GreyFriars Hotel & Restaurant Reviews Summary

Hotel Ambiance and Decor

Pros:

• "The hotel itself was really pretty lovely and the staff were welcoming."
• "Delightful ambience with monastic memorabilia and an illuminated Holm oak tree."
• "The castle and grounds are next door and gorgeous very well kept."
• "Absolutely stunning place wit brilliant staff who just can't do enough for you."
• "A beautiful restoration of an old building in Colchester."
• "The building itself is beautiful & everywhere smells wonderful!"
• "This place is absolutely stunning in every way."

Cons:

• "The room itself (the East hill suite) was very disappointing and bland especially for the price."
• "Elegant theme that unfortunately comes across as bare, stark and in need of a cosy touch."
• "Escorted us to the most dull and boring room which was a square pretty plain 1 pic of a stag 4 tables in each corner was dead no atmosphere."
• "although nice to have the place to ourselves there was a distinct lack of ambiance."
• "The hotel was dead. Marble floors; no one around other than staff."

Service Quality

Pros:

• "The entire experience from working with the events team, reception staff, bar staff and the waiting staff was fantastic."
• "The service was excellent, prompt and friendly."
• "Service was attentive and friendly."
• "The staff made it very special. The room was scattered in rose petals, we had wine and treats."
• "Staff were attentive without being intrusive."
• "The staff are really attentive without being intrusive."
• "Fantastic serving staff, knowledgeable and cheery."

Cons:

• "really bad waiters, they didn't look after us properly,, we had to keep asking them for the food."
• "To be seated and not even offered a drink in 25-30mins is pretty poor service wherever you are."
• "Waited an hour for someone to take our order."
• "The staff are just miserable and very undertrained, service is slow and slack."
• "Service was very slow both at the bar, pre dinner and in the restaurant."
• "Service slow and very inattentive."
• "The bar staff have a Terrible attitude and offer possibly the worst customer service I’ve ever had."

Room Quality

Pros:

• "The rooms are spacious & clean with mini bar & tea & coffee, everything you'd need."
• "The rooms are spotless, spacious and well stocked with provisions."
• "We had a large suite with gorgeous furniture and a massive tub."
• "The room was beautiful and modern, high end fittings in the bathroom with a free standing bathtub."
• "Bedroom was stunning, very spacious, clean, had a mini bar and air con."
• "Stayed in the st James's suite and it was absolutely beautiful."
• "Rooms and room amenities were excellent."

Cons:

• "Very disappointing that my belongings have gone missing in a room we stayed in."
• "The mattress was lumpy and there was a green light from the smoke detector that illuminated the whole room overnight."
• "Whilst staying in the room we experienced some difficulty with the air conditioning."
• "Bathroom wasn't as nice as in the one in the photos, turns out there is only one suite with the freestanding baths, carpets were nasty old and stained, suite looked completely different than in the photos."
• "Only negative is in one of the rooms the carpet was very tired."
• "Carpets a little worn in corridors."
• "Room 2. WC has a slight leak, and every 1 minute, 30 seconds throughout the night kept me awake."

Food and Dining

Pros:

• "Food was lovely and evening buffet was superb."
• "Food was amazing as well."
• "Food and mocktails delicious."
• "The food was very good, particularly the starter and dessert."
• "The chefs do such a great job - the food looks and tastes fantastic."
• "The food was delicious and we received a little treat to congratulate us."
• "The food was lovely and fresh."

Cons:

• "Shame as the food was nice but a very small meal was also served... just enough to feed a child."
• "The main course served was either cold or lukewarm, spoiling the whole effect of the meal."
• "Food was diabolical, dry bread, smelly prawns, sticky ham."
• "The first course was fish soup, which was too salty and had some disgusting brown blob in the middle of the bowl."
• "Food was good, apart from a steak that was so undercooked it was cold in the middle."
• "The lamb didn't taste of much."
• "They sold out of one of the mains that my husband wanted very early."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Beautiful place to stay, extremely great value."
• "More expensive but more than worth it for the level of service and ambiance."
• "Whilst not cheap by any means is great."
• "The price was very reasonable too, service was impeccable and very accommodating to any special requirement if needed."
• "Can highly recommended as exceptional value given the high standards the hotel and staff set."
• "Not cheap but reasonable for the type of upmarket place."
• "It was expensive at just under £30."

Cons:

• "Plus a huge error on their bill...£59 for 2 small glasses of £7 Prosecco!!"
• "I will not be wasting any more of my hard earned money staying with you again."
• "I was also disgusted when I was told that I would have to pay £5 for some toothpaste and a toothbrush."
• "The restaurant is lovely, but the prices are too high for my comfort."
• "I do find their prices for drinks quite expensive."
• "The rooms are amazing, although very expensive."
• "Wouldn't really recommend."