The Crown at Westleton Hotel

, Saxmundham, United Kingdom
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The Crown at Westleton Hotel

, Saxmundham
3 star

Rooms: 25

The Street - Saxmundham - England - IP17 3AD - United Kingdom Hotel Website | | 44 01728648777
159 Traveller

Reviews - The Crown at Westleton Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of The Crown at Westleton Hotel

An Excellent Find

from joegrundy
This weekend my partner and I visited Southwold on the Saturday and decided to see if we could stay over on Saturday night. Southwold (as usual) was fully booked so, to cut a long story short, we ended-up staying at The Crown.
We stayed in "The Wren" room for £90 and were very pleased with it. The room was small but well appointed with a comfortable bed. The bathroom has a free-standing bath which was very comfortable but no shower, which wasn't a problem to us.
We had dinner and the food & wine were excellent... couldn't be faulted. The service however was very slow (a recurring theme in these reviews)... but we were in no hurry. The restaurant manager was very apologetic, so was obviously aware that things were running slowly... perhaps they were missing someone in the kitchen.
We slept soundly and the breakfast was excellent... we had eggs benedict and smoked haddock, which makes a change from the usual bacon & eggs.
We found all of the staff friendly and helpful. The receptionist was happy to take some fish that we'd bought in Southwold and put it in one of their fridges.
In general we think we've found a "hidden gem" and will certainly go and stay again. To put this in context I work as European Sales Manager for a technology company and stay in hotels frequently all over Europe and beyond.
--
Mark Goodson

Classy and Cosy Inn

from Nimrod-999
We stayed at the Westleton Crown on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th September. The Rooms are not numbered, as our room was called 'Little Egret' and was classed as a 'Good' room. The room, whilst fairly small, was excellent. It was beautifully presented, with first class furnishings, a very comfortable double bed, tea and coffee making facilties etc. The bathroom had a bath and shower which were excellent. All fittings and fixtures were fairly new, upmarket and were spotlessly clean.
We had evening dinner on both nights of our stay, and breakfast the following mornings. The food was superb without exception. It was very well served and presented and was cooked fresh to order. There was nothing mass-produced about it. The restaurant, bar and parlour are nicely decorated and atmospheric. The staff are very friendly and welcoming, but unobtrusive.
Although fairly expensive at £ 110.00 or 120.00 per room per night for B&B at weekends, and dinner costing around £ 33.00 per head, it was well worth it. The old addage that 'you get what you pay for' certainly rings true, as it was worth every penny. All in all, we had a lovely stay and we think this place deserves an excellent recommendation, we'll definitely be going back there again for a weekend break in the spring.

service sucks

from HertsFred
We stayed here this weekend.
The service is the most amateurish ever. The fact that we live in london is irrelevant.

On saturday night we waited for 45 minutes for our main courses to be cleared away. On Sunday morning the breakfast service was non existant with the waiting staff having that special ability not to see you in a room of 10 people and absent for ever.

This is over priced beyond belief.

If the service was on form then the rooms, which are good, would compensate for average food.

I think they benefit from the fact that southwold is always full and they get whats left, so they dont need to bother to train their staff who are pretty abysmal.

Hit and Miss

from laitfam
This establishment as three ratings and we opted to stay in the Best - large room with lovely bath, but sparsley decorated, wet room smelt awful, this smell also affected the main room. Some decent touches to the room though.Our floor wasnt swept either, and no biscuits placed on hospitality tray.

Had evening dinner each night, service was hit and miss, but they appeared to be fairly busy. Breakfast again hit and miss, sat for ages on last day before anyone took our order, and only offered one coffee even though people came in after us and were served better, waiter walked past our table with the coffee pot didnt even bother to ask - these prices shouldnt have to be asked - just offered

Stayed in cheaper hotels with better food and service - sad to say will not be visiting again

Should have read the reviews !

from hammy20
Stayed for only one night thank god! Arrived in the middle of local fete,no parking anywere,had to park and walk half a mile in the rain, not a good start. Checked in to what should have been a "best room " well if that was it for £160-00 should have walked there and then. Room was small(Kestrel) and sparsley furnished in not very good quality furniture,bed was ok though.Bathroom again very basic. Had booked ahead for dinner at 8 in the restaurant. Sat down at 8 ordered starter(soup) arrived at 8-20,ordered main course,roast lamb,waiter came back,lambs of,ordered Bass,waiter came back,Bass is of,ordered Lemon Sole,arrived at 9-10.Fawlty Towers!Ordered sweet(cold) arrived 9-35.Not a very good dining experience for £45 ! Breakfast was ok,very busy had to wait while tables were cleared,and had to prompt the waitress's who were rushed of their feet for tea and breakfast order. Reception ; I have said before on these forums that a smile and a thank you while they take your money would not go amiss? I can only advise people unless financially money is no object to look elsewhere, as this place is to expensive with poor food and poor service.

dont bother

from swellin
we have just come back from a weekend trip southwold way. as a special treat i booked myself and my future husband into the crown as it was central to everything we wanted to do, and the website looked impressive.......never judge a book by its cover....what a disappointment!!!!

to start the greeting on reception was less than friendly. it took the sullen lady quite a few moments to acknowledge our presence. a smile doesnt cost the earth.

we were shown to the kingfisher room and if this was one of the "larger best" rooms i dread to think how small the other rooms are. i couldnt believe i had paid £170 for this. i nearly cried.

dinner was ok ...my goats cheese souffle was overcooked. well actually thats putting it politely it tasted burnt. the mains were not too bad. we did fare better than the table next to us who on ordering 2 fig tarts for desert were told that they would have to wait 15 minutes for them...20 minutes later the waiter announced that the last 2 tarts had been burnt and would they care to order something else....a common thread obviously last evening in the kitchen.

we had ordered a paper for the following morning it didnt arrive until nearly nine. a bit petty of me i know to moan but this is not a cheap establishment and i expect better standards of service.

our checkout wasn't any more pleasurable. the front desk was surrounded by staff, waiting staff mainly i think. its not the biggest area in the world so it was slightly intimidating. as i paid another couple came in to be greeted with "oh i suppose you want to pay as well"

i leave it at that.

A dissapointment

from rayhopewell
We stayed overnight on our 35th Wedding anniversary and were expecting a high standard given the room rate of £160.00. Sadly we were dissapointed. The room although recently refurbished was very basic for the price and probably converted from a garage. The food in the restaurant and dinner and breakfast was excellent but the service was appalling. Very much like a young group on work experience without supervison. I witnessed the recently appointed restaurant manager receiving four other complaints with regard to service and one table celebrating a birthday was not charged for dinner. Service at breakfast was worse with a young waiter who had no idea what he was doing. On arrival no one knew the time that breakfast was served and the receptionist could not be found. There was no manger available to pass our comments to on departure and although we were promised he would be in contact this did not happen. I feel that the recently refurbished rooms are charged at a very high rate to recoup the expenditure.. There are other hotels offering much better value and standards in the area.

Disappointing

from ALLondon
This place is just awful, would not return and would certainly not recommend. The whole experience overall was just very unpleasant. We found their website based on our experience very misleading.

It was a surprise weekend away booked by my husband for my birthday. We understood that check-in is after 14:00, however, the reception we received was just not very welcoming at all. The receptionist didn’t even look up from the desk when we tried to check-in. Eventually got a response and was told that room was not ready, end of. No comments from the check-in staff along the lines of “would you like to take a drink in the bar” etc etc. So we went off and came back around 16:00 only to be greeted by another very surly member of staff. We had booked a “best room” which was certainly not the best in any shape or form. The first room we were shown to was small, had a low ceiling and felt somewhat cramped. The bathroom had a roll top bath but no shower. The second room was marginally better (Kingfisher), however, it was on the ground floor right on the road without a view. Traffic could clearly be heard, the room wasn’t much bigger, and was hardly “largest and most indulgent bedrooms” as advertised on their website. The shower was certainly not “with water pressure we are proud of!” – also quoted on their website. The room was clean but in our view was soulless and lacking that indulgency that the Westleton tried to portray. The advertised toiletries were small travel bottles and not definitely not “more indulgent toiletries”. The rooms are overpriced at £160 and are not good value for money at all. There are better bed and breakfasts in the area that charge at least half that per room per night.

Our dinner that night wasn’t any better. For an AA 2 Rosette this should be reviewed. The service was dreadful, staff were very disorganised and not attentive at all. The starters were tepid and tasteless. Had to send our main course back twice as it was cold, the second one had obviously been microwaved as it was then delivered as volcano heat and the potatoes were hard. Dessert was a marginal improvement. We had to wait nearly half an hour for our dessert plates to be cleared though. The restaurant wasn’t even busy either. Yet again, top prices are being charged and the service and quality is not being delivered. We understand that there is a new restaurant manager and he will definitely have his work cut out!

Breakfast was not much better. My husbands order was wrong (at this stage he really couldn’t be bothered to send it back) and both our breakfasts were luke warm. Coffee/toast was not offered to us, I had to go and ask one of the waiting staff for some service. Plates yet again were slow to be cleared.

The car alarm going off most of the night and the rude awakening by the fire alarm in the morning just added to our awful stay.

We were not the only people to complain this weekend, 2 other couples complained in our vicinity and met another lady who was complaining on check out. We did ask to see the Manager but apparently he was not around this weekend. The Westleton is charging top prices aiming at the higher end of the market but are just not delivering.

BE WARNED – DO NOT BOOK THE WESTLETON!

Sneaky break

from Extrafussy
We stayed for 1 night when attending a family funeral- a thin excuse as we could have travelled there and back on the same day! Very good, fresh and clean room with high quality fittings. Good food plus kippers for breakfast!!

Amazing place to relax and not worry about a thing

from NessandPete
We stayed for 5 days and had an absolutely fantastic time. It is the kind of place where you feel warm and welcomed from the moment you arrive through the door.

The reception staff are incredibly helpful and friendly, they insited on helping us with our bags which is a lovely touch. We stayed in a "better" room which for us was a bit like a home from home, very spacious, nice bathroom - although our room didn't have a shower which was a really minor let down - TV on the wall perfectly positioned for watching tv in bed and ample tea/coffee/biscuits to keep us going. The bed was amazingly comfortable, I just sank into it and slept solidly every night.

Food wise this place is amazing and I wish I lived near enough to take all my friends there to enjoy it. The menu is varied with something for everyone - although once on the coast I always seem to get drawn to fish and chips and The Crown's fish and chips is out of this world - I even eat the mushy peas! Puddings are divine - if only I could doggy bag a selection to take home! The service during dinner was outstanding - lots of warmth from all the staff and very attentive. Breakfast was a similar experience with the full english a must, or the pancakes with bacon were a very pleasant suprise to my taste buds.

There is a huge tiered garden out the back of the hotel where you can hide away and drink a drink in the sun (it was very sunny when I stayed!). And the lounge area gives the hotel a little something extra when staying for more than a brief weekend - it made it feel a little bit more like a home from home.

Personally, I can't wait for the opportunity to return here one day and enjoy the whole experience all over again.

Top Local Tips for Saxmundham

Minsmere RSPB Nature Reserve Visit the RSPB nature reserve at Minsmere. The starling roost at dusk is amazing - thousands of birds flock together to roost in the reedbeds. An incredible sight. You don't have to be a bird watcher to appreciate Minsmere - it's a great place to spend the day. If you're lucky you could also spot a deer or even an otter.

Adnams Wine Cellar Go there and explore this amazing wine store with much more than wine to offer - you might want to leave the credit card at home or it might cost you loads :-)

minsmere it is beautiful and well worth visiting. the beach is quieter and not commerialised at all

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Other names for The Crown at Westleton Hotel

  • westleton crown southwold
  • westleton crown hotel southwold
  • Address: The Street - Saxmundham - England - IP17 3AD - United Kingdom
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