The George Hotel Colchester

I only visited the pub and restaurant, and it was nice. The portions were generous for the reasonable prices, the food tasted good, and the scones were delicious. I especially appreciated how carefully they prepared a pasta dish for my toddler, with peas and corn and extra Parmesan cheese on the side. The staff didn't seem very motivated to make us feel welcome, as if they were underpaid. Then again, we were visiting from the US, where service is typically more worthy of praise by comparison.

The George coffee shop was a lovely place to relax with friends on my first visit today, with Christmas decorations, comfy clean sofas and nice coffee. It was brilliant, just what I like. I thought the serving staff could smile a bit more, which would lift the atmosphere. I also felt sorry for a nice couple asked to leave because they had their well-behaved Dachshund with them. The dog was lovely and only added to the pleasant feel, and certainly seemed no hygiene risk. Come on George Hotel, well-behaved dogs aren't a problem. Why turn business away?

We had a lovely time at the George's NYE dinner and party last night. We already enjoy coming to the hotel to eat, drink and stay, but the New Year's Eve event was even better. The dinner was thoughtfully put together and beautifully presented, with amazing flavours. The dinner, party, overnight stay and breakfast package was very good value, and we all enjoyed the whole experience. Many thanks to the attentive staff, the chef and Remi Knight, who was so helpful while arranging our stay. We'd definitely do it all again!

The room had no heating, and as the video shows, there was a fault. On 24th December 2025 a hotel staff member checked it and said several rooms had the same problem. She tried switching the fuse box off and on, then said we would have to wait for maintenance. She also promised to bring a heater but never did. When we chased it, the hotel later said they had no heaters. We kept trying the heater, but the same fault remained. Nobody checked whether we were okay. We woke up feeling unwell and chilled, with all the room items cold to the touch. It felt like a fridge. The staff member showed no regard for customer safety, and should have arranged a heater or moved us. We were ready to check out in the morning because of the health and safety issue, and didn't want to take another room after spending the whole night in the cold. The hotel left a poor impression and all we wanted was to leave. A few days later, they refused a full refund, said the heating was working and pretty much accused us of lying because nobody else had complained. The staff member who knew about the issue didn't tell the manager and hasn't worked since. I'll contact the Consumer Ombudsman because I believe they failed to meet the consumer rights act, and I'll contact my solicitor. I've never had trouble with hotel heating or air conditioning before, but suddenly I'm being told I don't know how to use it and I'm a liar, while the staff member has vanished. I'm down 300 pound +.