Ivy Bush Royal Hotel by Compass Hospitality

Good location, well appointed room, helpfully staff, excellent food menu,

I messaged hotel when booking that my wife used a wheelchair, i don't think the choice of room given in the basement was really suitable, it was difficult to get in and out of the small lift at the basement. I'd rate the room as good although the bed was a little firm for us and the windows could do with a clean

Due to our experience very little

The room allocated to us had not been cleaned or bedding changed for our arrival. Offered another smaller room by duty manager. Declined so offered us another room which we turned down as it smelled of damp and old toilets. As booked room would not be cleaned until the next day we took first offer. This room was dusty, TV had no reception and WiFi did not work. Felt little sympathy offered. We got booked room the next day - TV had no reception and WiFi didn’t work. When Booking.com contacted them on our behalf they said there had been no problem. As you might imagine our response was not good as to their view of events.

Average

Mold in window, dirty carpet, mold on shower head, dirty shower curtain, mold behind the mixer tap on bath and damaged dirty bin in the bathroom, also side of bed torn along the bottom near floor. Damp on the wall and ceiling in corner near window. TV didn't work very well.

It was a lovely place to stay..the staff were friendly and helpful

The amount of steps up to the bedroom!

The breakfast was good as normal. The staff very pleasant and helpful.

The only thing I didn't like was the television didn't have all of the freebies channels.

Location

No drinking water provided

Lovely breakfast nice big bedroom with another room to watch tv will stay again

Could have some bath robes in the bathroom the tv was hard to work.

Good location

No towels in room .tv not working we were moved 3 times

Personnel sympathique Petit déjeuner copieux Très propre Le barman. Thomas très gentil

Le personnel ne parle pas du tout Français Le parking payant 5 livres par 24h Un peu vieillot

Good location and car park

The plug was stuck in the bath so only one person could use it.

Loved everything

Breakfast Very close to the town centre

Very Expensive for the room

The only good thing about our stay was the breakfast which was very good.

Firstly we were surprised that we had to pay for parking in their car park. Our room was very disappointing. Very tired. It was a small room. The furniture was old and worn. The chair had visible stains on her cushion. The TV was new but far too big for the room and covered most of the dresser/desk and wall mirror which left little room for doing hair etc. There were no instructions on how to use the tv which was complicated for us to navigate. There were 2 light bulbs on the wall lights not working. The pillows are absolutely rubbish and like pancakes. The bathroom was actually clean but the bath taps were broken and difficult to use. The bin didn’t open never mind how hard we tried.

Nice size room, clean and tidy and a good breakfast.

Decor was a little dated so room wpuld benefit from refurb to modernise however this didn’t effect the stay in any way.

Location good for everything in town

Friendly staff near to town

Room a bit dated dust needed a good clean and painted needs new bed as base had a rip in it and looked shaby

The room smells of old cloth

Didnt like having to pay for parking

Central location

No complaints

Location of hotel and parking availability.

Where do I start... No air conditioning, room was boiling. Unpicked rubbish from previous guests between bed and bedside table. Broken soap dispenser after which I received a cup (yes) filled with soap. The baby cot we requested was not installed, the receptionist had to do it herself. The cot was dirty with stains everywhere. No mattress (I was being convinced by the manager this is the standard in all UK hotels) and no fitted sheet was available to cover the dirty cardboard base my baby was supposed to sleep on. But hey, they use Clinell to wipe the cot after every use! Restaurant - waited ages for my starter, which came with the wrong bread. After I finished the starter waited ages for my main, chased the waiter, at which point I got a surprised look and a question "Oh, you want your main now?"... No, mate, next Tuesday would be fine. And I'm not commenting about how old and tired the entire place is, it could still be decent, but it was not.

Great location Lovely bar and outside area Great breakfast

All good

Location

The room was dusty with the desktop dirty as was the cups. There was dust falling from the light fittings and the rear of the tv. There where no towels in the room when we arrived.

Nice hotel. Bedroom on lower floor but lift was available. Good breakfast. Hotel was in good location for hospital appointment

Toilet seat was loose. Room was noisy late evening with noise from above.

Both good.

Quite satisfied

Breakfast was good plenty to choose from

Nothing

Food was good and reasonably priced

Service Stayed 3 days room was not cleaned even after asking 3 times

Nice location

Room are smells

In room We are feeling sufficating. Also bathroom door was not properly working. I get locked in bathroom and need for help.

The bed and breakfast was ok, bu th eoverall room condition was not good.

The room was provided 1 hour late, and I was not expecting this. Because it did not meet the check-in time, I would request a refund of the payment.

Breakfast

Noise in basement room .footsteps from above all day !

A lovely old building

Needed a good cleaning , room wasn’t vacuumed , bedside tables dirty, room dusty , bathroom extractor fan so dirty didn’t work , smirking boards filthy. Needed good steam clean.

All together is okay

Actually this is not that didnt like its my suggestion i am from india and i am an non veg person but i never tried becon,please consider for vegetarians people as well.its a free breakfast but couldnt have anything.

Large car park when you payed got money back behind bar

Bar floor dirty.Bar staff not very nice.All rooms frayed around edges.Bed was hard as a board.

Good selection of food and drink. Good location. Most of the staff were ok.

Room was too noisy. There was a dog barking on and off all night. The staff were emptying bottles, which was really loud. The beds were not very comfortable. Overall not a great experience this time.

You have to pay for the parking

The room was shabby with wallpaper peeling off and the toilet wouldn’t flush. Didnt stay for the second night.

Obviously the rooms could be better maintained

The room was huge and had everything we needed. The hotel was lovely and well situated in the town to access the facilities. The bar was lovely and very comfortable.

Our room was on the ground floor next to the car park. Regularly through the night and early hours, lorries, would park outside and make significant noise. It was quite disruptive.

The breakfast was okay but there were lots of kids running around screaming, we weren’t even asked for our room number. Anyone could of walked in off the street and helped themselves to breakfast.

This is the noisiest hotel I have ever stayed at people talking loudly in the corridors and outside even at 3am in the morning, I got about an hours sleep!

Lovely, clean, comfortable. Breakfast is fab

A noisy generator/boiler or some kind of equipment can be quite obnoxious during the night but it depends on which room you stay in.

Central to town. Lovely staff. Beautiful breakfast

Damp smell in room. Needs updating desperately. Smelly carpets… smells of dirty feet…

Room was clean. Very good breakfast buffet. Nice bar area and outside terrace. Big car park Fridge in room is a good idea as used that. Bed was good. Good shower.

Paying for parking, allthough you get a partial refund at bar, bizarre though that the ticket you are supposed to display is what you need for refund at bar. Tv only a few channels work. I washing basement which was noisy in morning,guessing thats staff preparing breakfast. No bed side table for putting clock, book etc on. Having said this i would stay again but ask for different room.

Location town centre

Room was located next to decked area and very noisy , had to pay to park , hotel is very dated some staff struggled to speak English/welsh , lights in bedroom not working

Good location, friendly check in staff and bar staff

Very dated property, rooms were very dusty and dirty in parts, one window didn’t open. Noisy very early in the morning

rECEPTION WERE VERY HELPFUL

The noise above room 61 from about 6.00 a.m.

Good size bedroom with all the usual facilities. Free WiFi.

Really disappointed that, since the last time we stayed there, they have introduced a daily car parking charge! Tried to get food at 7pm after a long and busy day’s work only to be told that because of an event on at the hotel there would be an hour’s wait for food!! Went looking for something to eat in Carmarthen instead. A missed opportunity and a lack of service for guests staying at the hotel!

Good location. Room was relatively pleasant and clean, but quite hot. Plenty of parking although it is pay and display £5 per 24 hours. Staff are very helpful. Town centre and Castle within easy walking distance.

Quite noisy because the room was on the ground floor adjacent to the car park. A good choice of breakfast but it was often quite rubbery having been left under the hot lamps. Restaurant had ony 1 vegetarian option as a main course. The room was very hot even with the window open. No fridge in the room to keep drinks cold.

Great location for exploring south wales. Lovely breakfast with very pleasant older chap waiting on us . Nice food for dinner.

Dirty dusty room, bathroom ancient, rusty chain on a plastic plug in the sink / black grouting and silicone throughout. Mouldy cloth shower curtain that hung into the bath as it was too long. One out of 4 lightbulbs working in the room and someone else’s packets of rice in the dressing table cupboard - kettle still had water in it and dirty fingerprints all over it and the picture frames had an inch of thick dust on top of them.

Location and breakfast

1. Collecting Parking charges extra and later part refunding it on purchase of food/drinks. Its annoying. 2. Cleaning wasn't up to the mark. 4. Beds weren't much comfy. 5. Allotting room to a family just below kitchen which doesn't let you sleep after 5 am. Come on, your guests are on vacation, not on a mission. Moving room next day was appreciable. 6. TV didn't work properly.

Parcheggio disponibile al prezzo di 5 sterline.

La stanza e il bagno erano decisamente sporchi. Il wc non era stato pulito (presentava schizzi e peli, nonché macchie che evidenziavano la mancanza di pulizia dopo un uso prolungato). Disseminati per il pavimento (moquette) e su tutte le superfici della stanza erano palesemente visibili peli, capelli, unghie, briciole, etichette di oggetti/indumenti, polvere, etc. Muri scrostati. Decisamente una delle stanze più sporche mai viste. Ci ha messi decisamente a disagio. Sconsiglio vivamente

Room very comfy, breakfast good

Lovely hotel which we’ve stayed in many times before

We were promised that they would arrange a taxi the next morning to the station and an early breakfast to go as we were leaving early on Saturday. Although we were assured on the Friday night that this was arranged we woke up early on Saturday and neither things were arranged. We did express our disappointment at the time and have since followed up with 2 emails. I’m not sure if the hotel has made any adjustments to rectify matters. I’ve certainly not seen any gestures for this inconvenience from them.

Staff were polite and attentive during our stay. We stayed two weekends in a row for the National Eisteddfod and the first weekend staff were unable to meet our requirements for vegetarian sausages. However, during the second weekend staff, we were able to ask and were provided with vegetarian sausages.

Unfortunately I feel this hotel was ill prepared for the National Eisteddfod. There just didn't seem to be enough staff to accommodate a full hotel. Our room was not clean at all, dirty bathroom and dusty room. We were unable to change rooms due to the hotel being full. Breakfast was a lovely variety but unfortunately we had to wait a while for items to be replenished. The savory cakes and croissants were not replenished at all whilst we were having breakfast (and we were not late for breakfast). The staff appeared 'run off their feet'.

Location, clean

Some of the room with stairs has some difficult access, particularly with someone with disabilities. One room changed fortunately for our parents

Terrible. Insisted on a room with air con when booking. Arrived and given one without. Refused to refund £95 even though the photos of the room clearly showed air conditioning. Chap behind the desk, who did the website and handled the booking, said it was merely a request that they couldn’t fulfil. Hence went home.

The room was fine, quite well kept.

The floorboards outside the door made a clunking noise when people walked past, but they may have just been heavy-footed, nothing serious.

Close to city center

Nothing

Friendly staff, good food and comfortable stay. I stayed here for a night for work and enjoyed the stay with no issues.

We arrived at reception to be ignored by the receptionist who was on phone, but wasn’t having a conversation with anyone on it, so she could of said “i will be with you in a minute “. There we stood until she decided to get the form for us to sign to check in while still on the phone. We went up to our room. It was a very warm room. No fan to be seen. Opened the windows to get some fresh air in. We had a drink in the bar. Where we sat was dirty with dead flies on the window sill. Had a very restless night sleep due to the curtains not shutting properly leaving sunlight in, and the sound of children in the above room running from 6am. No Hairdryer in room. Glass in bathroom was dirty. A very disappointed stay at the Ivy Bush. Not worth £100 a night stay. When checked out the receptionist didn’t ask if everything was ok with our stay, seems too interested in sorting out paperwork than to engage with us. The only positive from our experience was the restaurant staff in the morning. Nothing was too much to ask. Went over and beyond, when we asked for items. Ivy Bush has been a part of our family for years, and it’s disappointing to see it in the current state and lack of customer service. Wont be returning ever again

Room was clean and tidy, bed very comfortable, good location and enjoyed my breakfast

Shower was very disappointing.. not sure if it was water supply or shower head issue, but very little water coming from shower, no steady stream of water at all.

Great stat with lovely staff.

Please can you make sure there are vegan & vegetation options at breakfast, as advertised on your website.

A nice meal but a word of caution Beware the hotel car park which the hotel maintains is run by an external company and therefore has no control over. At the end of July six of my former colleagues and I met at the hotel for a reunion meal and to celebrate my forthcoming birthday. Whilst there we obviously took on board the hotel’s suggestion on it’s website ‘to relax and watch the world go by’ a little too literally as we exceeded our original plan to be at the hotel by around 45 minutes. This was not intentional and realising this we immediately asked reception if we could pay an additional amount of parking time before leaving. The hotel said that they could not help even though we were customers of the hotel that afternoon. As of this morning 3 of our group including myself have received fines totalling £300 for the visit (a bit less if we pay up in the next few days). Another one is anxiously looking out for a letter in the post ! The hotel say that they are unable to help and as there are probably no grounds to appeal to an external car parking company, there’ll be no other option than to cough up. Needless to say there’s no repeat visits planned to use this hotel any time soon !!

Made a booking in error through expedia, they would not help so went to the hotel and spike was Abby who went out of her way to help. She sorted everything out and made our visit to Carmarthen a wonderful experience. A great ambassador for the hotel

location of room is difficult and access is problem. sink was out of order.

room location

Good size room ,great breakfast,good value..hard to grumble at the price. I definitely will return, pleasent experience once again

Charge for parking redeemable if you provided the ticket which is in the car .. but not a major issue,

We have styed here a few times & the Hotel is well located & offers a good breakfast & Evening meals. Housekeeping is not the best when sometimes the room has not been cleaned/beds unmade/ prior to return. Otherwise,the staff are friendly & polite.Hotel have now introduced a pay charge for overnight parking.

Better housekeeping in the rooms.It seems that when a coach party arrives,that takes preference.

Location

Water in bathroom not coming

All

Nil

Cool

Everythimg

Ease of access to town centre and excellent breakfast.

One receptionist was not too approachable. I preferred when parking was included for guests. It’s a chore booking in every day.

Great location in Carmarthen, good facilities. Nice bar area and deck. Dinner was nice. Breakfast was good but we think understaffed as couldn't ask anyone for tea or coffee and waiting on some dishes to be replenished. Waiting to order dinner and drinks at bar was a while too, no one there for 5 minutes or so.

Bed was small.

The friendly staff and the facilities in the communal areas

Our room was on the ground floor. No means of looking out and the sound from above started very early.

Breakfast was superb, as was the Sunday lunch. Wifi was good, also the tv.. Location was excellent.

I had not realised that they had started charging for parking, and would probably not have booked had I realised that. The treks to & from the meter to pay and leave the ticket in the car were an annoyance, and we lost out overall on hours paid for and used. Twice my room key would not open our door, causing me to trek back to reception to get it sorted out. It was a lengthy walk to the room from reception, and our legs aren't very good. There was only one chair in a room for two. We found that the bed wasn't very comfortable. On the whole, the evening meals lacked variety. These are just a few of the disappointments.

Breakfast

We checked in at 9:30 a.m., rather than the standard 2:00 p.m. check-in time, due to our travel schedule. We were extremely tired after our journey and expected to be able to rest. Unfortunately, upon entering our room, we found that it had not been properly cleaned or prepared for new guests. The bed sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers had not been changed, and there were blood stains on the duvet. The bathroom was in an unacceptable condition, with used towels left behind, and the washbasin and toilet had not been cleaned. The room was also dusty and had clearly not been vacuumed. I immediately reported these issues to the receptionist. I then realised that several other guests were experiencing the same problem. The receptionist became very distressed and started crying, which suggested that the situation was affecting multiple guests. Although the hotel staff eventually replaced the bed sheets and duvet covers and provided fresh towels, the room should have been thoroughly cleaned and ready before our arrival. The condition of the room fell far below the standard that any guest should reasonably expect and caused us considerable inconvenience and distress after a long journey. Given the poor standard of cleanliness and the disruption to our stay, I believe it is reasonable to request appropriate compensation or a partial refund. I would appreciate your prompt response and hope this matter can be resolved fairly.

Fantastic breakfast

The room smelt like a smoker had used it, or it could have been because it was above the foyer and people were outside smoking

Desayuno satisfactorio. Ubicación buena.

El baño pésimo! Desague tapado. Puerta cierra mal. Se inundó y no pudieron solucionarlo.

We thought it was faulty towers no toilet paper no room service noise at night 15 people evicted one night.A laundry lorry turns up at 3am nowhere to park near hotel got to drag the crates across the car park noises wake you up followed by more lorries noise guests inside and out. Horrendous it is obvious no one reads the reviews because nothing improves.

Big bed double

Mattress hard , 4 pillows but not good quality. Pump or motor noise all night...like a loud washing machine noise ...it would stop and rumble and start up.again couldn't quite make it out but it was irritating

Breakfast was lovely, room was clean and tidy and was perfect for what we needed. was visiting family nearby so wasnt really in the hotel to fully experience everything but it was a busy hotel and all seemed to run well.Bed was comfy enough. shower was nice and hot.

lift seemed to take ages as was busy when we stayed so just used the stairs

Locality and perfect for wheel chair user.

Have stayed a couple of times of the years, starting to look tired.

The price, the size of the room, the comfy beds, the deep bath and the gorgeous breakfast.

The staff didn't feel very welcoming to start with, we arrived an hour early, but instead of being directed to the bar or facilities we were told come back later, leaving us to wait in a boiling hot car park.

Nothing

Had to pay for parking the staff were rude as a family we were separated and put on different floors it’s was noisy some sort of humming machinery throughout the night and loud guests old fashioned out of date decor hard bed one towel

Central location. The reception and bar area looked nice.

It cost nearly £90 for a one night mid week B&B. My room was extremely dated and needs to be refurbished.

Situated well for access into the town centre. Plenty of parking although it cost extra !!

Uncomfortable beds Poor shower Lack of facilities in room. Expensive what it offers.

La centralità della posizione. La comodità dei letti singoli.

La pulizia: ventola del bagno con strato di polvere molto spesso (sicuramente segno di manutenzione datata); moquette e pavimento non molto puliti e impolverati.

The bar area & lounge was fine. Breakfast selection was good Receptionist was lovely & very helpful.

The room / Number 133 was poorly maintained & just looked tired & dirty. Needs a complete revamp. If we had been staying more than one night we have asked to be moved to a better room.

It was local with friendly staff The triple room was large

Being woken by staff cleaning hoovering and stomping around at 6am

Convenient for town and very good breakfast.

Long tortuous route to room.

Staff

The staff and the breakfast

The first room that I was offered was like an oven, the second room was much better. The narrow corridors were difficult to pass other guests especially with luggage. If you look too closely at the decor it is easy to find problems.

Breakfast was excellent very hot . Staff friendly, helpful polite. Food first class. Couldn’t do enough . 1st class hotel

Have stayed at this hotel for the last 25 years , and come every year , nice to see it being re decorated. And rooms done up . Great improvements. Love the hotel and wouldn’t stay anywhere else in Carmarthen. Staff very friendly .and make you feel very welcome. Thank you . Stayed on 15/16 July. See you next year .

Location

Having to pay for parking when I’ve already paid for the room!!

Mid 30 degrees outside. On arrival my room had all windows open, curtains drawn back! No fan to cool the room down, so I shut the windows and closed curtains, opened the door to allow slightly cooler air in from the corridor. Had to pay £5.00 for 24 hr car parking, no mention of this on their website. Breakfast was good, bar and breakfast staff very helpful. Room could benefit from some maintenance.

Terrible customer service, very unprofessional and unwelcoming ​We made a bulk booking a week in advance for our group. After a long, exhausting journey, we arrived at the hotel, only to be met with an incredibly hostile reception. ​The staff member at the front desk was rough, rude, and completely unprofessional. Even though our entire group was standing right there in front of him, he aggressively challenged our headcount, claiming we exceeded the capacity for the rooms booked. ​We did have a genuine misunderstanding regarding the bedding policy for the children in our group, but instead of helping us resolve it with professional courtesy, the receptionist chose to be argumentative and difficult. Traveling with tired children is stressful enough without hotel staff making you feel unwelcome. ​As paying guests who booked well in advance, we expected basic hospitality. We will not be returning and cannot recommend this hotel based on the terrible service.

Location

Friendly

Check out time was 11am. The cleaners knocked and woke us up at 9am. I shouted hello and they left. They turned up again then just before 10 and knocked, I shouted no thanks, and they let themselves into the room (me and my partner were both still in bed). Then, less than half hour later, they returned for a third time.

We stayed as a coach party at the evening meal we were herded into a room with tables of 6 and 8 I asked the staff for a table for 2 and was advised we could not accommodate us so we left and went out for dinner. Next morning I said to my partner we will get bacon on toast and take it back to our room. Then this lovely woman came over and asked what table we are at and I told her we done have one cause there’s no tables for two people . Mari was her name she soon found us a table for the rest of the stay. Thank you Mari you should be the manager there cause you are so compassionate.❤️

Booking was straight forward via telephone and arrival was good. Parking ample spaces and £5 for 24 hr period. The corridor smelt nice and clean and our room was pleasant, comfy beds, good size and a large window that opened. Ok it was a wee bit dusty but overall it was fine and I know from past experience how hard it is too keep on top of everything, in fact everywhere had a pleasant floral clean smell, ( iron had something melted on it and I did forget to inform reception). My main “ oh my gosh” moment was when I passed the reception office door, tbh it looked like it hadn’t been wiped down in a month of Sundays. Now the positives, we didn’t see any bad or broken decor items etc mentioned on other reviews, the lounge, dining room and terrace were lovely, food was very good and all the staff were fantastic, smiling, carrying drinks for us to terrace ( both had difficulty walking) . Asking how our day went. There are all a credit to the hotel . I would definitely visit again and also a good price.

The common areas were ok(ish) it’s an old hotel which looks it. Needs to be updated.

There wasn’t anything I didn’t like, for 1 night it served its purpose. However the mattress in room 101 needs replacing

Smell in the bedroom on arrival, room very tired and in desperate need of some care. Pillows a joke. Staff weren't that pleasant apart from the lady serving at breakfast.