful.

Hotel basic but this is reflected in the price.

😄

😀

We took 3 rooms with friends to a reception party not too far from the hotel When we checked in we were welcomed by very happy staff could not do enough for our comfort. The rooms were large clean and very nice. Location is fantastic with a lovely bar overlooking the river

Excellent customer service from receptionist to the bar , breakfast

Absolutely nothing

Fantastic location. Easy to find and plentiful parking

Very tired feel to the whole place. No air conditioning, which was a real pain, the room was baking. Various minor niggles that didn’t really affect us that much, but if they’re symptomatic of the whole hotel then much more than the seemingly endless “renovations” needs to be done. Still no dining room, but this is obviously to the gain of various excellent establishments on the other side of the bridge! Breakfast was average,at best, but at least was cheap. The staff, on the other hand, were great; cheerful and happy and extremely helpful.

Die Lage ist sehr gut.

Ein bißchen in die Jahre gekommen, ohne alten Charme zu haben.

Location is amazing and a lovely little town

Had to single bed when I wanted a double the shower was not powerful but beside that everything was ok

Shower was not powerful

Location was good, had a great view of the river and got to watch sunset from our window. Short walk to shops, restaurants and river. Receptionist was very friendly and helpful when we got there on the Saturday,great customer service.

The bar was a bit overpriced, ordered Guinness which was from a can and warm. Also One of the pillow cases had big stains on, which was very noticeable so am surprised the cleaners left it on there.

Super location next to the river and a short walk across the bridge to the town. Free Wi-Fi with good speed for streaming. Large car park, so no parking worries. Good check-in, organised and efficient.

It felt a bit like the wild west with no Sherriff! The bar was very rowdy, and had I had children, I would have left. Fireworks went off unannounced just before midnight in the car park. The subsequent skip fire that woke me up the second time as the emergency services attended. Bring your own hairdryer!

We were greeted with a warm friendly welcome when we arrived from the gentleman on reception. He provided us with all the details we needed for WiFi, the bar, parking and the local area. There was plenty of choice for breakfast. This is a perfect location for St Ives. The room was clean, great value for money and ideal for one nights stay.

Room was quite hot. Although a fan was provided, maybe air con could be installed to help make the stay more comfortable

Breakfast excellent

No air conditioning , room very hot , too noisy with fan on

Iocation, room b clean

Under refurbishment , no warning, slope up to bathroom, tripped twice, tv did not work. Reception not at desk. V basic for cost paid

Lovely views from terrace & short walk to town

The location was beautiful and great for local bars, restaurants and shops. Good size rooms. Plenty of free parking at the hotel.

The bed was too soft and the water didn’t come out of the shower very well (not great for rinsing shampoo out of long hair).

The location, side of a river has great potential,Lovely village

From the first entrance into the building, building materials left everywhere, inside and outside of the building , the gardens left uncared for, lack of staff. But more importantly my wife felt vulnerable and not safe in our room no. 2. It is designed to be shared for larger families which we understand but the door that connects rooms 1&2 has terrible loose inappropriate screws attaching a terrible inappropriate door locks, even the locking clasps are fitted at a angle so the bolt does not fully enter the clasp. Screws are loose, one slight push and anyone can enter. The rooms themselves are clean and nicely decorated, water pressure is very low during showers. We are not usually people who complain but if I hadn’t had some alcohol last night and only stayed 1 night I probably would have driven home. The breakfast was not brilliantly fresh obviously sat for a while, it’s such a shame as on the river is a great location. Just one other small but very obvious thing, get yourselves a window cleaner.

The location is perfect, right on the river and a two minute walk to the town.

The breakfast wasn't great. Could be so much better with better equipment. I wanted porridge and needed a sachet of porridgeto be made in the kitchen. Due to shortage of staff, it took far longer than it needed to be. It's also a little complicated getting to the bar from the reception. Clearer signage is needed.

Very good staff nice and polite

Hotel bar lack of choice of beer and kitchen could of been open for meals not just for breakfast

Location on river side and metres from centre

Nothing really

It was clean

I booked a luxury double bed, I was given a cheaper twin bed room and not given my money back. The shower was very weak it was hard to get wet, there was no light switch on the bathroom, a PIR put the light on and off. You have to keep moving to keep the light on in the bathroom. There’s also building work going on in the hotel

Where it was situated on the river

The view outside our window was a car park

Amazing view, very peaceful. Excellent Location for walking and exploring the town. Good Breakfast Friendly staff

No bedside light in the bedroom

Great place 👌 Just keep going back to stay

Rooms perfect 👌 Food good

The room was clean and sufficient for our one night stay Breakfast was okay, great setting overlooking the river

We had an issue that we couldn't control the shower temperature. Luckily there was a bath alternative . As we were only staying the one night this wasn't a major issue for us.

Great location. Staff very friendly and helpful

Undisclosed renovations going on. By necessity I had booked a room facilities for a wheelchair user. Some of the fittings were very worn in the bathroom

Nothing

Breakfast was horrendous, hotel was a complete mess

Excellent location.

We had no specific issues, some facilities not available The room we had was a good size but inadequately furnished, could really have been made into a deluxe/ luxury room.

We arrived early for check in, and stated we knew this. The person on Reception told us in an offhand manner"check in is two o'clock, the bar is open, town over the bridge'. We tried further speech, but the person was more interested in her conversation with another. This offhand start was a shame, as the Hotel is in a gorgeous setting, the rooms are comfortable, and breakfast very nice. This was our second visit, and probably our last.

Breakfast very good

Everything fine

great breakfast good choices near shops and pubs

nothing

Location was excellent

Windows need a good clean especially in the breakfast room

the wet room was amazing, the room was very comfortable. Staff excellent. Position perfect, just far enough away that we are not in the centre of things but two minute walk to be there. Price was really good but I suspect this is just while the refurb takes place. We would love to come back though. Really good that we were not charged to leave our car in the car park after check out which meant we could have a lovely lunch in town with no stress.

Bed was a bit too small for the two of us, but probably because it was a disabled room and needed more space for the wheelchair users. When the bar was not open couldn't sneak out straight onto the bridge as gate was locked. Not a major issue but I kept on forgetting and then having to walk round.

Our room was generous, clean and comfortable. Located on the river, the location is excellent with a quick walk over the historic bridge accessing all that St Ives has to offer. Free parking for customers is very convenient.

A small fridge in the room would have added to the experience.

Clean, quiet, good location

The shower in my room was very weak

.

.

Clean airy well located

Nothing negative about it for me

The bed was comfortable and the bed linen was crisp and of a good quality. The bathroom was clean and the shower was great. I use my own toiletries due to allergies but there was plenty of toiletries available. There was a good selection of tea and coffee and sufficient milk which was great. I had a great view from my room which was a real bonus.

The windows needed a good clean and the walls were very thin. The grounds around the car park could do with a bit of clearing and sorting out.

The location was good. Able to walk across the bridge into the town. Good size car park.

There was little hanging space for clothes (5 hangers). No wardrobe. No drawers to put clothes and underwear, we had to live out of our suitcase. Definitely DIDNOT LIKE the brown toilet paper. Some of our group had their rooms downgraded but we're not offered a refund. They had to argue their case and didn't get the correct refund. Had to ask for tea bags. The bar on the first night was not open.

Friendly staff