The White Lion Hotel

Location food and service

N/a

Good choices on the breakfast menu

Lack of information about how things worked

Location and parking Reception staff very helpful

We arrived at breakfast at 8.30 and nobody took our order for 30 minutes, despite other guests arriving and being served before us! Not even a drink provided until we had been there 35 minutes . Very little interaction or smiling from staff serving breakfast. We are very friendly people and very rarely complain . The bedroom was too hot , unable to switch off bathroom radiator

Very comfortable bed and good room, bathroom etc. sea front location and excellent breakfast. Staff were friendly, efficient and professional. We had lunch there as well and it was very nice and good wine selection

It was dated inside and could do with a paint job outside but other than that, no complaints.

Location was fantastic & staff & food was excellent

No plug sockets near the bed to charge devices

Breakfast delicious and nicely served .

The hotel might need redecorating . Looks a bit tired

Excellent stay, everywhere was very clean and the staff extremely friendly and very helpful. Breakfast was excellent, and so was our evening meal.

Everything was perfect

Lovely staff, good food.

Norhing

Central location.

Our room was 22 and we had to report that the shower could not be used as the water temperature could not be controlled.

whole hotel in need of updating - paint flaking, no zircon, bathrooms tired

I would’ve like a rubber bath mat for the shower, plus a hand rail in the bath. My husband and I paid £250 for one night with breakfast, a fair price. We were surprised to find no one in the bar at 6.30 in the evening. Whenever we’ve stayed before the place has been buzzing! We hope to return as we like the hotel.

general service by all staff. Breakfasts very good

old building so many stairs which as an elderly person I found slightly tricky. There was, however, a rather rickety lift

Location by the Festival, centre of town and the beach and a huge car park with a reasonable price. Staff in hotel were all brilliant abd went the extra mile with a smile. The meals were superb.

Wish we had stayed another night.

Lovely room, amazing view and good value for money

Location and comfy bed

Poor breakfast and waiting staff (bar tender was very helpful)

Location and food

Needs a bit of an update

no hot water and wasn't told there was a problem when we checked in. It was not until we mentioned at check out, that they said sorry we are having an issue at the moment. Not really good enough Im sure you would agree

Superb breakfast and excellent in house Indian restaurant.

Room could have been bigger.

Hotel was in a great location

Room was very dated, clean as it could be but very old facilities. Phone not working in room and water was cold in the shower.

Really nice family lunch! Roast dinner was really well cooked and tasty. Service was a little slow but staff are nice. Would recommend!

Comfortable, clean, location, friendly staff, pot of tea excellent

Treck to get to the room, shower was bad, shabby paintwork,needs revamp in and out, breakfast was a shambles not enough staff and getting things to late to eat at the right time. Toast came out after finishing breakfast.

breakfast was very nice

we had no hot water and were going to a wedding. We had cold showers for both days.

We were staying in Aldeburgh for a few days and booked for Sunday lunch “on spec”. Always slightly risky, but in this case we struck lucky. We had an excellent roast dinner- beef tender, tasty and cooked medium rare, chicken tender and succulent, vegetables full of flavour and light and fluffy Yorkshire puddings. The gravy was similarly delicious- intense umame flavour which enhanced the overall taste of the meal.The fruit crumble dessert was good too - lots of fruit and not to sweet. All in all a very enjoyable experience .

Location and atmosphere. Friendly and helpful staff. Delicious food.

Parking can be an issue at busy times. Rooms perhaps beginning to look a bit dated now. No air con and very limited window opening.

Our experience at the White Lion was not good overall. The original room we were directed to was very tired and did not reflect that shown on the website however we were offered an alternative on request. This appeared to have had a refurb but was itself also looking tired and with obvious defects such as cable sticking out of trunking, gaps between pipework and the tiled wall, wardrobe not fitted back to the wall, and already worn surfaces on furniture, to name a few. The service at breakfast was extremely slow, 45 minutes to arrive on one day, although it did improve on the last day after we mentioned it to reception. A credit for one breakfast was offered. The external looks tatty although it did appear to be being repainted. This is a tired, ageing hotel which without significant investment risks, sadly, decline and demise.

Friendly staff and great location

On a road trip with friends, The White Lion at Aldeburgh was a good overnight stay. Convenient for the town centre with free parking right outside the hotel, it overlooks the beach. Our room was comfortable and spotlessly clean with toiletries provided. It was nice to see the more environmentally friendly, full size bottles rather than individual, single use ones. However, it’s a tired looking hotel both from the outside, and inside. The lift is antiquated, lots of corridors that are not well signed and we got lost on more than one occasion. There are no signs to reception other than at the top of the stairs, but you have to find them first! The fire alarm went off 7.30am (ish) the following morning and then stopped just as I was going out our door so went down to reception just to confirm there was no issue. Eventually found a member of staff in the kitchen who said that the problem had been resolved. As I went back to our room, a few people were emerging from their rooms wondering what was happening. There needs to be a better method of alerting guests if the problem has been resolved. Breakfast was plentiful and delicious. Despite the above negatives, would definitely recommend.

Great location

It was all good

Returned for a third time to this beautiful Suffolk coastline and hotel. Would not stay anywhere else, room was perfect, stunning sea views which I recommend paying a little extra for, room was large, all amenities and comfortable bed first class. Clean and plenty of towels and tea and coffee. Took our little cockapoo and she was left with blankets and a bowl and treats. The staff at this hotel are wonderful, polite, welcoming and friendly. Breakfast is plentiful and delicious alongside the hotel menu. All in all we had a wonderful bank holiday stay and will be returning next year. I left my sandles in the room and the staff kindly posted them out to me which was very kind. Thank you white lion you have once again exceeded our expectations. We had a fabulous stay and can not thank you enough.

The location is great, it’s right on the beachfront and within walking distance of the town. The whole place needs a bit of TLC and a makeover but the main thing is it was clean. The staff are all so nice and really make you feel welcome

Great location. Curry was really good & breakfast the following morning. Lacking in sensibly placed sockets in the room.. had to charge my phone nowhere near bedside which was a bit of a pain. On the whole a nice place though and would return.

Very comfortable bed and excellent breakfast

Frontage could do with a paint

Breakfast and dinner very good Staff very pleasant Room ok but bed too hard for me and pillows too full

Softer bed

Sadly breakfast. .let it down . Staff kept apologizing, but took an hour to receive two English breakfast!..

Breakfast was very good, service excellent.

Brilliant location with sea views Breakfast phenomenal and good, polite service.

Internal geography of the building - too many changes of level and inadequate lift (also very slow). Not suitable for people with mobility issues.

The hotel was very comfortable, food was delicious. Excellent location right by the sea and the staff were lovely

Helpful staff Recently refurbished main areas Choice of restaurant Good choice of menus for both breakfast and dinner

Additional parking - realise this is unlikely to be able to improve in historic area Bedroom decor rather tired

Clean tidy. Good bar restaurant. Friendly staff

Room bathroom a bit tired . In need of sprucing up.

The staff were really helpful. Had a very pleasant stay

Staff very friendly, breakfast outstanding, room great!

Very clean if very dated in places.

Some of the hallways need a lick of paint

Amazing location Great large rooms brilliant value Brilliant food and wonderful coffee. Clean comfortable and lovely atmosphere and staff. Couldn’t have asked for more will definitely return. Special thanks to Toby Richardson who made us feel so special. Thank you all it was sublime

Lovely hotel, welcoming and friendly. Great food, very good portions, staff very accommodating. Was above expectations

Excellent location. Our room was very cold. Window frame was rotten and needed attention. We were advised to book for dinner but only three tables were occupied. Food was OK but staff serving were too flippant. My husband mentioned that fish fish had several bones in it and was told that 'all fish have bones". No apology. Didn't like breakfast service. Hot food came out before we had finished porridge etc. and was just left on the table to go cold. And who serves yoghurt and fruit compot in a ramekin dish? Simple things but they added up. Reception was brilliant.

All good

We were phoned by the hotel, after we left, and asked to pay an extra unpaid drinks bill from the night before amounting to about £60. This did not relate to us. Whilst it was a simple error and was obviously sorted out internally, it would have been nice if they had phoned back to apologise for the mistake and confirm that they had got the wrong room.

Location

Decor is dated and a bit tired

It is fine for what it is, but far too expensive for its standard.

The whole of the breakfast experience.

Superb location. Food generally very good.

Rooms are quite small. Lots of stairs & narrow corridors so not suitable for anyone with mobility issues. Whole place would benefit from a refurbishment.

Great location, clean and comfortable rooms and friendly staff

Service at breakfast could have been better

Close to seafront and high street. Clean and comfortable. Excellent breakfast. Staff very friendly.

Rooms very hot. No walk in shower.

Pleasant stay - warm, comfy room & welcoming staff. We had a good night's sleep. Located on the sea front with free parking outside and easy to get straight onto the beach.

Breakfast wasn't great.... vegetarian breakfast had a little scrap of bacon on the plate! Toast was only done on one side, greasy spinach, overcooked eggs. Simple things done really badly!

Welcoming. warm and sea spice was very nice

Loved the reception/lounge area Breakfast was good

The hotel itself does need a little TLC, but our rooms were very clean and spacious - nice toiletries and plenty of storage. We ate in the restaurant one of the nights and there were mixed reviews from our group on the food itself - I loved mine (beetroot salad and pork belly), but a couple of the group weren’t impressed with theirs. I think if we’d not have had the food vouchers that were part of the deal then we would have thought it fairly expensive. The wine list is good. This hotel isn’t cheap and I think overall I probably expected a little more ‘wow’ for what we got. However, the staff really are exceptional. We were there to celebrate a birthday and they couldn’t have been more accommodating in helping me set up the table with balloons and making sure the cake came out on time. The chap who checked us in on the Friday was really great - chatty, interesting and very conscientious. We also had a wonderful waiter at dinner who we ended up having a good laugh with. It’s clear the staff here really enjoy their jobs and it shows! Breakfast was great quality, with a lot of delicious options. There are reviews saying that parking is an issue, but we didn’t have a problem - there were three cars between us and we all managed to get parked right outside.

I have just spent a week at ehe White lion And the staff accomadation and food was First class Amie Donna Austra And jack Made it A fantastic Weeks break I shall Defanitley be Back The Breakfasts were to Die for And the HAPPY HOUR EVEN BETTER Roger over and out

We had a great stay for such good value dinner bed and breakfast. Staff all really friendly, even on arrival when I asked for a different room it was all sorted. A great stay with great food - sea spice was lovely. Parking right out front and perfect location. For the price and what is included it’s such good value - highly recommend

Location, cleanliness and comfort. Good parking facilities.

Nothing, I enjoyed an excellent stay.

The White Lion is a traditional hotel with a homely touch and is an ideal base for exploring the glorious coastal town of Aldeburgh. I was very impressed with the colour coordination and comfort of my room as well as the functionality of the bathroom rain shower. Breakfasts - a mix of buffet and cooked to order - are of the highest calibre. The dinner menu offers a fine range of dishes and compares favourably in price to other local offerings. There are other more expensive hotels in Aldeburgh but the White Lion has the qualities to compare favourably to other choices. The hotel is just a few minutes walk from the town centre and the pebble beach. The staff are very friendly and go out of their way to be helpful.

Staff were very welcoming and the bed was comfortable

We had a very enjoyable stay at the White Lion. The food was superb and was a real highlight — well cooked, well presented, and genuinely memorable. Our room was also excellent: very comfortable, quiet, and ideal for a relaxing stay. While the building has plenty of character, some areas are beginning to look a little tired. The dining area and lounge, in particular, lacked ambience. The lighting felt quite harsh and the overall atmosphere was flat. Although the furniture was fine, the décor didn’t quite match the quality of the food or accommodation. With warmer, softer lighting and a little more charm — perhaps fairy lights or other atmospheric touches — these spaces could be transformed. For inspiration, The Lamb in Whitney, Oxfordshire — The Lamb — achieves a wonderful balance of warmth, character, and mood. With a few thoughtful improvements to the communal areas, the White Lion could easily feel like a five-star experience.

All female staff helpful and friendly ...great breakfast with many choices great location and views good to have choice of brasserie and Indian restaurants...

my premium rate room was not really worth the cost in my mind..my bed was hard and lumpy...the party wall was thin and i heard muffled voices and coughing through the night.... the sash window rattled ( i had to wedge with bits of card the paintwork is of poor quality outside ......the en suite was very basic (more Blackpool b+b premium priced room) with a basic small bath and shower combo with stained flooring... rust on the bath top and poor siliconing tiles near bath.....also i had a bath and it was not comfy due to non slip sandpaper like adhesive circles stratching my back side!....( i would expect a more luxurious experience in a premium rate room ....with either a choice of walk in shower or a luxury sized bath?

Location

A little dated ready for a refurb

The location.

Room with beach view was a misnomer. The window glass was so scarred, it was hard to look out.

2025 New Years Eve two night stay in Aldeburgh at this hotel. Service was perfect, food excellent, location ideal. Rooms are comfortable and ok for the short stay. Staff and service made the experience.

Perfect position . Good dinner

Decent place, friendly reception, comfy bed, clean and warm.

The bar staff were not so friendly. Breakfast staff were completely non conversational. The Shower wasn't very good at all. A designer price for the area without the service you would expect for that money, and we stayed in the winter. But nice

Breakfast was very good, catering for all diets and appetites. The staff were all very helpful and the location was perfect for walking and browsing.

Central position,light and airy,good views of the sea

We believe a refurb is due although we have no complaints about our room, beds comfortable good shower no negatives. Don’t let the exterior put you off as I believe it’s due to have a paint upgrade

Close to were we were going

We liked it all

We have stayed here before and love the place, again it did not disappoint. We paid a bit more for a sea view and the room was huge, great big window overlooking the sea and a huge bathroom with a heated floor. Only issue (for me I guess,) was the bed, while very comfy was really low and being 6ft 2 I struggled to get out of it! Breakfast was usual high quality. Also maybe worth investing in a decent coffee machine as these are increasing standard in 'superior,' rooms. Oh and remember when booking, this is an old building so expect a few ups and downs and a few creaky floors! But that just adds to the character! But let's not let that detract from a lovely stay.

Hotel a bit tired but the staff were very helpful and friendly. The breakfast was very good but unfortunately our evening meal was very late due to one of the chefs not turning up for work

Staff were very accommodating with the service generally being very good. A super location with views across the North Sea and easy walking along the front.

The hotel's decor is "tired" and needs refreshing, both in terms of modernisation and addressing worn paintwork. The room is used was snug, with little free space. The shower in the room was unusable due to a lack of water pressure, which started very poorly and then completely stopped. Parking is very limited, with only 5 spaces in the private car park, and therefore a reliance on street parking.

The location was excellent. The breakfast was over cooked, but The service and tea coffee and toast were very good.

The cooking of The breakfast.

The location

It is very dated, extremely tired. Needs an overhaul/refurbishment. Absolutely not worth the night rate - we’ve stayed in many hotels and for the same amount of money had much better room and standard - can’t fault licatiin though

Good location, good size quiet room. Good shower, Adequate breakfast, Friendly staff, Convenient parking.

Not didn't like, just pointers to consider........Bedroom and Bathroom in need of re-decoration and re-arrangement/layout adequate bathroom provisions..

Clean and looked after

Bedside lamps not working

We ordered a standard full English and that’s what we got.

We had a town view room. The room was tired and really needed a make over and upgrading.

Our stay was to celebrate my wife’s 75th birthday with the rest of our immediate family staying in a cottage within the town. First impressions of the hotel were not good, the whole place had the feel and look of tied and decaying, reinforced by taking the lift to first floor only to find our room entailed negotiating 3 sets of steps to get to a very pokey bedroom in the back of the hotel. The bed was narrow but adequate but the pillows hard and unforgiving my wife hardly slept and the hotel could not provide softer alternatives. We had to borrow one from the cottage where the family were staying. Breakfasts were served on cold plates, potions minimal, toast like leather and coffee served barely warm and drinkable. Very hard to understand all in all why we were paying £183 per night. With the family needing somewhere to share our last meal together on the Sunday evening and the children needing an early supper we decided to risk the brasserie at the hotel. We all arrived just before 6pm to make an early order which we did, but an hour later had still not received any food. When it did arrive it was of very varied quantity and quality. My Thai Green Curry was certainly green but had little quality in taste and quantity of any similar I have had at other restaurants. Having thank goodness added the extra prawns it almost made a meal but at £23 was most disappointing. My son in law ordered the vegetarian Wild Mushroom and Tarragon Pie, the sautéed potatoes (ten small slices) and greens potions were ridiculously small and the whole meal barely covered a third of the plate, price £19. By contrast my grandson’s child portion of sausages and chips filled an equally sized plate. Fortunately, his father was able to help him eat the chips to stave off hunger. My daughter had the Smoked Seafood Platter £21 again portions were cold, meagre and underwhelming which for a delightful seaside location certainly seems to sum up your hotel.

Weekend away. Great location. Friendly and helpful staff. Lovely room with great views. Dog made very welcome (stayed with us). Great dinner in brasserie both nights, lovely food. Fantastic breakfast. £10 for late checkout (1230) well worth it. Great weekend- thanks to all the staff

Room fine a really nice big comfortable bed and pillows. Nice touch to have a bottle of still water in the room. The bathroom was okay, good shower but decor a bit worn Breakfast very good with a nice selection and quality product and service. Parking very limited though.

Breakfast was ok nothing special.

Cleanliness of the restaurant was a problem left over food from the day before meals still on table and floor.

We stayed here for 2 nights at the end of September for our anniversary and booked a superior sea view room on a dinner, bed and breakfast rate which was absolutely lovely. The bed was super comfy and the bathroom was very spacious indeed. The food in both the Sea Spice and Brasserie was exceptional as was the breakfast on both mornings. The staff were all fantastic and if I’m honest I really couldn’t fault this hotel. Thank you to everyone here, we had a really great weekend.

Great location . Nice room

Rotten window frames . Expensive Didn’t accommodate breakfast for my early departure

Breakfast was excellent but the coffee was over brewed, Dinner was ok but the thai curry was over wet and the actual food in the curry was very small, not somthing we would choose again also the waitress didnt react well to a complaint.

Breakfast coffee very thick as if it had been left on the heat and some of the staff didnt like being questioned about the coffee but my Kippers were excellent

Very good

Nothing

The rooms were a bit small but adequate. Food was great!

Bed was ok , location good.

Bedroom and bathroom not that clean , decor not maintained , paint peeling , seals coming off , holes in walls in place. Noise from down stairs and buzzing sound from bathroom. No plug sockets near bed area. The hotel needs a revamp even if appealing to the older generation.

Great seafront location and helpful staff.

Decor and furnishings tired and need investment. For the price we paid our room was very small.

Location

The upper floor levels are like an assault course. Brassierie food was fairly poor, choice, menu, quality and presentation.

Staff were excellent. Rooms comfortable. Meals excellent

Handrails in the shower would have been helpful - we were unable to use the showers.