St Nicholas Hotel

A great spot right in the heart of Colchester for spending the night. The room was neat and clean, and the bathroom was lovely and spacious. Nothing to complain about.

The room was good and the housekeeping staff were wonderful, but the bar noise made the night exhausting. Bass-heavy music carried on until 1am, loud enough that I couldn't watch TV or sleep until the early hours. I left this morning needing to go and sleep after what was supposed to be a break. I know it's in a city, but the music was unbearable.

Saturday night was especially noisy from outside. I'd asked for a quiet room, but after a sleepless night there was no sympathy and the customer service was poor. I wouldn't stay again.

I was in town for a two-night postgraduate course at the university and chose a more central hotel, thinking it might be a bit more civilised than staying on campus. I wouldn't return after this experience. Check-in was at another hotel, which I hadn't expected. My first room, 709 on the first floor, was large but had stains all over the carpet and was boiling hot, so I opened the windows during the day. It was very noisy all evening and night. Closing the windows didn't solve it, and people on my floor seemed to be partying: kids were arguing and playing music, and the whole floor smelled of weed. I couldn't reach the hotel by phone at first, but got through around 6:45am. They offered a room change, but said I'd need to pay £10 to upgrade, so I accepted. Room 910 on the top floor was better and had a balcony, but there was no WiFi. The coffee from its machine was horrible, so I had to buy my own. Noise kept me awake there too, even with the windows shut. When I got back, there was vomit all over the hallway. I tried calling reception to report it, but no one answered. A really bad stay.