Best Western Priory Hotel

I stayed in room 57 which was one of the outside chalet room. The carpet was dirty and stained and there was a stale odour when I walked in but put that down to the heat. Luckily there was a fan in the cupboard so turned that on immediately which helped a little. There were cracks in the ceiling and it really did make me wonder if I'd been put in the staff quarters! There were spiders in the corners on the floor so that led me to believe the cleaners needed to be more thorough until I drew back the curtains and saw a whole hose of cobwebs and spiders up there and knew it hadn't been cleaned properly for months! Get the hoover up in the pelmets! Looked like a room from the 70's and really needs a makeover. The bathroom was disgusting, had an orange lino floor, broken tiles and no blind up at the large bathroom window.. It was the most uncomfortable shower I've ever had as I felt very vulnerable. Breakfast was ok, no veggie sausages and for meat eaters you had to request bacon and sausages from the kitchen? All in all, I should have asked for a refund but I was with a friend who had a room in the building and the trip was for her and didn't want to ruin it for her. I've stayed in hotels much cheaper and have been more impressed and definitely wouldn't have paid more than 50.00 if I'd have seen it first. Very disappointed and you can definitely find better for your money. Don't be fooled by the look of the gardens and building and request a room in the main building which seemed to be marginally better. less

Having had many pleasant stays at another Best Western hotel I thought that by booking an overnight stay at The Priory in Bury St Edmunds I could count on the same high standards that I had come to expect from Best Western in the past. On check in, my wife and I were allocated one of the self contained rooms away from the main hotel. As soon as we entered the room we noticed a dank/ musty smell in the room. We then both tried to log on to the free Wi-fi to check our emails but the signal was virtually non existent and we had to go back to the hotel reception area to use the wi-fi and while there we reported the issue to the receptionist. The room itself was spacious, but the overall cleanliness left a lot to be desired. There were cobwebs above the curtains and my wife actually had to clean the bath of scum marks and hair in the waste outlet before she could use it. Later that night we tried to watch tv before going to bed, but this wasn't possible as, just like the wi-fi, there wasn't a signal, whichever channel we tried to select. The bed itself, we both agreed ,was among the most uncomfortable we have ever stayed in leading to a restless night for us both. We were at least expecting a decent breakfast the following morning, but alas, this too was disappointing. The cooked breakfast items were dried out and hard. My wife asked for replacement sausage and bacon as the first brought to us were virtually inedible, but when the replacements came they were no better. Not only this, but the coffee and the "hot" water for the tea were barely luke warm. On checking out the next morning we asked to see the manager who wasn't available. The receptionist said that she had noted our complaints and would pass them on to the manager when he came in, and that we would call or email us, also suggesting that I send an email to him, which I have done, but I am still awaiting a response 6 days after checking out which is very disappointing to say the least. Overall not a pleasant experience, we will not be returning!! less

This review is based on the Afternoon Tea not on the Hotel Accommodation. We booked via Groupon which we had used for several teas at different locations over the years and always been delighted with the food and drink. On this occasion we were disappointed. Although there were plenty of sandwiches the fillings were unimaginative being what we might have at home any day of the week. The cakes were nothing compared to offerings elsewhere and the scones, only one each, were small. It was nothing like the picture on the Groupon offer. less

We visited for afternoon tea, me, my Daughter and mum and dad. I had brought the afternoon tea from Groupon at a bargain price for just 2 of us. My daughter wanted to join us so called then to see if they could add her on and they did just that. She paid full price for her afternoon tea. The morning of before we left my dad decided he would like to join us but didn’t want afternoon tea so I call to see if this was something they could do and sure enough they did, they made him a selection of sandwiches and a pot of tea while us 3 had afternoon tea. So for that alone o would of giving a 5 star but the afternoon tea wasn’t as good as I would of hoped. Don’t get me wrong it was nice, the sausage roll was amazing. I was however a little disappointed with only getting 3 very small tiny sandwiches, ham, egg and cheese. The cakes where amazing but very sickly, so for me there was way to much sweet and not enough savoury. But other then that it was an enjoyable day and very nice dinning room. less

We arrived early for a wedding. Around 9.30am. There was no one at reception, a cleaner lady told me the receptionist was busy. she informed us that check in time was 3pm which we knew. We had driven through the night to avoid traffic and asked if there was any chance of an early check in and was told to come back later. We wandered the town for a few hours and came back just before 2pm, having met some other guests who were already in their rooms. Again told by a rather surly receptionis that check in was 3pm. After the bride came and made her point that we were here for a wedding and nedded to freshen up and change we made it to out room at 2.20pm. I am aware of check in times but in the hospitality sector sometimes one has to be hospitable and acutually help ones guests. Having said that the rest of the stay was fine. The Scottish gentleman manager was very freindly and professional as were the bar staff. The breakfast was poor with the worst sausages I have ever been presented with. less