Ely House Hotel

The three stars are for the reception staff, who tried to untangle a hopeless booking mess when we arrived in the afternoon and again at 11.30pm. I felt especially sorry for the woman left to handle it without support. The other two stars are lost because of the booking system and management's response to another review, which blamed the computer and the customer instead of admitting the system had failed. I booked two single rooms by phone directly with the hotel, one of them accessible, and had emails confirming it. I don't trust online booking systems, which made the irony of what happened hard to miss. We got there at 1.30pm, hoping to relax with a drink before the 2pm check-in, but the hotel was closed and a notice said it would open at 3. Some contractors contacted management, who arranged for someone to open at 2, so we waited in the car. Once inside, the booking process was slow for the couple ahead of us, then two women who'd booked online found their reservation missing. Ours was missing too, despite being booked directly. A queue built up with people trying to check in before the Robbie Williams concert, and we felt bad holding them up. A person also turned up to service the fire equipment. With the hotel fully booked, the receptionist needed help, and the hotel was cold because there was no heating on. After more than an hour, my friend and I were given a single room up a very steep flight of stairs, which I struggled to climb. It was cold, so we switched on the blow heater and shared a cup while making coffee. Later, as we were leaving for the concert, we were told a double room would be available when we returned, but we had to be back before closing at 11.30. The concert was brilliant, but when we got back at 11.30, a different receptionist said the room was another single, two flights up and nowhere near our first room. I'd already struggled up and down one flight, and needed my friend to help with my bags. By then we were fed up and chose to drive home, since we wouldn't have been able to relax after all that. I had given my card details when booking by phone. The receptionist checked we hadn't been charged and asked whether we'd used the room. I said we didn't expect a charge in the circumstances, even though we'd each had a coffee and used the bathroom during the hour we were there before the concert. We got home safely, but this was nothing like the relaxing stay we'd planned. I don't know how many guests were affected. I wouldn't have written this if I hadn't seen management's reply to the other woman's review. I don't expect excuses or disparaging remarks. They should apologise and acknowledge that the booking system had a problem. I can't tell if this was a one-off, but the staff also need support when the hotel is full so they can deal with problems like this.

For the price, I definitely recommend it. My single room was small, but spotlessly clean and had everything I needed for one night. There was a kettle with tea and coffee sachets, handy since I'd brought instant porridge. I've heard good things about breakfast, though at £10.50 I'm not sure I'd get my money's worth. The receptionist was friendly and helpful, and someone was still at reception when I returned from a gig just before midnight. The bar area looked nice, even if early November felt a bit soon for Christmas decorations, humbug 😃. The entrance is round the back, rather than through the front door you might expect. I came by train and it was an easy walk. There's also a good sized car park at the back with plenty of room. It's a bit out of town, so it was very quiet, and the walk to the kk's venue took about 20 minutes.

We paid for a non-refundable room two months before our planned one-night stay, then arrived to be told there was no room for us, even though people who came later were given rooms. We were told to cancel to get a refund, despite the booking being non-refundable. Sorting it out took over an hour. I felt sorry for the receptionist, who seemed to have already dealt with this more than once that day. We were very disappointed, and I'd avoid the hotel in favour of somewhere that honours bookings. To clarify the hotel's reply, we did not receive a full refund. They kept saying we hadn't paid, though we paid at the time of booking. They said hotels.com hadn't sent them our booking, but somehow knew we'd booked a twin room, which we hadn't mentioned at check-in. I'd have respected an apology and an honest explanation that the booking agents hadn't been told some rooms were closed for renovation. hotels.com eventually sorted it out and compensated us for the hotel's error. The reply from the hotel is inaccurate, and I'll use more reliable hotels in future.

The room was warm and clean, with a good ensuite, and it looked like it had been decorated fairly recently. The furniture was a bit worn and dated, but the staff were friendly, and the bar and breakfast rooms were nicely presented. Breakfast was poor on the first of my two mornings: lukewarm, some things undercooked and others overcooked, with tinned mushrooms and tasteless tomatoes. The next morning was the opposite, with warmed plates and eggs cooked perfectly. I guess it depends who's in the kitchen.