Best Western Ipswich Hotel

Excellent 5 day stay at this hotel. Very friendly, attentive staff. Breakfasts and dinners were delicious. The restaurant is particularly nice looking over the garden and the lounge is spacious with quiet corners. We enjoyed sitting in the nook with the yellow armchairs and the piano. Our bedroom was spotless with tea/coffee and biscuits. The bed was extremely comfortable. There was plenty of hot water and the room was serviced daily. It is a good base for exploring Suffolk.

The Hotel has an AA rating of 4 stars however I find this hard to believe. From the start as you drive in the outside looks quite dated, but when you get into the reception it is quite clean, tidy and fresh. The reception staff are nice enough. We then went to our room. The first thing that hit us was the heat which was like a sauna, even though the radiators hadn't been on. There was no air conditioning to cool the room but one small desk fan. Although very plain, it was clean and tidy. The toilet seat was a little broken on the hinge but nothing to serious, and the shower was a lovely power shower although couldn't adjust the angle. Also, although I was in a double and my children had the twin room next door you need to trust the people you are staying with as there were no locks on the bathroom doors. It says in the handbook if you need anything just dial "0" but there is no phone in any room so you need to call the main reception landline number from your mobile. The buffet breakfast on our first day was very limited, only cornflakes or Special K for cereal, and only fried egg, hash browns, beans, mushrooms, sausage and bacon as an option on the hotplate, although the next day it was table service where black pudding and other variety of eggs such as scrambled, poached or omelette were available to order. All-in-all, a cheap pleasant stay but nothing special and potentially for the little extra other hotel chains may be a better option if available. Would we stay again yes, but wouldn't be our first choice.

My experience at this hotel was disappointing enough that I feel compelled to warn others. The walls were so paper thin that it genuinely felt like the couple in the next room were in the room with me. They were shouting, singing, and carrying on until after midnight - and at around 1 a.m., things escalated to an extremely loud and uncomfortable level. I didn’t get a wink of sleep, kept up both nights by the sounds of what can only be described as two very drunk people being obnoxiously intimate. This alone would have been bad enough, but the hotel seemed to attract that type of inconsiderate guest, and there was zero soundproofing or staff intervention. After two sleepless nights, it was clear this is not a place to go if you value any kind of peace, privacy, or even basic rest. To make matters worse, I paid for breakfast both mornings but didn’t receive it. The hotel ended breakfast service early without any notice, and guests were simply turned away. From what I saw of the food - sparse, cold, and unappetising - I might have dodged a bullet, but it was still unacceptable service. Overall, this was easily one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve had. The combination of constant noise, lack of privacy, and poor service makes it a place I would never return to or recommend. Spend your money elsewhere.