Riverside Hotel Bed and Breakfast

The place is easy to find from the train station, and the door codes all worked. That's about where the good points ended for our one night meeting friends. We only needed somewhere to get ready and sleep, and we're not especially fussy, but I wouldn't stay again. Room 4, on the first floor, smelled strongly of sewage as soon as we opened the door. It seemed to come from the bathroom drains, and even running the hot shower didn't cover it. The bathroom was dirty and very run down. The shower cubicle wasn't secured properly and nearly tipped when we tried to adjust it. We found hair beneath the bed covers, then noticed little bugs in the beds later that night. It was around 2am, so we had little choice but to try to sleep there. The mattresses were awful. The towels looked clean but smelled bad, and the small fridge was dirty and noisy enough to keep a light sleeper awake. The property is badly run down and poorly maintained, and the cleaning standards clearly aren't adequate. Its convenient location is the only redeeming feature.

I booked a studio with a kitchenette for five nights last September, but checked out after two. Room 4 smelled, and traffic noise made it impossible to leave the window open. The kettle leaked badly. When first turned on, hot water came from the cold tap, which may have been connected to the laundry plumbing next door. There was no tea towel, the dish sponge was disgusting, and the microwave was filthy. Management blamed me for the microwave when I got in touch. I couldn't bring myself to eat in the room, let alone cook, and I wasn't going to spend my last three nights in the UK at Riverside Hotel. Talking to staff was no use. Management replied to my email, but I got no refund. Lisa Bell's review was exactly right, and if anything, a two star rating was generous.

My husband and I booked two nights, but couldn't stay even 10 minutes. First we were shown a room that felt like a dungeon, just a huge bed crammed into a tiny space. We'd upgraded. The second room had a river view, which was the only nice part. The bed was awful, and the room was damp, grubby and humid. A tumble dryer was running right beside it. There were extension cables everywhere, which looked like a fire hazard, and the bedside lamp was basically an on/off flashlight. When we asked where to plug in the kettle, a staff member said, "I can get up there," pointing above the wardrobe. They offered another room, oddly enough after saying they were fully booked. We were charged £10 extra for arriving 15 minutes early, plus £10 a day for parking on a side street. I've never left a bad review before, but people should know to avoid this place. You can get a hotel for what they're charging.

This was the best hotel for my stay in Norwich. It's right by the train station, with everything I needed nearby. The hotel was very clean, and the staff were lovely and helpful. Highly recommend!