East Gate Inn

We slept well, and there wasn't much noise even though it was a Saturday night. The room was clean with a good shower and massive, clean towels. We had a double, but the bed was quite small, and the place was no-frills. Still, it's good value when other hotels in the area cost almost twice as much.

The location worked really well for me, since I was at a wedding in the hotel next door and the town centre was about a 15-minute walk away. The room and service were fine, if nothing special, and it did the job. Check-in starts at 4pm, and the hotel is closed and unmanned before then, so dropping bags off early isn't really an option. Bummer.

I'm a regular here and the staff always look after me well. It's also handy for Colchester United F.C and Colchester zoo. Food is served on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on other nights you can get food from the Chinese opposite and eat it on the premises. Karaoke happens every other Friday.

The pub downstairs made the hotel so noisy that we couldn't sleep well. My mattress was uncomfortable, and although I'd booked a double, the bed looked more like a small single. Room service wasn't available all the time.