Best Western Priory Hotel, Bury St Edmunds

Thank you so much for giving us a wonderful break. We were fortunate enough to be offered the 5 course taster menu and wine flight taster during our weekend and it was amazing. Breakfast was lovely. Everything was perfect. Enjoyed the whole experience x

I came for the first time with my partner before christmas and I had a brilliant experience, food was heavenly and the staff were so pleasant and welcoming. I love that the hotel has a modern and classic theme to suit everyones taste. I have already started planning my next trip!

Stayed here in family room. Excellent room, really clean and breakfast was fab. Thanks John for taking care us. Great access into town for January sales shopping trip. Didn't have dinner but all staff we meet were very friendly and professional. Defiantly will come back.

The worst hotel I have ever stayed in, in terms of getting a good night s sleep. Christmas parties just below my room going on till midnight and then partygoers carrying on with the chat . Receptionists charming and understanding but powerless to do anything. Manager unapologetic saying this was normal for December and that this was on their website which I did not see and still dont... No maintenance men on the weekend so the loo handle that became disconnected was not fixed on my return to my room that evening, warranting a room change. Then another party below that night...This place is a health hazard if you are then driving a distance the next day!

Just returned from a 2 night stay. Absolutely fantastic. Every member of staff we met were very friendly and helpful and nothing was too much trouble. We had dinner and wine flight which were amazing. The food was top class both dinner and breakfast. We could not fault anything. We will be booking to come again.

A group of 10 friends booked a Christmas party night and between us booked 5 rooms. Communication regarding the party booking could have been better - in that I rang twice to check timings for the evening and felt like they didn't know what I was asking about. That said we turned up and checked into our room with ease (our room was in the main part of the hotel). Our room did what it said on the tin. It was clean enough and the bed was comfortable. Having made ourselves party ready we headed down to the bar prior to taking our seats. The bar staff were pleasant although the cost of drinks did vary during the evening for the same two drinks! The food was fabulous. Tasty and hot - which is impressive given there were about 70 of us in total. The DJ part of the Christmas party was brilliant and we all had a great time. There is no reason we won't be back for 2023.

Bought as a present from my parents for my brother & Me last year when they contacted my parents after they stayed. Purchased nov 21 my brother went 2 weeks ago & found ok. I booked some months back & booked this weekend 25th. After checking in past few days what @facilities they had I was concern when I stumbled on the appalling reviews of the hotel Made hubby ring to make sure we had a quiet room. They had no record of our reservation even though we were both in room when we rang, no reservation number provided when booking, but we both didn't dream up the date etc. Turns out they do not recognise our reservation at all. My mum furious as paid for 2 Christmas presents and they are refusing one, the receptionist actually hung up on her when my mum lost her temper saying he was stupid … Most companies say they will investigate and come back but no this guy kept blaming my mum and we are without a weekend away which was months in the planing. Terrible service Just waiting for the response the standard rubbish from frank the manger at the hotel !

Paid for a 2 night VIP stay, left after 1! Hotel on arrival seems nice enough, hard to find from road in dark as poorly lit entrance. Had a ground floor room for accessibility in main building. Room seemed nice enough (one of their refurbished rooms). Seemed quite noisy, doors banging, people in & out of other rooms, outside door opposite left open causing draft under door. Had the taster menu (mostly nice food but main option was either fish or vegetarian, no meat - alternative off bar menu offered). Dining room is tired, damp & prev leak visible, hot trays for breakfast left in middle of room. After getting woken with noise early in morning from rooms around ours, we found out we were sharing the hotel with government placed asylum seekers. The kids in the morning were using the corridor, outside our door as a play area, scooters included! The hotel should have informed us of this. Fair enough they have to be housed, but when you have paid good money for a relaxing few days and they do not respect the paying guests in the hotel, it is not on. Breakfast was poor, went in at 8.30, no pastries, yogurts, hot food was luke warm. Asked for croissant and was told chef was doing no more. You serve breakfast till 9.30, you should supply what is on the menu. Took a complaint for some to be done (waited over half hour for them though). The supervisor Joanne, is fantastic, she tried her hardest to find a resolve for us, the alternative room though was in an outside area and was very tired, poor state and smelt of smoke and poorly lit paths to hotel in the dark. No manager available until 3pm to speak to. A disappointing end to what should have been a relaxing couple of days in Bury St.Edmunds. Best Western used to be a good hotel brand but would you want to be a full paying guest when the government are housing guests at a fraction of the cost with them!

We arrived on a Friday for a two night stay, we did not eat at the hotel in the evening but had breakfast which I must say was a little disorganised and they kept running out of various things. The rooms in the main building are lovely but the rooms in the grounds are a bit tired and not so plush. What I did not expect having paid for a relaxing hotel break was to be sharing the hotel with people who are not in the country legally, this gives the atmosphere a whole new demographic. Guests should be informed of this arrangement before their arrival.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Garfield, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us. I am sorry you experienced some issues with breakfast, we are looking into why this happened. I am sorry you feel this way, about the other guests we had within the hotel. Kind Regards, Frank Queen, General Manager

A VIP offer landed in my inbox at the right time for my planned birthday mini-break, having stayed in another hotel in the group previously. The offer was competitive so I took it up and came up to Bury St Edmunds for an explore and managed to fit in a gig at the Apex one evening. Included in the offer was a taster menu on one of the two nights, with wine, with breakfast on both days. The staff and service were fine and the food competent and what you would expect for a hotel of this type. The room, Superior, we had was large and spacious and the En-suite had been refurbished in the last couple of years. If in the area again I would certainly consider returning as it was set in lovely, secluded grounds and just a short distance from the town centre.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear John, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us. Thank you for your kind comments, we are glad your enjoyed your birthday weekend. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel again. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

I visited this hotel to have “sparkling afternoon tea” Was very Underwhelmed by the whole experience. Firstly we was not guided to the room where we would be having tea, and there was no signage to point us in the right direction. Secondly we noticed that ourselves and a table next to us had dirty plates, bowls and cutlery. Which I will attach a photo of for proof, Thirdly the place looked a bit Drab, there was mould and cracks in the ceiling in the corner and the room still looked like it was open for breakfast. Lastly the food was ok, other than the scone which was dry and rock hard. I suppose you get what you pay for but cleanliness should be a standard.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Fletcher, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us. I am sorry about the experience you had with us during your afternoon Tea, Please be assured this is not our usual standard of practice and are looking into why this happened. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel again. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

The hotel looks tired and need new carpets and some re-decoration in the main building. The bedroom chalets are fine for a short stay. The restaurant provides good food if a little limited on selection.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear John, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel again. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

We paid £135 for room and breakfast for one night. Not expensive but also not cheap. We checked in and were directed to a “courtyard room “. What we found was a soulless small room that was instantly depressing but we though hey it's just one night. As we looked around it got worse. Not even one picture on the walls just a bare hook. Very dirty carpet and a bathroom you wouldn't want to walk barefoot in. Checking the mattress we found it to be filthy. A member of staff came who apologised but agreed it was not good and also agreed a part refund but this is a management problem not one that a member of staff should even have to address. In the end we gave the key back and decided not to stay as we didn't know what else might be lurking.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, My apologises for the standards you received. I have also replied to you via the Best Western Portal. Once you have the opportunity to review my response, please le me know and we can discuss further, via the Best Western Portal. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

From the minute we arrived all staff were great. Rooms and little run down but everything else excellent. Breakfast staff we under pressure as very busy but kept smiling with great service. Have family locally and will be returning.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jackie, Thank you for your kind comments, that we will share with the team. We are constantly reviewing our breakfast systems to make quicker and we look forward welcoming you back to the Priory. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Myself and wife spent 4 nights here on a coach holiday. All the staff were helpful and friendly. As we are both disabled the help we were given was well appreciated. we were in one of the garden bedrooms which was very nice and quiet. The only downside was lack of lighting from the restaurant to our room. Food was generally very good apart from the fact that the vegetables were the same each meal. apart from that the main courses of either fish or meat were well cooked and tasty. I would not recommend visiting on a coach trip as access was very bad. It seemed that the entrance was designed for coaches pulled by horses

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your review and it was a pleasure taking care of you all and will pass your comments to the team. I will look at additional outside lighting and speak to the chef about the veg. You are correct we were originally designed for coach and horses 800 years ago. I believe your coach was an extra long. hence in future we will contact the coach companies that have not used us before and ensure they use the normal size coaches which we have never had any issues with before. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We had the VIP taster meal with a wine flight, the meal was delicious.I don't know the name of the young girl who looked after us but she was really friendly and really did make us feel like VIPs . Would definitely recommend it. We stayed for two nights the breakfast was ok, but unfortunately we did have to wait for about 10 minutes for fresh bacon and eggs, but it was worth the wait. All the staff were friendly and very helpful. My husband was really happy as we had a dedicated parking slot.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your kind review. It was a pleasure taking care of your special day. Raffs took care of you and I will pass on your special thanks. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Spent five nights in one of the hotel's self contained garden bedrooms on an Vintage car break with my father. Enjoyed good honest hospitality with friendly, helpful staff. Three star accommodation that offered good value for money. Particular mention to Jo who ran the restaurant and worked tirelessly throughout our stay showing a particular care for her customers. Also, Hannah ever helpful and cheerful on reception. Thank you for a lovely, much needed break in Bury St Edmunds.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your great feedback, which I will feed back to the team. Hopefully see you back again! Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Amazing staff. Shame about the management or lack of it. The general attitude of staff was wonderful but when there's likely to be an issue (private party not leaving the residents dining room when they were supposed to) the management had finished for the day. When we checked out, our bill was overcharged by £170 because our dbb plan had not been taken into account and the receptionist and I had to go through it item by item to sort it out.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Janet, My apologises for your experience. Yes, I was finished for the day, however the 2 staff you dealt with on the evening are both Duty Managers and unfortunately the large party of residents that had booked the restaurant where running late. Our sincerest apologises, Frank Queen General Manager

We took up the offer of a VIP stay with wine tasting etc and found it good value. We especially enjoyed our waiter, Cameron, who had us in stitches the whole time with his excellent sense of humour. He moaned constantly about his job, got the wine mixed up and told off the guests, but all with such a naughty twinkle that we couldn't help laughing - he was like a real-life Basil Fawlty! We would happily accept another VIP offer for this hotel chain.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mary, We are glad you enjoyed your stay and although our Cameron is lovely and a great worker. I will give him some more training so he doesn't get so mixed up, but still keep you smiling. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

I got offered a chance to take up one of their ‘VIP' 2 night voucher offers and although I was sceptical at first because the price and what was included sounded too good to be true. Having now stayed on the VIP offer, I have to say that my wife and I had a wonderful stay and of course we didn't have my own butler, we were treated like VIP's and the 5 course meal with a wine flight was superb and the breakfast amazing. The Manager I think his name was Franco really went out of his way to make us feel welcome and I will definitely be returning.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your great feedback, which I will feed back to the team. Hopefully see you back again! Kind regards, Frank (Franco) Queen General Manager

Really enjoyed it, the staff were lovely and very friendly. Couldn't have asked for anything more. Kept checking up on us and refilling coffee. Will definitely book again and definitely recommend!!!!!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Paulina, Thank you for your kind review, which I will pass onto the team. Hopefully see you back again for a scone and lots of coffee. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Went for afternoon tea at the Best Western priory hotel. The hotel smelled very damp and fusty. The food was awful. Plain sandwiches and very little selection of cakes. No-one came to check on us or the other couple in the restaurant during the whole afternoon tea. Don't even get me started on the toilets. Absolutely disgusting!!!!!! One chain wouldn't flush at all so was backed up with everyone else's waste and another had been left full of excrement and not flushed at all. Would never recommend this to anyone. Similar feedback from the other couple in the restaurant. Massive disappointment

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to review your experience with us here at the The Priory Hotel. Please accept my apologies regarding your concerns about the quality of the afternoon tea, staff and cleanliness of the toilets. These concerns have been noted and addressed in order to make the necessary improvements. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

I agree with the 2 previous posts.."disappointing". We paid for a Suprior Room, wrongly assuming the standard would be higher than a regular double room. Sadly not. Damp and mould around the shower, hole in ceiling, terrible finish on bathroom door, and this room was in the new block they say. Breakfast was definitely not worth the cost. Very minimal items left in the hot trays, 2 sausages, no bacon, rubbery scrambled eggs. The waitress was in and out of the kitchen trying to organise more food. There was at least 14 of us at breakfast just waiting around for food. Terrible organisation.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us, i am sorry you experienced issues while staying with us at The Priory Hotel, please be assured i am looking into what had happened. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel again, with these changes made. Kind Regard Frank Queen General Manager This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

We just missed Basil Fawlty himself apologising for the problems. Could do better: Rooms: 1) hot and stuffy with a 4ft6 bed - I didn't realise hotels used those any more except perhaps for single rooms. 2) moved immediately into a much larger room with a king size bed. Very old fashioned bathroom - shower was scalding hot and impossible to change. The staff did try whilst we were out and again the next morning. 3) a slightly smaller room, with a 5ft bed which was reasonably comfortable. Another old fashioned bathroom. Shower sprayed all over the bathroom!! Breakfast: cold the first day but better on day 2. Sliced bread, tinned fruit, chipped mugs. There were huge bowls of fresh fruit set outside the kitchen for someone, but not, it seemed, the hotel guests. Cleanliness: Room generally clean but windows, window sills and frames - dust, dirt and spider webs. Would I stay again? No. Would I recommend it? No. Did a great job: The staff could not have done more to try to make our stay comfortable and to cope with the poor conditions of the hotel and a general shortage of staff. I would recommend them any day!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us, i am sorry you experienced issues while staying with us at The Priory Hotel, please be assured i am looking into what had happened. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel again, with these changes made. Kind Regard Frank Queen General Manager This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

The charming description on the hotel's website probably describes what it was, not what it is. It certainly has potential, and it felt like a good candidate for Alex Polizzi's 'Hotel Inspector'. To be absolutely fair they seemed short-staffed as so many places are, so it's not surprising that things kept running out at breakfast in the rather soul-less dining room, and that it and parts of the grounds were sometimes untidy. Food wasn't great. All of our party of several rooms commented on how hard and uncomfortable the beds were, and many of the fittings and fixtures, cutlery and crockery, are in need of renewal, although again to be fair the pandemic has perhaps left many hotels short of funds to invest in upgrades.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us, i am sorry you experienced issues while staying with us at The Priory Hotel, please be assured i am looking into what had happened. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel again, with these changes made. Kind Regard Frank Queen General Manager This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

The staff were fabulous. Teamwork is evident. We were made to feel welcome and valued from the minute we checked in. Sophie and Jack especially looked after our needs and went over and beyond to make sure we had the best experience possible. Would certainly recommend The Priory and will look forward to returning soon.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Julie, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us, I will pass on your kind comments. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel soon. Kind Regards Frank Queen, General Manager

We booked two VIP breaks consecutively. These went very well and the food was good. The main plus was the staff who could not have tried harder to make our stay enjoyable. Very friendly and very helpful. Yes, they were short staffed and this did show in some of the efficiency. The room in the main building was hot but we were there on the hottest days of the year and a fan was provided. The shower however was outdated and not efficient. The stay was enjoyable and good value.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Evening Robin. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us, It is lovely to hear you enjoyed your stay with us, we hope to welcome you back to the hotel again soon We will look into the issue regarding the shower. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

We were sold a VIP stay last year (2021) which included 2 nights B&B and a 5 course tasting dinner. 3 days before our booked dates which we had arranged sometime ago so we could go with friends who had bought the same package, that they couldn't supply the dinner cos of staff shortages. We were offered alternative dates but as we had plans for the weekend we did not want to do that. So we were given a refund of just £25. You try buying dinner for two for £25!! Not happy and complaints go unanswered three weeks later. Very poor management.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us, i am sorry you experienced issues while staying with us at The Priory Hotel, please be assured i am looking into what had happened. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel again, with these changes made. Kind Regard Frank Queen General Manager

Food and Wine on the taster experience was fantastic. Staff extremely attentive to all needs during stay. Location of hotel was within walking distance of the town with plenty of places to visit and eateries.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Elaine thank you for your feedback we are glad that you enjoyed your stay our hotel. We look forward to welcoming you back soon. Kind Regard Frank Queen General Manager

Mixed experience, the room needed some minor maintenance, shower pressure was poor. Restaurant service was good but reception and bar service lacking - twice we had to find staff to serve us. Food quality was good but not great. Overall, a little disappointing.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Gear Nick hank you for taking the time to review your stay with us, i am sorry you experienced issues while staying with us at The Priory Hotel, please be assured i am looking into what happened. We hope to welcome you back to the hotel again, with these changes made. Kind Regard Frank Queen General Manager

A phone call to my friends on Tuesday - 3 days before we are booked to go, to say there is no staff to make our meal. Not even a call to me how made the bookings! One of the draws to make this reservation was the VIP deal that was offered at only £175 with a ‘5 course taster menu for one evening with wine plus a £25 per person allowance for the other evening. No meal and no wine. We were not offered an alternative meal in the restaurant despite some people eating and a BBQ taking place. We did not receive any of the VIP treats and compensation that was offered of just was just £25. I cannot buy a meal out for £12.50 per person. Not even the £25 pp on each evening as stated in the offer. Our room was made up as a double when I'd stated a request for a twin in my booking form, therefore we had to move rooms. I cannot say this room was VIP just a basic standard room, I feel. Although it was clean and tidy. The hotel is tired and shabby and I feel misled by the offer and very disappointed. I have emailed the general manager on two occasions now to ask for an explaination and/or further compensation and have recieved no reply. This was a weekend away with friends and not as advertised.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Afternoon Shirley. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. Please accept my apologies regarding your stay. We would really like to discuss this further with you, so please contact us directly on reception@prioryhotel.co.uk or 01284766181. I do hope that we can restore your faith in our hotel soon and welcome you back so we can deliver the superior experience you deserve, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

This is the second group on I've done. The first was so good I booked another for friends. I was a bit worried it was too good to be true but the second was equally if not better than the first. The afternoon tea itself was pretty good, sandwiches a bit boring but fresh, and no different probably to a much more expensive offering. The Prosecco better quality than most of the local pubs to be honest, and attentively refilled. surroundings really quite lovely in the garden. The staff on both occasions were exceptionally friendly and helpful, which lead be to conclude a couple of things, who over leads them makes them feel part of a team and valued or the team itself takes pride it what they do. Either way a credit to the brand. While getting hospitality venues fully staff is proving a challenge right now The Priory seems to be bucking the trend And has an engaged, polite team they should be proud of. I have recommended the hotel to several people based on my experience.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Catherine, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We are very pleased to here that you enjoyed your afternoon Tea and that the team have been very helpful and polite throughout your whole experience. All of your feedback will be dually noted and looked into in further detail. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

Check in time has been changed from 2 pm at time of booking (28/12/21) to 3pm. We had many e-mails asking us if we wanted to upgrade but not one advising on a major change of policy. We had to leave by 3 to be on time for an event we were attending. Other guests were complaining of the same thing. I have been staying in this hotel for the best part of 18 years, on both business and leisure, although as I was not recognised by one particular member of staff was told that it hasn't been in the last 5 years! It was exactly 1 year ago to meet the same people to go to the same annual event!!! I will concede that we didn't stay in the 18 months prior to that. They have spent many hundreds of thousands of pounds on an extension with new rooms and new restaurant, however the garden room we stayed in last year and the “30's” block room we stayed in this year do need some attention. i.e. our room was dated, the light pull cords are frayed, the sink plug chain is broken, the sink needs a mixer tap as the hot water is so hot we had to fill the sink to wash our hands wasting litres of water. When bringing my concerns to the front desk staff on Sunday morning they kept ignoring me to talk to other guests, they didn't want to hear what I had to say. No Worcestershire sauce no tomarto juice, hot breakfast was at best warm.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Morning Graham, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us. I am very sorry there was an issue with the check in time, we are looking into why you were not told our new check in time. We've had taken on board your comments about the rooms and will pass on to the relevant department. Hopefully in the future if you choose to stay with us things will have improved dramatically. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

Best Western Priory Hotel Brilliant hotel - great surroundings - just going under a refurbishment. Had afternoon tea in the Garden room the service was outstanding Very good selection on offer to match any in the country Staff could not do enough very friendly and helpful Would highly recommend.

Clean, functional room although very dark and hot. Had to have light on all the time and windows open with fan on even during the night. Tea/coffee facilities. Hairdryer, iron and ironing board provided, Wi-Fi hit and miss. Large walk-in shower with constant hot water and lovely large bath sheets. Only used the restaurant for breakfast which was very disorganised. Really needed more staff but those working worked very hard. Help yourself continental and full English. Unfortunately nothing seemed to be replenished unless you asked and nothing ready at the same time. No yoghurts or Danish pastries one morning either. The toaster only toasted one side so really needs replacing. Not the best breakfast, just about edible. Cannot fault any of the staff, all very friendly and willing to help even when we returned after midnight and the keycard wouldn't work. With improvements made to the staffing arrangements in the restaurant I would definitely give my review an extra star.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good afternoon Kim, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. Lovely to hear you found our staff to be friendly. Regarding your concerns, please accept my apologies. All the issues raised will be passed on to the team and discussed in order for us to make improvements. I do hope we can one day soon welcome you back to the Priory Hotel to deliver you the superior experience that you deserve. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

I stayed in room 57 which was one of the outside chalet room. The carpet was dirty and stained and there was a stale odour when I walked in but put that down to the heat. Luckily there was a fan in the cupboard so turned that on immediately which helped a little. There were cracks in the ceiling and it really did make me wonder if I'd been put in the staff quarters! There were spiders in the corners on the floor so that led me to believe the cleaners needed to be more thorough until I drew back the curtains and saw a whole hose of cobwebs and spiders up there and knew it hadn't been cleaned properly for months! Get the hoover up in the pelmets! Looked like a room from the 70's and really needs a makeover. The bathroom was disgusting, had an orange lino floor, broken tiles and no blind up at the large bathroom window.. It was the most uncomfortable shower I've ever had as I felt very vulnerable. Breakfast was ok, no veggie sausages and for meat eaters you had to request bacon and sausages from the kitchen? All in all, I should have asked for a refund but I was with a friend who had a room in the building and the trip was for her and didn't want to ruin it for her. I've stayed in hotels much cheaper and have been more impressed and definitely wouldn't have paid more than 50.00 if I'd have seen it first. Very disappointed and you can definitely find better for your money. Don't be fooled by the look of the gardens and building and request a room in the main building which seemed to be marginally better.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Afternoon Vexey. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. Please accept my apologies regarding your stay. We would really like to discuss this further with you, so please contact us directly on reception@prioryhotel.co.uk or 01284766181. I do hope that we can restore your faith in our hotel soon and welcome you back so we can deliver the superior experience you deserve, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Having had many pleasant stays at another Best Western hotel I thought that by booking an overnight stay at The Priory in Bury St Edmunds I could count on the same high standards that I had come to expect from Best Western in the past. On check in, my wife and I were allocated one of the self contained rooms away from the main hotel. As soon as we entered the room we noticed a dank/ musty smell in the room. We then both tried to log on to the free Wi-fi to check our emails but the signal was virtually non existent and we had to go back to the hotel reception area to use the wi-fi and while there we reported the issue to the receptionist. The room itself was spacious, but the overall cleanliness left a lot to be desired. There were cobwebs above the curtains and my wife actually had to clean the bath of scum marks and hair in the waste outlet before she could use it. Later that night we tried to watch tv before going to bed, but this wasn't possible as, just like the wi-fi, there wasn't a signal, whichever channel we tried to select. The bed itself, we both agreed ,was among the most uncomfortable we have ever stayed in leading to a restless night for us both. We were at least expecting a decent breakfast the following morning, but alas, this too was disappointing. The cooked breakfast items were dried out and hard. My wife asked for replacement sausage and bacon as the first brought to us were virtually inedible, but when the replacements came they were no better. Not only this, but the coffee and the "hot" water for the tea were barely luke warm. On checking out the next morning we asked to see the manager who wasn't available. The receptionist said that she had noted our complaints and would pass them on to the manager when he came in, and that we would call or email us, also suggesting that I send an email to him, which I have done, but I am still awaiting a response 6 days after checking out which is very disappointing to say the least. Overall not a pleasant experience, we will not be returning!!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Afternoon Malcolm, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us. Firstly please accept my sincerest apologises for your experience during your stay, i can assure you this not our usual standard of practice. All of your feedback has been dually noted and passed on to the relevant department . And hopefully in the future if you choose to stay with us things will have improved dramatically. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

This review is based on the Afternoon Tea not on the Hotel Accommodation. We booked via Groupon which we had used for several teas at different locations over the years and always been delighted with the food and drink. On this occasion we were disappointed. Although there were plenty of sandwiches the fillings were unimaginative being what we might have at home any day of the week. The cakes were nothing compared to offerings elsewhere and the scones, only one each, were small. It was nothing like the picture on the Groupon offer.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Roy, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback on our afternoon tea. We are very sorry to here that your afternoon tea was not up to your expectations. All of your feedback will be dually noted and passed onto the team, so that we can get things improved. Hopefully we can welcome you back in the near future with all of the changes made. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

We visited for afternoon tea, me, my Daughter and mum and dad. I had brought the afternoon tea from Groupon at a bargain price for just 2 of us. My daughter wanted to join us so called then to see if they could add her on and they did just that. She paid full price for her afternoon tea. The morning of before we left my dad decided he would like to join us but didn't want afternoon tea so I call to see if this was something they could do and sure enough they did, they made him a selection of sandwiches and a pot of tea while us 3 had afternoon tea. So for that alone o would of giving a 5 star but the afternoon tea wasn't as good as I would of hoped. Don't get me wrong it was nice, the sausage roll was amazing. I was however a little disappointed with only getting 3 very small tiny sandwiches, ham, egg and cheese. The cakes where amazing but very sickly, so for me there was way to much sweet and not enough savoury. But other then that it was an enjoyable day and very nice dinning room.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Kelgrim, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback on our afternoon teas that we serve. All of your concerns have been dually noted and will be taken into consideration. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

We arrived early for a wedding. Around 9.30am. There was no one at reception, a cleaner lady told me the receptionist was busy. she informed us that check in time was 3pm which we knew. We had driven through the night to avoid traffic and asked if there was any chance of an early check in and was told to come back later. We wandered the town for a few hours and came back just before 2pm, having met some other guests who were already in their rooms. Again told by a rather surly receptionis that check in was 3pm. After the bride came and made her point that we were here for a wedding and nedded to freshen up and change we made it to out room at 2.20pm. I am aware of check in times but in the hospitality sector sometimes one has to be hospitable and acutually help ones guests. Having said that the rest of the stay was fine. The Scottish gentleman manager was very freindly and professional as were the bar staff. The breakfast was poor with the worst sausages I have ever been presented with.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mike, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback on your stay with us here at The Priory Hotel. All of your concerns have been dually noted and will be passed onto the team. We are very pleased that the General Manager was able to sort the situation out. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Nice sized room, comfortable bed, large bathroom but shower a bit tight for someone of my size. Very friendly and helpful staff. No air con and windows didn't open on a very hot day but fan provided. But you have to look in wardrobe for it. Its a very old building and listed set in lovely grounds and hidden away. Good value for money

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Andy, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback on your stay with us here at The Priory Hotel. We are over the moon that you have enjoyed your stay with us and also that the team where able top attend to your every need throughout your stay. All of your concerns have been dually noted and will be looked into as soon as possible. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future with all improvements made. Kind Regards Frank Queen General Manager

This hotel cancelled my long standing reservation for what they considered to be a higher priority booking, causing me an extra cost and substantial inconvenience. Unreliable, I will avoid this chain in the future.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear guest, Our sincerest apologises for the delayed response and that we could not honour your booking due to exclusive use contract we took on. Please be assured we personally contacted all the guests we could, however many bookings that came via third party booking websites were dealt with directly by them as per their own policies.

Unreliable bookings. Do not book here if you want your booking to be cancelled 2 months before because they take on a large corporate booking instead. They have left me with no where to stay on the night of my friends wedding. I will never book with best western again.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear guest, Our sincerest apologises for the delayed response and that we could not honour your booking due to exclusive use contract we took on. Please be assured we personally contacted all the guests we could, however many bookings that came via third party booking websites were dealt with directly by them as per their own policies.

My friend and I booked a twin room for a overnight stay. While the staff were lovely and the afternoon tea perfect we were shocked when we got to our room and saw the size of the beds. These are smaller than a child's bed. We asked reception if we could change rooms and were told all single beds were this size and they had no other single rooms free. We were shown some other rooms with double beds and told we would have to pay a upgrade fee of £25 so decided to stick with the room we had. While the room was spacious it was also outside of the main hotel and in the rear car park. We were kept awake all night by the noise of the traffic outside and also the room upstairs. You could hear all conversations and even when they opened a draw you could hear it. Combined with the tiny beds we barely got any sleep. We went to breakfast the next day and at 8.45 they had run out of croissants and pastries which again was disappointing. Also the shower was boiling hot so not a comfortable experience. We actually complained when we checked out about the various issues which is most unlike us but we were so disappointed at the lack of sleep and bed situation. The girls on reception were very pleasant and did arrange a partial refund. However despite this I have to say I don't think I would stay at a Best Western again.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good afternoon, thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your afternoon tea, as well as a finding our staff to be friendly. Regarding your concerns, please accept my apologies. All the issues raised will be passed on to the team and discussed in order for us to make improvements. I do hope we can one day soon welcome you back to the Priory Hotel to deliver you the superior experience that you deserve. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Room booked six weeks ago, confirmation received and even had an email asking if we wanted to book a table for an evening meal. With only two weeks to go before our stay, we have today received an email to say they can no longer fulfill our booking! Our plans now in ruins. Appalling service!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear guest, Our sincerest apologises for the delayed response and that we could not honour your booking due to exclusive use contract we took on. Please be assured we personally contacted all the guests we could, however many bookings that came via third party booking websites were dealt with directly by them as per their own policies.

Reservation cancelled 5 moths after it had been booked and confirmed (and upgrade subsequently offered). No reason given in initial e-mail. Unacceptable. Be prepared to fins another accommodation at short notice if you book at this hotel.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear guest, Our sincerest apologises for the delayed response and that we could not honour your booking due to exclusive use contract we took on. Please be assured we personally contacted all the guests we could, however many bookings that came via third party booking websites were dealt with directly by them as per their own policies.

We were booked into the hotel for April 22. On 4th Feb we were told we are cancelled due to a corporate booking of the whole hotel as from 15 February 22 for 3 months. We got no compensation and only a verbal apology. Check if you have booked with GWH as this affects more than one hotel at this time to accommodate visitors to our shores.

Just over two weeks to our booking and we received an email to say our 2 night stay had been cancelled. No explanation given in email. Telephone call made an was advised a large group booking had been made and therefore our booking was cancelled. To us this is totally unacceptable for a booking that had been made weeks ago. Shame on you Best Western…we will never book with you again

We had an afternoon tea back in 2021, where we were served moldy sandwiches! The hotel apologized although there is no excuse, refunded the cost and gave a voucher for another which we have not yet been able to use, because... e also purchased a tasting meal voucher for two. The hotel has cancelled bookings (including rooms) twice - first time claiming a COVID related staff shortage. Our booking for February has been cancelled due to a "Corporate Booking" of the whole hotel for a number of weeks, although our booking had already been confirmed! We have had t cancel other arrangements for the weekend and will not get a refund for at least one of those. Our experience is that this hotel does not understand even basic customer service our, lets face it, how to even serve food! If you want to take a chance and try and book something there feel free...

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening. Please accept our apologies for the afternoon tea in 2021 again. We realise that this is completely unacceptable and we can ensure that this will not happen again. We have taken a large corporate exclusive booking, with exclusive use to the whole hotel so therefore we can no longer accommodate any bookings during their stay. We do realise that this causes inconvenience for the guests that were planning to stay with us during this time and we do offer our most sincere apologies. All cancelled stays during this time will be given a full refund. We would love to accommodate you for your VIP stay and your afternoon tea when we have the availability. Please contact me directly to arrange this on generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk or call 01284766181. My apologies again. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

we had to deliver a vehicle in Bury St Edmunds and were looking for a comfortable hotel to stay overnight with our Border Collie. We stayed in a classic room where there was a lovely garden for Monty to explore (a very reasonable £10 extra charge) The room was clean, comfortable and well equipped and we obtained an excellent room rate. We enjoyed our breakfast and there was plenty of parking.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to see that you had and Monty had a lovely stay with us, with a special mention to our rooms, value for money and our garden and parking areas. All your kind comments will be passed on to the team as we all love hearing positive feedback. I do hope we can all welcome you back soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We've just returned from an excellent VIP two night stay at The Priory. We had a great time, starting with Hannah who so kindly arranged our booking. Thanks Hannah. We decided to add an afternoon tea to our experience so on arrival, we were warmly greeted as always by Sophie at reception, who even accompanied us to our smart lovely room in the new part of the hotel which was bright , spacious and shiny as a new pin interior, with good sized comfy bed and pillow selection, plenty of towels, complimentary toiletries in the bathroom, and decent amount of tea/coffee, milks on the complimentary refreshment tray. Everything spotlessly clean. Plus helpful info sheets and welcome sheet from Frank Queen the hotel manager giving hotel info which is always a bonus. Nothing worse than not knowing breakfast or dinner times and any other useful info. The room outlooked the gardens ( where there's a lovely archway feature on the lawns so perfect in summertime for weddings, and outside terrace with seating and tables which we've had the pleasure to use on previous occasions whilst enjoying other afternoon teas). Delightful. Car parking is very handily positioned near the rooms so no lugging cases long distance. After unpacking, we made our way to the light airy restaurant in the conservatory, which also outlooks the terrace and gardens, and settled down for a scrumptious afternoon tea ( good generous selection of sandwiches) and fizz, warmly welcomed by Keturah who made sure we were happily looked after throughout our tea. A little later a blond haired young lady ( apologies we didn't get your name) came to see everything was fine too. The hotel was hosting a wedding fayre over the weekend, and whilst passing the restaurant during that evening, we had the pleasure of seeing the results that Keturah and the team, had made of transforming the whole restaurant into a wedding restaurant venue to showcase what could be offered to potential brides and grooms. It looked amazing. Next morning we were greeted by Jo for breakfast ( who've we've had the pleasure to meet on many occasions when visiting for afternoon tea) who as always made sure we enjoyed our stay and a hearty breakfast. Hats off to chef too for making the best ( and had to be the biggest) mushroom cheese omelette I've ever had. Steve very much enjoyed his full English too. Also plenty of mixed toast, which is great as we've visited other hotels who seem to think a tiny half triangle of bread is sufficient alongside your breakfast. After a little mooch around our beautiful town of Bury St Edmunds, we returned to a freshly smartened room. Housekeeping had done a sterling job whilst we were out, replenishing our hospitality tray, changing towels and freshly making our bed. Late afternoon, we were treated to canapés and fizz bought to our room by Sophie, before settling down in a cosy candlelit lounge for a five course dinner with wine flight. My goodness what a real treat that was. Oliver took very good care of us, and the entire experience was excellent and well worth the visit. We retired very full, and very content. Awaking next morning to yet another tasty breakfast, and warm greetings from Jo ( hope you're still enjoying your new settee and carpet!) and young Cameron. ( Please find yourself a decent pen lol) It was so so sad when we had to depart for home. We live very very locally, but this great two night stay felt like it was a world away. Batteries were well and truly recharged. We would like to say a huge huge thank you to all of the smashing team. They were all honestly like family. Warm, friendly, welcoming nothing at all was too much trouble for them. They all work so hard. We didn't hear one moan or negative comment, and they most certainly made sure we had the promised VIP experience. We will certainly be back. All best warm regards and Happy New Year 2022 from Karen and Steve x

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening Karen and Steve, On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel, and for the amazing feedback. We are all so delighted to see that you had a superior stay that we promised you, and received the VIP treatment that you deserve! We always strive for 100% satisfaction and I am so pleased and proud to see that we have not only achieved this, but exceeded. Your special mentions to your afternoon tea, your room, breakfast, the 5-course taster menu and wine flight as well as our brilliant team will all be passed on to the team members, as everyone will be very happy to hear that you had such a special time. I speak for all the team when saying it was a delight to welcome you into our hotel, and we do hope that you can return soon. Kindest Regards and a Happy New Year, Frank Queen General Manager

We booked the Priory Hotel for our works Christmas Party and were not disappointed. The atmosphere was welcoming, food was lovely and the staff were extremely accommodating. Would happily recommend this venue!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening, thank you for taking the time to review your function with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to read that you and your party had a brilliant time and that you would recommend us! We strive for 100% satisfaction and it is clear to see that we have achieved this here. Your kind comments will be passed on to the team regarding the atmosphere, the food and our lovely staff. We hope to welcome you back soon! Kindest Regards and a Merry Christmas, Frank Queen General Manager

Just spent 2 nights at the priory after being offered a vip voucher deal for £175 which consisted of Prosecco and canapés on arrival 5 course evening meal with wine flight and breakfast both mornings, hotel staff were all exceptionally friendly and helpful as was the manager, hotel itself was clean to a high standard, we stayed in a superior double overlooking the garden which was lovely, food was absolutely delicious , thank you very much to everyone that made our stay a wonderful experience we will definitely be returning

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening, thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to see that you enjoyed your VIP stay with us and had a wonderful experience, with a special mention to all our staff, your superior room and your delicious food! Your kind comments will be passed on to all the team as we all love hearing positive feedback. We look forward to welcoming you back soon! Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Came here with my wife for our anniversary, we enjoyed a delicious taster menu and 5 wines to go with. The young man dark haired man who served us made us feel as if we were at the ritz! Couldn't recommend the taster menu and over experience anymore. Shall be returning soon!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good afternoon. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to hear that we made your stay special, with a special mention to your 5-course dinner and wine flight, and our wonderful staff that served you. Your kind comments will be passed on to the team. We do hope to welcome you back soon and congratulations on your anniversary! Kindest Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

The company I work for had our staff party here. Great staff. Great food. Great disco. Great night had by all! Will get the boss to book us in again for next year definitely! Thankyou priory staff for a great night!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good afternoon, thank you for taking the time to provide us with your valuable feedback regarding your staff Christmas party. I am so pleased to see that you all had a great night, with a special mention to our staff, food and disco. Your kind comments will be passed on to all the team as we all love hearing positive reviews. We hope to welcoming you all back next year! Kindest Regards and a Merry Christmas, Frank Queen General Manager

Booked in to visit family locally. Very friendly staff. Enjoyed my hot chocolate at reception while waiting for room to be ready. Very comfy bed. Enjoyed my eggs Benedict the next morning. Would definitely return!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good afternoon, thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so glad to see that you had an enjoyable stay with us, with a special mention to our lovely staff, your comfy bed and and delicious breakfast. All your kind comments will be passed on to the team as we all love hearing positive feedback. We hope to welcome you back soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We held our Company Christmas party at the hotel Dec 3rd. The hotel was well located for our requirements in Bury Saint Edmunds. The food was great and a DJ kept everyone dancing until the end. A great time was had by all with special thanks to Gary and the team, we look forward to returning to the same venue next year :-)

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good afternoon. Thank you for taking the time to review your Christmas Party with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to read that you had a great night, and especially enjoyed the food and the DJ. All your kind comments will be passed on to the team. We look forward to welcoming you all back next year! Kindest Regards and a Merry Christmas, Frank Queen General Manager

Attended a Christmas Party night at the hotel on the evening of the 3rd Dec 21. Had a fabulous night. Good food, great disco, lovely friendly staff. Would definitely recommend to all. Didn't stay the night but they did have good offers on for B&B.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good afternoon, thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback from your Christmas party! I am so pleased to hear that you had a great night, and were impressed with our food, facilities and staff. Your kind comments will be passed on to the whole time and we all love hearing positive reviews. We do hope to welcome you back soon! Kindest Regards and a Merry Christmas, Frank Queen General Manager

A overnight stay as visiting family. Room was nice. However, this was the second time in two months that there was a function on and as such no bar or restaurant facilities. Why they can't let guests know in advance is beyond me. However, worse was to come, around midnight the guests were leaving and the noise was atrocious, people shouting with no care to paying residents, I didn't hear any of the staff trying to quieten things, indeed some were shouting goodbyes to those leaving. The noise went on for about 45 minutes. All in all a very unsatisfactory stay.

A Afternoon tea with nice sandwiches that were fresh and plentiful, with a lovely fresh scone with cream & jam plus extra cakes which was very enjoyable for us after a cold walk .staff friendly nice environment,

Friendly and helpful staff - good ! A rather tired establishment. Minor repairs need to be undertaken - e.g. the door into my room needed a very hard push or pull to open and close it. My granny would have difficulty getting in and out. The light above the bathroom sink did not work. As indicated in the title, beware very noisy functions up to midnight - this matter ruined my stay. Why doesn't the management think about problems like this?!

It's a lovely location for something like a wedding but as a normal guest awful. Every time there is a function the restaurant is closed so nothing available for guests. Functions are supposed to be over by midnight. That's why I'm writing this at 1am due to the noise! No consideration to others. We are paying guests too. This place has gone so downhill. Seems like money is the only thing they care about - functions are worth so much more than guests . It used to be such a lovely break

I got a call out of the blue from the Priory Hotel, who were calling their previous guests to offer them a 2 night VIP gift voucher. I got 2 nights in a superior room, with breakfast on both mornings and to top it off had a 5 course meal and a wine flight thrown in as well! we had 5 glasses of wine each and got to keep the rest of the bottle of our favourite choice. The VIP voucher was only £175 and you could stay at anytime in 2 years, Great value and a Frank and his team really went the extra mile to make our stay a great one.... I have since called them and purchased a 2nd voucher for 2022.

Our room was clean and the bedding and towels were spotless. The general demeanour in our room was old, tired and unpleasant, along with numerous carpet stains. The heater would not turn off in the room and sadly the bed was very old, lumpy and hard. Very disappointed. We stayed as a group and for the same money our other party had a very nice room with better general surroundings. But hit and miss if you book. Staff however are all wonderful and helpful. You may not wish to visit if you are disabled as the entrance is stepped, narrow and impossible to get through on foot with a bag, let alone in a wheelchair/other.

A pet friendly hotel with a large, clean room. The bathroom was somewhat tired & outdated. Exceptionally hard and uncomfortable bed. The TV signal was intermittent. Restaurant was totally lacking in atmosphere with poor, overcooked food. Breakfast was just about OK.

Ridiculously narrow single beds in the twin room, excessive noise from other rooms, over heated and scalding hot water in the shower. By some way the worst night's sleep I've had in a hotel. The receptionist the following morning was perfectly lovely - very apologetic but the hotel clearly doesn't have a proper complaints procedure as I had to ask for details of who to contact to raise the issues with properly.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening Jen. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. Please accept my apologies regarding your stay and your bad night sleep. Regarding the problems with the shower, this is something I will have looked at ASAP. All your feedback will be passed on to the relevant departments and discussed in order for us to make improvements. I hope that one day we can restore your faith in our hotel and welcome you back soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Five of us visited for afternoon tea. It's a lovely setting and a really nice dining room. However, ambience wasn't so good as we were the only people in there. Despite ordering 3 vegetarian options, we were presented with a lacklustre assortment of sandwiches, which, I think more by luck than judgement, were split into vegetarian/non-vegetarian plates, but also sausage rolls which upon enquiring were informed weren't vegetarian (and no alternative offered). Nonetheless, it was good value with lots of tea and coffee on offer.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Hi Nick. Thank you for taking the time to review your afternoon tea with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed our dining room setting and thought our service was good value for money. However, please accept my apologies regarding your vegetarian options that you received. Your concerns will be passed on to the relevant departments and discussed in order to make improvements. I do hope we will welcome you back soon . Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We stayed here for a wedding we were attending the evening of nearby. We arrived and had to wait while the staff dealt with a coach load of people who had not long arrived. We waited a while and eventually got served and checked in. We had already checked in online, but they still have to do it at the desk anyway. So my parents went to one room above the reception and we had room 46 which was around the other side. We had our little French bulldog with us which is why we were way out the way I think. When we walked the dog we couldn't find any bins to put her poo in, the best we found was a little waste bin in the hallway by our door which we assumed they put there for the dog poo reason. The hotel kindly phoned a taxi for us to get to the wedding which was nice. All the staff were lovely. My father got bashed by a door being flung open on the way to breakfast, think it was the kitchen door, the lady was very apologetic. Breakfast was nice, although a few of us found the sausages quite hard and chewy. The hotel was perfect for a good sleep! The room was large enough and very comfy, the bed was big and comfy also! In the last month we've stayed in three or four best Westerns and this one is definitely up there with the better ones. The shower was very small and the pressure wasn't good. My parents room had a lovely big bathroom and the shower/bath was much nicer.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Afternoon. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to hear that you had a comfortable stay, a good nights sleep and that our staff met your high expectations and the high standards that we strive for. However, I do apologise regarding the wait regarding your check in, your issues with breakfast, and the water pressure in your shower. We will have the shower looked at ASAP. Your other concerns will be passed on to the relevant departments and discussed. We hope to welcome you back to our hotel soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Booking.com Confirmation Number: 3908548539 Date 23rd October 2021 Dear hotel management My wife and I decided to stay at the Best Western Priory Hotel (see reservation reference above) to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary. A truly special occasion. It therefore gives me absolutely no pleasure in writing this letter of formal complaint, only sadness. We booked a Superior Double Room and we checked-in before arrival to avoid contact but we had to repeat the process at reception on arrival, and were allocated Room 10. Sadly, Room 10 was far from superior, both internally and externally - the view was of the service / rear entrance and car park. We found that there was insufficient space in the room due to the sloping roof – presumably the eaves. The use of the desk and chair was hindered by the sloping roof and the luggage rack which could not be used as it was squeezed into the small space next to the desk. There wasn't even enough space anywhere else tin the room o put it. There was only one of the non-USB mains socket working next to the bed, and the bedside light didn't work, this was the side nearest to the door. There was also an issue with the WiFi that made it unusable throughout our stay. The bathroom can only be described as tiny, with a manoeuvre required to gain access via the bathroom door that didn't close properly, and a toilet seat that didn't fit properly. Room 10 could not and should not be sold as a “Superior Double Room”. We were so upset that we did not complain prior to or on our departure as we did not want to further ruin the memories of our Silver Wedding Anniversary. We've already tried to contact you directly to express our disappointment via email without success. I now look forward to receiving your comments.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good afternoon Martin, thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. Please accept my sincere apologies that your stay did not meet your expectations or the high standards that we strive for. Your comments will be passed on to the relevant departments and discussed on how to improve. As an apology, we would like to offer you a complimentary one-night stay with us, with dinner, bed and breakfast included, in one of our new large superior rooms. To organise your stay, please contact me directly. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Everywhere was clean and in good repair but with rather uninspiring decor. The gardens looked lovely. There is parking but in several areas. Breakfasts and dinners were good. Staff were friendly and very helpful. Downside: very poor WiFi in most areas, and small twin beds.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Evening. Thankyou for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us, particularly our garden, restaurant and staff. We are always striving for 100% satisfaction. With that being said, I do apologise that you had poor WIFI during your stay, this is something that I will have looked at as soon as possible. Please accept my apologies regarding the small beds and your concerns with our décor also. I do hope to welcome you back to our hotel soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

During lockdown we were offered a VIP deal (a marketing activity to raise funding I guess) usable up to 2 years in ahead. We had stayed in this hotel a few years ago. This was our VIP stay which was great value. Staff were aware of the VIP nature of the stay wherever we were in the hotel. We were happy with our stay overall. We were aware that the hotel was a 20 minute walk from the centre of town which may be an issue for some. The only other observation was that in a few places the hotel could do with a little decorative TLC.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Evening Alan. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to hear that you were impressed with your stay with us, and received the VIP treatment you expected and deserve. I will pass your positive comments on to the team. We hope to welcome you back to our hotel soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

For the B&B cost, this hotel compares very favourably with other local establishments. It's not a "posh" Best Western, but the accommodation was perfectly acceptable and the food/service at dinner better than you'd expect for the price.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Evening Duncan. Thankyou for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to hear that our hotel and its facilities met your high expectations and our high standards that we strive for. I will pass on your positive feedback on to the team. We all hope to welcome you back to our hotel soon. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We had our wedding here on the 16th of October. I want to say a huge thank you to frank and the whole team for such a well organised and fantastic day. Food was lovely and frank and his team made the room look lovely, just how I wanted. The garden was great for photos.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Evening Vicky. Thank you for taking the time to review your event with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am beyond happy to hear that you were more than happy with your experience at our hotel, and I hope that we made your special day one to remember. Your amazing feedback will be passed on to all the team. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We have stayed at this hotel numerous times over the last 8 years including when the hotel was having its garden room built. The hotel is now an unfortunate mix of very nice rooms and very substandard rooms. It appears that any monies spent were used to improve the bar and restaurant areas and new bedrooms but at the expense of existing rooms This will probably be our last stay at the hotel as when booking I specifically asked for a room with a bath. Upon arriving late Monday evening I was given the key to room 3, a beautiful large room at the front with dodgy stains on the carpet. There was no bath but I was so exhausted decided to leave it and just have a shower in the morning. The shower was more of a luke warm drizzle and when the floor got wet it was so slippy my husband almost fell over. We had to leave early for business on Tuesday morning and got back late that evening when I asked if we could change rooms. Frank the manager did his best but the only room available was no 57 - this was an unloved room in dia need of a new bed and renovation We stuck it out for our final days but are grateful to now go home for a proper nights sleep. Breakfast was ok but not worth the £12.50 charged. There were various items missing at each sitting and the garden room was desperately understaffed - they tried their best but there was too much for them to do

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good Evening. Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. Please accept my apologies regarding your stay. I am most displeased to read just how unhappy you were and I do apologise that we could not accommodate your request for a bath. Regarding your issues within Room 3, I will have the shower looked at as this is not acceptable. All your comments and concerns will be passed on to the relevant departments and discussed in hopes for improvements to come. I do hope you can reconsider not returning to our hotel as we all wish to restore your faith in us and provide you with the stay that you deserve. Kind Regards, Frank Queen General Manager

As always the team make this one of the best in the Bury St Edmunds area. Always helpful and friendly taking time to ensure expections are met and exceeded. Rooms are clean and comfortable. All in all a great stay thankyou.

We stayed at priory hotel for my daughter's wedding. The staff right through our stay and throughout the wedding were really efficient and helpful. My daughter's wedding was overseen by Frank the general Manager and everything went like clockwork. We had a wonderful day and wouldn't hesitate to recommend. The food and service were excellent . We stayed in premier rooms. Our room was large but we did notice that the rooms do vary considerably in size. Everywhere was spotless. My only slight complaint was that at breakfast they were short staffed and two extremely dedicated ladies coped as best they could but this did mean that the service was slow and breakfast not very hot. But that said we all really enjoyed our stay and are very grateful to Frank and his team for making my daughter's wedding so memorable.

Stayed for the weekend to attend a wedding being held at the hotel. All the arrangements surrounding the 'wedding' part of the weekend, went off incredibly well. Staff, organisation, catering, etc. (As did the reception staff.) However, the accommodation facilities in which we stayed were very tired, a little grubby, the beds were very hard and basically needed a complete refurb. Sadly, the accommodation/ catering part was a bitter experience. Breakfast was pretty awful. Food not great - and on the second day they had run out of beans, sausages, eggs and mushrooms (and with guests having to queue to be seated) - as well as bread rolls, most of the fruit and serving bowls. The staff were put in an impossible position... being incredibly hard working and polite, but two young people to take orders; make tea & toast; serve tea and toast; clear tables; serve hot food from table to queuing folk and check folk in to a 'sitting' of around 40+ was an impossible task. The only reason being given, that they were short staffed, and as there had been a wedding the day before, were overwhelmed. (But the hotel books weddings on a very regular basis - so no surprises!) Guessing financial cutbacks meant insufficient staff / support and poorly maintained bedrooms units. Sadly won't be staying again. (Although the wedding itself was well managed - and the garden was very well-maintained)

We were concerned after reading the reviews on line and pictures we had seen, however we had the superior rooms that had been renovated in June, the rooms had nice comfortable beds and bedding a large shower, kettle with mugs and mix of tea and coffee with plenty of milk, flat screen TV with Netflix and Amazon prime that didn't work, however the TV was fine. The room was lovely and warm with a seating area and luggage rack. The one complaint was breakfast there was 8 of us and we waited over hour for toast, I ask them several times but toast kept going to other tables…. There were tables full of dirty plates and only 3 members of staff, 1 young girl was close to tears poor thing the young boy had his hair flopping everywhere round the food and looked like he had just got up after a good night out, I would give breakfast a miss to be honest it's not worth the money, my other issue was I never saw any members of staff use and hand gel even when they were handling so much in the restaurant and constantly adjusting their face masks.

We had a large family gathering in the garden room, this was well organised and ran smoothly. Staff were very helpful. Food supplied was the hot and cold buffet, and children's menu. there was plenty available for everyone. Due to the dry weather the children could play outside on the grass in front of the garden room.

I was unimpressed with the reception staff and how their customer service was. On arrival I thought I'd booked the room with breakfast included and was told it was an extra £6 each person, per day. We were given the key to the room and on entry it was extremely cold. We checked the radiators and couldn't find how to turn them on. I went back to reception and asked about the heating and was told they would look into it. I also asked for a bottle of prosecco to be in our room on arrival as it was a special trip away. This was not done and was very disappointed by this. On asking, the girl on reception apologised and said she would bring one over straight away. 45 minutes passed before she turned up with just a bottle and a couple of glasses, no ice bucket do it was left to get warm. She said she was sorry for the delay, but she was by herself, the phones kept ringing and she was in training. She also said she didn't know how to work the heating. We found an a small electric heater in the wardrobe which we had to have on constantly whilst in the room to keep warm. After looking around the room we felt it was very dated. The shower and tiles had black mould on them, tiles were cracked and it was very cold. In the bedroom it's self there was damp marks on the ceiling and on the walls. Outside, the steps down to the path had a loose slab on the step. We nearly fell a few times. We mentioned this to reception and once again, nothing was done. When we went for breakfast on the second day we had to wait to be seated, and noticed a woman running around clearing tables. It turned out that she was a guest. We were finally asked for whether we wanted tea, coffee and toast and took a little while to get these. When we went up for the breakfast, the girl who was lovely and run off her feet was struggling with a bowl of food which she was trying to put on the hot plate. I assisted her with this before being served our hot food. I asked her if she was by herself, to which she replied yes. It wasn't until we were about to leave that 2 other members of staff appeared. Apart from the girl at breakfast, I found that the hotel room, service and grounds were totally disgusting. I will be leaving a review on trip advisor to this effect. I chose Best Western because I thought they had a good reputation, but I was wrong.

I wanted to say how happy we are with our wedding at the Priory Hotel. The whole day was amazing, especially the hotel manager Frank, who helped us enormously with the arrangements, and ran the whole day to perfection. The food was fantastic, the ceremony well organised, and all the staff were polite and helpful. The hotel gardens were perfect for wedding photos. The music and entertainment was provided by Gary from JLW light and sound, who provided personalised music through the ceremony and played a fantastic DJ disco set later on, including the newlyweds game, music for the children and many requests. The co-ordination between the hotel staff, registrar, and DJ was all faultless We first saw the venue at a wedding fair in September 2020 and from that visit we knew we wanted to get married here.

We were only staying one night and the booking was last minute. The check-in was speedy and friendly, as was the checking-out process the next day. The hotel appeared to be under-staffed for the number of people staying but all those we met were pleasant and helpful. The room was fine for our needs and had everything we needed, including a very good wi-fi connection, though we had to sign in with our own email address if we wanted to use it for more than 15 minutes. The hotel was easy to access, with plenty of space for parking. There was a good variety of choices for breakfast, including fresh fruit.

Lovely staff hotel in excellent easy access to Bury st Edmunds …food very good ,and although near traffic very quiet …would well recommend ….One of the best afternoon teas we have had served by a smiling young. lady and no waiting around would thoroughly recommend

After many delays over these last eighteen months, we finally got the chance to celebrate our wedding/anniversary all thanks to the manager Frank who planned, co-ordinated and organised the venue even down to the guests staying overnight. We can't thank Frank and his wonderful staff for the hard work in bringing this weekend together. Our family and friends were most impressed with the level of service. Would highly recommend this hotel to hold venues, with its beautiful gardens. If it was possible to give a 10 star rating, we would.

Good value hotel and we were very thankful to be offered breakfast as an upgrade, which we accepted and were very glad we did. The breakfast was excellent. The grounds are very attractive and meals can be eaten outside in warm weather. The parking is easy and it's a just a short drive into Bury St Edmonds, although we needed sat nav to navigate the complicated one way system.

We selected this hotel as we are keen members of the National Trust and this hotel was ideally situated to enable us to visit several NT properties within our stay. From the moment we arrived we were impressed with the staff all of whom were very welcoming and helpful. The building is a good mixture of old and new which works very well. We stayed 3 nights in the new wing and found the room very spacious, clean and well appointed and even had an iron and ironing board. When booking it was pointed out that due to covid and the well publicised shortage of staff (throughout the leisure industry|) that there may be a limited menu and room service. However, based on our experience over 3 nights we found the "limited menu|" was more than adequate for our tastes, indeed we did try an evening meal at an adjacent pub / restaurant and found that the hotel meals were of a better quality (and price) and so ate in the hotel restaurant for the rest of our stay. The reduced room service was no problem as if you needed anything you only had to mention it to the receptionist and it was immediately dealt with. The breakfasts were great and offered everything you could wish for, from a croissant to a freshly cooked "full english". The food was served hot and promptly and the staff always had time to exchange pleasantries and nothing was to much trouble. Like many people we were due to be in warm and sunny climates at this time of year, staying in (without sounding snobbish) in a 5 star hotel, and overall we have to say that we doubt that we would have received any better service from the staff or accommodation than that which we received at the Priory Hotel

Having stayed at the hotel before | was looking forward to a further visit, I will admit as it was so hot we did not have breakfast previously. Now for my current visit, booking in was Ok and we had the room I requested. The only point was there was a dirty used razor on the shelf in the bathroom, and only a small rubbish bin, I feel it would have been a good idea if there had been a large bin outside somewhere, so that we could have emptied ours. Now for the high light or should I say the low light – Breakfast I wanted an omelet no omelets so I thought would have an egg Benedict none available both these items were on the internet menu in fact one morning the kitchen was in darkness. I have never seen brown scrambled eggs before but they had been out for long the bacon was dry and again over cooked and cold I sent the eggs back as they were hard the young man brought out a try of fresh eggs and put them on the buffet and then decided to bring us ours by this time they were cold. Now for the cleaning the tables, the crockery and cutlery was taken off one at a time never on a tray and the table was wiped but the condiments were never moved just wiped round. I have never seen such poor waiting staff and I have stayed at hotels all over the country. During our three night stay we only ever saw two people in the dining room for an evening meal, I am sure you must wonder why – let me tell you people want more choice not seven types of burgers. Like us they were going across the road to the Tollgate which had a first class menu. All I can say it is such a pity things are so run down as the grounds are lovely and is an easy run into Bury St Edmunds.

An enjoyable stay in a lovely room. Excellent value for money. Close to the town centre and train station. Lovely gardens. Excellent internet service. Good breakfast. My husband and I stayed there to see West Stow.

I was disgusted by the treatment of the young staff in relation to customer satisfaction. The website stated a 2pm checking, only for me to be told it's now changed to 3pm with no explanation (as the website still stated 2pm). This left me late to the pre-arranged function I had planned. The room given was dirty and we was only changed when we had to complain `again`, I wouldn't be stopping again - considering this wasn't my first time…

Great location and excellent staff in reception, bar/lounge and dining room. But, the evening meal and breakfast were lukewarm and dried out - horrible. The room was comfortable but the bathroom hadn't been cleaned, let alone sanitized considering the current Covid situation - poo stains in the loo and also dusty surfaces everywhere. There was even duck tape on the bed frame - IDK if it was holding the bed together or just covering something up.

The overall presentation of the hotel is lovely. However our stay wasn't pleasant and did not meet our expectations. Traveled 3hrs for my fathers funeral, Checked in online at home to save time, but when going to reception to get our room key there wasn't one, then they gave us what they thought was the key, after traipsing across the hotel it didn't work so had to back to reception then wait for someone to finally let us in at 10pm. Breakfast awful service, so say short staffed restaurant full of guests but they are all stood outside the hotel in large groups in full view of guest puffing on cigarettes. Not an impressive look and was very off putting, will not be returning.

We recently enjoyed a private dinner for a large family gathering at this hotel. On arrival we were delighted to find that everything had been prepared exactly as we had asked, and the dinner table was nicely laid. We noticed, too, some unexpected little extra touches had been put in place (flowers, lamps, door notice to afford us privacy etc.). It was well organised. Every member of staff we had any dealings with were friendly, attentive, and helpful particularly, of course, Dan and Raffs our two servers. The food served was both nicely presented and delicious. We did not hear even the smallest adverse comment about any aspect of the evening from any of our guests. This is probably a rarity these days and underlines everyone's enjoyment and appreciation. Our evening was a very enjoyable experience with the efforts of the hotel management and staff exceeding our expectations. We would not hesitate to use this facility again.

Stayed on business, breakfast was ok and staff friendly and helpful BUT room 48 is horrible. Poorly finished and in need of a good clean. If I hadn't arrived at midnight wouldn't have stayed in the room. There are allegedly newer rooms which may be better but avoid room 48.

I was only staying one night for a wedding in the area. After reading the recent reviews I was worried, however I was pleasantly surprised. Ample safe off road parking. Check in was easy (after a horrible long drive), room was basic but had everything in needed, tea, coffee, tv, iron etc & was clean. As other reviewers have said, the rooms are warm & I couldn't open the window, but a fan had been provided & I slept well. Breakfast was very good with plenty of choice & the 2 ladies on duty that morning were attentive, very friendly & helpful. I haven't given 5 stars as the hotel is a little dated & relatively expensive for what you get, but if in the area I would stay again.

Last year my husband died during the pandemic and sadly we were not able to have our large family at his funeral. We decided to wait until restrictions were lifted and then have a big celebration of his life with an afternoon tea for 150 guests. Having enjoyed sparkling afternoon tea at The Priory many times over the years it was the first place we thought of. From the moment we first spoke to Frank, the General Manager, we knew we were in the best of hands. He couldn't have done more to help us plan the day, even suggesting ways we could make it work whatever the weather. He made sure he was on duty on the day (which turned out to be warm and dry) and was so helpful, in a very unobtrusive way. Everyone commented on the quality and quantity of the food, which was superb. Frank even produced boxes and bags for guests to take away any leftovers so that nothing went to waste. He and all his staff were friendly and helpful to all our guests and never made us feel that we had outstayed our welcome. Many people stayed on well into the evening and didn't want the day to end. I simply cannot adequately express my gratitude to Frank and all his staff for helping us to say the goodbye to my husband that we were unable to do last year. I would not hesitate to use The Priory again for any event, large or small.

Me and my partner spent two evenings here as we booked several hotels in Suffolk / Norfolk for a short break. The reviews were mixed so I expected to get average based on a reasonably low rate for the stay. However, we were placed in one of the newly built rooms and we were so impressed. The room was decorated simply but modern and was most certainly of a very clean standard, smelt fresh and was a pleasure to stay in. Breakfast was a cold and a hot buffet, staff were wearing masks and it was clear they were very precautious with covid, handgel everywhere! The food was tasty. We had dinner in Bury one evening and dinner at the hotel the other. We had a vegan burger and a chicken burger. Great portion size and lots of chips ( always a bonus!). The staff offered us drinks regularly and were really attentive. We would certainly return here.

Really disappointing room and Hotel. I made a last minute booking with this property as my plans on the way to Bury St Edmunds changed. The rate was mid-tier coming in at around 138 for the evening, and what we received for that was really disappointing. The room was tired and old and smelt heavily of stale cigarettes. The bedding was of a poor quality and also over-aged and tired, Bathroom was full of flaking paint and poor quality fittings, tired overhead shower, stained bathtub just pretty rubbish in general. I very rarely write a negative review but to be honest I really couldn't wait to get out of the room, didn't feel hygienic and for that rate the standard really should be much higher. On check out i was then double charged and had a bit of a kerfuffle trying to rectify the payment details. All round not a pleasant experience, i would definitely say it's worth avoiding, there are some beautiful hotels in Bury for reasonable prices. This just isn't one of them.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mr Swan, Firstly please accept my apologises for the standards received and please be assured, we will discuss with the housekeeping and maintenance team and we are also recruiting to increase the levels of staffing in all areas. Your partner took my call and will very kindly pass on the message that I called and we can hopefully chat tomorrow to resolve and restore your faith in a product that we pride ourselves in. My apologies and I look forward to catching up. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We bookeda VIP stay that included reserved parking, our room was really nice well equiped very clean, bubbles & canapés served in our room at the time we requested. Evening meal was a 5 course taster menu it was delicious included was a wine tasting, this was brilliant we really enjoyed the experience, our main waitress was Raff she was great as was Jo. Breafast was really nice plenty to choose from. The only downside for us was the housekeeping in the room. Our glasses & plate fron the bubbles & canapés was not collected, we put the sign on the door the next morning for our room to be cleaned, when we returned later in the day no one had been in, had to ask reception was told due to covid rooms were only being cleaned every 72 hours, (this was not mentioned when we checked in). This ment that we ran out of tea coffee. Ran out of loo roll as no spares let in the bathroom. Asked for some at reception and for dirty glasses etc to be removed. When we returned had couple sachets of coffee left & 1 loo roll. Glasses had been taken but dirty mugs had not been replaced. I run a cleaning company to use covid i feel was an excuse. Real shame as this was an anniversary treat & this did put a bit of a downer on our trip.

no help in finding room, room dirty bed too hard, bathroom dirty, very noisy was awake all night pillow protectors ripped and frayed, curtains too small all furniture was pushed into the window lights never worked properly

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, My sincerest apologises for the standards you received during your stay and as we just discussed, I look forward to discussing and resolving with you tomorrow by telephone. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

A lovely welcome to which was the start of an professional experience. Food was yummy.rooms were clean and smelt so amazing. The bathrooms were spectacular. My bed was so comfortable ( didn't want to get up) Thank you for a lovely stay

Visited sometime back & it was lovely - this is no longer the case. The room was meant to be a superior. What a laugh! So small it was meant for a single bed & not a double. The bathroom door couldn't even open fully without hitting the bed. Just a basic room. Then when we went to eat the waitress was asked about GF vegetarian food - I was offered tomato soup or beef burger! Vegetarians do not eat meat! So no food for me. My husband had scampi. So thank you for ruining our wedding anniversary/my birthday meal. For 2 key workers working throughout the pandemic this is a serious lack of customer service. You should be ashamed of your terrible menu & terrible rooms. Will NEVER come again.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Firstly my sincerest apologises for the service your experienced during your stay. I would like the opportunity to discuss further, but do not have enough information on this site to contact your directly. Would you be so kind to email your details to me at generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk so I can call you, or if you prefer you could call me on 01284 766 181. Kindest regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Stayed here booking a total of 6 rooms, they (or booking.com) lost one of the reservations, they had no spare rooms as the party who checked in before us, also had a booking mysteriously disappear and took the last spare room. My daughter had to bunk in with my son and girlfriend or my brother and his wife would have not had anywhere to stay. All turned out ok, although no apology. Returned from a family BBQ at 09.59pm in the evening to be told (for residents) the bar closed at 10.00pm, not even soft drinks available, absolutely disgraceful. Went up to our rooms, the single window wouldn't open properly on the hottest night of the year, the room was sweltering, in addition to not being able to sleep as the room was so hot, two guys sat out till 4.15am talking v loudly, I eventually shouted at them to shut up and they left. If you go to the loo in the night, the bathroom light comes on automatically when opening the door, bathing your partner in light, I suppose it was put in as an electricity saving device but all it does is flood light into the room at night and stays on for 10 minutes. One more thing, the farcical breakfasts, no vegetarian sausages (had to be cooked to order, which took 20 minutes), ran out of baked beans, constantly told they were on there way but didn't appear until after the vegetarian sausages so we never got any ((25 minutes to rustle up a bowl of baked beans…….really?) the toast never arrived at all (you have to order that from the person dishing out the fatty dry bacon and sausages. I paid £6.00 per person on a deal from £12.95, had I had to pay £12.95 I'd have walked away. Staying here is like staying at Fawlty Towers but far less fun. We will never ever stay here again, if you want a recommendation stay at the Premier Inn in town, possibly a bit more expensive but worth every penny.

Myself and my husband stayed here 15/7/21 . I bought a VIP offer and they delivered everything they promised . The meal in the restaurant was excellent and the staff were very welcoming and friendly. Breakfast was also very good although we were still quite full from the evening before , we have stayed here before and would stay again within hesitation.

I cannot begin to describe how awful this hotel was. The room we had was so very dirty. This wasn't just a bit of missed dust but an accumulation of dirt over a period of time. The hotel was displaying a Quality in Tourism Award stating the pleas was "Safe, Clean,Legal 2020-2021"It was none of these things. It certainly wasn't legal in terms of Covid safe. The widows had black mould around them and were so dirty. The net curtain was grey. The room smelt awful. The bathroom was so bad you couldn't/wouldn't use the bath or shower. There was soap scum on the tiles and shower screen. We did inform the hotel and cut our stay short (we only stayed one night as we had driven a long way and were very tired. There was also racing at Newmarket so we figured hotels would be busy in the area, plus we didn't know the area at all). There was also a lot of traffic noise as the hotel is basically a roundabout! This experience ruined a very pleasant few days holiday.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear 422gillw, Thank you for taking the time to give us some feedback on your stay with us. We are very sorry that you didn't not enjoy your stay with us. All of your feedback has been dually noted and passed on to the manger. And hopefully in the future if you choose to stay with us things will have improved dramatically.

We have stayed at the Priory before and wasn't looking for 5 star accommodation as we have 2 dogs. We did expect it to be clean and I can confirm that it was. We stayed in a dog friendly courtyard room that was right beside a little patch of grass where we could relieve the dogs before bedtime. However, some previous guests had been inconsiderate in not cleaning up behind their dogs and there were at least 3 deposits left behind! For hotels to be dog friendly is a privilege, not a right and this behaviour spoils it for everyone. They even provide a bin for us to put our doggy bags in. We ate in the restaurant on the first evening and both chose the chicken burger. Sounds boring right? Trust me it wasn't and the chicken was delicious although didn't really require a bun. Would definitely recommend the food. Breakfast full English, cereal or pastries. Frank and his team really care about their customers and it was certainly 5* service. Will definitely re-visit next year for a mini break. Thank you for our first break in 18 months!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Blueflinders, Thank you for taking the time out of your daily life to provide your views on your stay with us. Here at The Priory Hotel we like to look after our guests as well as your pets to comfort all is always key throughout your time with us. The housekeeping team will be delighted to receive the kind comments about the cleanliness of the rooms. And also your kind feedback about the food that we offer will be passed on to our kitchen team. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Myself and husband enjoyed another lovely afternoon tea with fizz here recently, (after sampling another previously this year, at the beginning of restaurants/hotels opening to serve guests outside) and previously before that around Christmas last year which was even more special. We had a lovely time on all visits so decided to come for another. This time weather wasn't so kind so we enjoyed our tea in the very pleasant restaurant. Zac welcomed us this time, and looked after us. The afternoon tea itself was fresh, lovely sandwich platter, accompanied by a tier stand of delicious cakes and scones. Good to see the clotted fresh cream served back in a dish rather than previously when in individual little jars. Plenty of tea/coffee offered and a cooling glass of fizz to wash it all down. Surroundings were light and airy, and covid safe. Thanks Mr Queen ( and of course Zac. No Sophie or Jo on this occasion) for another delicious and relaxing afternoon tea experience. We shall be back of course in future. Karen and Steve x

Stayed for 1 night 26th June. We booked at the last minute and were pleasantly surprised. Our room (9) was clean and comfortable and the food was tasty. Stayed on DBB basis. All menu choices available, without supplements. My partner's steak was succulent, tender and well seasoned. One of the best steaks we have tasted. Our waitress Jo and check in receptionist Hannah couldn't have been more helpful and certainly deserve special mentions. Would definitely recommend for a mid range price hotel stay in Bury.

Stayed here for 2 nights in a garden room. COVID precautions were good especially at reception and check in very easy. We were in a garden room which in truth was somewhat dated. The bathroom in particular was in need of a complete refurb although the shower was not too bad to be fair. The rest of the room was ok and we slept quite well. Nice gardens and staff were fine. Breakfast was pretty good although first day there was a shortage of bacon and sausages IN PIG CENTRAL! The bar was ok but we ate at the Tollgate at the end of the road which had a much bigger menu and was also a lot cheaper. All in all it was an enjoyable break and we would return but if normality ever returns they do need to upgrade some rooms when funds allow.

I have fond memories of my childhood staying at Butlins, but knew that the rooms were damp, mouldy and unloved. This hotel reminds me of those days. The room is dated, with tired furniture and stained walls. At some point some decoration has been done, but looks like it was done by the local school children. I didn't risk the shower (neither did my colleague) as it looked like an electrical hazard. Mould and flaking paint is everywhere in the bathroom. This review is based on my stay in a garden room, I'm not sure if the main hotel rooms are any better. Service on the terrace was non-existent even though signs said 'table service due to covid'. After half an hour of waiting we left and went to town. Breakfast was OK, but the food was just warm, not hot. For the price I paid, it's a complete ripoff. The staff need training and the garden rooms given a major overhaul. We only chose this hotel as the others were full - says it all really.

The hotel is located in a quiet area, a mile or two from the city centre. It does not offer luxury, but a clean place to rest. We couldn't adjust the temperature on our shower but were ale to avoid scalding by keeping our ablutions short.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Sardanapale, Thank you for giving us some feedback on your stay with us. We are very glad the hotel was in the perfect location for yourselves in a quiet area. All of your concerns have been dually noted and will be look at as soon as possible. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Just returned from a three night stay, lovely hotel the grounds were beautiful, spent one evening sitting in the having a drink in the grounds listening to the bird songs, The room was spotless very easy for parking, all the staff were very friendly and helpful. Would recommend this hotel whilst staying in the area.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Brenda, Thank you for taking the time to give us some of your feedback on your stay with us here at The Priory Hotel. We are over the moon that you have enjoyed your stay with us. All the staff will be informed of your kind words. Thank you for choosing us to stay with we look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Paid for a classic double room and prior to our arrival received several emails offering an upgrade but to name our own price which we found odd We felt after seeing the pictures of the classic double room on the Best Western website an upgrade wasn't necessary as the room appeared suitable At check in we were directed to one of the prefabs at the rear of the hotel I cant say this was a spectacular stay The room was a little outdated which was fine but there were several issues The bathroom on closer inspection wasn't as clean as it should be Mould around the grab rail and the shower casing, the radiator hadn't seen a damp cloth in a while and soap scum seemed to be a theme also the shower sounded like Concorde taking off and ran in a thin stream I presume this was the same for the other guests using the prefabs as we could hear those running in the rooms adjacent to us We did mention the horrendous sound the shower made at reception to be told they would bring it to the attention of the manager We could also hear the business dealings of the gentleman in the next room as the walls are very thin They provided tea and coffee facilities but not a proper cup just a card one so it meant rinsing it out for next morning or going to the reception for a new one as the room was only serviced every four days We appreciate the need for as little contact as possible but when you're staying 6 nights then leave the requisite amount of cups Not the fault of the hotel itself but there was a table outside for the guests to use and we had to sleep with the window open due to the heat We were woken at 5 am thanks to a couple of guests feeling the need to smoke and have a deep and meaningful conversation, the topic we didn't appreciate We also didn't appreciate one of them continually coughing up mucus and spitting it out It felt like we had very little privacy due to this tables position It was a go to for smokers especially early morning so we never really got a lay in We checked out a day early and stayed over in Cambridge and booked £25 room at the Travelodge Great shower, proper cups and peace and quiet They also asked us if everything was ok at check out unlike the Best Western Best Westerns description of a Classic room for this particular hotel should be interpreted as Budget

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Sheffield Belle, Thank you for taking the time to proved us with your views from your stay with us here at The Priory Hotel. We appreciate all your feedback and we will pass this on the relevant department. We hope to welcome you back to The Priory Hotel soon. Kind Regard Reception

Birthday treat for my sister. VIP weekend. Amazing stay. Definitely treated like VIPs with parking space, breakfasts, 5 course meal and superior room. Staff go above and beyond to ensure you are happy. Big thank you to Michelle Todd who went the extra mile. Close to shops and restaurants. Lovely gardens. Very relaxing weekend Thank you!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Sam, Thank you for taking the time out of your day to proved us with your very generous and kind words. We are pleased that you thought your stay with us was amazing and the staff have treated you with outstanding hospitality all of our staff will be informed also. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Food was exceptionally poor and luke warm, floor in dining area was dirty. All internal hotel doors in the reception were disgustingly dirty. Toilet flush was poor, WiFi poor, bed and pillows clean but hard. Grounds unkempt.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Supergrands, Thank you for taking the time to give us some feedback on your stay with us. We are very sorry that you didn't not enjoy your stay with us. All of your feedback has been dually noted and passed on to the manger. And hopefully in the future if you choose to stay with us things will have improved dramatically.

Excellent stop over. Great customer service both in advance and during our 1 night stay. Dog friendly garden room as requested which was ideal. Large and clean room. We have booked again. Definitely recommend. No faults.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jo, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with some of your views when you stayed with us. We are pleased that you have enjoyed the customer service we provided. Here at The Priory Hotel we will do everything we can to ensure you have the best hospitality experience. All of your kind words will also be shared with our team and we look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Stayed 2 nights with our dogs in one of the dog friendly courtyard rooms. These rooms are great: we can walk around the garden without going through the main hotel building. Room perfect, very clean & tidy, bright, spacious. 'Pet in room' notice on door. Reception staff friendly, helpful & professional. We love this hotel, great location, on outskirts but still close to town. Hotel & room felt very Covid safe. Looking forward to our next stay soon.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Theresa, Thank you for taking the time out of your day to give us some feedback on your stay with us here at The Priory Hotel. We are extremely pleased that everything was up to your expectations. And all of your positive comments about the staff will be passed on to our team here. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Having stayed here several times recently I can't praise Frank and his team enough. There is always a friendly welcome and the room is clean with a really comfortable bed. I always have a great nighrs sleep. Being away from home for work isn't ideal but my stay at the Priory has made it so much easier. I would highly recommend to anyone. Thank you

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Ms Aulton, Thank you for taking the time to give us some outstanding feedback. All of your kind words have now been passed onto Frank and his team at The Priory Hotel. We try our very best to give the best customer service to each and everyone of our guests. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Myself and my partner had an amazing afternoon tea at the priory hotel. The hospitality that was shown to us by the staff was very welcoming throughout our time that we where there. The freshly made afternoon tea was to die for just the texture very light and fluffy on the lemon drizzle cake and the cream was very sweet for the scones also. we would defiantly recommended this to our friends and family and we will be returning to the priory.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Lucy, Thank you for taking the time out of your day to give us some feed back on your afternoon tea with us. We are extremely over joyed that you have enjoyed the hospitably that the team has given you, which we will pass onto the members of staff that where on hand that day. And we will also inform the chef that you where very pleased with there light and fluffy cakes . We hope to welcome you back in the near future.

Inedible Afternoon tea Husbands 50th Birthday ruined Only us in the restaurant Table of 2 Not really sure how such bad food can be sent out of the kitchen by the Chef If that was me I would be embarrassed to send such food out

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Romina, As discussed, thank you for your time today and my apologises for the afternoon tea, that we got wrong, We look forward to welcoming you back to show your the standards that we pride ourselves on. With Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

I have stayed here several times and to be honest its not getting better. The rooms are not the most cleanest i have seen and i always upgrade to an Executive room but these are as bad. The showers don't work correctly and the water pressure is pretty much none existent as on my last visit i had to hold the shower head over me to actually get water on myself as the pressure wasn't enough to allow the water to stream out. The rooms are tired and in desperate need of refurbishment. It seems that maintenance only do the least possible to fix anything and the workmanship leaves a lot to be desired. I did order room service as this is only way at present to get food because of Covid 19. However once i had finished I left the tray outside the door of my room and was still there when i arrived back the next day from a full days work which meant it had been there a full 20 hours and was only collected when i placed it near the corridor. The building iis an old building but this doesn't excuse the way that the interior should look especially when the rooms are being classed as Executive.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Martin, Thank you for taking the time to review our hotel. We are very sorry that you did not enjoy your experience with us. All of the concerns that you have made have been dually noted and past onto the relevant members of the team We hope to welcome you back in the near future with the improvements that are being made.

When booking a 'dog friendly' room, we have often had some fairly scruffy rooms offered to us. However, The Best Western Priory room we hd was anything but that. It was in a very well kept courtyard on the edge of their gardens, so was practical too. While the room was a fairly standard hotel room, it was large, comfortable and clean. Only room service was available, due to the closure of the restaurant during the pandemic, but the food for dinner and breakfast was delivered promptly. For the price of the room, a very pleasant surprise and an enjoyable short stay.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Katherine, Thank you for taking the time to review our hotel. All of your excellent comments have been passed on to the team and we are very glad you enjoyed your stay with us. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

Myself and husband have just returned from The priory after enjoying an excellent afternoon tea. From the moment we stepped through the doors, until we left later, we were treated with such kindness and hospitality. Lovely Sophie looked after us throughout our delicious experience. Attentive, and making sure if we needed anything she was on hand. Huge thanks Sophie, you are an absolute asset to the hotel x The afternoon tea itself was delicious and plentiful, and we were seated in the delightful Christmassy restaurant, with twinkling fairylights and decorated Christmas trees. Even some quietly playing Christmas songs in the background to set the Christmassy scene whilst enjoying our tea, overlooking the hotels gardens. What a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon just before Christmas, and we must admit, it was just the right tonic we needed after the past horrible year we've all been through. Thank you Sophie and all the team so much for making the start of the season so lovely. We greatly appreciated our smashing visit. Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a much brighter New Year 2021. Karen and Steve x

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest Thank you so much for your kind review regarding your afternoon tea. We are so happy to hear the kindness and hospitality that Sophie showed you during your afternoon with us. We have passed your kind words on to her. We are glad to hear that is was just the tonic you needed. Kind regards Reception team

I booked a room via hotels.com for £81. On arrival they said they'd not had the money from the company so took my card details as guarantee. This was a big mistake. Today (a month after my stay) the hotel took £50 from my account WITHOUT my permission. This is verging on being fraudulent. There was no notice or explanation. I called the hotel who explained that they were struggling to get the money from hotels.com so have taken it from me instead. Best Western choose to be in partnership with the likes of hotels.com. I have paid for the room. If BW are struggling to get the money from hotels.com then that is something for the two companies to discuss, not an opportunity to double charge a customer having not gained permission nevermind having the decency to speak to me first. It's a disgrace. I will be contacting my bank to investigate. Michael

The staff are nice enough but even superior room was tired and shabby. Paint flaking off the walls and in need of a complete redecoration. The website pictures are utterly misleading. There are better options elsewhere for similar price.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest Thank you for your review and we are in the process of updating some of our rooms. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future. Regards Reception Team

We went for afternoon tea today it was lovely Covid 19 friendly and well organised Pleasant surroundings Great ambiance food was fresh and delightful and the staff very accommodating and looked after us extremely well will definitely be going back once this dam lockdown is over

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Christine Thank you for your lovely review about our afternoon tea, we are so happy to hear you enjoyed it. We look forward to welcoming you back in the not to distant future. Kind regards Reception Team

We spent a night here and it was OK. The rooms were nice but could do with a update. The staff were friendly enough. The only thing we can't get our head round is the automatic light in the bathroom that takes about 15 minutes to turn off - what happens if you need to get up in the night, the light then takes forever to turn off and disrupts your sleep which is exactly what happened to us!!

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest Thank you for taking the time to review our hotel, we are sorry about the issues you have and have been duly noted. We look forward to welcoming you back. Regards Reception team

Large clean room with lovely fluffy towels. Excellent staff - very helpful and polite. Slight problem with the room was remedied straight away, no fuss, by changing rooms. Covid regulations in place and adhered to by all staff. Good breakfast. Great value for money for a three night stay. The hotel is a bit dated. . I would recommend and would go back.

Very nice hotel. Lovely room. Restaurant and food were great. However the table we sat at was not socially distanced with the next table. Also the menus were taken back but not sanitised and just given out to the next customer. I've had warmer breakfasts but it was nice. One problem - as a vegetarian I don't appreciate the bacon tongs being used for the hash browns! However gluten free toast was available & a gluten free option was given last night for dinner.

I have been working in hospitality for over 30 years and on our way to Mildenhall for a mgt hotel position. I have also worked as a hotel secret shopper inspector for 8 years.The staff at the Best Western had no idea. Is the hotel perfect…. Maybe not as it's a very hold property/building and many things they can't control. With that said over the years I think it's fair to say that some things can be overlooked when the customer service is SUPER. The ship sails as the Captain skippers it. 1. MG moved our room so our car was directly in front of our room to make it easier to unload it. (FULL CAR due to the country to country move). 2. We were at breakfast and Frank (GM) walked in and asked the host if she needed any help? She said the tables would be great. In a blink of an eye he was clearing off tables! 3. Second night at the hotel in the evening the toilet broke. Went up to the front desk and a young clerk (two weeks at the job) helped us. He was empowered to move us (to a suite) for the night and then back into our room after maintenance fixed the toilet. 4. We found out that we would need a few more nights due to waiting for our place. Hana extended our nights at the lower rate that we received on hotel.com. 5. Housekeepers tracked us down to inform us of the status of the toilet twice….. Michelle is just an overall hospitality super star. She was working as a host, at the bar, and then would come back and help at the front desk! Chris - just wow, going out of his way to tell us the PLACES to go in Bury St Edmunds, then the next day asked us if we had a chance to visit the places. At dinner our hands full of stuff, he came over and said he would open the side door so we could take a short cut Vs going through the hotel. Not sure you can teach all of this. That is on the GM knowing people, reading them and then hiring them…. The ones that “HAVE IT” they enjoy helping and serving people. They truly try to make your stay a lasting memory. They have accomplished this with us. So that little stuff that you may read in the comments… we have decided to look past it and focus on the service.

Our first stay away since the virus was very reassuring. The measures in place made the hotel feel safe and comfortable. The staff were excellent. We had a room away from the main hotel building in a block of around ten grouped around a small courtyard and with its own parking. The room was well equipped and the bed comfortable, though the walls were thin any any conversation outside was clearly audible. We ate in the restaurant and had a decent meal. There was no wine list, so we ordered a bottle of red from behind the bar and was rather surprised at the price when the bill came, though the food was good value, pub price for hotel food. Breakfast was excellent with a full English one of the options. It is perhaps 25 minutes walk to the town centre, but that allows it space for a lovely garden. Well worth a look.

Great hotel . Little hard to find with sat navs. Staff very friendly and helpful. Nicely laid out hotel . Clean and bright . Restaurant spaced for covid. Food and attention by staff excellent . Overall a pleasant experience

Although room could use a bit of a refurb (carpet, bathroom), our garden room was still clean, tidy, spacious yet cosy, bed very comfortable. We stayed with our 2 small dogs & the garden room was perfect for us, away from main hotel so no corridor & no noise. Staff very friendly & helpful, we will stay again here.

Just come back from a night away at the priory. After reading other reviews we were all dubious but it was really nice. Lovely food - especially the tasty breakfast, the chef even made some fried bread for us which wasn't on the menu. Room 17 was clean, comfortable and had a good working bathroom. The hotel and grounds could do with a little tlc but the place was clean and comfortable and the staff friendly and helpful. There did seem to only be a skeleton staff working and they worked hard to make our stay pleasant. A good value overnight stay - we would definitely go back another time.

Stayed a couple of nights in one of the chalet rooms. Good value, nothing too special, absolutely fine for the money. Have noticed previous comments re breakfast quality - we found ingredients tasty and of good quality. Nothing to complain about at all with the quality of the food. Would say there is no signage to the breakfast room at all and it did take us quite a few minutes to find our way to it.

I have just stayed at this hotel for 10 nights, I read the TA reviews after I booked and wondered what to expect. My room was clean and there were no problems with hot water it was instant. Now the dining room where so many people had moaned about, the staff were lovely so helpful, they are working under difficult circumstances they have to wear masks there is not as many staff as maybe normal, we are in the middle of a pandemic! So things may be a little slower, relax. I saw people helping themselves to fruit juices! you have contaminated the jug for heavens sake just because you couldn't wait, don't expect to snap your fingers and expect instant service, wait don't get up march across the dining room to get something you ask for, you are putting other people at risk. Unfortunately part of the hotel was shut off, the best bit, the hall way had been flooded and the carpets need attention. But all in all I enjoyed my 10 day stay. Be nice to people and they will be nice to you.

The venue was perfect for our family to meet after my father's funeral. Service from the staff was excellent including serving sandwiches, cakes and hot drinks. Staff were friendly, polite and helpful.

Our visit was for 2 nights so I could attend a funeral. First of all even though we are in difficult times that makes no excuse for standards to be dropped . As you can see by the pictures this was the room we stayed in very tired and needs a complete refurb....bar was open in the evening but no one was manning it so we could not get a drink.... reported to reception but nothing was done about serving us. We made our way over the road to get food as menu was so limited. Lucky we did not have breakfast as I think reading the reviews we would of been disappointed. Very unsatisfied visit with hardly any staff to make you feel welcome.

I was sorry to see some complainers on TripAdvisor. I think they should reflect that the staff at the hotel were doing their best under very difficult circumstances. I wouldn't hesitate to stay at this hotel again if I was visiting Bury

Sadly, I didn't read the reviews of this hotel before booking. When we arrived the receptionist was telling the gentleman in front of us that if he wasn't happy with his room, to call her to get a better one, not a good start. Whilst the room itself was ok, the entry into the room was very difficult, we each had several attempts to get into the room, the key didn't want to turn. Just outside our door was an area that had numerous abandon cigarette butts. Breakfast, where to start, I think the photographs say it all! The ingredients were cheap, the cereal, the bread, the sausages etc The food was at best ‘warm', we had to ask for fruit juice, jam and sauce. It wasn't as though the chef was even busy, other than one other table of two, nobody else was having breakfast. It certainly was not worth the extra I had paid to include breakfast. You would get better value, all round, staying in a travelodge or premier inn. On check out, I addressed the issues I had had and the older lady from Zimbabwe said she would pass my comments on to the General Manager, no apology, although she did ask what was wrong with the breakfast. I informed her and also suggested that she read tripadvisor reviews.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Firstly our sincerest apologises that the standards you encountered. Please be assured that I have went through all your points with the team. As the business is evolving during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the limitations this puts on us and all guests. Our systems and procedures are consonantly being reviewed. I would like to apologise personally, hence if you could take the time to call me after the 24th (as I am on annual leave) 01284 766 181. We can discuss further and I can inform you of the changes we have made to the procedures, menus and manning. Thank you for your feedback which has helped us assess and plan for the future. Kindest regards, Frank Queen

We stayed here for one night. Although we understand that these are difficult times. This has got to be the worst hotel we have ever stayed in. It was a very hot spell, but the bar was not open to get a soft drink, or anything else. We rejected our original room. Despite it supposedly being an upgraded room. The room we ended up with, was by far not the cleanest. Stained carpets and very stained towels (yellow stains on the hand towels) The evening menu selection was appalling, unless you wanted a burger or a curry. On the plus side, there is an excellent pub serving good food across the road. The staff at the Priory, seem to accept that it's far below standard. There is absolutely zero chance that we would stay here again. If you just want somewhere to crash and aren't fussy about hygiene standards, this might be suitable if however, you want somewhere that is clean, you might want to look elsewhere.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear guest, My apologises you did not receive the standards that we normally pride ourselves and thank you for your feedback. I believe we possibly spoke whilst you were here, although I was off duty. Please be assured your comments have been constructive and have been discussed with the team and our menus are presently under review. If you would kindly call me on 01284 766 181 (after the 24th August, as I am on annual leave) we can discuss further. Kindest regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Myself and my husband stayed here for a birthday treat for myself. I want to start on a good note that my husband took in some birthday banners and a balloon which they put up in our room for us so that was nice. We stayed in a superior room it's a very tired room with marks on the carpet and knocked furniture. The water pressure is rubbish and it takes ages to get the hot water at an ok temperature. We slept ok and the bed was also ok (not great but enough) Tea and Coffee supply wasn't great with only two sweeteners in the pot. Now down to the breakfast which we got included in our stay.... What a disappointment that was! We walked into the breakfast area and was asked if we wanted tea or coffee. We got seated in a nice area and was asked if we wanted toast too and what breakfast. I was really looking forward to my fried breakfast! The toast came first I must admit I was a bit gutted they were thin slices of bread that just seemed a little cheap. But thought never mind we have the breakfast coming. Well when it came my heart sank! The egg was so overcooked I got it sent back for a fresh one. When it come out again the egg was much better. But then I realised everything on my plate was overcooked and had dried out because of it. I didn't send it back again as it was just about edible. We didn't get asked if we wanted any juices or sauce so didn't think there was any available but then heard her ask another customer if they wanted some But at this point we had already finished so just left feeling disappointed and still hungry as the breakfast is only one sausage, one bacon, one egg, one hash brown, one half of a tomato and some mushrooms. Nothing had any flavour just the oil from the pan. I won't be coming back here unfortunately I'm also unable to speak to anyone as the front desk is closed.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback and our apologises for the standards of service your received. Please be assured that we have reviewed all of our menus and changed. We also re written the breakfast menu to try to make it clearer to everyone what they can order as there is no buffet service allowed. With this being a new service, as breakfast has only being available sine the 1st August, this admittedly has also taken some time for the staff to get used to. Addition training on menu explanation and service has been given and we have also changed some of our suppliers for the breakfast ingredients with positive feedback. Once again thank you for your feedback that has helped us evolve the menu and service during these difficult times. Kindest regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We stayed at the priory. The room we stayed in was like being in the attic. It was too warm no air conditioning. We had an evening meal which was nice apart from having to swot the flies away. There were 5 flies on the window behind us. Breakfast was collect to go. It consisted of a sandwich which was meant to be sausage and egg, drink, muesli, yogurt, croissant, jam and bananas. When we were leaving on Saturday morning we had to wait for the chef to come in at 8.00am. He gave the security guard two breakfast bags to give to me. I found that he had put two disgusting bananas in the bag. Previously there were two decent bananasin the bag as I had seen them. So he had changed them. The sandwiches we had, had very little filling. This breakfast was disgusting. I phoned the manager on Sunday 19 July to complain and he was not interested. After being in lock down it was disgusting to be treated like this. We will not be going back to a best western hotel again. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Janet, My sincerest apologises that you did not enjoy your stay. As discussed I have spoken with the chef about your breakfast. We were not staffed till 8.00 am hence apart from 24 hour security we could deal with your request before that time. Although you were not happy with my response, I am still happy to discuss further, if you would like to give me call, as all guest comments are taking seriously as we pride ourselves in our customer service. Hence anyone that leaves for any reason not happy, deeply concerns us. Kindest regards, Frank Queen General manager

First time hotel opened after lockdown, run on limited staff who all were very accommodating. Grab bag for breakfast was ok but couldn't replace a full English. Shirley was very helpful and if we wanted anything she would see to it.

Frank Queen, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to give feedback. All the hospitality industry has indeed found it a struggle to reopen with limited menus and staffing structures. And we thank all our guests for there patience during these difficult times. It has taken some time, but we have now upped the staffing in all areas, as the business increases, with the return of a Full cooked English breakfast. Still not back to normal, but getting there. I will also pass your comment onto Shirley, who has been instrumental in keeping us afloat. Kind regards, Frank Queen General manager

I booked this hotel as a birthday treat for a friend and we stayed for 2 nights in Oct 19. To say the stay was a bit of a disaster was an understatement. We booked a standard twin room. The room was basic, uninspiring but warm; but the main issue with the room was the beds. 2ft 6 beds where the mattresses have not been turned, means you end up trying to sleep on 1 ft of bed or else you fall out. We decided to try and make the best of it as we were only there for 2 nights. The restaurant was another disappointment. The first item we ordered was sold out. Fine. Went for a healthy option instead (a large separate section on the menu).. When it came, there were 2 small overcooked haddock fishcakes and a huge pile of lettuce covered in french dressing. Nothing healthy about it at all. Breakfast was buffet style and the hot food was cold. The next morning we were woken at 7 am by the fire alarm. As instructed we went to the allocated point but no one else arrived. Eventually we went back to our room. That evening we went to the restaurant again. The first three things we ordered were unavailable and the white wine came warm. At this point we asked to see a manager and met Ewan, the restaurant and beverages manager who did his best to put things right, even going out to get us some food for our meal. He spoke to us the next day and asked us to give them another chance with a repeat complimentary stay. All we had to do was phone and book at dates to suit us and we would be offered a free upgrade to our room as well. What a lovely gesture we thought and accepted. We rang up to book the stay and the receptionist said, sorry we don't know anything about it, We will phone you back. No-one phoned. Rang again. Different receptionist - same response. Eventually we got through on the third phone call to the manager, who booked us in. Last week we went back. We arrived and were given an identical room to the previous one - no upgrade. We were even given wrong directions as to how to get to the room. (Renovation work meant the entrance was not obvious). We rejected the room and were told the hotel was full so no other room was available. We explained about this being a repeat visit because of the issues we had had before, and the young receptionist said there was no record of any issues. (Why were we getting a complimentary stay then?) I asked for the manager and was told he was not on site, but the head housekeeper came and immediately sorted the problem. She offered us another room - presumably a superior room although the only difference in the two rooms was that the second one had 3 ft beds, not 2 ft 6 in beds, - the rest of the room was identical. A real disappointment but we accepted it as we needed somewhere to stay. We went to the restaurant. The first thing we ordered arrived with part of the dish missing and another part stone cold. We rejected it. The rest of the meal was fine. Breakfast was much improved as there was no longer a buffet, but we could order individual dishes which were very nice, The second dinner we had was fine. All the food we wanted was available until we came to the wine - they had run out of Pinot Grigio white wine. Most of the staff were lovely and very helpful but on the second night, there was not one manager working and for an hour the bar and restaurant was run by a 17 year old whilst his superior went on her break. The hotel has a lovely main building, nice location, nice helpful staff, but at the moment it has too many issues to warrant a return. I was grateful that my friend whose birthday treat it was, was able to laugh throughout the whole 2 stay experience. We were very pleased to have been offered the second stay, and we were so hopeful that our previous experience would prove to be a one-off, but it wasn't. So disappointed.

Only decided to go away day before booking, got to Hotel and they couldn't find booking but then realised I had booked wrong dates!! No drama though as they fitted us in - thanks to Shirley and lovely girl on reception. Originally booked executive room but our standard/classic room was absolutely fine. Clean and comfy. We ate both nights in the restaurant, food was really nice. Shame was not very busy considering hotel was full, atmosphere could have been better especially Sunday night when no background music. Breakfast Monday was ordered off menu so nicely prepared, Monday was a buffet, and could have been better. Few grumbles from a couple of guests but overall ok. For a 3 star hotel was pleasantly surprised. All the staff were pleasant and friendly, especially Shirley and Hannah and receptionist (sorry didn't get her name) who sorted out room for us. Would go back and recommend for a reasonable priced comfortable stay.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Helen, Thank you for your comments, which I will pass on to Shirley Hannah and the reception team and glad you enjoyed you stay. On the busier breakfasts we do use a buffet breakfast and I will speak to the team about keeping it freshly topped up and ensuring the background music is on and the correct setting is set. The restaurant was quiet as most of our residents were attending events elsewhere, but we are working on concepts and menus to make it a more stand alone venue, although its also great that Bury St Edmund's is such a busy event destination. Kind regards, Frank Queen General manager

Having stayed at the Priory hotel previously and knowing it had been refurbished, when I saw an offer on Groupon for afternoon tea I bought the option for four thinking it would be a good way to see what changes had been made. One of our party is gluten free so I emailed the hotel to ask them to make one of the afternoon teas gluten free. I received an email back from the general manager saying that was no problem and they had made a note of this for our visit. On arrival we went in and they have relocated reception to the front entrance rather than down the corridor (there were two entrances but I suspect they may now have made the rear entrance/parking staff only). The ‘new' reception was previously the bar which was very odd so definitely much better. We were greeted by a nice man (not sure of his name) who directed us into the garden room where our table was and said he would bring our Prosecco through shortly. We went into the garden room (previously the dining room) and our table was obvious as the only table set up. What surprised us was that this room immediately reminded us of an old people's home as there were probably about 15 armchairs at the other end of the room (see photo). We were going to look at the changes/extension but decided to wait until after we had had our afternoon tea (in hindsight I wish we had looked first as we would have asked to sit in the new bar area). After a few minutes waitress came over and asked if we would like tea or coffee. When she came back with these I double checked that they had made one of the afternoon teas gluten free so she said she would find out. The guy from reception then came through and said they didn't know one of us was gluten free and they had nothing in for afternoon tea that was suitable. He was very apologetic and said the chef wasn't being very helpful. He suggested the GF person chose something else off the menu instead and also said we could have the whole bottle of Prosecco due to the error (not received at this point). We poured our tea/coffee and found the tiny milk jug had just about enough milk for three. The waitress then came back to take the order so we asked her for some more milk and could she fill it to the top (she said she had changed the milk which is why it wasn't full last time but went away and filled it up). She asked if we would all like our food together to which we said yes. We asked if we could have the Prosecco that was part of the deal and were told the guy from reception would bring shortly but was just showing some people round. It appeared there were only these two and the chef as staff. It probably took about 1/2hr before we got the Prosecco. Once the food was ordered it did come out quickly (although as we were the only people in there apart from those being shown around you wouldn't expect much else). Afternoon tea and sea bass were very nice. Only thing missing was other guests and/or some background music. We then went to have a look at the extension and the new restaurant is lovely, very light and airy overlooking the garden with a bar on one side which also services the bar area on the other side. We then looked at the bar area and again, this is lovely, overlooking the garden. Background music playing in both. At this point we agreed it would have been much nicer to have had our food in there - not sure why we were put in a room with no atmosphere. Overall we did have a laugh at the events that ensued and enjoyed the food. I would go back again to stay and use the restaurant (have always eaten out on previous stays as old restaurant was stuffy and dated). The changes are a definite improvement with the exception of the garden room which needs something else - sofas & a TV maybe? Or somehow knock through from reception to make a much larger reception area (although old fireplace area between the two rooms that's no longer use could make this difficult. With a few changes this would be a lovely place to stay and dine.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your comments and my apologises for the mix up in communication and the incidents with service. I was made aware of the issues on the day by the team as unfortunately we had a member of stay off sick and also one that was new. We have already meet to discuss your comments and please be assured that corrective and additional training has already taken place. I would you like to contact me directly on generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk we could discuss further. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Just had a very pleasant afternoon tea at the priory hotel. All the staff that we met were very welcoming and helpful and we had sufficient sandwiches with nice fillings, lovely scones and small cakes and ample coffee.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your comments, afternoon tea is something that we have working on over the last few weeks. Thus you feedback is greatly appreciated and I will pass on to the team. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

8 of us got together for an afternoon tea at this hotel. All staff we came into contact with were smart and friendly. We were shown to our table which was already laid and prepared for us. First of all the waitress took our tea/coffee orders and we had a pot each. They supplied 3 cake stands between the 8 of us with a selection of finger sandwiches which were fresh and tasty. There were sausage rolls, fruit scones with jam & cream, fresh cream eclairs, chocolate brownies & shortcake biscuit, and everything was very nice. We stayed chatting for a while and were offered more drinks. All in all I would recommend an afternooon tea at this comfortable venue.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jennifer, Thank you for you kind comment which I will pass onto the team. Was a pleasure taking care of you and we look forward to welcoming you back. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Stayed a couple of nights, had one of the "cottage" rooms away from the main hotel, comfortable for a budget price ... only downside was that someone tried our door one night while we were in bed ... can't really blame the hotel for that. Food was good and reasonably priced ... staff were excellent and couldn't do enough to help. Plenty of tea and coffee and milk in the room which was a nice surprise ... I'd already bought milk because I get fed up of being left with only a couple of pots and running out ... didn't need it.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Simon, Thank you for your kind comments which I will pass onto the team and also our apologises you were disturbed by another guest. We look forward to welcoming you back to The Priory Hotel. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Superior Room - superior to what? Small room, standard 5ft double, bedside lamp did not work, USB charger only on one side of the bed, no lighting near mirror, small walk in shower, no bath (some std rooms had a bath), and the bathroom stank of cigarette smoke. Breakfast - no vegetarian options for the meats available, stuck with beans and eggs, mushrooms too salty and peppery (hand slipped?), worst blackpudding I have ever tasted. Hotel - just little things - disabled ramp not pleasant for abled bodied people to walk up, especially in heals (not mine), but the ramp takes up whole entrance, banister up the stairs does not fill with confidence as it moves and alot of little trip hazards and visually poor things. Will go to a travelodge next time!

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Neil, Thank you for your comments and my apologises for the standards you experienced. Please be assured that we are looking into all of you comments with the team and action is being taken to resolve. By way of an apology and to offer gesture of good will, would you be so kind as to contact me either on 01284 766 181 or generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk so we can discuss further. Kin regards, Frank Queen General Manager

It was a pleasure to stay. All the staff were warm and welcoming. Nothing was too much trouble. The hotel is well maintained, my room was very nice with a lovely view over the gardens, a nice quite spot in a bustling town. I would thoroughly recommend.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Fiona, Thank you for your kind comments, that I will pass onto the team. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

It is absolutey rare for a facility to have the staff of this establishment. The folks at the front desk were astounding, and the staff at the bar were very helpful. But not many places have a place like Mike the Night Porter. Mike keeps a close watch on the place and has legitimate care for the residents. Down to earth like the rest of the staff, I was glad the he was around after I got back late at night for work. The fact that that administration of this facility took care in even their selection of the porter spoke words to a few of us who talked about it after. Rooms were well maintained, heat effective, beds well done. Pick this place for the staff.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Matthew, Thank you for you kind comments, which I will pass onto the team, especially Mike, who deserves the praise. Kind regards, Frank Queen General manager

Attended a family wedding in Jan 2020, considering the short notice the Management and staff could not have done more - The garden was immaculate (for Photo's), reception and bar area clean, Bar/Reception staff very helpful and the food was SUPERB !! Organising such an event can be extremely stressful, using the Priory took away a lot of these stresses - Many, Many Thanks - Highly recommended

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, It was an absolute pleasure to take care of you all. Making that special day, makes the job worthwhile. Thanks you, Frank Queen General manager

I recently booked a cream tea (Via Groupon) for my daughters birthday along with my husband and grandson. When we arrived we were shown to a very large dining room, with only our table set for tea, the other tables were set for the evening dinner, nobody else arrived so it was very quiet! We were given our tea and were offered tea or coffee, Rae sandwiches were so dry you could have made breadcrumbs them, the fillings were egg mayo and tuna! There were also a couple of pre frozen sausage rolls, we did complain about the sandwiches and we were made 2 plates of freshly made (with same fillings). There was 1 scone each, pre bought! With jam and aerosol cream! Then some cake, tiny little lemon curd tarts, chocolate brownie and some other cake that nobody could actually recognise! The picture on Groupon showed savoury croissants, prawns on crusty bread, strawberry's with the scones etc etc. I will add that the staff at all times were friendly and apologetic and understood why we were disappointed, they took my name and number, told me the manager would phone me, that was nearly 2 weeks ago! So if anyone is considering the cream tea - don't. The picture on Groupon is not what you get! Would again just like to say that the staff are the saving grace along with the location, both would get 5 stars.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Our sincerest apologises for the shortcomings in standards you received and the information subsequently not being passed onto myself. Could you please send me your contact details to generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk so we can discuss further. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

I have been staying at this hotel on a regular basis and have to say the the friendly helpful staff are a pleasure to meet from the reception staff through to the house keepers who are all friendly and helpful and will go the extra mile to ensure you have a good stay. Although works have been going on to upgrade the buildings and facilities at this hotel the disruption has been minimal and the new and refurbished rooms are great.

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Philip, Thank you for the kind comments that I will pass onto the team. Always a pleasure. Kind regards, Frank Queen Cluster General Manager

We chose to have our wedding at the priory hotel which was the best decision. It was all prepared quickly and they exceeded all my expectations. They went above and beyond to make my day perfect and frank couldn't do enough for us. Small touches such as placing a sofa in the dining room to allow me to nurse my babies made the day stress free . The venue was beautiful and the garden made for perfect wedding photos to capture memories of the day that I shall cherish for years to come. The food was fantastic with everyone commenting on how amazing the beef dinner was in particular. The bar staff ensured no one had to wait too long for drinks either. Our room was great too and accommodated 2 travel Cots for my twin babies with plenty of space still. Breakfast was great too. I don't have a bad word to say. My day was perfect and if I could do It all again I would definitely come back here. I will be bringing back my family for a meal for sure. Management should be proud of their team.

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Lisa, From the first meeting to speaking with all your guests it was a great day. Well all felt very proud to be part of your special day and I will pass on your comments to the team. Kindest regards, Frank

Attended a family wedding reception here. Staff were friendly and very helpful and accommodating. Facilities were clean and tidy. Garden was beautifully kept and perfect for pictures. Food was absolutely delicious. Exceeded my expectations and would absolutely reccomend.

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you, Was a pleasure to be part of a great day and I will pass you comments onto the tem. Kind regards, Frank

I attended a wedding reception for a family members wedding here and i thoroughly recommend anyone considering choosing this venue, the staff were so polite and very helpful considering how many people were there! Also great service at the bar!!

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you to you and your friends and family for all the kind comments. Was a pleasure to be part of a great day and I will pass you comments onto the team. Kind regards, Frank

The Best Western were excellent in helping us put together a wedding function at less than 4 weeks notice. The venue is fantastic, the food was great and we were really well looked after. Highly recommended!

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you to you and your friends and family for all the kind comments. Was a pleasure to be part of a great day and I will pass you comments onto the team. Kind regards, Frank

We had a clean and comfortable room, and the staff were friendly and helpful, especially at breakfast were the ladies were very cheerful and welcoming. The buffet was plentiful , but only one moan..the toast was dire!!! Sliced bread only half toasted! But they are still worth 5 stars, no one is perfect!!

Hotel & room setting was nice. I was in the courtyard area. Stepping inside was a bit dated, fine though. Poor Internet & poor TV quality though. Frustrating whilst trying to work in the evening. The room could have been cleaner, cobwebs and dirt in places. On a few of the nights it seemed like the walls were made of paper. Being able to hear conversations then snoring wasn't great. Ear plugs solved this though. Reception were helpful & breakfast was good. Nice hotel, but room for improvement.

Upon arrival reception staff efficient, and friendly . Room 15 rather small but clean with all amenities. Two night stay with travelzoo deal was excellent value for money. Staff could not do enough to assist in all areas, evening meal good quality and plentiful. Breakfast buffet style great choice , a quaint and well run hotel will be back.

A great experience eating and staying at The Priory Hotel. The Christmas meal was excellent, top quality and generous complemented by friendly service. The atmosphere was welcoming and the room was generous and comfortable. Great value and highly recommended.

We had our Christmas party here and to be honest I can't fault the hotel at all. The receptionists were fast and friendly and the same can be said for the bar and restaurant staff. It was great value for money and will definitely do it again next year. Well done to everyone at the Priory! Thank you.

We had a very enjoyable stay in this hotel. Our room was clean, warm and a very comfortable bed. The bathroom was clean, lovely toiletries, plenty of towels and well functioning shower. We ate dinner in the restaurant and despite another function in progress in the hotel we were given excellent attention and service. Staff went out of their way to accommodate specialist dietary needs for us and the food was delicious. There was a problem at breakfast due to unexpected staff sickness but these things happen and the staff did their best in these difficult circumstances.

A beautiful hotel with lots of character and great customer service from staff set is a secluded part of a busy Bury St edmunds. Rooms were exceptionally clean and very nice cooked breakfast and car parking facilities. Will definitely be staying again and I would nto have hesitation in reccomending this hotel to friends and family.

We held a local children's home meal at the Priory hotel and they went above and beyond to make the meal so special. Thank you so much to all of the staff involved, you made it a Christmas meal that they will not forget. Special mention goes to Frank who was wonderful!

The hotel buildings and location are great but poor service, poor quality food and bad plumbing meant we had a bad experience. The room was comfortable and warm but the plumbing meant we had no hot water one evening and had to run the tap for 15 minutes before the shower got warm. The toilet flush was useless! Service in the restaurant was slow and inadequate. One of our meals (fishcake) was very poor quality and when we complained there was no apolgy and we doubt whether the waitress even mentioned it to the chef! Breakfast was slightly better but cheap, false economy orange juice and coffee, spoilt the experience. The bar experience was poor, we ordered coffees after our meal, sat down expecting it to be brought to the table but no, just left on the bar and we had to collect! Staff training badly needed.

Couldn't get into the All saints Hotel so tried a BW called the Priory which I am a diamond member of. It is a very cute hotel which offers an array of different type of rooms. It's one of those old type buildings that have the creeky floor boards. The reception are really friendly and so are the bar staff. However, The senior waiter keeps wanting me to either face a window or face away from the rest of the restaurant. I find that a little odd. I keep thinking he wants to do me over with the Candlestick like some board game. The food is quite terrible and I paid eleven something quid for a chef special which was dry fried chicken and chips. The other times I've been here I had a dry chicken burger ( I don't think the chef likes cooking chicken). But the worst by far was the chefs version of a curry. I didn't think you could have a curry that is less hotter than a korma. But the chef seems to want to prove me wrong. It was awful. It says black pudding on the breakfast menu but not once have I come across any. The restaurant does have a lot of potential but is let down by the Culinary department. Other than this, the showers are good, the beds are comfortable and all staff are very friendly.

really nice clean, well set up room, (disabled) heating brilliant, beds brilliant All staff great, breakfast brilliant, lovely choice. this is the first time we have used a Best Western and would use them again, especially here in Bury.

The hotel was not very central but opposite a lovely friendly pub with large food selection. Hotel was clean, comfortable and staff were very helpful and friendly making check in and out very easy. Clean basic room with comfortable beds - all in all an enjoyable stay, perfect for wedding guests

The reception and all staff were so helpful and friendly. They really couldn't do enough for us. Breakfast was good. Our room was very big, but the rooms really need a good refurbishment, although extremely clean.

Booked a Travelzoo promotion to stay overnight, the hotel rang the night before our stay to say they were having a Pudding Club event and would we like to participate. We accepted and had great fun. We stayed in the main hotel and our room was well equipped, spotlessly clean and comfortable.

Stayed here for one night as meetings nearby. Decent sized car park round the back but it is a bit secluded so I was a bit worried about my car overnight but it was fine Decent welcome on arrival. Room was okay but not sure how it could be classed as an executive room. Food was pretty good and decent price. The only issue is it seems staff are having to be in two places at once throughout the hotel so having to wait to be served at the bar and reception was a bit annoying. Felt sorry for staff as they clearly need more

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Ceri, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. While I'm glad that you found your stay relaxing, I am sorry to hear of your concerns. Please be assured that our car parks are covered with CCTV, as are the rest of the buildings on site. The hotel is currently awaiting the start date of our next stage of renovations, which includes the refurbishment of existing guest rooms. We are working hard to ensure correct staffing levels throughout the hotel's departments and re-training is an ongoing process; which is helped by feedback from our guests. We do hope to be able to welcome you back to us again in the future. If i can be of any assistance, please do let me know. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

The hotel is i need of renovation, i stayed it one of the outbuildings not in the main hotel, the room was tired and tatty, the room had an a-joining room that was only bolted by a poxy small bolt lock, the main room was just old and needed refurbishing, the bathroom was sub standard, there was a musty smell about it and it was very mouldy in every aspect. The restaurant had absolutely no atmosphere and the staff were not very helpful. The food was average. I feel that there was a lack of management and would not stay here again.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Edlam, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and my sincere apologies that I have not responded till now. I am sorry to hear your concerns, and that you felt you could not speak with me during your stay. I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you regarding your concerns, if you cold contact me here at the hotel. The Priory Hotel is currently awaiting the next stage of our renovation, which includes the refurbishment of a number of our guest rooms. This will bring them into line with our new Garden Room restaurant and Terrace Bar. We also have a number of rooms that have already benefited from this refurbishment. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Although the price was good booking direct with the company, the hotel is tired and needs a good clean such as black and mildew around the bathroom fittings and armchairs in the lounge emitting a strange aroma. Additionally, when we checked in despite paying for bed and breakfast the receptionist had us down for room only. Luckily I had the confirmation email. Breakfast was average. The menu for those paying says black pudding, but this not available to those on the b&b rate! my wife doesn't drink tea or coffee and we were told we would have to pay £2 extra for a hot chocolate. In summary I suppose you get what you pay for. But could do better.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Davecorridan, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and my sincere apologies that I have not responded till now. Thank you for highlighting your concerns with me, and I am sorry that I was not made aware of them during your stay. We rely on agents to send us all the information of a booking, and I am sorry that in this case, this had not happened. Black pudding is cooked on request of the guest and I will look into why this was not available to you. The Priory Hotel is awaiting it's start date for the next stage of our refurbishment, which includes a number of our existing guest rooms. I will bring your concerns for mildew to my housekeeping department to be aware of. I do hope that we will be able to welcome you back to us again in the future to see the changes. If I can be of any assistance, please do get in touch with me directly at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed here as part of a business trip stopover. Wifi could be better other than that decent hotel full of excellent staff, Ewan Kenny in particular was attentive, charismatic and above all professional.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Pcharlied, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and my sincere apologies that I have not responded till now. We are so happy to hear that your visit to us here at the Priory Hotel was relaxing ad enjoyable - and I will be passing this onto Ewan, who will be so pleased. We do hope that we will be able to welcome you back to us in the future to see the changes that are due to happen. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Having previously stayed at this hotel with a good overall experience, we returned for a long weekend on 18th October. Breakfast on the Saturday morning was absolutely shambolic. Around 10 guests arrived at 08:00 and just sat at their tables with a menu for 20 minutes waiting for a member of staff to take their orders. The cold buffet was incomplete, no toast or toaster or offer of toast. The waitress was heard to be blaming 'a reorganisation' and arguing with the chef. Four guests got up and walked out in disgust. Then we saw a heated servery being carried throuigh into an adjacent corridor. Shortly after we heard the waitress tell another table that there was a hot buffet in the corridor. Sure enough, we ventured into the corridor to find food - but hot, it certainly wasn't. I took away a plate full of food and ate it, but all of food was stone cold. Then my wife managed to catch the eye of the waitress and order some toast some 30 minutes after arriving, but there wasn't any marmalade on the cold buffet table. Subsequently the receptionist was drawn in to help clear the tables. No words of explanation or apologies were offerred. Breakfast on day 2 was fine, coffee and toast brought to the table and a hot buffet, which was actually hot. Rather bizarrely there were no beans - the staple of any English breakfast. The room was good value for money, apart from the fact that the shower screen over the bath was fixed / constrained and you had to climb into the bath to turn the taps on. A somewhat bizarre arrangement.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Ian, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and my sincere apologies that I have not responded till now. I am sorry to hear of the concerns you encountered during your stay with us. Please be assured that the service you encountered during breakfast is not the normal and has been addressed with re-training and corrective staffing measures. I do hope that you will be willing to come back and give us another chance, to restore your faith in us and the brand. If I can be of any assistance, please do get i touch directly with me here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

This is a charming hotel with a different to usual layout. I must point out that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the layout, it's just different. The staff at this hotel are, without exception, excellent. They were friendly to both us and our dog. The room was excellent. It was well lit and spotlessly clean. It had tea and coffee making equipment and biscuits as well as a TV and desk and chair. The food at this hotel is excellent. The grounds are beautiful and there is plenty of space to walk a dog. Speaking of dogs this hotel is very dog friendly. The staff all love dogs and went out of their way to make a fuss of our dog. To those of us who take our dogs on holiday this means a lot. We were even given a small packet of dog treats when we d in. There was a bin for the dogs poop outside our room. This hotel really did think of everything. The hotel has a very pleasant bar area serving good quality food. Dogs are permitted in the bar. This hotel is outstanding in all aspects and is definitely worthy of a five star rating.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Orangefarm, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and my sincere apologies that I have not responded till now. We are so pleased to hear that your visit to us here at the Priory Hotel was relaxing ad enjoyable, for all of you! We do hope that we will be able to welcome you back to us in the future to see the changes that are due to happen. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We stayed here for one night , on arrival the receptionist was welcoming and informative, our room was in the main part of the house very spacious clean and well equipped. Breakfast was served in the bright and airy garden room , it was good quality and hot breakfast was tasty, staff in the restaurant were friendly and efficient, we would definitely use this hotel when we are in this area again

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your kind comments that we will pass on to the team. We look forward to welcoming you back. Kind regards, Frank Queen Cluster General Manager

One of the filthiest hotels I've visited. Black line around water level in the toilet, corners of the bathroom floor never been wiped in months. Grime in bathroom crevices, which must house bacteria. Receptionist was rude to the couple in front of me when I checked in.

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and our apologises regarding your experience. It is very rare we get any negative comments regarding cleanliness and staff in this way. Hence could you please take the time to call either myself or Kim, at The Priory Hotel 01284766181 and we can discuss further. Kind regards, Frank Queen Cluster General Manager

Reception and front area very nice with Friendly Reception. Rooms very nice but the Bathyrooms are very tied and need updating as was the only thing to let the hotel down. Bar and Restaurant was Excellent and again the Bar Manager was faultless would stay there again if in area.

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your kind comments that we will pass on to the team. Our Manager in the Bar has just joined the team and he will be delighted with the comments. We look forward to welcoming you back. Kind regards, Frank Queen Cluster General Manager

A very pleasant 3 night stay.The staff were all friendly, polite and very helpful.The rooms were clean and comfortable and complimentary refreshments and biscuits topped up daily. I had my greyhound with me and all the staff were very kind to her and made a fuss of her which she loved. We ate in The bar lounge because of the dog but it was very comfortable. The breakfast was beautifully cooked and very tasty. Just one minor irritation was the toilet flush handle in my sister's room had to be 'pumped' to get it to flush.

GMPriory, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your kind comments that we will pass on to the team. The team love fussing over guests pets and their owners too. We will look into your sisters room and look forward to welcoming you back. Kind regards, Frank Queen Cluster General Manager

Food is amazing, especially the crispy chicken. All full of flavour and deserving of a try even if not staying in the hotel. Staff are very kind and go the extra mile to make the stay memorable, we where celebrating our anniversary and the waiter Ewan brought us a desert sharer plate on the house which was a nice added touch. Hotel not that busy apart from breakfast on Sunday which was a buffet style. Really deserving of more than 3 star, restaurant area has been recently refurbished which gives the hotel a more upmarket feel. Only negatives to point out where the rooms need a deeper clean as the blinds where covered in dust and dead insects, but otherwise the rooms where clean to a very satisfactory standard. The room decor also needs modernising a little to go with the upmarket feel. I would recommend and even go again myself.

We booked into this hotel for a long weekend. At first glance, it seemed to be perfect but, on closer inspection, we realised how tired and dated it was. We stayed in one of the lodges in the courtyard and whilst it was a nice size, there were a few things that needed updating such as the decor, both in the bedroom and the bathroom, which were also in need of a good deep clean. We only went into the bar area once for an evening drink but the poor girl behind the bar was run ragged although extremely friendly and helpful. Not sure if she was the only member of staff on duty but nothing was too much trouble for her. The majority of the other evenings were spent over the road at The Tollgate, just a two minute walk away.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Nellie, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your visit with us here at the Priory Hotel. The Priory Hotel is awaiting the start date to the next stage of our renovation plan. This will see the refurbishment of a number of our guest rooms and the new look to our Reception lobby. I will look into why there appeared to only be one member of the team working, as we have 2 scheduled on each evening as standard; thank you for bringing this to my attention. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Visited this hotel for three nights. Room was ok but needed a bit of a update. Breakfast was a bit chaotic, food was plentiful but not enough staff on to look after all the customers waiting for service.

We stayed for one night whilst visiting family in the area. Pro's Really lovely staff Excellent Breakfast Nice clean hotel Bed very comfortable Garden view with windows that open Very quiet Con's Long walk up and down stairs to room. No idea if there was a lift. All stairs need handrails for safety Small room more suitable for single person Bed small probably only 4ft 6in Small shower but okay if you are very slim Despite all the cons, reason for only 3 rating we would stay again but would request a room more suitable for us

My husband and I went to Bury St Edmunds for a wedding, we stayed for one night and were very impressed with the accomodation, a separate bungalow type room, very large with large bathroom, tea making and flat screen tv. Everything very clean and the breakfast the next morning was as good as anything we have had in the past. Great value for money.

Loved staying at this hotel, staff were all very willing to try and make our stay better, offering assistance with heaters/taxi bookings etc. Even for our young daughter the staff were very pleasant with her and tried to communicate with her about her stories and visit. Would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Elisat, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to hear that the team made your visit relaxing for all, and your kind compliments will be passed on. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory in the future, and to see the changes that are coming in the new year for our next stage of refurbishments. If we can be of any assistance in the booking of your next visit, please do let us know. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

The staff were very helpful in making the evening very special for my girlfriends birthday dinner. Our son works here and he arranged for us to go there for an evening meal as he has been saying the food was very nice. Demi and kitty were serving in the restaurant and were very professional and polite. Demi went and got some candles for my girlfriend's cake and come out with them on the cake I'm very happy with all the service and the staff there Louise on the front desk was happy and friendly we also gave them all some of the cake .

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Nryanm, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your visit with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to hear that your dining experience was relaxing and enjoyable; your kind compliments will be passed onto the team members mentioned who will be delighted. We look forward to being able to welcome you back again, and please do let us know if we can be of any assistance. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

I recently helped organise a group visit to Suffolk and we stayed at the Priory Hotel. The rooms were very clean and comfortable. There was a good choice of menus for dinner and everything anyone could wish for at breakfast. The food was freshly cooked and well presented. The newly built restaurant has lovely views over the well-maintained garden as do some of the ground floor rooms. If there was a slight problem it was sorted quickly by the excellent staff. We were given a lovely welcome on arrival and Kim, the General Manager was really helpful with arrangements prior and during our stay. There is a large car park which is an advantage and I would certainly stay here again.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Helen, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your visit to us. We are all so pleased to hear that your stay was enjoyable and your group were able to relax between their day trips. We look forward to welcoming you and your group back to us again in the future, and if I can be of any assistance, please do let me know. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We looked for a dog friendly hotel, and this place ticked all the boxes. The staff where all friendly and good to the dog. The grounds also gave us somewhere to take the dog out in the evening and morning. Would recommend, and will be returning on our next stay in Bury St Edmonds.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Hawkes, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that your visit was relaxing and enjoyable, for all of you! If we can be of any assistance in the booking of your next stay, please do get in touch with the team. We look forward to welcoming you back to us in the future. Kindest regards, Kim David General manager

Just like to say a big thankyou to Frank,Kim and the rest of the staff who provided an excellent service for my daughter Becca and son in law Seans wedding yesterday The room looked amazing just how we had requested it The food was very good and some of us stayed the rooms were excellent too Thankyou for an amazing day Jackie Elsden

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jackie, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your visit with us. You are more than welcome - it was a pleasure, and honour, to be able to play our small part on Becca and Sean's big day. We look forward to being able to welcome you back to the Priory again in the future, please don't hesitate to contact the team or myself if we can be of any assistance. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

I have stayed at many Best Western hotels and can honestly say this one is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. Jade our receptionist was fab as she was also running the bar and the kitchen, there was no other staff in sight anywhere. Apparently they had finished there jobs and gone home. This was at 1.45pm and we could not get a drink at the bar and the kitchen was closed even though the menu said they served food until 2pm. Getting drinks or food was a huge issue and we had to go to the reception to ask for anything, staffing issues in abundance here. My room was dirty, in disrepair and dated, as was the whole hotel. We went for breakfast and the toast machine, coffee machine and ice machine were all broken. Faulty Towers!

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Tanya, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us. If I could ask that you could contact me at generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk, and I will happily speak with you regarding your concerns. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Kim David General Manager

Just has a great nights stay in this hotel, food was lovely, rooms nice and clean, location central, staff were lovely and helpful especially receptionist Louise who went out of her way to help us!!!!

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Hayley, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. Your kind comments will be passed onto Louise, and the team, who will be so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your visit! We look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory on your next visit to the area. kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Visited with my daughter today for afternoon tea and was extremely impressed. We've been taking afternoon tea at a few different venues locally and were very happy with the Priory. The staff gave excellent service, the scones were delicious, good selection of both sandwiches and cakes. Plenty of tea and offered more too. Lovely environment and excellent value for money. Plan to visit again for an evening meal.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Wendy, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your visit to us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that your afternoon tea experience was relaxing and enjoyable for your daughter and yourself. Please do let us know when you would like to visit again and we will get you booked in. We look forward to welcoming you back to us in the future. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We have stayed several time as this hotel but feel that the standards have declined in the last year or so. This applied particularly at dinner on Sunday night. Our drinks order arrived ½ hour after we had entered the dining room. Not until then did the waitress take the food order. So it was well over an hour after sitting down that the food appeared. One of our friends requested salad without any dressing yet it arrived with oil on the lettuce and was sent back. The waitress called everyone Darling or Love which the whole group (6 of us) found objectionable. We shall look for another hotel for our next get together in East Anglia.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Gear Guest. Our apologises for the shortcomings in standards that you received during your dinner on Sunday evening. Please be assured that we will address all points mentioned and corrective training will be given in addition to reviewing our staffing levels on Sunday evenings. I you would consider returning, please contact me directly on 01284 766 181 and I will personally organise your booking and my way of an apology and gesture of good will, organise a aperitifs for you and your party. We loom forward to restoring you faith and welcoming you back. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

This hotel is amazing. A small location with lots of character, the priory is located in the heart of bury close to many delicious local pubs. The interior is classically decorated with loads of history. Above all the staff is what sets this hotel apart. The staff is super attentive and friendly. Notably the night porter mike is the nicest most professional person I have ever crossed paths with. If I ever return to the UK it will be because of mikes excellent customer service.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mr Corey, Thank you for your kind words, which I will pass onto the team, especially Mike, whom I will see tonight. We look forward to welcoming you back. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

We were a W.I. Group who had afternoon tea in the garden room on 08/08/2019.The food was delicious fresh sandwiches cream scones and delicious cakes.The staff were lovely so friendly and helpful.There is a lovely garden there too. The garden room would be very good for a function or family event.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Ladies, It was an absolute delight to take care of you all and we are glad you all had a wonderful time. I will pass you kind comments to the rest of the team. We look forwards to welcoming you back soon. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

The staff here, from reception to cleaning staff, are exceptionally good, and helpful. The room was well appointed & perfect for staying with a dog, as you come straight out into the very nicely kept grounds. We didn't eat dinner as we were visiting friends so I can't comment on it. For us the breakfast was rather expensive at £12 each, because we don't eat very much, though if you like a big breakfast it would be good as it had a hot and cold buffet & plenty of choice. The coffee was nice. Would definitely stay again when visiting the beautiful town of Bury St Edmunds.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Sue, Thank you for your kind response, which we will share with the team. It was a pleasure to have you here and we look forward to welcoming you back. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

Great beer selection and the food was great too. Sarah suggested the fish and chip, and boy was it tasty. The rooms was ok, but the scenery was pretty awesome. I would definitely recommend this place, and stay again.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Guest, Thank you for your kind response which we will share with Sarah & the team. We look forward to welcoming you back. Kind regards, Frank Queen General Manager

The staff were lovely & friendly but other things could improve. Our bedroom was very hot even with a fan & windows open. I don't class a fan as air conditioning. The shower was poor. A big bathroom but heat coming up from the floor & full lighting coming on in the night as soon as you Opened the en suite door . Cooked Breakfast was ‘okay' but needed to be replenished quicker. However served with coffee/ tea & toast immediately & staff very pleasant & helpful. Lovely garden rooms which possibly might be cooler.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Yves, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and our sincere apologies that we did not come back to you earlier. While I am pleased to hear that your stay with with was relaxing overall, I am sorry to hear your concerns. I will bring your concern for the bathroom light to my maintenance team to see if there are any adjustments we can make in this area. Your concern for the air conditioning will be brought up at the next meeting regarding the future improvements here at the Priory. We do hope to be able to welcome you back to the Priory in the future. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Have been many times before, very friendly staff. Big new dining room and bar. Sunny and airy. Garden room, reasonable size, tv reception seemed better tan on previous visits. Good position. Visited lots of surrounding areas. Only criticism, don't like the high stool/chairs in the bar, not enough comfy seats.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Bellena, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and our sincere apologies that we did not come back to you earlier. We are so pleased to hear that your stay with us was relaxing and enjoyable. I will pass on your comments regarding the bar furniture at the next meeting to discuss the next stage of refurbishment for the Priory Hotel. We look forward to seeing your again in the future to see these improvements. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed for one night to attend a wedding. Room was adequate if a bit dated but clean. Quiet and peaceful so on the whole had a good night's sleep. Breakfast however was a different experience, most items on the menu had run out or not available, had to ask for some toast twice but never actually got any, tried to get coffee but ran out and had to wait for refill, altogether worst breakfast service we have ever experienced. Wouldn't reccomend staying if you enjoy a nice leisurely breakfast.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Lulur, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and our sincere apologies that we did not come back to you earlier. I am sorry to hear of your concerns regarding our breakfast standards. Please be assured that recently we have undergone re-training within this department and it is being closely monitored till we can ensure standards are being upheld. If you are staying with us again in the future, please feel free to contact me at the hotel on generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk and I will personally handle your booking. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We stayed a night following a cricket match nearby. We arrived on a very hot evening managed to find the receprion from the car park and were shown to our room by a friendly receptionist. The room was in a block that resembelled a single story motel. On opening the door we found a basic room that was very hot. To cool it down we had to prop the door open and open the window and the window in the bathroom to get a through draft. Following a shower to cool down we again opened the bathroom window and the handle fell off and droped into the carpark. The bathroom was dated and was in need of refurbishment a bath panel was loose an had a screw sticking out of it. We had a meal in the restaurant which was fine and the breakfast was very good with good quality products the only problem being that the hot buffet ran out of scrambled eggs. Sleep was difficult as the room was very hot despite a fan being provided. Our nights sleep was interrupted by what I think was the noise from the plumbing running through the roof space which started at 6:30 in the morning and stopped any chance of sleep. It was our first stay at a Best Western hotel and I had expected a better standard of accomodation from this chain. Before we arrived we were e-mailed asking if we wished to upgrade our accommodation I think I now understand why.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear John, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and our sincere apologies that we did not come back to you earlier. I am very sorry to hear of your concerns during your stay with us. Please be assured that we have rectified the door handle and the plumbing concerns. Our classic double rooms are due to have their refurbishment, and we hope to get a start date for this soon. This will bring them into line with the new Garden Room restaurant and Terrace Bar. Please feel free to contact me directly if you are staying in the area again, and I will personally handle your booking. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

The hotel room was ok. It was very warm but as it faced the main road we couldn't leave a window open overnight but a fan had been provided. There was only only one bedside lamp but reception sent another. It is a very old hotel with very uneven floors so be aware if you have mobility problems. The meal though was horrendous. The menu advertised 'chef specials' but there weren't any. We ordered a bottle of chardonnay but was told by a very embarrassed waitress that they had to chill one, so we had water with our starters. My chicken pate was disgusting with horrible chutney and dry toast which I think had been left over from the night before. My husbands white bait with cumin (a new one on me) was so so. The wine appeared with our main course but as it was still warm in the glass, ice cubes were added. No I didn't drink it. My main course of scampi and chips were fine if overcooked although my husbands steak and ale pie was rock hard and he couldn't eat the pastry. We were told that we wouldn't be charged for the wine. There was no way we would have paid and if we hadn't prepaid for the meal we wouldn't have paid for that. The food at breakfast was good quality and well cooked if sparse. Insufficient staff covered a full restaurant. I ate a cooked breakfast in 2 lots. The ordered poached egg with sausage, bacon and mushrooms then beans and hash browns which I had to ask for but the black pudding had gone. I had a warm plate because my egg came freshly cooked from the kitchen but my husband's was cold. We went to breakfast at 9.30am so weren't late nor were we the last to arrive. My advice is if you stay there eat in the pub over the road and go to breakfast as soon as service starts. We won't be going again

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jackie, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, and our sincere apologies that we did not come back to you earlier. Also, may I apologise on behalf of the hotel for not upholding our standards within the restaurant during your stay with us. Please feel free to contact me here at the Priory to discuss this further in person. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

I stayed here for 12 nights while attending a course. When I booked I looked online a seen the pictures online and the place looked nice but on arrival you soon realise the quality and standard are very poor. Rooms are musty smelling with badly dated and worn furniture. Mostly the other guests had work in the morning so it was mainly quite quiet but on the Friday and Saturday night it turned into a Disco and the noise was unbearable due to the very poor soundproofing in the rooms. I could hear everything. Entertainment: standard TV with a few Freeview channels... Internet 2 Mbps Bathroom : extremely poor standard with grime and scum build up around the bath and shower. Staff were nice on arrival and cleaners did a good job, unfortunately this would need a deep clean and money spent on it to make it acceptable so I can't blame them. Restaurant was empty every night and when I attempted to get a meal there I couldn't find anyone to serve me. Very poor standard of accomodation and service I would question the Star rating of this hotel as it resembles more a Motel or hostel I would avoid this hotel if you are looking for a romantic or luxury stay as its very much no frills. Don't like giving bad reviews but I felt I needed to on this occasion

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear GT9484, Thank for for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay, and I am very sorry for the late reply. I am also sorry to hear that your stay did not meet with your expectations and that this wasn't brought to my attention, either during your stay or on check out. Please be assured that your concerns will be brought to the attention of the teams here at our next meeting. I would like the opportunity to speak with you personally regarding your concerns, if you would be willing to contact me here at the Priory, either by call or email. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Kindest regards, Kim David

My wife and I spent three days in the hotel this week. We have two labradoodles and came to enjoy nearby Thetford Forest for a short break for all of us. The hotel is especially welcoming to dog owners. Every member of staff (special mention to our room cleaners... lovely people.... also Jade - receptionist - who is perfect! Exactly what a receptionist should be... Friendly, welcoming and helpful) The room was lovely (we had a room in the garden - so perfect access for the dogs and the garden view is beautiful) dogs are welcome in the bar and literally, across the road is a dog friendly pub/restaurant (The Tollgate - a Greene King pub) car parking is great and the hotel was peaceful and relaxing. We wouldn't hesitate to stay here whenever we revisit Bury St Edmunds. I would also mention that we have worked in the hospitality business for 30 yrs (hotels and cruise ships around the world) So we really do appreciate great hospitality. Thanks to all at Best Western Priory Hotel.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Eddie M, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review of your stay here at the Priory Hotel. We are very pleased to hear you have received great customer service. The compliments will be certainly passed onto the team members mentioned. Such a great compliment from professionals within the hospitality industry, shows we are going in the right direction when it comes to deliver great facilities and customer service. We do hope that you will continue to make the Priory your No. 1 choice hotel when in the area. Many thanks again, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

The hotel is quite well situated, within easy reach of the centre. It is clean and the room was comfortable, although the walls are paper thin and it is possible to hear everything in the next room. Our television had a problem, so we were given another room which was quieter. The staff couldn't be more helpful and pleasant. The breakfast was lovely, but the service varied. Some days it was quick, others not so much. This was not the fault of the waitresses, who worked very hard indeed, but it seemed to cause a problem if the restaurant was busy. We enjoyed our stay here and would recommend it, but don't expect 5 star amenities.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear DomandPerry, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review of your stay here at the Priory Hotel. We take all feedback very seriously and will be reviewing and addressing some of the points you have raised. We do hope that you will continue to make the Priory Hotel, your hotel of choice when in the area. Many thanks again, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

Booked 3 rooms here for 2 nights in June. I booked a superior room for my mother and father in law who got upgraded to a suite which was really nice. I also booked a classic double and a twin room. These rooms were in the courtyard as we had a small dog with us. Our first morning the staff arranged tables together to enable the 6 of us to sit together in the lounge area - they also allowed my wife and I to decorate the area with some banners for the father in laws 80th. The breakfast was buffet style which was the normal assortment of fruit, yoghurt, cereals, pastries and cooked. All was really good and plentiful. We did not dine in the restaurant due to the fact we had the dog and the lounge area was not ideal to spend an evening around a dinner table as the seats were quite low to the table. Another negative was the price of a cup of tea £3.25! I'm sure we would have spent more in the bar area if the beverages were more reasonable. On our last morning I had to leave early to get a train to London so the previous evening I asked if the kitchen could make me something first thing. It was a lovely surprise to find a nice bacon sandwich plus fresh fruit and a cup of tea in my goody bag to help me on my way. When my family went for breakfast later that morning, the staff had arranged a table in the lounge area set up for 5 people. Nothing was too much trouble for them and I understand they even cooked some more boiled eggs for my daughter as her first batch were too hard. We all had a thoroughly nice time. The rooms were clean and comfortable and the grounds of the hotel well kept. The staff seem to take pride in their jobs and seem well trained - the customer service was amongst the best we have received in the UK. Thank you all for a great time and for helping to make the weekend for my father in law - we will be back.

The Hotel was efficiently run, had clean and comfortable bedrooms and was positioned in pleasant grounds. The food was of good quality with generous portions and served in a new, light and airy restaurant overlooking the garden. Staff were attentive and, in particular, Jade (Head of Reception and Events ) was very helpful. All in all a very pleasant place to stay. P

Very comfortable accommodation. Friendly staff. Jade Callis on reception very helpful (full of energy and provided useful information, with a smile) - Giuseppe in restaurant made a great Hot Chocolate. All staff generally happy and helpful. Powerful and lovely shower. Would definitely stay here again.

Much improved over this time last year, the new 'superior' rooms are nicer than Premier inn - very comfortable and a home from home. They're all different and the staff know which ones I prefer and whenever possibly they ensure I am booked into a preferred room (thanks to Jade and Carl). Whilst the new rooms, bar and restaurant are all very nice, it's the staff that make this place for a regular visitor. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. After a few months we've tired of the menu but the chef is happy to make to order so long as they have the ingredients. As with anywhere there's the odd minor issue from time to time, but I'm a pretty difficult customer and this has become my first choice in Bury. Congratulations to Jade, Carl, Karen, matt and all the team at The Priory for making this my home from home.

i have been staying here past few weeks . i would say the customer service has been excellent. All the staff are very friendly and accommodating.The rooms, especially the new one ones are very good.Special Mention to Carl and Jade , they have been very help full. The Chef, Matt, has even cooked us one of his delicious Chinese specials dishes for us .

We are just home from a lovely afternoon at the Priory. The staff were so efficient and accommodating, and the food was excellent. Giuseppe was helpful with all the planning of our event, and everything went like clockwork. The new dining room and the beautiful gardens were perfect for our celebration. Thank you so much. We will definitely be back.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear J3813RYjulied, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review of your event here at the Priory Hotel. We are very pleased to hear so pleased to hear you and your guests had a wonderful time. We do hope that you will visit us again to see the changes and improvements we are continually making here at the Priory Hotel. If we can be of any further assistance now or in future, please don't hesitate to contact us direct. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

Work away in Bury a lot and have stayed in a number of the hotels in the town but this has to be my favorite. Staff there are lovely and can't do enough to make you feel welcome, special mention to Jade and Tina. The rooms are all recently decorated, well equipped and clean. Excellent WiFi which for me is a must

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Seamaster13, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review of your event here at the Priory Hotel. We are very pleased to hear so pleased to hear you had a pleasant stay and that we raise above the other hotel in the customer service. I will endeavour to pass on your compliments to Jade and Tina personally. We do hope that you will visit us again to see the changes and improvements we are continually making here at the Priory Hotel. If we can be of any further assistance now or in future, please don't hesitate to contact us direct. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

Very good hotel . Its close to town centre and golf courses . The rooms are very clean and the staff are very friendly and accommodating. The bar and restaurant are also good . We've stayed a couple of times and will certainly stay again .

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear steelermount, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review of your event here at the Priory Hotel. We are very pleased to hear you had a pleasant stay and that we raise above the other hotel in the customer service. We also thank you for your continuous custom. If we can be of any further assistance now or in future, please don't hesitate to contact us direct. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

Excellent stay from start to finish. Jade made me a very welcome guest (and all others). Throughout the stay the team and especially Jade did everything possible to make my stay the best it could be, including checking shortly after settling into the room that all was ok. Having asking for a dinner recommendation from the menu, I was not disappointed, both in the speed of room service (again delivered by Jade) and the taste and presentation. Even having worked until late at night, I was amazed that again, greeted with a smiling face on checkout was again Jade, ensuring my stay had been perfect. I'd highly recommend this hotel and the team.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Phillip, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review of your stay here at the Priory Hotel, Jade will be so pleased to hear of your compliments. We do hope that you will visit us again to see the changes and improvements we are continually making here at the Priory. If we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact Jade or myself. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

I have been up here for 7 weeks and for what we get up here it's good. The WiFi, cleanliness and the staff are generally amazing and good, I haven't had a massive problem with anything, but since I'm working away from home. The breakfast is better when they don't have the buffet but hey beggars can't be choosers still decent and you can ask how you want your eggs etc. Each room is different to one or the other but the ones I have been in so far hasn't been a problem they're always cleaned daily and for people who take a console or something with them there is a desk or a table near the tv and can be moved for ease. For the working customers this hotel is massively recommended as it's got everything that is needed. For others customers it's good as the town isn't too far and is walkable.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Owen, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to see that you enjoy our hotel, it's facilities and my teams. We are looking to update all our older rooms to the new standards within the rolling refurbishment we hope to start next year. If you have any recommendations for how we can improve our service for our long stay guests, we will gladly take them on board. We look forward to welcoming you back to the hotel in the future. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed for a week had an excellent stay special thanks to Jade and Sharma a credit to there company keep up the good work .Rooms comfy and spacious beds were excellent shower was excellent bar staff are friendly and always got time for a chat.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Kier, I am so pleased to hear that your stay with us was relaxing, and that my teams made such a good impression on your stay; Jade and Sharna will be pleased to hear your compliments. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory Hotel again in the future; and if we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to let us know. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

As we are having a new kitchen fitted we are trying different places for lunch. I've lived in or around Bury all my life and have never been in The Priory so decided to give it a try. We sat in The Terrace bar we had our dog with us, dogs are allowed in this bar and they have rooms available for people that wish to bring their dogs. It was a lovely relaxed atmosphere with nice views of the beautiful garden. The staff are very friendly and helpful. Kevin the chef popped out to say hello and we watched him help a disabled lady use the lift. Our lunch was very tasty and we will certainly return. Good work Priory Hotel.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Lindsay, I am so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your brief visit with us and that you enjoyed our new Terrace Bar. Your kind compliments will be passed onto my Chef and my teams. We are looking at introducing a small menu for our guests fur-babies, maybe on your next visit we will have this ready! Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Had a lovely stay in this hidden gem not far from the centre of the beautiful BSE.I found the staff endearing and very helpful throughput our stay here today.I would not hesitate to return in the near future.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Go, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are all so pleased to hear that your stay was relaxing and enjoyable and your compliments will be passed onto all the teams. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory again in the future to see our improvements and next stage of refurbishment. If we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us. Kindest regards, Kim David

Weekend break to Bury St Edmund's with my partner and nine year old daughter. General manager and the girl was so helpful on our arrival. Had to change rooms due to no children's bed being put in. Sofa bed for her was ready made before entering the room. Saturday buffet breakfast was lovely. Selection of delicious pastries, toast, cereal, fruit and fries breakfast. Meal had in the restaurant Saturday evening. Basic but absolutely lovely. I asked for softer pillows and so the cleaner attended to this without any issues and cleaned our room. The staff here are here for the customers. The service is above and beyond. It takes special people to really go that extra mile which they certainly do here. We will most definitely be staying again. Thank you to the staff at the Priory for making our getaway break a memorable one!

Great Hotel and location, Great front of house staff, and cleaners, lovely breakfast by far the best Best Western Hotel I have experienced. Cleaners, bar staff and reception staff all go out of the way to make your stay comfortable. They even call your room after check in to see if you are comfortable in your room.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Passenger, Thank you for taking the time back to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. While I am pleased to hear that my team made you welcome and ensured a relaxing stay, I am sorry to hear that you scored us so low on overall score. I am just wondering if you could give me a call here at the hotel so that we can discuss your review. I look forward to speaking with you. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We were a group of 28 in a varied mix of singles,twins and double rooms and staying on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis with packed lunches supplied as part of the package they had created for us. From my first communication by email, the willingness to help and to accommodate our needs was very clear and this remained right through our visit. They could not do enough to make sure we had enough chairs wherever we chose to sit; we had 2 large tables especially for us and they had our lunches individually packed in paper bags at the time we had requested. Rooms were very varied but all were very comfortable. One of the outstanding elements of our stay was the incredibly good food. Chef had created menus for us to choose from and all dishes were delicious as proven by the cleared plates! Particularly memorable and commented on by many of us were the mushroom stroganoff, pannacotta dessert and the delicious scrambled egg at breakfast. But the greatest asset of this hotel has to be the staff. From the pleasant and very helpful Receptionists; Giuseppe, the General Manager who was there to meet us and oversee checking in and then took the time to come to say goodbye when he went off shift; the efficient and very helpful Barman whose name I failed to get; and the efficient waiting staff who fetched and carried for 28 people with permanent smiles on their faces - Mirjam in particular was delightful and always friendly and smiling. Will we stay again? Most definitely. It suited our needs perfectly and I cannot thank them enough for all they did for us.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Pauline, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review follow your group's stay with us. I am so pleased to hear that you all enjoyed your stay at the Priory Hotel! Please be assured that I will be passing on your kind words to my team members, especially to my fellow General Manager, the Kitchen and and Food and Beverage teams. We do look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory in the future, and we hope to be able to show you the progress and improvements we have made. If we can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us here at the hotel. Kindest regards. Kim David General Manager

I was in room 50 which had a thin interconnecting door to the next room. You could here t.v. snoring, bathroom fan & shower, toilet movements, phone calls and talking from the adjoining room. It was truly awful, I mentioned it to the receptionist who was very dismissive about the issue & just said well we have to have it (the connecting door) the one thing you expect from a hotel i.e. a good nights sleep, they failed at. I wouldnt use the hotel again. They also ran out of flavoured yoghurt and granola at breakfast and as I sat having a coffee in the lounge mid morning whilst working you had to listen to staff shouting to each other down the corridors which was very unprofessional.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Phil, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry that our guests were not considerate to their neighbours during your stay; we are committed to our guests and if we are notified of a disturbance during the night we will speak with the guests that are causing the disruption. When we start the next phase of our refurbishment I will be bringing your concerns to the team for review. We will be looking to renovate our existing guest rooms as part of a rolling plan; including the bedrooms furnishings, decor throughout and also the bathrooms. Please be assured that I will be speaking with my teams regarding their communication methods, as this is not expected from any of our team members. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Located just on the edge of town. A 20 minute walk away. The hotel consists of an older restored main building with restaurant and breakfast room attached. Other rooms are situated in the grounds chalet style in some cases. We stayed in an attractive modern room situated in a mews like courtyard near the entrance. The room was spacious clean and comfortable. A sizeable ensuite with bath and powerful shower and lovely large bath towels. A good nights sleep. WiFi worked well. Plenty of on site parking. Breakfast was cooked to order and a good standard. Without exception the staff were all friendly and helpful. For what we paid very good value.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Richard J, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your visit, the hotel and its facilities. We do look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory Hotel in the future. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

Overall the hotel rooms are in need of refurbishment as the bathrooms and decor seem to be pretty tired looking. We were also woken early on the Sunday morning by a loud noise that kept coming and going...possibly the water/heating system - not sure on this, but was very annoying! Biscuits in the room were a nice touch.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear e4mha, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. The Priory completed it's 1st phase of refurbishment back in November, with the opening of our Garden Room restaurant, Terrace Bar and the build of 8 new bedrooms. We are currently looking forward the start of our rolling refurbishment aimed specifically at our existing guest rooms. Having already started with the new carpets in 11 of our rooms, we cannot wait to get the ball rolling. I am sorry to hear that your morning was disturbed, please be assured that the teams have looked into this and it's has been resolved. We do hope that you will visit us again in the future to see the exciting changes we have planned for the Priory Hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David

the room was lovely it was a good size with a lovely big bathroom it was nice and cosy in the evening and nice and peaceful despite being next to the main road .the staff were very helpful bringing us extra pillows when requested and replenishing tea and coffee in the morning.shame about no pets in the dining room .checkout was quick and easy

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Voyager, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your visit. Pets are welcome in all parts of the hotel, except the Garden Room restaurant due to Health and Safety policies. We do look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory Hotel in the future. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Came with my elderly parents for a long weekend for my dad's birthday and Mothering Sunday. We stayed in the garden rooms which were lovely. Very clean, very comfortable. Well appointed. The staff (at reception, and waiting staff) were so friendly and we really appreciated the call from reception to check everything was ok after we arrived. There is a bit of traffic noise which you would expect being close to a main road but it wasn't too bad. Breakfast on Saturday morning was great. I had the full English. Everything cooked fresh and to a high standard. The only thing I would suggest is maybe the waiting staff came round and offered refills of coffee. Also, the breakfast room maybe could use some blinds for when sunny as it was rather warm and bright in there. The Sunday breakfast was a buffet style and I'm sorry to say was a little disappointing. The sausages weren't cooked as well as I like, the hash browns were soggy (the ones on Saturday were a highlight), the scrambled egg wasn't as good as Saturdays. I understand a buffet breakfast is harder to keep a good quality and feel the freshly cooked style we had on Saturday should be the only option. Overall a great value hotel, clean, comfortable and lovely staff. Would 100% recommend. If Sunday breakfast was better it would have been 5 stars. Thank you

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Robert V Adams, Thank you for completing the survey regarding your recent stay at our property. Your business is very important to us and we value your feedback. By telling us what you liked about your stay and how we can improve, you are helping us deliver a superior experience for you and other guests in the future. In particular, the blinds for the Garden Room are on order, the buffet and the way it is served has been re-looked at and we have corrected where needed in order to ensure consistency of quality throughout. Thank you again for taking the time to complete the review and to be recommending us . If I can be of assistance in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me at 01284 766181. Yours sincerely, Giuseppe Carata General Manager Best Western Priory Hotel

Thought we would try here for lunch having not been here for a number of years and the price seemed good for Mothers Day £19 for 3 courses for adults The lunch was in the conservatory which was nice but warm, we were a family of four with 2 boys aged 9 and 11 It wasnt really busy considering it was Mothers Day, more like a normal Sunday lunch sitting so the staff did seem rushed although it wasnt busy Unfortunately the service lets this down as felt we were just left and no checking if everything ok or if we wanted further drinks. The main meals were very minimal with very few vegetables served in a small bowl for 4 and soggy, when served we were not asked if we wanted any drinks or anything further, we had to wait for 10 minutes to ask for more gravy and some wine, of course by then seemed a bit pointless. We put our dessert order in and waited 1 hour and 15 minutes for this to arrive after others had received theirs who had arrived after us. I had asked 3 times how much for the childrens meals to be told conflicting information and a muck up of price on the final bill No one collected our glasses so a build up of these on a small table also frustrating Considering other eating establishments are nearby which are good, they really need to look at ensuring people want to return which sadly we will not

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Philippa C, Thank you for completing the review regarding your recent time at the hotel. On behalf of our entire team, I would like to apologise for not exceeding your expectations. I shall be contacting you personally again tomorrow by phone to discuss in person. If we can be of any assistance before then, please don't hesitate to contact me here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

This is not a review but a big thank you to The Priory. After pre booking a room for the 30th-3-2019 my family came down with the horrible bug from hell. Made a call on the 29th..(not allot of notice) and the hotel went above and beyond helping me in my HR of need. Not many would and this is a rare service.. hats of to you all and a big thank you for all your help.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear boy-done-good, Thank you for completing the survey regarding our property. Your business is very important to us and we value your feedback. Your review highlights our high level of customer service, and we consider all circumstances whilst still running a business. We are not a big chain of hotel, but rather a small group of hotels run and owned by the same family, under the Best Western brand. We hope to see you and your family in the near future one everyone is better and healthy again. If I can be of assistance in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me at 01284 766181. Thank you again for taking the time to complete the survey. Yours sincerely, Giuseppe Carata General Manager Best Western Priory Hotel

This was a decent hotel with some strong features but during my visit was rather let down in others. I had a single room in the main building which on first look had seemed clear and comfortable. Sadly the loo, seemed superficially clean had signs deeper in which indicated a deeper clean was necessary. The bed was fairly comfortable and for most of the night was reasonably quiet but it is near to a road and the traffic could be heard after 6.30am. I had breakfast there which fortunately I had pre-booked but relatives who were also staying at the hotel had not done this and frankly at almost £13.00 for a self service with a limited range of options was excessive. The Garden Room, although quite difficult to find - the hotel is a bit of a rabbit warren - was new and pleasant. As it happens I also found the hotel difficult to find - but perhaps this was a problem with my Satnav. I should also acknowledge that when I commented on this to the pleasant and helpful receptionist she took some time to show me how to use my smart phone for this purpose. Such other staff as I saw were also pleasant and helpful - one of the strongest features of the hotel. Its limitations notwithstanding, I would certainly consider staying at the Great Western again - for its staff, for its very pleasant setting, and for its proximity to the centre of Bury St Edmunds.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
thank you for completing the review regarding your recent stay at our property. On behalf of our entire team, I would like to apologise for not exceeding your expectations. Your satisfaction is important to us and we will be using the feedback you gave us to implement improvements to ensure we offer a better experience for guests in the future. I am pleased to see our team providing excellent customer service, this is a very important element of our culture here at the hotel. Should you be in the area again, please get in touch directly and we will be more than happy to help you booking your stay. If I can provide any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at 01284 766181. Kindest Regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager Priory Hotel BSE

Wonderful staff! Met by head of housekeeping who walked us to reception and even carried my elderly mum's bag! Reception staff very welcoming. They even called the room to make sure we were happy. They also had a birthday card for mum as her birthday today and she grew up in Bury St Edmunds and this trip down memory lane (I had mentioned that when I booked Online). Lovely ground floor room in annexe of hotel, in a group of 8-10 rooms. Room comfortable and a good size and very clean with tea, coffee, toiletries etc. Newly built restaurant which looks very nice though not eaten here yet. Hotel grounds beautiful and well kept. It's an easy 15 minute walk to old town and Abbey Gardens. Excellent value for money & am very impressed. Highly recommended!

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Sonya1968, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that your experience with us here at the Priory was and enjoyable, I will be passing on your kind comments to all my teams. We do hope to be able to welcome you back to the hotel again soon, should you be in the area. If we can be of any assistance with the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to let us know. Kindest Regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

I wanted to review this hotel for its excellent service and understanding. We were due to spend a night B&B on 25th March but my elderly Labrador dog has been unwell the week before and had to spend a night in the vets with severe gastrointestinal problems. I rang the reception on the morning and was told that we should give 24 hours notice in line with the cancellation policy. I explained the problem and said if we couldn't cancel with no penalty then we would have to come but was concerned that my dog wasn't 100%. The reception person, Carl, was very understanding and as a compromise agreed to cancel without penalty on the understanding that we will rebook at a later date when the dog is better. I know it didn't really cost them to do this but it shows a real empathy with its customers. We will definitely visit again.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Robert M, Thank you for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you are looking to re-book at a later date due to last minute changes. We will be looking forward to have you here at the hotel soon. Best wishes of a prompt recovery to your Labrador. If we can be of any assistance with the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to let us know. Kindest Regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

I stay in a lot of different hotels some rather better that others . The Priory is a lovely clean comfortable hotel , I had one of the garden rooms (36) it was comfortable, quiet and clean . I slept very well . Without a doubt the crowing glory of this hotel is the staff , I don't know if it's the Suffolk air or what but they are outstanding. Polite , welcoming and friendly. Breakfast was delicious. It's a bit of a walk into town that's the only negative. Thankyou for reading my review.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear kevinH89, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that your experience with us here at the Priory was and enjoyable, I will be passing on your kind comments to all my teams. We do hope to be able to welcome you back to the hotel again soon. If we can be of any assistance with the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to let us know. Kindest Regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

Normally stay in pubs in the area but all the usual where full so booked the priory for one night Didn't have dinner so no comment The IPA served in the bar was off so went over the road to the tavern pub for a drink better £ Breakfast was included and ok but basic tbh Rooms clean and comfy but walls a bit thin if you know what I mean Would stay again but not 5/5

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear BrownMildLad, Many thanks for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry to hear that whilst staying with us we failed to meet some of your expectation. We will be addressing the concerns raised internally to avoid future re-occurrences. Should you be in the area again, do let us know as we will look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory Hotel. Once again, thanks for your feedback. If I can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us directly. Kindest Regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

Enjoyed a stay over and found the lodge a short walk from the station, just on the edge of town yet the town centre is walkable in 15-20 minutes for most. I expected something a bit more characterless as a franchise but it is an old building with modernised interior and also chalets in the grounds. Room was clean and functional and I had very good Eggs Royale for breakfast, there being several hot dishes as well continental option. I would gladly stay there again.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Rhandolph, Many thanks for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am very pleased to hear that your time with us was enjoyable; your kind comments will be shared with the teams. The Priory is indeed a listed building and we are looking forward to the star of our 2nd phase of renovations which includes the refurbishment of our existing guest rooms. This will bring them in line with our newly built Garden Room and Terrace Bar. We do look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory Hotel in the future, and if we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us directly. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

Good location and nice hotel. Food was excellent and the staff were very polite, friendly and approachable. The showers here seem to lack pressure but didn't ruin the overall experience. Was maybe a little too warm, the heat hits you as you enter the building.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Quest, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am so pleased to hear that your time was relaxing and enjoyable; your kind comments will be passed onto the teams. We are looking forward to the star of our 2nd phase of renovations which includes the refurbishment of our existing guest rooms. this will bring them in line with our newly built Garden Room and Terrace Bar. Your concerns regarding the shower pressure will be mentioned to our site team for when we start this phase. We do look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory Hotel in the future, and if we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us directly. Kindest regards Kim David General Manager

The Hotel was easy to locate, welcoming and being recently refurbished, of top quality throughout. Our room was excellent. Modern, clean and included tea/coffee making facilities, TV, Iron and Hairdryer. The bed was very comfortable and extra blanket was provided if you needed it. The Restaurant was large and modern and had a good choice of snacks and main courses all of which were competitively priced. All the staff that we met were friendly, helpful and able answer any questions. I have no hesitation in recommending the Best Western Priory Hotel as a great place to stay.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Ian, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time and that my teams made your stay a 'home from home'. We are currently looking forward to some more renovations here at the hotel which will start with the refurbishment of our Reception and lobby space, and move into a rolling refurbishment of our existing guest rooms. If the team or I can be of any assistance in the planning of your next visit to Bury St Edmund's and the Priory Hotel, please don't hesitate to contact us directly. We look forward to welcoming you back to us in the future. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We stayed here about 5 years ago and enjoyed our stay then but our stay this time was far superior especially given the recent refurbishment throughout the hotel. Our room was clean spacious and modern. All hotel areas were clean and well presented and very welcoming and relaxing. The staff were friendly and helpful. We didn't have an evening meal but we very much enjoyed our breakfast. We will definitely stay again and recommend this hotel to friends and family. An excellent hotel within The Cameron Ventures group

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Catchef, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your second visit to the hotel and like the improvements made. Your kind comments shall be passed onto my teams, including our MD as I am sure he will be pleased too. If we can be of any assistance in the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

The room was very spacious and although it hadn't been refurbished for a while, it didn't look too tired or dated. It was perfectly clean and had a decent mounted TV, hair dryer, kettle and big double bed. The bathroom did look a bit tired, the grout was discoloured in places, the taps were those old English ones where you have two separate small taps and you can choose between cold and boiling (or cold and cold if you don't want to wait a long time) and the shower holder and soap tray came off the wall quite easily, so you had to be careful when using them. However, the important criteria were met: The shower, although electric, got hot enough, stayed at the set temperature (the warming up time varied, so don't give up on it) and had a good water pressure. The bathroom was clean and free of any mould. I also liked that the option was given to keep the towels rather than having them replaced every day. Of course it benefits the hotel too, but most importantly it saves the environment. Welcome little bonuses were the tasty biscuits provided with the tea and coffee making facilities and the magazines with useful information about the area. The hotel setting and garden looked very nice and the location was convenient for car-travelling guests. Breakfast was ok, the cooked breakfast was a bit stingy for the price: A very small portion of beans, one egg, one sausage, one slice of bacon, just one of everything. However, you can of course then fill up on the breakfast buffet which was tasty and varied with different cereals, croissants, very good Danish pastries, fruit and even smoothies.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear ArnoNuhem, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that your experience with us here at the Priory was and enjoyable; I will be passing on your kind comments to all my teams. We do hope to be able to welcome you back to us again soon to see the second stage of our renovations - the refurbishment of our existing guest rooms like thew one you were in and try our new modern yet contemporary rooms. We review all type of feedback in order to improve where our guests feel we need to, therefore your comments in regards to the breakfast offering and pricing will be taken into consideration. If we can be of any assistance with the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to let us know. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

1st night we were in room 10 which is in a recently built addition to the hotel. The room was quite small with the added inconvenience of being in the eaves with 4 sloping ceilings which made it difficult to move around without banging your head. I had a word with the receptionist, Hannah, in the morning and she immediately found another suitable superior room without the sloping ceilings which had much more room to move around. We had dinner in the hotel on both evenings and the food was excellent. The only complaint was, for some reason, they do not keep Pinot Grigio chilled so we had to have another choice from the wine menu. Breakfasts too, were very nice and plentiful. All the staff were very pleasant and couldnt be more helpful. Would definitely visit again.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Maureen, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time here with the teams and you were able to relax and enjoy. Your kind comments shall be passed onto my Reception team member and kitchen. I do apologise that our wine selection was not stocked correctly and please be assured that this is not the normal for the hotel. If we can be of any assistance in the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

The Priory Hotel was perfect for our short stay. I stayed in one of the refurbished rooms (Superior Double). The bed was extremely comfortable, the room was warm (but not too hot) and the bathroom spotless! The shower was a joy, and the complementary toiletries were luxurious. The staff was very pleasant and made us feel welcome. It was obvious they tried hard to please (from the look of other reviews & my own observations) difficult guests with chips on their shoulders. I suppose that's what they [the staff] have come to expect from a small hotel in a Suffolk village! I bemoan the job of receptionist Jade to have to deal with such people, but she does so in a professional and warm manner. She deserves a reward! The breakfast was excellent - with a diverse selection of items and good quality produce. The breakfast room itself is spacious and bright, looking out on the hotel grounds, that are well kept! All in all, I would highly recommend the Priory for anyone passing through. If I am ever back in the area, I will book again!

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear thmsnin, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time here with the teams and you were able to relax and enjoy. Your kind comments shall be passed onto my Reception team member and my kitchen teams. If we can be of any assistance in the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Very nice modern rooms with excellent service. Breakfast included was a godsent after nerarly 8 hours on the road. Thank you to Jade for her help in sorting our problems. Would highly recommend for either a short stay for some r&r on a long road trip (like us) or for a longer, more relaxed getaway.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Elis, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time here with the teams and you were able to relax and enjoy. Your kind comments shall be passed onto my Reception team member. If we can be of any assistance in the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Visited the hotel due to an event which was hosted at the hotel, which ran smoothly and the staff were superb. Stayed in one of the courtyard rooms for the night, room was very spacious and well finished. Would highly recommend and would certainly stay there again.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Paigesteward, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed our event and the bedroom. I will ensure to be passing on your kind comments to all my teams. We do hoe to be able to welcome you back to us again soon to see the second stage of our renovations - the refurbishment of our existing guest rooms to bring them in line with our newly built rooms. If we can be of any assistance with the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to let us know. Kindest regards, Giuseppe Carata General Manager

I love this little hotel! I stayed here on business but the staff are so friendly and the rooms so cosy, it feel like a real treat! It was a chilly night but the garden room I stayed in was lovely and warm. I was greeted with a chocolate chip cookie, chocolate and a free drink as a BW rewards member. The room was spotless with a lovely view. Last summer when I stayed, I sat working late on my laptop in the garden - very relaxing for a business stay! All you can eat breakfast with attentive, helpful waiting staff. The little things matter and the great customer service and charming setting will keep me returning to the Priory Hotel.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear CSwan, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that your experiences with us here at the Priory are relaxing and enjoyable; I will be passing on your kind comments to all my teams. We do hoe to be able to welcome you back to us again soon to see the second stage of our renovations - the refurbishment of our existing guest rooms to bring them in line with our newly built rooms. If we can be of any assistance with the booking of your next stay, please don't hesitate to let us know. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Read the recent article in the paper about the newly built restaurant and bar. Thought I'd pop in with the wife for dinner as we were in the area. We had lovely evening, friendly staff and chef was happy to adjust my meal to make it gluten free. Top marks!

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Graham, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your meal with us, and I will be passing on your kind comments to my chef and wait team. We do hope to be able to welcome you back again in the future, either for one of our dining experiences or for an overnight stay in our new garden rooms. If we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the Priory Hotel direct. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

The Best Western is a wonderful hotel in Bury St Edmunds. The rooms are fantastic and all very comfortable, the new restaurant provides delicious food with a variety of options on the menu, but most of all the staff are exceptional and make your stay with them one to remember. would highly recommend.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Steven, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time with us and that your stay was as relaxing as possible. I will be passing on your kind comments to my teams as I see them. We look forward to being able to welcome you back to the Priory Hotel in the future, and if we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Great location just off A14 Close to Thetford Forest, Ipswich and other tourist spots. Rooms very clean and the new hotel rooms that have been completed are second to none. Stopped in other hotels in surrounding area this is far my favourite one. Restaurant is modern and the staff are very warm and friendly also close to amenities. East Coast beer on tap in bar. If you want a hotel with a nice restaurant and good food with secure parking which is important I would definitely recommend this hotel.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Simon, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay,and that our bar made it worth while! We will be looking into getting guest ales in as well soon so on your next visit you may be able to enjoy these as well as our East Coast. We look forward to welcoming your back to us again in the future, and if we can assist in any way, please don't hesitate to give us a call. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed here last summer and never want to return. My room was located outside like an old style motel. Although the room was spacious it was absolutely filthy. The carpet was so dirty I decided to keep my shoes on when walking around. The bathroom was mouldy. The surfaces were disgusting - I wiped the room with anti bac wipes and yellow sticky gunk came off of everything. The decor was also really out of date, tired and dusty. Had an awful nights sleep in a hideously uncomfortable bed. My friend was staying in a nearby room and had a similar experience. We rung each other at 7am the next day and both agreed our best bet was to just leave. Never again!

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jflex, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry that you felt you could not speak with me back in the summer during your stay as I would have gladly spoken with you at the time of your stay regarding the concerns you have raised just now with us. The Priory Hotel underwent some major changes through 2018 to create our new Garden Room restaurant, Terrace Bar and the build of new guest rooms, which opened in November of last year. During this time we have also been through all out guest rooms and resolved all the feedback concerns that we received during this time. If you would like to speak with me further about your concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me directly here at the hotel on 01284 766 181 or generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk . Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

The hotel fabric is in pretty poor order. There are builders skips and tarpaulins lying around suggesting that some work is going on, but I cant see any evidence of improvement. My shower had been bodged using the wrong spares. It just about worked but needed coaxing into action and persuading to work. If I had been weak of hand or arthritic I would not have been able to use it.The heating in my room was on full and the controls had been removed. It was 0 degrees outside but my room was unbearably hot. The windows had been painted shut, so there was no way of controlling the temperature. All in all it looks like a hotel that someone is reluctant to spend any money on. It is about a mile out of town and has no special redeeming features. I would stay in the town centre instead. Hotels are the same price and can't really be worse than this place.

GMPriory, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mark, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I was so sorry to hear of your concerns following this stay and thank you so much for speaking with me the other day on the phone. I shall be contacting you personally again tomorrow with an update. If we can be of any assistance before then, please don't hesitate to contact me here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Excellent accommodation, great food in the evening and at breakfast. The receptionist, Jade, was fantastic and could not be more helpful, she helped me out very well! The evening meal was of good quality as was the breakfast.

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Geoff, Thank you for taking time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel and we are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time. I shall pass on your kind comments to my Receptionist who will be so happy that she made your stay stress free and relaxing. We do hope to be able to welcome you back to the Priory again in the future, and if we can be any assistance then please do not hesitate to contact us directly. Kindest regards, Kim David

The whole event lacked character, minimal Decorations, no relevant music, The Garden Room was not the best choice for this type of function. The Service was average and the food left a lot to be desired for £75.00 per head. Would I consider booking next year - No

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Foodie, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your stay with us, and i am sorry to hear of your concerns. If you could please contact me directly at the hotel I would like the chance to speak with you regarding your dining experience. I can be contacted directly via email at generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk. I look forward to speaking to you soon, Kindest regards, Kim David

Nice stay comfortable stay nice staff food a bit expensive near to the city centre tv reception was not good in the new wing nice decor in the new rooms competitive prices and Food was very expensive in the restaurant and it took too long to get served

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening Trail, Thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback following your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry to hear that we did not quite meet with expectations with regard to your dining experience. I shall be taking your concerns forward towards improvements within this area for our future guests; I thank you for bringing your concerns to me. Our TVs have experiences a few concerns following the completion of the build and we have had engineers out to repair the system recently which we hope has resolved concerns. We hope to be able to welcome you back to the Priory in the future, and if we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us directly. Kindest regards, Kim David

Recently visited the hotel for Sunday lunch , we were greeted by a very friendly receptionist who showed us to the new, very modern bar and restaurant area. Great range of drinks , the food was superb and the staff were very helpful. Highly recommend and will certainly be going back soon!!!

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Brook, Thank you for your visit to us here at the Priory Hotel and for taking the time to leave us a review. I am so pleased that my teams made your stay relaxing and enjoyable, and that you like the new look for the hotel. Your kind words have been passed onto my teams, and we hope that on your next visit to the hotel you will enjoy the further improvements that are coming. If we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to let us know. Kindest regards, Kim David

We decided to go to the Priory Hotel for their 3 day Christmas break. Throughout our stay the staff were brilliant in that they were very helpful, friendly and could not do enough for their guests. I spoke on a number of occasions to Kim, their General Manager, as she was always available and, like her staff very good. Their food was of a very good standard, not too much, but always well presented and hot. Our room was spacey, well kitted out and comfortable. The only fault we could find was that there was no lift and the stairs are rather steep. However, it is an older building so installing one would not be practical. All in all good value for money and I will recommend the Priory as a Hotel for a comfortable break.

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear David, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel, and we are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. My teams really enjoyed looking after all our guests who stayed with us over Christmas and I have passed on your kind comments to all my teams. The Priory will be starting it's next phase of refurbishments this year, with luck; bringing our existing guest rooms in line with the new build. We cannot wait to welcome you back to the hotel in the future to see the changes that we still have in the pipeline for this year. If we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us directly here. Kindest regards, Kim David

A family Boxing Day lunch at a hotel should be a treat! This hotel needs to go and have a look at the competition that's on offer in Bury St. Edmunds. A very limited choice on offer with only Pork being the preferred choice- but, no apple sauce, crackling and a mean amount of vegetables will not be attracting new customers. The new extension surely needs to be promoted but, please try and exceed customers expectations and you may have a chance! # noatmoshere # nocrackers #nofrills Steve Bailey

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Steve, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review and please accept my apologies for the late reply. I am sorry to hear that we did not manage to meet expectations for your Boxing Day dining experience with us here at the Priory Hotel. Please be assured that you concerns have been taken further and I have spoken with the teams on duty that day. Your feedback has been taken forward and will help the team and I to implement improvements across the hotel as we learn the full potential of our Garden Room and Terrace Bar. We do hope that you will consider returning to us here at the Priory Hotel so that we can regain your faith in our dining experience. If we can be of any assistance in the future, please don't hesitate to contact us directly. Kindest regards, Kim David

Had a business meeting and meal on Monday evening. On arrival we were greeted by friendly bar staff who served us courteously. Fantastic new dining and bar area. Service was great and food was marvellous. Excellent value for money.

Visited here for our works Christmas party. Hannah on reception was great and dealt with our booking very efficiently. The new part of the building is great for an event. We really enjoyed our food and friendly service. Maybe some mince pies wouldn't go amiss next time!

as a regular guest at this hotel Ihave noticed a decline in quality originally complementary water and toiletries were standard the breakfasts were high quality and advertised as locally sourced and individually cooked now a g=central help yourself awful bitter coffee and cold bacon sausages and hash browns the room [36] was dominated by a steel four poster [no curtains no need] which resembled building site scaffolding .Imentioned these shortcomings to the concerned manageress who assured me that the changes due to change of ownership are being addressed -we will see

We stayed at the Priory Hotel en route from our home in the Kent, to The Thursford Spectacular. It was ideally situated for our needs. Our room was not in the main hotel but it was comfortable. The breakfast was cooked to order and was excellent. I made some suggestions to the Manager to which she kindly responded. If Michelle G had asked to change rooms it might have prevented her negative review.

Great staff, really good breakfast,rooms just been refurbished and a good deal on a winter offer free parking close to city center with very easy access from A14 couldn't have asked for a better choice. Would recommend and visit again.

Well, having watched The Jungle recently, I think Harry Rednapp would have been grateful...but only just! What can I say ... we were taken through a carpark to an outside chalet to something that was rather like the Bates motel. Although it seemed clean ... a bit of mould on the bathroom blinds ,I'll excuse that as I'm short sighted! The beds were comfortable and pillows good ... and it warmed up eventually , but they are the only good bits here. Sadly the rest was dreadful , curtains hanging off poles , tired furniture , scruffy exterior and interior and wafer thin walls. At £89 per night without breakfast, which in the grand scheme of things seems now maybe to be a blessing!!! Who knows ,maybe the main building has the benefit of some maintenance over the last few years I cannot comment on this , though the the chalets seem to be really neglected. It would have been cheaper to get a taxi back to London and be in my 3* home than here in 0* .

The hotel is still undergoing refurbishment but we had a very pleasant overnight stay. The management and staff are most helpful and eager to please and we would happily return. The restyled restaurant where we had an excellent breakfast is attractive but just a tad soulless - a few pictures on the walls and some rugs on the wood floor would soften it nicely. The hotel is some way from the town centre but local cabs are efficient and not expensive. Do book direct with the hotel itself - the Best Western central booking facility is a total shambles!

Well, since I was here this time last year there has been much going on. Relocation of reception, a brand new extension for the breakfast/dining/bar area no doubt with the functions market in mind. New carpets in the common areas and work is still ongoing in various parts of the hotel. Breakfast was largely a self service buffet, with plenty of choice, hot and cold. The staff were very helpful and immediately sought to top up when asked or to deal with requests (like for poached eggs). Those were the plus points. The not so good concerned the room. This time a garden room. Poorly heated (the fitted electric radiator did not work and we had been given a small standalone rad as a make do but that was hopelessly underpowered for the size of room - we noted the next door room also seemed to have the same problem). That said the helpful receptionist, following up after our arrival with a courtesy call, then sourced a new fan heater, which just about warmed things up to a satisfactory level. One of the issues with these garden rooms is they have single glazed windows throughout which is not particularly energy efficient. A relatively new carpet indicated that a bit of a room refurb had occured in the not too distant past. The room was dominated by an absurdly over the top metal bed frame. Not at all what would have been expected! Sadly any hope that the refurb would have extended to the bathroom was quickly dashed. Although tidy, the bathroom was showing it's age and the electric Mira shower made an enormous racket suggesting it was on its last legs. The towel rail too had a bit of insulation tape covering some issue. Hot water took ages to flow through the basin tap. This hotel has potential; its staff are courteous and helpful but the buildings and rooms are a bit of a work in progress and in some areas a bit of a let down. I hope their budget will eventually allow complete refurbishment to those areas that are negatively impacting this rating.

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Blueboxsa, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory and for bringing your concerns to my attention. If I may ask that you could contact me directly at the hotel as I would like to review the room you have mentioned, as I am unable to locate your booking. I can be contact by call on 01284 766 181 or email at generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk . A review of all the radiators has been done in the past few days and any faults and 'niggles' have been attended to by our on site maintenance team. As part of the major refurbishment of the Priory, we do indeed have a plan in place for the rolling refurbishment of all our existing rooms, including the ones on the garden side of the property. This will bring them in line with the 8 new rooms and the 4 currently being refurbished. This is including an update within the bathrooms of our existing guest rooms. We do hope that you will visit us again in the future to see the continual changes that are happening here at the Priory Hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

First time i have stayed at this Hotel in Bury St Edmunds for business, very nice Hotel staff were all very friendly and welcoming Hotel is perfectly placed for Town centre and surrounding businesses excellent food and bar service particular mention for Sharna who was working on the bar on the evening i stayed, very friendly and welcoming and took the time to have a chat to me even though she was busy working i would stay at this hotel again as all the staff are excellent and a credit to the Hotel and Best Western. Thank you all

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Yorkietravelman, I am so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time with us and shall be passing on your kind words to all my team members. They have been working hard to minimise the impact of our renovation work and I could not be prouder of them for ensuring your stay was relaxing and enjoyable. I look forward to being able to welcome you back to the Priory in the future and if we can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

I've had a great stay in one of the courtyard/garden rooms. Staff fabulous. Rooms are under refurbishment but certainly fit for purpose. The main building looks and feels very cosy. The new restaurant and bar is a fabulous addition with great food at reasonable prices. A very cosy lounge area to just relax in is also a great space. Yes there were problems with heating but the manager called maintenance ask. I'm sure some will make a big deal about it but who can get something like that fixed in the middle of the night! The staff were fab even under the stress guest were causing.

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good morning Susan, Thank you for staying with us and for taking the time to leave a review. I am so pleased to hear that you have a wonderful time with us here and you enjoyed our new Garden Room and Terrace Bar. Your kind words shall be passed onto my teams, who work hard to minimise the impact of all the disruption we have been encountering during the rennovation. On behalf of the hotel I do apologise for the heating and hot water issues we encountered one night during the weekend; this was resolved as soon as we got a team of engineers out the next day. We do hope to be able to welcome you back to the Priory Hotel in the future to see the improvements plans we have in place for the hotel. If we can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us here a the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We stayed at the Best Western in Bury St Edmunds while the christmas fayre was on. They are in the process of renovating a new wing. As we were shown to our room I noticed the carpets were very dirty and there was an overwhelming smell of paint which was positively eye watering. When we got to our room it was tidy clean and had a corporate look, but the rush to get customers in had made little touches that should of been done left undone, ie: no door stop, a frozen bathroom, wrinkled curtains etc. All of which I could have ignored if it hadn't been for the asthma inducing fumes of paint. The breakfast was a continental breakfast and a 'hot' buffet which unfortunately was tepid at best. The one saving grace at the hotel at the moment was the amazing staff in particular the Scottish gentleman on reception who was under the kosh apoligizing for the fumes, cold doors left open etc. He was diplomatic and very helpful. Also a 'spanish' girl in the dining room who was old fashion charm personified and perfect service. It's a shame they rushed putting guests in the new part of the hotel as you can see the potential in a lovely looking hotel

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Diane, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel and my sincere apologies for the late response. We do apologise for the concerns you encountered during our stay with us, and thank you for bringing them to my attention. Your kind compliments will be taken back to the team members mentioned. Please be assured that it was not our intention for guests to feel like we have rushed the build of our new rooms. I shall be speaking with my teams regarding your concerns for our carpets and breakfast service as this is not the norm for the Priory. If you would like to speak with myself further regarding your concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me here at the hotel either by call on 01284 766 181 or email via generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk. We do hope that you will come and visit us again when you are next in the area. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Having used the priory regularly, over the last five years, I feel compelled to say that the staff they have at this hotel are the best they have ever had. Every member of staff is helpful and courteous, and looking to meet the needs of the guest. It has been difficult through the restoration but the service hasn't suffered,and the new restaurant and menu are just right for me. Whilst all of Kim's team have been superb, Hannah on reception has been great in getting me the rooms I have needed. Good friendly hotel with great people.

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Greg, Thank you staying with us at the Priory Hotel and for taking the time to let us know how much you enjoyed your stay. I have passed on your kind words to the team member in question, who is so pleased to hear that she made your time here special. We hope that you will be able to visit us again in the New Year to see all the changes once fully complete. There are plans in place for the remainder of our guest rooms and the garden space. Please don't hesitate to contact us directly if we can assist with your next booking at the Priory Hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Slightly worn but having a refurb currently. (Nov 18) Clean with competent staff. Hardly romantic but a handy location. Probably a good location in the summer when the patios and lawns would be a nice place to sit.

Having stayed at The Priory many times over the years, for family visits, and also Christmas packages, (which have been excellent). We had not stayed during this year whilst the extensive building work has been going on, and we were a bit apprehensive as to how things would be for this visit. But we need not have been concerned, as the room, (a garden room), and the hotel & restaurant was operating very well. It must have been quite a task for the staff to keep things running, whilst at the same time having a 'big build' going on. The breakfast is as good as ever, and the rooms very comfortable.

Over night biz stay. Hotel good standard & comfortable but currently completing a refurb so even better when complete. Girls on reception / bar very friendly & good ‘welcome.' Hotel offers guest 1st drink free on arrival (nice touch) WiFi OK: Good welcome at breakfast by friendly staff & good standard. Kim, lucky to have very good staff - look forward to my next stay. SR

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear SR, Thank you for your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel, and for taking the time to leave us a review. I shall pass on your kind words to my team - they make me proud with all their hard work, especially with all the changes that are happening at the Priory. With the launch of our new lounge, bar and restaurant on the 15th November, we will also be introducing our new wine and food menus; which you will be able to enjoy in our glass walled restaurant on your next stay with us. If we can be of any assistance in the planning of your next stay, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the Priory Hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Have been using the Priory for many years to visit family in Bury st Edmunds and never a bad visit yes the hotel is going through a major refurbishment but at no hassle to guests due to a late flight into Luton we were running late for evening meal and as we were travelling with are daughter and partner and 8 month grandson we phoned ahead and asked for a tray of sandwiches in are room . Check in no problem sandwiches lovely and fresh delivered within minutes rooms with cot as requested breakfast on all 4 mornings freshly cooked and lovely ,staff are amazing as dealing with minor moans and groans about the renovation work but always helpful and smiling also a big thank you for all the help with are grandsons food and bottles at breakfast and sorry about the mess he left on the floor . When we return will always use the Priory as Kim and her staff are a great asset to Great Western chain highly recommended and ignore the negative reviews the renovation work is almost done but doesn't bother your stay. Thanks to all Adrian Mandy Sabrina Paul and baby Kai

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Adrian and family, Thank you for your most recent stay with us and for all your kind words. We are so pleased that you enjoy your time here with us and that each visit is special and relaxing. I will ensure that your thanks are passed onto all my teams. We are almost complete with our renovation work and next week, on the 15th November, we will be launching our new bar, lounge and restaurant. We do hope that if you are in the area, you and your family can come and visit to see Priory's new look. If we can be of any assistance planning your next visit to Bury, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

This is a very nice hotel. There was building work going on (a new restaurant) so dining room was quite small but breakfast was excellent. Evening menu was basic pub grub but maybe this will improve once restaurant is completed. We had one of the outside rooms which was spotlessly clean and very comfortable. Having just read another review, I realise we obviously had the same problem that we booked a Superior room but were not in the main building. That said, we were happy with the room they gave us.

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Anne, Thank for you staying with us at the Priory Hotel and taking the time to leave us a review. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time here. I would like to look into your concern regarding the room type change so see why this happened, if you could contact me with the details of your stay. We have our launch on the 15th November for our new bar, lounge and restaurant which I would like to invite you to come and see if you are in the area - with a bubbles reception and a chance to win prizes. If we can be of any assistance in the future, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed 1 night for business. Check in was mediocre, the room looked reasonable until I entered the bathroom. The bathroom had an overriding intoxicating smell of damp/mould, its the worst I have ever had the misfortune to have to inhale. I had to open the window to be able to breath whilst having a shower. It was also in a very poor state with stained sealant everywhere, it looked like it had been applied with a spatula. I spent most of the night in the pub over the road because their toilet didn't stink....... I went for breakfast at 7am but it took so long for my order to be taken and cook it that I had to leave at 7.35 or I'd be late for my appointment, so my breakfast was a pastry eaten whilst I checked out. You can tell if a hotel is totally crap when the person on reception doesn't ask how your stay was because they know what the answer is going to be. The worst Best Western I've ever had the misfortune to stay in and they should be ashamed of themselves for actually letting people stay in rooms in that state...

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening Dean, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry to hear that we did not meet with our usual standards and I would like the opportunity to speak with yourself regarding your stay. If you could please contact me here at the hotel and we can discuss your concerns so that I can investigate them. I can be reached either by phone on 01284 766 181 or email at generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk . I look forward to speaking with you. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Room is ok and staff are nice but the food is extremely poor value for money, breakfast supplement of £12.95 for one sausage, one piece of bacon, one fried egg, one hash brown but two yes two pieces of toast! Won't be coming back.

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Niki P, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with the Priory Hotel. I am sadden to hear that we did not meet our usual standards during your stay. We take all feedback received seriously and use the information gathered to implement improvements to the hotel. If could contact me directly here at the hotel I would like the opportunity to speak with you regarding your concerns. Breakfast at the Priory includes our continental selection, including pastries, a selection cereal, yogurts and fruits, and a traditional Full English. As well as tea/coffee and toast. Please be assured that the Priory Hotel is going through extensive changes, and that this is not our usual. Your concerns will be passed onto my teams. I look forward to hearing from you, Kindest regards, Kim David

I booked the Priory as a BW loyalty card holder. Checked their website and liked the look of their Superior rooms. Made my booking and had confirmation of a Superior room. Arrived and parked in the car park, on the walk to reception the signs guided me around an assortment of what appeared to be rooms either added on at a later date or old stables converted into accommodation and through a passage past more of the same. After registering I was shown, or rather pointed in the direction of our room. Yes it's one of the stables. On entering it was immediately obvious that this was not the grade of room I had booked. I returned to reception and asked if they were sure I had the right room. I was asked what the problem was, but was told that they only had one other room and that was holding for someone. So basically it's that one or nothing. On my return to the room I checked the Priory website, which clearly states “Our four Superior rooms, located in the main house are in our opinion very special rooms “. So I haven't got what I booked and paid for! The room it's self is small and dark with just one small window, so natural light is minimal. The shower is only able to produce lukewarm water, the drain is restricted so that the shower tray fills and leaks onto the floor. I put the kettle on while I showered, but it didn't turn off probably due to the limescale oozing out of the handle. The shower has ill fitted tiles and there are marks on the wall probably from another water leak. Off to dinner. The restaurant is quite small and as we found at breakfast is insufficient for the amount of guests wanting to use it. Whitebait was very good, barbecue pork ribs however were removed from an old and starving animal judging from the amount of dry meat on them. I should perhaps mention the stain on the seat of one of the chairs in the room. All in all I'm very unhappy, not only did I pay for a Superior room and get something from a 1960's motel, not even the restaurant could redeem the Priory. I would suggest that Best Western takes a look at the Priory because they are giving Best Western a bad name. Does the a in room 20a stand for awful? If you didn't have the correct room available at the very least you should have a) not taken the booking or b) contacted me to inform me of the situation and say you only had a poor substitute available, rather than put us in a low grade room and hope that I wouldn't either notice or complain. Profit on the room is obviously more important than customer satisfaction for the Priory, future guests be warned

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening John, Thank you for speaking with me and sharing your concerns, and we do apologise for not meeting with our usual standards. We look forward to being able to welcome you back to us when you are next in the area, both to see the improvements and Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

This is a nice hotel and once the building works are completed next year I'm sure it will be a quality place to stay. The location is relatively easy to find and it has good off road parking for guests. We stayed in the main building with lots of quirky steps etc. but this adds to the charm. The room was a good size with a comfortable king bed and very large bathroom. Unfortunately it looks straight out to the new works being done and so the view wasn't the best. That said, we were out all day so the works didn't affect us at all. We ate in the restaurant the first night and the food was a good standard and reasonably priced. We found staff to be friendly and helpful and enjoyed our stay. Across the road is a good pub for meals and drinks (usual pub food to a good standard).

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Kazz, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time with us and that you were able to enjoy your visit to the area. The work that is currently being done here at the Priory Hotel will, once complete, allow our guests to enjoy their dining experiences in our new 100 seat restaurant with it's glass walls looking out into our garden. We have already made a start on the refurbishment of existing guest rooms to bring them into line with the new floor of rooms currently being built. We do hope that on your next visit, that all our improvement work has been complete and you will see the exciting changes that are happening at the Priory Hotel. If we can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Glad to see them upgrading,but anyone booking for a special event atm there is no garden (build site) & no lighting down to courtyard rooms (ours badly needed deep cleaning).Food still good.Lovely staff.

KimD4102, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Nikki, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry to hear of your concerns following your stay with us. We are currently finishing off the build of our new 100 seat restaurant that will have unobstructed views, via glass walls, into our walled garden. Our garden is currently accessible via our garden rooms on the other side of the property. The temporary lighting that had been installed on our driveway was damaged recently and we are looking into alternate methods of lighting until we can install our new permanent lights. We do hope to be able to welcome you back to the Priory Hotel once all our work is complete so we can show you the improvements that we are making to our hotel. If I can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We stayed overnight on the 25th August 2018 being regular best western guests we had no hesitation ion booking the priory hotel ,, but unfortunately this hotel was a disappointment to us and is major one to best western.. Garden room acc was holiday camp style & dated. Bed was awfully hard & uncomfortable . The ongoing building work is major and very disruptive. Some areas are quite unsafe for guest with raised patio stones loose gravel etc . Lumps of stone being used to hold open the doors . Breakfast was unorganised, chaortic,unable to provide full breakfast after running out of supplies. Breakfast took 1,30 mins due to under staffing.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Dawn, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry to hear that your stay was not as you expected and that we did not meet our usual standards of service. The site team and my team members are trying to keep the disruption of our expansion and refurbishment work to a minimum and we apologise that this impacted so heavily on your visit. By the end of this year we will have gained a new glass walled restaurant, bar and lounge with unobstructed views and access into our walled garden. The main hotel will also be seeing a lot of changes with the move of Reception and a revamp including new carpets through out the common areas. Our guest rooms are part of our rolling refurbishment and we have already started on 7 of our existing rooms; alongside the build of a new floor of rooms. I will be speaking with my teams to find out why there was such a delay in breakfast service on the morning following your stay, please be assured that this is not our usual. Please feel free to contact me here at the hotel if you wish to discuss your concerns with myself directly; my email is generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk I look forward to hearing from yoursled. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed here as visiting friends nearby and whilst a little tired, they are renovating, it was great value and all you could ask for with good staff. Good sized room with all you need and with breakfast included.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Kevin, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your time with us and we look forward to welcoming you back. The team and I are hoping to have the new bar, lounge and restaurant ready by the end of October and the remained of our refurbishment, including the move of Reception, done by the New Year. If we can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed at this hotel for two nights. The building work did make our movement around the site more difficult, however did not affect the experience too drastically. I am sure when completed the upgrade/extension will enhance the hotel generally. The staff we encountered were very good and responded positively to all our requests. Kelsey, the receptionist on duty when we arrived at the hotel, was especially helpful and made us feel very welcome during our stay.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Croo, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. The new extension to the main hotel will be our new 100 seat restaurant, bar and lounge, glass walled to enable unobstructed views into our walled garden. I have passed on your kind words to all my teams, and especially to the team member mentioned. We hope to be able to welcome you back to the Priory Hotel in the future to see all the exciting changes that are happening. If we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us here at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Excellent staff and food good. Unfortunately, my room was on top of the building site they have and the level of noise from builders and machinery was ridiculous. Coupled with that was the noise from the kitchen situated below my room at 0600hrs just added to the problem. BWPH you need to alert people to the fact that you are refurbishing, therefore managing their expectations.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear CSFieldhouse, Thank you for taking the time to review your recent stay with us at the Priory Hotel. While I am pleased that my teams were able to make your stay enjoyable, and have already passed on your compliments, I am sorry to hear that our building work impacted on your time with us. I have personally checked that our websites, including our own, Best Western and booking.com pages, all have the information relating to our build. We have been trying to take every step to lessen the disruptions to our guests & please be assured that I have spoken with my kitchen and my site teams to minimise the noise in the early hours to the absolute minimum. I hope that we will be able to welcome you back to the Priory Hotel in the future to see the final results of our extensive building and redevelopment works. If I can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed here on the last day of a 300 mile bike ride from South Wales to Norfolk, hoping for a restful experience. On the hottest day of the year dinner was served in a stifling dining room with no ventilation. Portions were disappointing. But the real coup de grace came on returning to the room to find ants coming up the overflow of the sink. Phoned reception where the person answering (apparently the manager) was most unhelpful, said we couldn't have any ant powder or spray as they were locked in the housekeeping cupboard and she didn't have the keys! So I googled how to get rid of ants without ant powder and apparently they don't like talcum powder or instant coffee so had to spread this all over the sink and where the ants were coming in, creating a mess and rendering it unusable. Next morning no apology or concern from the same person, and only £20 taken off the bill, when really should have had the room for free as it wasn't fit for purpose. One to avoid, definitely!

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Richard, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel; I am sorry to hear that we were not able to provide the standard of care that you expected. We have a lot of work ongoing at the moment which includes the refurbishment of existing guest rooms. Our restaurant menu will be chancing with the introduction of our new glass walled restaurant in a few months time, which will also have air conditioning as well as doors that open direct into the garden. We are unable to open the current windows as the building work would have potentially cause debris and dust to be blown into the restaurant. I am also sorry that I was unable to help with the ants that were in the room - I was unable to locate the ant power and the only other place was the cupboard that I could not gain access to. When I spoke with my head of housekeeping the next morning, I was informed that we did not have any at that time, either in that particular cupboard or on site. I would be more than happy to discuss your concerns regarding the bill if you could email or call me directly at the hotel; I can be reached on 01284 766 181 or generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk . Again, we are sorry that your stay here was not to our usual standards and I do hope that you will return to see the changes that are happening to the Priory Hotel. I look forward to hearing from you. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

This is a little gem of a hotel with rooms facing its pretty garden. I booked for a one night business stay but it felt like a real treat. Lovely breakfast including rhubarb juice and lovely fruit salad. After staying in an expensive, faceless, chain hotel just off the M4 last week, the Priory was such a refreshing change. Great value for money, gorgeous town too. Recommended!

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Good evening, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time here and I shall pass on your kind words to my teams. I do hope that we can look forward to welcoming you back to the Priory in the future and show you the improvements that are currently being made. If we can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed here Saturday and Sunday night due to wedding on the Sunday. Check in was easy and friendly. There are building works being carried out but did not affect our stay. We stayed in the annex and was pleasantly surprised with size of room. It was clean and what you would expect from a 3 star. Breakfast was not the best sausages and scrambled eggs had obviously been kept warm as were dry and over cooked. It was also very hot in there. Overall happy with our stay and would stay again if in the area.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Zoe, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. While we are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time with us, i am sorry to hear that we did not provide a superior experience during our breakfast service. I shall be taking your concerns to my next department meeting with my kitchen team to see where this can be improved for our future guests. We look forward to being able to welcome you back to the Priory Hotel to see the improvements, including the new glass walled restaurant and bar, and the refurbished guest rooms and main hotel. If we can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Booked in for a business meeting the next day. Good location and I was impressed with the customer service from reception through to the bar and breakfast in the morning. Yes there is building work and renovations underway. Didn't affect me though. Would definitely return just based on the customer service. Thank you

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Bob, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that we were able to make your business stay relaxing and enjoyable. We hope that you will come back to see the exciting changes that are coming to the Priory Hotel, which we hope to have completed by the end of the year. If we can be of any assistance in the future, please don't hesitate to contact the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We booked a room over 4 months in advance of a wedding being held nearby, only to be left a message our booking was cancelled because of works being undertaken! No apologies, no alternative suggestions, nothing. Less than 3 weeks to find another local hotel that wasn't a ridiculous cost because of the relatively short notice. Absolutely unacceptable. I will not use another bw chain hotel again. The management should be ashamed that they think this is appropriate.

Overnight stay , rooms and public areas a little tired. Reception and assistance with booking a taxi was good, large room and bathroom had all expected facilities but shower pressure was not great. Evening service at the bar was good, breakfast service was slow, two couples arrived after we had sat down and the staff attended to them before us. It was a busy breakfast room, one waitress plus manager who was also doing reception, so attention to guests, table clearing etc was poor. However, the cooked breakfast was excellent with every item cooked exactly as it should be. Perhaps a little overpriced, a bit more attention to detail for the rooms and attention to guests and the stay would be enjoyable, rather than average. Have rated 4 not 3 star as some elements (breakfast fare, some staff) were really good.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Nick, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry that were not able to provide you with our normal service standards during your stay; we had a member of the team unwell which affected our service. I shall pass on your concerns regarding the shower pressure in your room to my maintenance team. As part of the renovation and refurbishment, my site team will be looking into the plumbing systems currently in place while we make way for the new level of guest rooms to go above some of our existing rooms. We do hope that you will come back in the future and see the changes that are happening to the Priory Hotel. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

On arrival (to what can only be described as a building site,) a little early, we were greeted by a surly unwelcoming young lady, who just said " check in is 2pm! No other words spoken. As we had just had a long journey, and were meeting friends there, we decided to wait in the bar, and order a sandwich. No chips available, as fryer being cleaned! The reception area was very tired and jaded looking, nothing like the photos! We eventually found our room in the annexe, after 2pm, and it was pleasant, clean, and adequate. The TV never worked the whole of our stay, despite mentioning to staff. We had no information given about anything, and the WIFI voucher was not explained to us on arrival either, which caused problems. The restaurant looked tired and rather like an average boarding house. Where was the conservatory view for breakfast? We decided to eat elsewhere in the evening. Breakfast...... day 1 not too bad, very poor buffet selection, one communal cereal bowl of sugar for your cereal! Warm juice, warm yogurt, tinned fruit, but cooked breakfast and toast were good. Coffee was disgusting. Day 2... on arrival at breakfast, jammed full of people ( a party booking) we stood at the door, no staff to direct us ,or even say " Good Morning" , reception -same surly girl, mumbled, "there's another room" which we eventually found. There was only one juice left, and cereal, that was it! We ordered a cooked breakfast, which was about 30mins arriving. The people next to us, had been waiting an hour, and had to decline eating it, as they had an appointment to keep, so had no breakfast at all. The waitress on this occasion, was trying her very best to placate everyone, and did her best to cope with the situation. It was a little like "Fawlty Towers" which at least made us laugh! Would we return? NEVER! It was shambolic. Awful service, and nothing at all like the website or photos. It wasn't a cheap hotel either. Do not recommend, there are other good hotels in the area.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear CrazyNurse, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry that your experience here did not meet with expectations and that we did not perform to our usual standards. The Priory Hotel is undergoing a major build and redevelopment to improve our services to future guests. Our website will be updated following the completion of all the improvements works with new photos; it currently only outlines the changes that are coming to the Priory Hotel. The build will see a new bar, lounge and glass walled restaurant which will seat up to 100 guests and open directly into our garden, which is still accessible while the build is ongoing. Once the site team have completed this we will be looking forward to the refurbishment of existing guest rooms and the main building: Reception will be moving and a new decor inside and on the exterior. I apologise that your interactions with my Reception team were not to our usual high standard and please be assured that I will be speaking with them at the next opportunity with regards to your concerns. I shall also be speaking with my Food and Beverage team to see what happened during both breakfast services. I would like the opportunity to speak with yourself about your concerns in further detail and be able to reassure you that your experience was not the 'norm' for the Priory Hotel. I can be contacted directly at the hotel, either by telephone or email, and I will be happy to speak with you. I look forward to hearing from you. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

The hotel is squeezed in between 2 main roads and a petrol station - not the tranquil setting it seems to be from the pictures but nice enough. There is building work going on but it didn't bother me at all - didn't seem to be building when I was there. I had a garden room which was a lovely room but the bathroom needed a good scrub - the gap between the tub and the sink had a whole world of cobwebs, fluff and stuff lurking there. The positives - pet friendly (I think this is a positive), nice rooms, easy parking, excellent breakfast, nice pub just opposite (£3.80 for a pint of Stella - I think it's the cheapest I've seen for 10 years.....) Sort the cobwebs, fluff and stuff out and an easy 3+ star rating

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Brian, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay at the Priory Hotel. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your time with us. I shall be taking your concerns to my Housekeeping teams to have ensure all rooms are maintained to our usual standards; I apologise that we let you down in this instance. The building work will see the introduction of the new bar, lounge and glass walled restaurant, which will lead directly into our walled garden. We hope that you will be able to enjoy this view on your next visit to the area. The second phase of our redevelopment will be the refurbishment of existing guest rooms and the main hotel. If I can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact the hotel directly. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We spent one night here in June. We found the tv not working and a letter in the welcome pack explaining it was not working but reading back through tripadvisors reviews this has seemed to be an issue for quite a while so why has the problem not been resolved! We stayed in a courtyard room , the walls are paper thin so you can hear others conversations through the walls. The room was in need of a lick of paint as the walls were dirty. On arriving at the hotel there are two entrances which is confusing , and not clearly marked to say which one you should be using. The only saving grace was the staff , all very friendly and helpful especially receptionist and the waiting staff in the dining room where we ate breakfast, breakfast okay but nothing out of this world! and the view out of the window was of the building site of where they are having work done. We will not be staying here again as it seems there are better hotels in the area which have working TVs and not so paper thin walls!

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Sheba, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry that our issues with the TVs has impacted on your stay with us. The technical issue we are experiencing has unfortunately lasted through the weekend and we hope to have this resolved very soon. The Priory Hotel is currently undergoing renovation and rebuild to enable us to offer more for our guests during their stay. The building work that you could see is the build of a new bar, lounge and glass walled restaurant. Following this build will be the refurbishment of guest rooms and the main hotel - this will include paint and new decor/furnishing around the hotel and guest rooms, and the relocation of our Reception desk. We hope to have all the work completed and ready for the Christmas season this year. Both entrances and car parks are available to guests to use during their stay with us and I apologise that this caused confusion on your arrival. I shall look into getting a note on our website to help to clarify this for future guests. I do hope that you will return to the Priory Hotel to see the exciting changes that are happening here, and that you will give us the opportunity to restore your faith in the hotel. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We arrived at the best western to find the place was a building site. They are re-doing the whole outside area so there is not much to see unless you like the sight of building works. As we finally made our way through to the reception, we were presented with a very unhelpful and blunt receptionist. We went out elsewhere to eat as the restaurant was quite dull to say the least. We got back to the room at 8pm to find not a single channel on the tv worked. We were informed by reception they were aware of this but they hadn't let us know, apparently the building work has caused all the tv's in all rooms to not work. We waited for a call back with an update on the Tv's but that call never came... As compensation we were offered £10 off the £20 breakfast for two that we had already paid for. The room itself is ok but based on everything else I wouldn't return. I personally would not recommend attending this hotel, as overall it was a very disappointing visit with no helpful staff or any appealing sites.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mike, Thank you for taking the time to review your recent stay at the Priory Hotel. I apologise that we were not able to meet our usual standards of service during your stay. The Priory Hotel is undergoing major building work to improve the services that we can provide to our guests. This includes a new bar, lounge and glass walled restaurant, currently in construction and, with luck, completed in the coming months. The main hotel and existing guest rooms will see a refurbishment inside and out and we shall be gaining a new floor of guest rooms as part of the build. I shall be speaking with my Reception team regarding customer service, and I am sorry that you felt that your concerns were not taken seriously with them. Due to the frequency changes in the area, it highlighted a previously unknown fault to appear within some of the TVs around the hotel. This has since been corrected and our TVs are back on line. I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you regarding your stay to see where we can put further improvements in place for the Priory Hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We stayed for 2 nights in a kingsize courtyard room. The room was clean but decor, carpet and bathroom suite was very tired and needs updating. The bed was very firm, we didnt sleep well on our 1st night. Breakfast was well cooked and nice quality but there could have been more of it ! Not the best Best Western we have stayed at.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Tweet, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry to hear that your stay was not as you expected. The hotel is currently undergoing major redevelopment with the build of a new restaurant, bar and lounge which will lead into the refurbishment of existing guest rooms. Your concerns will be taken forward to my site team to be reviewed as part of the refurbishment phase. I do hope that you will come back once all the work is completed to see the exciting changes that are happening at the Priory Hotel. If I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We took a large group of customers and staff to the hotel and quite simply the hotel staff were fantastic and made use feel very welcome. We used the restaurant for dinner and all 20 meals come out cooked to a good standard and at the same time. The rooms were all clean and comfortable but a couple could have done with updating however the hotel is going through a big refurbishment so imagine these will be done soon. The hotel hotel is a good 20 minutes walk to bury st edmunds or a 5 minute taxi ride.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Tom, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay and dining experience with us. We are so glad to hear that your enjoyed your meal and we were able to make your stay relaxing and enjoyable. We are hoping to have our new restaurant, bar and lounge in place in the next few months where we will the move into the refurbishment of existing guest rooms as well as the build of new guest rooms. I do hope that on your next visit you will be able to enjoy these improvements to our services. If I can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

The service from staff was excellent. Breakfast was the least favourite because some of the food was overcooked and dry. The room was adequate but average. Expect improvements in the facility alteration will also improve the overall ambience More work needs to be done on food.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear RJW518, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. Your feedback is important to us and concerns have been raised with my teams at our weekly meeting. With the build on going we are being given the chance to make improvements to the services that we will be able to offer our guests. This will include an update to the interior and exterior of the main hotel and guest rooms; our building work is currently focusing on getting our new glass restaurant built and ready for the coming summer months. I hope, with these renovations works completed ready for Christmas this year, that on your next visit to the Priory Hotel there will be improvements in our ambience and breakfast standards. If I can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

My wife and I stayed at the hotel last weekend. Whilst the hotel itself is a little tired they are taking steps to refurbish it. We stayed is one of the courtyard rooms and although there were exterior lights for some reason they were not put on at night. The rooms could also do with mini fridges. That's the negatives out of the way. The jewel in the crown was the waitress who served us in the restaurant. She was a delight. She always had a smile on her face and nothing was too much trouble for her. Her name is Miriam. What a gem! I also found it refreshing that the food was reasonably priced and very good. When we went back the 2nd night the chef went out of his way to bake fresh rolls and also took the trouble to make my wife's ice cream look more appealing and added a little fruit. Best Western should be very proud of these two.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Goff, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I have made a note for my maintenance team to have a look at the exterior lights within our Courtyard rooms and hope to have this resolved shortly. the safety of our guests in paramount to the hotel. Your kind comments will be passed onto the team members mentioned; all my teams work hard to make each stay with is special and relaxing. I hope that in the future you will come and see the changes that are happening and will be able to enjoy another dining experience with us in our new glass restaurant. Further phases of this build will include the renovation of existing guest rooms as well as the build of new rooms in our Garden. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

I am very happy with my stay - the hotel represents good value in an ideal location for the town. A small mix-up up was resolved by the Manager, Mr David, and I am happy to provided a warm recommendation to other guests.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jupiter, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry that this happened but am glad that we were able to ensure your stay with us as relaxing as possible. We do hope that on your next visit we will be able to show you the improvements that are being made to the Priory Hotel; including the new restaurant, bar and lounge, and an update to the main hotel and Reception area. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed here recently whilst on business and was very disappointed with the hotel. The room wasn't in the main hotel it was overlooking the car park and was very grubby!! £120 a night for a single bed in a very tired room. Shower was cold and leaked and the grout was black. The service wasn't much better as the staff didn't seem to know what to do! Breakfast was just okay and the service was better. I wouldn't book this again unless the ongoing work much improves the hotel

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Deary, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am sorry to hear that your stay with us was not up to our usual standards and that your concerns were not brought to me by my team. If you could contact me at the hotel I would like the opportunity to hear your concerns and investigate further into this; I can be contacted on 01284 766 181 or generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk. The building and renovation work will see a new restaurant, bar and lounge as well as an update to existing guest rooms and the main hotel. I look forward to speaking with you and I do hope that next time you are in the area that you will stop by to see these changes once complete. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

I stayed here for two nights because I was attending a training course. Situated on the edge of the town, I found that the hotel was at least a 20 minute walk from most amenities that I visited. My room was located in the main hotel and above the restaurant. The room had a lavishly sized bathroom and included several essentials kits (toothbrush, sewing kit, soap, flannel). Some words of caution...the bathroom taps are VERY hot and the shower could have done with being more powerful as it dribbled me clean in the mornings. There was no A/C in the room, which considering the heatwave that we were going through meant that I had to sleep with an open window. The bed was a good-sized double but the mattress was very hard and the pillows & duvet felt very stiff and heavy for this weather. Despite this the room had a lovely feel and I enjoyed 2 good nights' rest during my stay. I only ate breakfast at the hotel and it was very enjoyable, especially as I am vegetarian but and have found some hotels lacking in their offerings before. They offer the usual Kellog's selection and do porridge on request. The cooked breakfast was very nice and for non-veggies, they offered a good selection. On a minor note I would have liked a cafetiere of coffee rather than waiting for the staff to bring me more. On the whole the hotel is very charming and I thoroughly enjoyed my stay here. Despite my some niggles, the hotel is worth considering and I feel glad that I was put up here rather than some bland, cookie-cut hotel with no charm or character. The staff were friendly and when I asked them for a request, were happy to oblige.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Barry, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel Your feedback is very important to us and I shall pass on your concerns to their relevant teams to be looked into. As part of the renovation the guest rooms will be reviewed as to their furnishings - your comments regarding the duvet and pillows shall be put forward for discussion. I will speak with my Housekeeping team to get them to check that fans should be in all of our guest rooms. I do hope that next time you are in the Bury area, that you can stop by to see the exciting changes that are happening as part of our redevelopment. This includes a new restaurant, bar and lounge, the build of a second floor of guest rooms in our garden block and a revamp of the main hotel itself. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Another visit to this hotel. Again food good. Rooms clean and comfortable. Staff very helpful. They are currently undertaking building work to extend the hotel but this does not impact on your stay. Handy for town. £5.00 in taxi. Free wifi. No lift but there are ramps on the ground floor. Used this hotel a fair few times now. Happy to go back

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Kenneth, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time at the hotel, and your kind words will be passed onto the teams. Our building work will see an improvement to the Priory Hotel which includes a new restaurant, bar and lounge, a renovation to existing guest rooms as well as the build of a 2nd floor of rooms within our garden block. We look forward to welcoming you back to the hotel in the future to see these changes once complete. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We enjoyed our one night stay, the room was comfortable and clean, a little tired and could do with re-decorating. We were a little disappointed by the building works which we were not aware of. Fantastic breakfast.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear MorosityHythe, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I apologise that you were not made aware of our redevelopment plans before you came to visit. Following the construction of our new restaurant, bar and lounge, as well as the build of new guest rooms, we shall be moving onto the refurbishment of existing guest rooms and the main hotel. I shall pass on your kind words for breakfast to my kitchen team and chefs. I do hope that on your next visit to the Bury area that you will stop by and see the changes that are happening to the Priory Hotel and also see the improvements we are making for our future guests. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed overnight as was in Bury St Edmund's for work, brought my elderly mum with me for some company. Room size was good and it was clean. I have seen people moaning about the breakfast; for an extra £10 for two people I don't really know what more people expect! There was an excellent choice of freshly made smoothies and fruit juices as well as cereals, pastries and fresh fruit, tea and coffee and toast as well as a wide choice of hot breakfast options too. In my view, for £5 a head this is great! I cannot fault the politeness of the staff here. I had to leave my mum in the hotel while I went to work and everyone was so kind to her and really looked after her. I was particularly impressed with Miriam who is an absolute credit to this hotel. Nothing was too much trouble for her, she was extremely professional and attentive and so polite and caring of my mum. There was also a very pleasant blonde lady (unfortunately didn't catch her name) she was a manager I believe, she was also very kind to my mum and very helpful to me the night we checked in by arranging a taxi for me for the following morning, which, if you have ever been to Bury St Edmund's before, you will know is no easy feat! It really honestly made all the difference. The only small issue I could possibly raise and it is only to help the hotel and not in any way to moan! Is that my mum had to book a taxi to come and meet me later on when I left the hotel. She attended at reception where there was another blonde lady (but not the manager I had seen the previous night) and asked if a taxi could please be booked. My mum is elderly, had clearly come from out of town so didn't have area codes etc, all of which was very obvious. When asking for a taxi to be booked however, she was told by this lady on reception that she couldn't book a taxi for her but could provide her with some taxi numbers. Whilst my little old mum was too polite to say anything, (and instead proceeded to struggle muddling through the numbers she had unhelpfully been provided with) in my view this is not something a hotel should be doing. If a guest asks you to book a taxi for them, particularly knowing how difficult it is to get taxis in this area, you do it. You don't give them numbers to do it themselves. I see this same issue has been raised by other guests leaving reviews. I hope that going forward the member of staff concerned can perhaps be advised about this; to her credit my mum said she was polite about it but perhaps unhelpful in the circumstances. Other than that, a lovely hotel, reasonably priced for the area and I would stay again. Thank you for looking after my mum so well.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Helen, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your stay with us and that we made you and your mum's time special. Your kind words will be passed onto my teams, especially to the young lady mentioned and my Chefs. Your concerns regarding my Reception team have been taken forward to them and I can only apologise that this has happened. Please be assured that this is not our usual standard of service and going forward all my teams will be under going update training. If I can be of any assistance next time you are visiting the area, please do contact me directly at the hotel. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

No milk sugar tea bags in room had to walk through mud to reach reception to get some, Noise of radiator all night long hardley any sleep. did not get what i ordered for breakfast also it was cold, sent it back out it came again not what i ordered also cold so got up and left it. Told reception and they gave me £10 refund for myself and my wife,so if 2 breakfasts are worth only £10 this says what its like this hotel is not worth £95 per night more like £65 per night and that is being more than fare. Iwould not recomend this hotel to any body.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jake Mills, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here are the Priory Hotel. First may I apologise for the events that affected your stay with us; please be assured that this was a one off for the hotel. Due to a member of the team unable to attend, we were not able to provide our usual high level of attention to detail and service. I will be meeting with the teams and putting into place steps to ensure that this does not happen in the future. My housekeeping team will be made aware of the lack of items during your stay and we will be investigating how this happened. If you would like to discuss your concerns with me, please do contact me directly at the hotel; I would like the chance to prove that this is not the normal for the Priory Hotel and proved a better service on your next visit. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

We stayed for a weekend in April . When we booked the receptionist was very helpful and gave a good impression of the hotel mentioning ' some ' refurbishment and that it was a 20 minute walk to town and the restaurant was very nice ! Well we arrived and the outside looked like a bomb site and half the Restaurant had been demolished ! The receptionist was one of the most unhelpful persons I have met . We arrived at 1.30 but she insisted we couldn't check in till the obligatory 2.pm ! The next night the same person , when asked if she could book us a taxi said ' I can give you some cab numbers '! The person at the bar didn't know if Malbec was red or white wine . At the Sunday morning breakfast there was not enough tables or staff and tables were left uncleared for the whole 45 mins we were at breakfast . This hotel really need some customer care and staff training ! On the plus side our room in the main hotel was really nice with a big bathroom and the breakfast was really good . This could be a really nice and comfortable hotel but needs some serious improvement in attitude ! By the way the walk to the tot the town centre is about 35 mins!

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Bees, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. First may I apologies for what occurred during your stay with us. I would like the opportunity to speak with you regarding your concerns following your stay with us, if you could please contact me directly at the hotel. My teams are currently undergoing refresher training and I will ensure that this covers in detail customer service, check in experience and bar training. Due to a member of my team being unable to attend to her shift we were unable to provide our usual level of service and attention to detail during breakfast on Sunday. For this I apologise and please be assured that this is a one off for the Priory Hotel. The building work has taken away our terrace and conservatory, previously attached to our current restaurant. However we will be gaining a new purpose built restaurant, bar and lounge as well as seeing an update to guest rooms and the main hotel. I look forward to speaking with you and being to discuss your concerns in further detail. Kindest regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed for 4 nights . courtyard room was good size , and great bathroom , with excellent hot water / pressure . most rooms are outside the main building - as it rained every day we needed to take raincoat to every meal . found the mattress uncomfortable . bedroom walls were poorly soundproofed . staff were amazing - although we did experience long delays at some meal times - kitchen staff appeared not to cope too well with large orders . will stay again - AFTER the planned refurbishment

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Paulthecoach, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. Part of the build will include the creation of an internal corridor to link the garden rooms with the main building. This will be done when we move to the refurbishment of the existing rooms; alongside the build of new bedrooms. Currently we have started the build for the new restaurant, bar and lounge. I'm sorry for the delays you experienced with dinner service during your stay; I will be meeting with my kitchen team soon and your concerns will be raised with them. Any feedback we receive is taken forward to implement improvements to our services for future guests. I look forward to being able to welcome you back to the Priory Hotel once all the exciting changes have happened. If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at the hotel. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

Looks cab definitely be deceiving. Checked in to room 6 at first glanced all is nice, Until the restaurant kitchen opens up under the room. So loud with bangs and crashes all the heating didn't work. I asked reception for a move and the lady was very nice and sorted me a new room outside number 14. Room was large and quiet. The heating worked but it was a tad smelly from the damp and it does need a update instead. But bed was comfy. I think for the price I paid this was well below the standard I would of expected.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear r3wbb, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. Your concerns regarding the heating will be taken to my Maintenance teams while we review the hotel during our building work. This build will include a refurbishment and update to the main hotel and existing bedrooms. We will also be creating a new restaurant, bar and lounge. I do hope that on your next visit to the area you will be able to come and see the changes that are happening at the Priory and you will give us a chance to improve on your previous stay with us. If I can be of any further assistance, please do contact me at the hotel. Kind regards, Kim David General Manager

We stayed here for 2 nights Easter weekend, the staff were very polite and helpful. The room was very nice warm and comfortable. Lovely grounds in the hotel which was great as we were able to take our dog with us as they are a dog friendly hotel. The location is great with easy access to the town itself. People have said that the hotel is shabby but to us it was a bit worn in places but a major refurbishment is about to start. We woke up Easter morning to let the dog out and found a bag with an Easter egg in it hanging on the door so a lovely little surprise treat. All in all an excellent hotel for a weekend away.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Steve, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am glad to hear that you found your stay relaxing and enjoyable; your kind comments will be passed onto my teams (and the Easter Bunny!). I do hope that next time you visit we will be well into our redevelopment phase and I will be able to show you the exciting changes that will be happening at the Priory. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

I have visited Bury St Edmunds on numerous occasions and had often thought of staying here. ( I have another favorite place to stay in this area ) but was with quite a few work colleagues and we could all stay here. I didn't book a single room so have no idea why they thought this would be suitable. I don't get single rooms. Why would hotels have them. A single can only be let to one person yet a double can be let to one or two. I hate single rooms. The room was dated as was most of the hotel. A positive is the staff were friendly and pleasant.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Stephen P, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. If I may ask for you to contact me directly at the hotel so that I may look into your booking and review what happened with your room allocation; I can be contacted at generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk . The hotel and it's rooms are to have its refurbishment and new build commence in the coming weeks. This will see some exciting changes to the interior of the main hotel and the addition of a new restaurant. I look forward to hearing from you and welcoming your back to the Priory Hotel in the future. Kind regards, Kim David General Manager

Staying here with my partner, we liked the room, was comfy enough but it's a little shabby round the edges! Could do with some modernisation like the windows and comfort beds- that said very reasonably priced and room well stocked with tea, coffee and biscuits when we arrived- friendly staff and cosy bar area- it's ok for one night stay and shalet style accommodation is cute and grounds pretty

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear MegJo82, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us as the Priory Hotel. We are due to start the redevelopment of the hotel in the next two weeks. This will see the refurbishment of existing rooms, the addition of a large glass walled restaurant and a refit to the interior of the existing hotel. Any feedback given is taken forward to assist with the improvement of the hotel and our future guests. I hope that next time you visit, I will be able to show all these exciting changes to you and share our vision for the Priory Hotel. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

I was misguided by the 4/5 given on trip advisor and chose this hotel due to this rating and the location. The only thing that worked for me was the location. Unfortunately it all went downhill as soon as I stepped over the premises. 1. Car park is not clearly sign posted. I parked up and had to lug a heavy suitcase all the way over to reception. A good 5 minute walk with stairs involved 2. A reception team member was training new staff member and I have no qualms about this. the team member who was giving the training asked me if I wanted extra drinks charged to the room. I replied no, my company has paid for my dinner and breakfast and I won't require extras. All clear was given. 3. I was on the first floor and with no lift the team member who was giving the training helped drop my luggage to the room. With back problems there is no way I would have been able to do this without the assistance. Thank you for moving my luggage. 4. Moved car over to the other generic car park nearer to my room. 5. Got to the room and was greeted by hideously old decor, a sauna like warmth and suspect hairs all over the pillow/bedding. The bathroom was so hot and dated, the bedroom window did not open and I felt physically sick seeing all the dust/hairs. (Please see pictures) the whole hotel overall is old and cracked around the edges. 5. Went down to dinner and ordered food. After a wait I was told I cannot order any food as I need to leave a card. (Please review point 2. Where I was told everything is fine as my company has already paid for everything.) This is as unacceptable. I had to leave the dining room and go over to talk to reception. The new team member was extremely polite but I asked to speak to the person training her to express my views as we had discussed in depth how I was planning to have dinner/breakfast 6. Went back to the dining area and received my food order. The receptionist rushed in and offered me a complimentary glass of wine but I didn't particularly want to drink wine. No other offer was made. 7. Back in the room I had to blast the fan and make protective layers over the duvet so I wasn't laying in suspect hair. It was an ordeal in itself (review images again for impact) 8. Being the room on top of the bar (Room 02) I was able to hear all the music and the loud raucous guests making all sorts of noise. As a business guest they should take into account how paper-thin their walls and floors are. The music was lowered when I called reception however it increased after a short while and other hotel guests got louder. This stopped around 1.30am 9. The guests in the bedroom above and next to me might as well have stayed in my room. The floorboards creaked so loudly, stairs and doors were constantly being used noisily. I could hear them going about their life as if they were inside my room. This went on until the early hours also. 10. WOW ten points here! The bed was extremely uncomfortable. I had little to no sleep due to noise as well as 11. The things that I can commend: breakfast was actually nice and the mature waitress who was helping serve was very pleasant. Check out was easy and a new receptionist asked me how my stay was. I didn't want to share all the issues as I was on my way out and it's not her direct responsibility but from my in depth review and pictures you may understand the reasoning for 1/5 rating.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Sugarfree_candy, Thank you for your review of the Priory Hotel. I am saddened that my Operations Manager or myself did not get a chance to speak with you regarding your concerns. If you could contact me directly at the hotel, either by phone or email ( generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk ); I would like the opportunity to speak with you to discuss your concerns. I have begun to look into the points that you raised with my teams to find where we need to make improvements. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

Had a couple of days here. The room was in an out building as I think quite a few are. It was clean and a good size, Tea and coffee making, iron and hair dryer are always good to have but the toiletries were not the best. Staff were helpful apart from one who had lived in Bury for two years but did not know the area 'as always working' in fact she gave as the wrong details of the local town market. Breakfast was fine and cooked to order. We did not have an evening meal so can not comment. The hotel is slightly out of bury it takes approx. 20-25 mins to walk into bury

I stayed here for a single night on Monday 19th March and had a very pleasant stay. I stayed in Room 25 (one of the garden rooms) and the grounds are lovely, very picturesque. The room was clean and comfortable with everything I required (the room had ample toiletries, a hair dryer and tea/coffee facilities - could have done with some more teabags though). I chose not to have dinner at this hotel and instead opted to dine at the Station House pub, which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel (turn left out of the hotel and just keep walking). The breakfast was nice and the serving staff were very friendly and helpful. Overall a good stay.

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Megan S We are happy that you enjoyed your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. I will pass on your kind words to the team. We look forwards to seeing you again at the hotel. If I can be of any assistance in the future please don't hesitate to call us on 01284766181

We only stayed one night but were impressed with this hotel. We had a garden room which looked as if it recently been re-furbished. It was in beautiful condition and very well equipped. The location is quiet and we had a good, undisturbed sleep. Breakfast was delicious. Both reception and restaurant staff were friendly and helpful. We are thinking of returning for a longer stay to explore more of Bury and the surrounding area.

Stayed here 16th to 18th March, room was spacious and clean but could maybe do with a bit of an update. However we could not fault the staff from arrival and departure,dealt with by Kelsey who was extremely friendly and helpful and every other member was the same be it in the dining room or just meeting along the way. They were all professional and welcoming. We considered our stay good value for the money, breakfast was excellent and well served. For the price well recommended

On arrival: room smelt damp. No pillow protectors (nice big black pubic hairs on pillow and stains). Window with a cracked frame. The blind was broken. Mound on the soap. Hot water trickled. Shabby decor. Cobwebs everywhere. In the bar: no prosecco other than a couple of little bottles. Best bit....I believe it was the manager who (at approx 10pm ish) shouted at us from the doorway for us to quieten down! RUDE! Unprofessional, her bellowing at us actually made me jump. She made more of a noise than all of us. I was very embarrassed for my company who decided to leave shortly after. On departure(as we unfortunately had to stay the night as everywhere else was full) the young lady on reception was very pleasant and didn't seem shocked that I was upset with (who I believed to be the manager Kim). And the best bit...they took 1/2 the cost of the room off but had already taken full payment off the card!!!!! We stay in hotels very often and never ever have I experienced such poor cleanliness or such shocking staff attitude.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Dorothycosta, Thank you for your review of the Priory Hotel and I apologise for the service you received. If you could contact me directly at the hotel and we can discuss your concerns following your stay with us; I am also contactable on generalmanager@prioryhotel.co.uk . I shall speak with my housekeeping team immediately to start an investigation into the room you stayed in. We are due to start our major refurbishment and redevelopment here at the hotel and this will see an improvement in our current bedrooms - including new furnishings and the addition of new bedrooms to the existing building. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

Comfortable hotel, with good size, and well appointed rooms. Hotel has good parking, which is rare in Bury St Edmunds. Convenient location to be able to visit Bury St Edmunds and this part of East Anglia. An all round relaxing stay.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear JRHJag, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am pleased to hear that my teams were able to ensure a relaxing time with us. I hope that next time you are in the area you will stop by to see the improvements being made to the hotel; with the addition of new bedrooms and a new restaurant. If I can be of any assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact the hotel. Kind regards, Kim David. General Manager

This is a nice hotel, my room was very nice and clean good shower and comfortable bed. I was only staying for one night but I would have no problem staying here again, the staff are friendly and helpfull but they did them a bit under staffed.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear David, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. Your kind words shall be passed onto my teams; we are currently looking into staffing and I hope to have this resolved soon so that we can continue to improve our standards. I hope that on your next visit you will be able to see the new building work underway. or completed, in line with the improvements to standards. Any concerns, please do contact me directly at the hotel. Kind regards, Kim David. General Manager

Booked into this place last nice, didn't look too bad, when I got there reception was great. Went to my room in the attic, upon opening door it seemed a little dated, flowery headboard and all that and also red hot. Went t9 open the window and the double glazed panel was full of water....window cull was rotten, never mind it's an old build8ng right.....went to see the bathroom....the toilet took 5 attempts to flush........then tried the shower..... it dribbled and I mean dribbled.....the skirtings were rotten........sat on the bed and had a think....room. 5 was not for me. Went to reception Nd the staff were amazing, very quickly gave me an upgrade to room 7. Awesome, went in there and went to turn the shower on...the dial thing came off in my hand,,,,,, went back down to reception...again the staf were amazing and then put me in one of the “newest” rooms, 20a. Got to this room and it smelt and looked amazing, albeit bloody red hot again, obviously the room had been recently refurbished but bathroom was of the. Healers quality. The shower made one hell of a. Noise but but as this was room 3 I had lost the will to fight. Cup of tea to sort everything out is what Inthought.......the kettle did not switch itself off so it over boiled over the table. Really disappointed with you guys. The place is severely dated, I mean massivkey, from the rooms to the furniture to everything. If it wasn5 for yi6r positive, superb staff, I don't know where yi7 would be or how yo7 could survive! May I suggest you give all your staff a pay rise, take a pay cut yourself nd invest in simple things like, decoration, services, showers and less profit! Your staff make yo7r business , not the owners! I'll say it again, shame on you , the owners, fancy X5 BMW's are nice but not helping you. Please take note....

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Tony, Thank you for your review of the Priory Hotel. I believe that you have already spoken with my Managing Director and provided your feedback in full to him. All feedback is taken back to the teams and added into training to improve standards. As I am sure my Managing Director mentioned, we are due to start our refurbishments and new build very soon - which I look forward to showing you on your next visit to the Priory Hotel. Any further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at the hotel. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

Always have an outside room in the horseshoe shape. Love to sit in court yard outside our room. Car park close by. Would highly reccomend this place. Book early though for christmas market never been able to get in.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Michelle, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the hotel and it's gardens. With the new refurbishment and building work we are hoping to add to this with a new glass walled Garden Restaurant; due to be finished in time for the Christmas Market this year. I do hope that we will be able to welcome you back again to see the changes that will be happening. Kind regards, Kim David General Manager

Stayed there one night as we were visiting Bury Christmas Market. Good size garden room. Bathroom did need some TLC . Breakfast was very good and could cater for me as a am gluten intolerant . Good base for the Christmas market .

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Carol, Thank you for taking time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. The hotel is due to start it's redevelopment phase which will see a new Garden Restaurant and a major refurbishment throughout. I hope that for the Christmas Market this year we will be able to welcome you back again. Kind regards, Kim David General manager

The hotel is reasonably well situated and although the bathroom in the room (courtyard) was a little dated, it had everything one needed, and the room itself was quite comfortable. The quality of food in the restaurant was excellent but there were insufficient staff with only one waitress and the excellent manager (Kim). This was particularly noticeable at breakfast and is something which the ownership/management of the staff need to address.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Chris B, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. The hotel is due to start it's major refurbishment and new build in the coming weeks; this will see fresh look bedrooms and a brand new Garden Restaurant. We are currently looking into staffing levels and improvements that need to be put into place. Your kind words will be passed onto the teams, who strive to make each stay with us as relaxing as possible. I hope that when you are next visiting the area that you will stop by and see the exciting new phase for the Priory Hotel. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

The biggest and most comfortable bed I have ever slept in! Well appointed bedroom and bathroom. Staff helpful and friendly, especially in the restaurant Our only downside was finding the entrance to the hotel . It has a concealed drive which you can (and we did) drive past

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Patricia R Thank you for your lovely feedback we will pass on your kind words to our team. Sorry you was unable to find us straight away, I will have a look at some ideas that might be able to help us with this. We look forwards to seeing you at the hotel again in the near future. Kind Regards, Emma Plaster Operations Manager

We had a number of unfortunate issues here - the shower was weak, the room was shabby and the beds uncomfortable. However, this would have been ok but there were 2 issues. We were above the bar, where there was noise until 2am which kept us awake. The biggest issue was the second morning's breakfast. We came down at 9am and it was clear the staff were not on top of it. There were uncleared tables, people waiting to be seated and lots waiting for orders to be taken. I waited an hour for gluten free toast - which was burnt. My partner had eggs benedict which was lukewarm at best. There was no communication with everywhere was the atmosphere of discontent. What a shame - it ruined our morning and we wouldn't return.

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jamie Durrant, I do apologise on behalf of myself and the team for the experience you had during your stay at the Priory Hotel. We would like to prove that this is a one off for our hotel and not our usual standards. If you could give myself a call at the hotel on 01284766181 and we can discuss your concerns further to ensure that further training is put in place so that this does not happen again. Kind Regards

My company use this hotel regularly and it is always a joy to stay here. My room for my two night trip was actually in the main building. It was quite small but being here on my own was not a problem. Clean and tidy in all areas, with very pleasant helpful staff. My only issue is that at 0430 I was woken by a bin lorry emptying the local garages bins. This is because my room is next to the main road that runs next to the hotel. Maybe as a suggestion you could better sound proof these rooms.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Wayne, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed the company of my teams during your stay. The hotel is due to start it's refurbishments next month and I shall take your comments to the builders so that we can make improvements for future guests. I do hope that you will return and see the exciting changes that will be happening here at the Priory Hotel over the coming months. yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

8 ladies stayed there for a New Years Eve celebration (two nights) and didn't get the package as outlined on the offer. Rooms were comfortable, if dated (I believe there are plans to refurbish this year). The seating arrangements for the celebrations weren't acceptable; the live music promised was a disco, and we danced in the bar on carpet. The staff were not properly trained and inattentive. However a letter of complaint has resulted in an apology and compensation.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear AnnieStAlbans, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. The hotel is for a new build restaurant and a refurbishment of the Garden rooms, due to start early next month. The new Garden Restaurant will be the new function room for the Priory Hotel with unobstructed views of the garden. Training to improve standards is going with the assistance of all feedback given to the hotel. I do hope that you will visit us again, when you are next in the area, to see these improvements and the new building as it comes together for us. Kind regards, Kim David General Manager

This place....... certainly the best in Suffolk! The food was mouthwatering fresh and flavourful, the service was prompt and the staff couldn't do enough to ensure we enjoyed our evening. They were absolutely delightful! The experience at this amazing place continued in to day 2. The Breakfast was hot and a good start to our day. We came back from touring the town to find our bedroom was freshly made and looking as if we just went in it for the first time. We met some of the ladies who were cleaning the rooms. They were very friendly and asked if we were enjoying ourselves, very attentive and asked if we were comfortable and if we needed anything else for our room. They were even helpful when we asked about the town. We had a quaint and very English tea before we ventured out again. It was tasty and filling. In the two days we were at the Priory it was very hard to be critical on any aspect of our stay. Everyone we met from the management, front desk ,chefs, restaurant staff and the amazing room service ladies made our English trip unforgettable! I will most definitely stay here should I be visiting England again! Seriously, Why can't some of our hotels in the USA be like yours?

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Cardiffdragon, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. Your kind words will be passed onto all members of my teams; they pride themselves on creating a relaxing and welcoming environment for all our guests. The hotel is due to start it's new exciting phase next month that will see a new glass lined restaurant and the addition of more rooms. I do hope that next time you are in the area my teams and I can show continual improvements during your next stay. Kim David General Manager

The staff were friendly, especially the lady on reception. The so called garden room was small and basic with a tired bathroom that needed attention. The staff couldn't cope with the 9 am breakfast rush which caused problems as guests became impatient. Wouldn't visit again.

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Susie 101, Thank you for your feedback regarding your stay at the Priory Hotel, I do sincerely apologise that the hotel room was not up to standards for you, and that breakfast service was slow. In March we are having a new build and new fresh rooms. I hope that if you do change your mind and decide to stay with us again you won't have the same experience and you will leave the hotel feeling satisfied. If there is anything I can help you with or any questions I can answer please don't hesitate to call me on 01284766181 Kind Regards

I have been to visit Bury on numerous occasions and I have always wanted to stay in the Priory, boy was that a mistake! I arrived in the dark and a very friendly receptionist told me we had the last room and motioned the room was outside, I then wandered around a poorly lit garden following signs that pointed in a vague direction. 10 minutes later I got to our room. I paid for a room with a king size bed and got two singles pushed together (that refused to stay together throughout the night. The room was dirty, the tea/coffee had already been opened but put back into the display, the cups and teaspoon were filthy as was the bathroom, mold and hair and the toilet did not even have a lid. BASIC HYGIENE MISSING! Last room... I wouldn't stay there again if it was the last room on earth. Please see my pictures!!

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear sianslatershedgehog, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I'm sorry to hear that you feel your experience with us was not up to standard. If you could please contact me directly at the hotel on 01284 766181 we can discuss your concerns. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Kim David General Manager

Arrived on the Tuesday and was quickly checked in. We were a little early for check in but this was no problem as a room was available in the shallet blocks around the grounds of the main building. We had room 25. The room was a reasonable size with a seperate bathroom with all ammenaties. There was a flat screen tv on the wall and a wide selection of furnishings and utilities (hair dryer, ironing items, kettle (no fridge)). I found the bed itself was very comfy, however the pillows were a little soft for my liking. I`m sure if you ask they will provide move than the standard 2 per person or even have a selection of different pillows but i wasn`t really suffering too much and should have brought my own anyway as i`m picky. The duvet is quiet heavy and a reasonably heavy tog so easily keeps you warm during the night. The room has a radiator in it which you will need to turn on as the cleaner turns this off when cleaning the room. Doesn`t take to long to warm up though. My only complaint is that the door is slightly ill fitting to its frame so if its windy outside it does rattle. We used a piece of carboard to wedge in the door when closing and this solved the issue. Didn`t really give great grounds for a complaint. We stayed for 2 nights and this included breakfast. The breakfast on offer was a wide selection. (English & Continental) I personally had the eggs benedict both mornings which was perfectly made. The young girl taking the orders and serving the cooked food was quick and efficient - a credit to the staff. There`s plenty of car parking facilities at this hotel and the hotel is only a short taxi ride to the centre of Bury St. Edmunds. The reception happily booked us one on the first night. We will hopefully return to this establishment on our next visit. Many thanks to all the staff we had the pleasure to interact with - all did a great job.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Gman32_12, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. Your kind comments have been passed onto my teams. I have also passed on your comments with regards to the pillows and the door; my Maintenance and Housekeeping team will look into these for the future improvements. I hope that next time you are in the area we can show you our new Garden Restaurant and bedrooms due to be completed near the end of the year. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

We were very obviously staying in one of the older rooms (in the garden section), but it was still spotless despite the knackered carpet and bed and we found it very cozy with an excellent shower and bath. I liked the ‘motel' style layout of the hotel and found its old fashioned-ness quite charming. Both of the ladies we spoke to on reception were extremely bright and cheerful. 20-25 minute walk to get into town or it's a 5 minute drive. We paid less than £60 for this room and would definitely stay here again if ever in Bury.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Andy2581, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. I am glad that you enjoyed your time with us, and your kind comments will be passed onto my teams. I hope that next time you are in the area we can show you the new extension to our Garden Restaurant and the new rooms that will be coming also by the end of the year. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

For the most part, the Priory is what you would expect from a three-star hotel. The room was not spectacular, but it was comfortable and of reasonable size, with sufficient bedding and towels, plus all the little fripperies: hairdryer, iron & board, sewing kit, shoeshine pad etc. Plentiful supply of tea, coffee etc and that rarest of occurrences, a decent amount of sugar. I liked the large backlit bathroom mirror with built-in digital clock. Two very large TVs (this was a multi-bed room for three adults), but the remote affected them both at the same time. When we came into the room, one of the TVs was already on (why?) and switching it off then activated the other, and so on. Irritating. A couple of other little niggles: the three tea/coffee cups were all of different design. The kettle lid fell off when I went to fill it. A larger niggle: the shower. The design of the knobs was such that you couldn't actually tell whether you were changing the power level or temperature. After a lot of uncomfortable trial & error I worked out that the tiny raised line on the knob indicated the correct position, not the large section of knob that overhung the dial and looked like a pointer. Very poor design. One of the towels was stained. Most of the rooms are outside the main building - almost like a motel - meaning you go inside, then come outside again before getting into your room. We were misdirected so instead of a 30-yard straight line walk, we went round most of the perimeter. This led to my wife suffering a fall on some narrow, irregular, poorly lit steps. These steps need attention and the signage could also be improved.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Stephen T, Thank you for taking your time to leave us a review. We take all feedback into consideration and make great effort to make changes that are needed. We are having an extension and refurbishment at the hotel very soon so i hope that when you are next in the area we can show you around and you will be more than happy with the changes. If you have anything that you do wish to discuss over the phone, please don't hesitate to call and i will be happy to answer any questions or queries. Kind Regards, Kim David

We stayed here for a 2 night New Years eve break. Our room was a courtyard room which was very comfortable. Will need a refurbishment when the work is to be carried out later on in the year when new rooms are added and the restaurant is increased in size also. The first night we had a 3 course dinner but this was cut short when a member of staff was taken ill. The staff dealt with this well with the help of a lady who was a nurse and removed everyone away from the incident and then made the bar free while they were dealing with this and continued to make it free for the rest of the night . Breakfast was good the next day although the staff appeared a bit overrun with the numbers. The evening was excellent with a 5 course meal and the disco had the place rocking all night. The following morning there was a brunch served from 10 a.m and this made our departure much more leisurely. Would like to say a big thank you to Manageress Kim David and all the staff especially Matthew Cooke who went around making sure everyone was enjoying themselves. We would definitely consider going back next New Years eve to see not just the improvements to be made and to once again hopefully enjoy a wonderful stay.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
DearNormanbray44, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. Your kind words will be passed on to all the teams and also to Matthew. The new rooms and extension to our Garden restaurant are due to start in the coming months - with a view that this year's New Year Eve party will be held there for all guests. I am glad to see that the incident on your first night did not affect your stay and that you continued to enjoy your time with us. I certainly hope that next time you are in the area that you do stop by to see the improvements going ahead. Kim David General Manager

Having enjoyed the 2016/17 New Year celebration we decided to return again this year. We stayed four nights and were looked after by caring staff. Accommodation in one of the courtyard rooms was again excellent, food too was to a high standard. I had encountered a problem at the outset with my booking that seemed to follow me when checking out. However, an extremely efficient and very professional young lady named Lauren immediately resolved the issue without further problems. Our last day at breakfast we met Tracey who had just returned from her Christmas break and she too was equally as efficient and professional in her manner and a joy to meet and made us feel welcome as did the other restaurant staff during our stay. All the staff who served us and looked after us are a credit to this hotel. It was unfortunate that a gentleman who was a member of staff was taken poorly whilst on duty, he too was such a caring gentleman and a pleasure to meet and to talk to. As a result of the paramedics having to be called to him, the Chief Executive Chef came to the rescue and whilst giving consideration and priority to this gentleman he also gave the same consideration to the guests. He dealt with a very senstive situation with the utmost efficiency and professionalism as he also did on the night of New Year's Eve when on duty in the restaurant. There can always be little things that can mar a stay and sometimes guests can allow that to cloud their thoughts but for my husband and I anything that may have been a problem to begin with was soon overcome by the way in which the staff caringly dealt with it. Once again may I say that the staff are a credit to the hotel and a joy to deal with. We will definitely return for another stay.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Dawn B, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us at the Priory Hotel. You kind words have been passed onto my teams, who are always aiming to make a stay with us as enjoyable as possible. I hope that at the end of this year we will be welcoming you back for another New Year celebration in our newly built Garden Restaurant and bedrooms. When you are next in the area I would be happy to go through the renovation plans and show you where our improvements are taking the Priory Hotel in the future. Yours sincerely, Kim David General Manager

Stayed at The Priory with friends for a new year 3 day break. This is a small very personal hotel that served great food on hot plates with a smile. Breakfast was perfect as was our evening meals. The staff while mostly young were very polite and extremely professional in a incident when someone fell ill during dinner. Paramedics were called instantly. Senior staff came in while off duty and worked very hard to keep the evening running smoothly. While some paint is needed in a few places the important things like hot water from taps, control of heat from radiators, ample parking spaces comfortable bed, table and chairs in our room with a proper wardrobe made the stay home from home. We will be going to The Priory again.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Paul_Jilly Thank you for taking the time to review your stay here with at the Priory Hotel. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us. The hotel is going through refurbishment and an extension to our Garden Restaurant this year. I hope to be able to show you around, once this has been completed, when you stay with us next. Kim David

Had a two night weekend autumn treat at the Priory, and having stayed before knew to book one of the courtyard rooms which are quieter than the main house. The welcome from hotel staff was warm and friendly, special mention to Lauren and Hannah. An early check in was offered so Housekeeping could put my mattress topper onto the bed (thanks are due to Steffi, Nicole and Holly). The room was clean and comfortable, lovely hot and powerful shower. Our first night was unfortunately interrupted by a very noisy guest in the next room, but this was met with sympathy by the hotel who offered a free breakfast with their apologies. The buffet breakfast was quite acceptable, especially the nicely done toast! All in all, we can certainly recommend a stay at the Priory, but if you stay at a weekend, aren't attending a function there, and want a quiet room, choose one of their well-appointed courtyard rooms rather than the main house.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear ugoida, Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us here at the Priory Hotel. Your kind words have been passed onto my teams, especially to those you have mentioned. We hope to be able to welcome you again to the hotel once we have had our new Garden Restaurant and bedrooms added later in the year. Kim David

We could not fault the hotel facilities and food. On arrival on Christmas Eve we were greeted by helpful and friendly staff. A nice surprise awaited us in our garden room,fresh fruit and three wrapped Christmas gifts! The staff did their very best to provide us with a relaxing and stress free festive break which we really enjoyed.

This is our second stay at this hotel. It has good parking. We stayed in room 14, which was nicely set out, quiet roomy with a two seater sofa. The shower, once at the right temperature, was good. The towels were newer, softer and smelt better than last time. And it included a free breakfast, with was quite ‘over cooked', (having working in a hotel I know these are not cooked great to order and the food has most probably been left under a heat lamp for too long!) although the ‘continental' was basic it was available. Can't really grumble as it was free. The staff we encountered were all pleasant. The beds are comfy. The bathrooms could do with an update and some money invested into them. However overall for the cost of the room and breakfast it was very good, remember this is not a 5* hotel, but definitely does the job!!

Stayed here while attending wedding nearby, excellent service and great breakfast, rooms clean and tidy, free Wifi, TV and tea/coffee in room. Bathroom could do with an upgrade but perfectly serviceable for our needs. Great value for money. All the staff really friendly

We stayed for two night to attend a wedding, I received a very warm welcome at the reception, our room was warm and very clean. Had dinner on the first night, and we were very well looked after by Chantele (Sorry if the spelling is wrong), if in this are again will stay here

Had a fantastic time here meeting with friends. Had a fantastic 3 course Xmas dinner, plenty of food that was delicious and plenty on the plate. Defiantly didn't leave hungry. Hotel was clean and the staff very accommodating and friendly. Defiantly a little hidden gem

I was allocated one of the courtyard rooms external to the hotel on a frosty Sunday evening. The room was comfortable without being luxurious and spotlessly clean. It was also very well heated considering the outside temperature. It was also pleasantly quietly situated. If you get this at the right price its well worth the money for a stay and a hand couple of minutes from the A14. Service was friendly and courteous.

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear QXZWS, Thank you for your review of the Priory Hotel. I shall pass on your kind words to all the teams here. We hope to welcome you back again in the near future. Kim D

Stayed for one evening with my children. Very friendly staff, efficient service and lovely room, which was also very warm and suitable for wintry weather conditions. Breakfast cooked to order and gluten free diet catered for. Will definitely book again

Kim D, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear BedJan, thank you for your review of the Priory Hotel. I shall pass on your kind words to all the teams here. We hope to welcome you back again in the near future. Kim D

booked as attending local airbase officers mess draw phoned ahead to ensure heating in room on at arrival as 1 degree outside temperature on arrival no heating and still none by morning fan heater arrived after 5 hours toilet stained below water line breakfast seems to have fallen from usual good quality delay in newspaper till halfway through breakfast a pity as we have previously enjoyed our stay here

Darren H, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Martin, Thank you for advising us of your less than satisfactory experience at The Priory Hotel. This is most unusual and I shall be discussing all aspects with the team to look for improvements. Please do contact The Hotel Manager Kim David should you wish to discuss any aspects of your stay further. Kim has just taken over as Manager and is very keen on making improvements where she can. Please let Kim know when you are due back in the area and she will ensure your complete satisfaction. Yours sincerely, Darren Hayward.

It was only an overnight stay, but the hotel was lovely and warm. We had a newly refurbished room. Staff as usual were warm and friendly. Breakfast was good. Missed the pot of tea at the table, but that was a small gripe. Will definitely be going back.

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Bellena49, Thank you for your review of the Priory Hotel. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us. We will be redeveloping the Restaurant very shortly in the new year and I hope that you can come back and see this once all it built. Kim D

Stayed here for 2 nights during the Christmas market, we had garden room no 34 radiator was very noisey, evening meal a disaster for one of our party, didn't get charged for her meal breakfast was even worse, didn't get charged for breakfast felt very sorry for young staff having to cope with this, much needed upgrade and sound proofing

Darren H, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Michele, Thank you for advising us of your less than satisfactory experience at The Priory Hotel. This is most unusual and I shall be discussing all aspects with the team to look for improvements. Please do contact The Hotel Manager Kim David should you wish to discuss any aspects of your stay further. Yours sincerely, Darren Hayward.

Stayed here for the Xmas market on the 25th November room was lovely plenty of room bed comfortable bathroom huge the only thing was the heating it wasn't working had the evening meal and it was a bit disappointing although the breakfast was lovely there was some people complaining abt there rooms but ours was ok would stay again if in same room.

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mr Russell, Thank you for your review of our hotel. I apologies for the issue with the heating, I have spoken with our maintenance team to find the cause of this. I'm sorry to hear that your dinner wasn't up to our standard and shall take your comments to our Chefs. The hotel is due for refurbishment and extension early next year. I look forward to being able to show improvement for your next visit. Kim D

Such a great place to stay in Bury, not too central, but located in a quiet area, 20 minute walk from the centre. Stayed here for the night before visiting Bury's Christmas Fair. Great night stay in a wonderful room, and a 5 star breakfast. Lovely staff!

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Carlos, Thank you for your review; I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us. I will pass on your kind words to all the staff. We look forward to welcoming you back in the future. Kim D

We stayed in one of the courtyard rooms, comfortable & clean, very comfortable beds. All members of staff were friendly & helpful, however at breakfast I felt sorry for the waiting staff who were constantly having to apologize for the shortcomings of the kitchen. The cooked breakfast was slow in coming out but I do understand that the hotel was very full due to it being Bury St. Edmunds Christmas market weekend but I would have thought the management having known in advance of the many bookings would have ordered in extra breakfast items to allow for the amount of guests and maybe got in a few agency staff. The orange juice ran out every day we were there about halfway through the breakfast service, ( we stayed 3 nights), despite asking everyday for natural yogurt there was only flavored available. The coffee was constantly running out as were cups & breakfast bowls. The waiting staff through all this maintained a smile and were very polite and helpful but I feel they were constantly stressed by the lack of response from the kitchen which resulted in us being completely missed out on our final breakfast and after several times of trying to get someone to take our order finally succeeded, by which time we were also exasperated. We are not usually ones to complain But it does seem to have been a problem with management not undertaking the supervision needed when so many bookings have been made for what is always a weekend of fun & laughter for the whole town and should not have been anything unexpected for the management of this hotel.

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Debbie, Thank you for your review of the Priory Hotel. I am sorry to hear of your experience regarding breakfast service. I will be taking your comments about the breakfast service with me to the next meeting with my chefs. I will pass your compliments to the breakfast staff on your behalf. I hope that we can welcome you back to the Priory Hotel in the future and show improvement, especially with the newly developed Garden Restaurant and new bedrooms. Kim D

The hotel is well located for the town and has reasonable facilities with plenty of parking and nice grounds. Although our room was spacious and quite quaint with uneven floors and a little period charm parts were in need of a refresh, especially the bathroom and window blinds. Road noise was evident too as it is close to a busy junction. So all in all a reasonable place to stay but somewhat dated. We didn't try the hotel catering as we thought the breakfasts a tad pricey.

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear BlueBoxsa, Thank you for your review. We are currently undergoing a rolling refurbishment of our bedrooms and have plans for an expansion of our Garden Restaurant. I am sorry to hear of the noise disruption cue to traffic; it will be something I bring up with my team. We look forward to being able to welcome you back to the hotel in the future. Kim D

I have stayed here for several days most weeks since May for work and I always look forward to my stay and also to seeing the staff. There are a mix of rooms and the hotel is updating them gradually so some rooms have the wow factor and others still have older furniture BUT the beds are comfortable, the rooms are clean and I've always had great service. I don't often eat at the restaurant simply because being away from home, it kills a bit more time if I go out somewhere but on one occasion when I did eat in, I wasn't keen on the vegetarian option so they chef cheerily asked me what I'd like and off he went. It was absolutely top notch customer care and a great meal. I love the team who organise the breakfast too as the young lady is always so happy and we have a brief chat but she is also extremely efficient, she doesn't need to be asked as she scans the room all the while and if my tea and toast hasn't arrived, she goes back and checks where it's got to. I know there have been some staff changes with a key member of the team opting for a career with more sociable hours so it's made things harder for the team but they remain cheerful and helpful sometimes despite the open rudeness I have witnessed on occasion from other guests. I have asked to move rooms a couple of times as I've booked a certain type of room on line but not realised it didn't have a bath and once I got swapped to a twin when I'd booked a double but there was only one time I had to stay in a room I wasn't happy with. I often would check in late so I probably didn't help myself there. The gardens are lovely with lots of wildlife and if you have a dog, you can take it to the garden rooms. I actually like those rooms the best to be honest. If you want a glitsy top of the range hotel then this isn't the place for you but if you'd like a nice, clean, friendly, value for money place to stay when you're away from home then I'd highly recommend the Best Western Priory.

Kim D, Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Christina, Thank you for your review of our hotel and staff. I am glad to see that our staff performed well, especially for breakfast and also our chef. Your kind comments will be passed onto all the staff here. We are currently undergoing rolling refurbishments to both the bedrooms and the Garden Restaurant. We look forward to welcoming you back to the hotel in the future. Kim D

An excellent Sunday lunch with the family at the Best Western Priory Hotel in Bury St Edmunds. The staff were friendly and welcoming and the hotel were happy to cater for our younger children. Highly recommend

The staff where very good, the bed was comfortable. The room was a bit run down. Breakfast so great and again the staff where very good Tracy , she really understands people. Not to sure about some guests, seemed to be four woman in one room that spent a lot of time outside smoking in there dressing gowns

Tony C, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to post a review and thank you for your positive comments which have been passed on to the staff. We are continuing to invest in the bedrooms to raise the overall standard here and hope to be able to offer you a higher standard of room if you should visit us again in the future.

A group of 28 sports car enthusiasts have just spent the weekend at this hotel following arrangements made many months ago by a couple of our Club members. When the booking was being arranged they dealt with a manager called Anna and all seemed well. However, we understand she has left and that there have been at least two replacement managers since then. So, let me begin by saying the staff are very friendly and welcoming but that there is a distinct lack of effective management and that the staff are not very well trained and if they have been trained at all their subsequent actions are not being properly supervised. On arrival at reception we were asked as part of the check in process to choose our evening meal and that was before we had even taken our luggage to our room. Also, as part of the check in process we were given a card with our room details on it which we were asked to sign and present during our stay when making any purchases at the bar. This is common practice and with one exception when buying drinks at the bar I was asked to sign a docket. The one exception was when we were served by a person who purported to be the manager! At dinner the pre ordered bottles of wine were brought to our tables but we had to ask for wine glasses every night since although there were already wine glasses on the table (one per person) these were being used for water. At the end of the meal we had to complete a form making our choices for the meal the following night. This time there was a column for us to add our name so our expectation was that the staff would know who had ordered what when serving out the meals. This wasn't to be the case. Leaving the dining room we soon realised that there were insufficient chairs in the lounge to accommodate everyone so I asked reception to make more chairs available and this was dealt with promptly. However, given that the size of our group had been known to the hotel for a very long time this is very disappointing and demonstrated that the venue is reactive rather than proactive; poor management and supervision. On the following two nights we helped ourselves to additional chairs from the dining room (just as the receptionist had done on the first night). Returning to our room I was alarmed to note that the door does not have a deadlock and would have complained at reception the following morning except that I discovered this was not an isolated case. Let me explain how the door is secured. Entry is gained from outside by turning the key clockwise about 10 degrees to release the latch. From the inside the only means of additional security is a chain. This primitive means of securing the door means that when absent from the room, with ones possessions inside, the door is only secured by a latch, so could easily be busted open by any amateur criminal with a strong boot and in my opinion is thus totally inadequate for a hotel which the AA has given a 3 star rating. In the morning the electric shower would not work and I note a previous reviewer had the same experience which staff looked into and didn't find any fault. Well, I can tell management that the system cannot cope with too many guests drawing off water at the same time and as a consequence in our case, when we needed hot water for a shower there wasn't any and I had no desire to take a cold shower. We resorted to a bath which worked without any problem. 15 minutes later when I tested the shower it worked because by then less guests were drawing off water. Not rocket science but seemingly beyond the comprehension of management to realise and get the system fixed. Breakfast was acceptable but on more than one occasion during our stay the waitresses brought out cooked food before we had finished our cereal. Now, the evening meal on Saturday night. Remember we had all pre ordered and our individual names were against the choices we had made. However, this had not been communicated to the waiting on staff who proceeded to bring food to table without knowing who we were because there were no place names in front of us and they didn't call out our names (for example, “I have beef for Mr Smith, Mrs Jones and Mr Thompson” etc). The consequence was that 3 people on our table of 6 were not initially served a main course and when this was realised and queried by staff they were surprised that those 3 were without a main course of beef. The pre order forms were obtained and the staff checked against this becoming bemused because they had served out the right number of beef courses. Another case of poor management and poor systems procedures. Staff rectified this as best they could but further damage was done to the hotel's reputation. You would have thought after this fiasco that management would have got their act together for the meal on Sunday night but the same procedure was applied so I asked to see the manager (the person who didn't ask for a signature when I was buying drinks at the bar) to ask what was the point in putting our names on the pre order form if this information wasn't used by the waiting on staff. The response was that the receptionist normally did a place setting for each guest. That's a weak excuse and again demonstrated poor management and supervision. Finally, when a market smallholder asked me on the Saturday afternoon where I was staying and I told him he just rolled his eyes, a sign to me that this hotel has had a poor reputation amongst locals for a long time and that my review and those of other guests that have posted poor reviews here is justified. I hope this review comes to the attention of the owners and that they act promptly to deal with the concerns expressed my myself and other guests. Many of these concerns can be rectified simply by getting good and effective management, supervision and staff testing in place. Longer term issues such as inadequate door locks can be dealt with temporarily by not letting out these rooms on those occasions when the hotel does not have full occupancy.

Kelly K, Group General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for your recent review in regards to your stay at the Priory Hotel. I would like to have the opportunity to discuss your issues in further detail. Can I ask that you email me directly d.hayward@cameronventuresgroup.co.uk with you details so that we can go through in more detail. I look forward to hearing from you. D Hayward

Pros...nice big room and bathroom, big comfortable bed, great staff, charming surroundings, good shower plenty of hot water, didn't utilize the main reception area, but it looked cozy and other guests seemed happy with amenities, good restaurant right across the street Cons...our room had no AC, a fan would be nice, had to sleep with windows open Loved this hotel nice grounds and it had that small cottage feel, good price, will stay there again Bill D Oklahoma City, OK

Tony C, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for your review and generally positive feedback. Sadly the great British weather does not really warrant the installation of air-conditioning in the bedrooms but fans are available at Reception should the need arise. We look forward to seeing you again in the future

Good location to walk into town Nice rooms Clean Dog friendly Need a happier bar man... 90% staff that we encountered happy, attentive, professional, just the barman that took the shine off, but not a significant issue.

Tony C, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for your review and for your generally positive comments. I am sorry that your experience in the bar did not meet the standards that we aim to achieve but be assured we will take steps to try and address this issue

Once again we've stayed at the priory. Once again we had no reason for complaint. The hotel is showing it's age and desperately needs a revamp but this adds to it's charm. We actually spoke to a chap (I have to apologise as I've forgotten his name. I believe he is an area manager?) and he mentioned they were having a lot of work done this winter. We stayed in room 38 (in the annex) Nice room, clean comfortable and warm. The water from the taps was too hot, as if that's a bad thing. But you couldn't put your hands under it. The hot tap on the sink is flapping loose. It cost us £130 for one night which is the most we've ever paid there. Tad over priced this trip. I would still recommend the Priory and we will use it again on our next trip. Room 3 in the main building is the quaintest but has very low water pressure in the shower and an automatic light that goes off unexpectedly and other times stays on for ages.

Ok so room was decent size nicely laid out with a fairly comfy bed but the windows overlooking the very nice garden were filthy!! Bathroom was strangely large with a shower over the bath. The water pressure for the shower can only really be described as pitiful! I know that really in the grand scheme of things, this isn't important but when I'm on a hard earned break one thing that's really annoying to me is a bad shower.. We all know how lovely it is in the morning or after a long day to get under a nice shower and rinse the stresses away.. Fat chance here.. I complained to reception on our way out and upon our return went to reception to see if the problem had been rectified. I was told that both the receptionist and senior housekeeper had checked it and it was perfectly fine!!! Well I was flabbergasted!! What could I say to that?? Had the grill breakfast on the first morning and it was pretty awful really. Tried an omelette the next morning and that was actually rather nice. My recommendation for breakfast is to pick the items that they can't get wrong!! When we went to pay, we got a discount because of the complaint regarding the shower. This was appreciated because it was not a cheap hotel and I did not really enjoy the stay there. I will not be back.

Takes me back to those ghastly US motel movies from the 70's - you know, the sort of film where two nickels bought you 120 seconds on a vibrating bed. Which is just so wrong in every respect whichever way you look at it. [They don't actually have vibrating beds here - I'm just trying to paint a picture] The walls between the garden rooms are paper thin so you can hear everything going on next door. Astonishingly there are no plugs beside the bed to charge phones etc. The bathrooms are really tired with those 3kw Electric Showers where you can urinate more hot water per minute that is produced by the unit. And only two pillows on the double bed rather than four. And that's assuming you can reach your room by unlit pathways with traffic cone obstructions along the way. A simple lack of professionalism here. It might have been different staying in a room in the main hotel rather than a condo-style unit in the garden but I can only speak as I find. Indifferent food and lacklustre service. Disappointed especially as it wasn't especially cheap, which might have sugared the pill.

We were part of a group of 25 staying overnight...on checking in they had not booked our evening meal ....they put together a pathetic menu ....when the meals arrived it was obvious they didn't have enough food to cover it as the portions were ridiculous...the staff were overstretched and stressed this was evident from checking in to leaving. The breakfast was disgusting....half a rasher of bacon one sausage half a tomato & a hash brown we specifically asked not to be served didn't surfice as a full cooked breakfast ...the staff were run ragged The shower in our room was dangerously hot the controls didn't work,apart from that the room was ok We certainly won't be returning & if that is the standard of best western we will avoid them as will the rest of the group

this was a very nice Hotel to stay as it is only a 20 minute walk into Bury or a few minutes in the car. Attractive old Priory building with good car parking facilities, We stayed in a 'Courtyard room' which was adequate, clean and modern. The staff were friendly, the breakfasts great with a good choice of menu. We had one evening meal in the Hotel which was fine. There is a pub opposite for alternative dining or Bury town which has many good venues.

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Bobbie Thank you for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel following a recent stay with us. I am happy to read that you had a lovely stay with us, the team were very welcoming and breakfast was memorable. I do hope that we can welcome you back when you are next in the area Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

Due to complications at a hotel already booked in ipswich we needed a late booking in the area. This hotel had a vacancy and as we were desperate we booked a room for the night and discovered a hidden gem. The hotel is quaint and not really visible from the road but when you enter the grounds and hotel its self you expect to see Miss Marple or Poriot sitting having tea. The place is lovely and the rooms and bed were not modern but fitting for the style of hotel. Staff were excellent and very friendly. We are frequent visitors the the ipswich area and will now be using this hotel on future visits.

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Jon Thank you for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel following a recent stay with us. I was happy to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us and that my team looked after you. I have passed on your comments to them I do hope that we can welcome you back soon Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

Wonderful stay at the hotel. Staff were very friendly and helpful especially the receptionist Lauren who went out of her way to show me my room and always had a smile on her face when I walked past which made my stay much more plesant. Breakfast was great good quality food. Clean and tidy room. Over all a fantiasic stay!

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you very much for taking the time to review The Priory Hotel following your recent stay with us. I was glad to hear that you had a lovely stay with us and that my team looked after you. I do hope that we can welcome you back in the near future Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

A wonderful flying visit to Priory Hotel, The staff were extremely friendly and absolutely wonderful service and a truly first class breakfast. Excellent . Thank you. Will be back again for a. Longer visit .

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Sherry Thank you very much for your review from a recent stay with us. Its always lovely to receive a good review from our guests and i will be passing this onto the team. We hope that we can welcome you back to the hotel in the near future Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

This hotel was comfortable, friendly and good value . Breakfast was lovely and could not fault it at all. Everything was made easy for us and nothing was to much trouble. Would definitely come back for another visit.

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Helen Thank you for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel following your recent stay with us. I was pleased to read that the hotel was very comfortable and my team were friendly during your stay. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future. We are having a Conservatory extension with new lounge and bar built next year and hoping for this to be open Autumn 2018. Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

The hotel itself is nice and most of the staff are very welcoming however the things that matter were very different. A lovely greeting from a very helpful smiley reception staff, I booked my table in the restaurant for my evening meal and off I wandered to find my room. This was outside the main hotel in a row of motel looking rooms. First impressions were, its clean and looks very comfortable for my 1 night stay. I made myself a coffee and sat down at the desk to work on the laptop. All good so far. I arrived at the restaurant for my evening meal, not a lot of choice and quite expensive. I opted for suffolk sausage with mash and red onion gravy, it arrived quite quickly 3 sausage a spoon of mash and a very small pot of gravy. I was expecting there to be some veg for the £15:00. A pint of beer at £4:10 was more than I was expecting too. I went to the Tollgate just over the road for a pint of Good beer at £3:35 much more to my liking, I had a look at their menu and wished I had eaten there. Back to the room to get some sleep, I have a busy day tomorrow. I put on the TV, I like a bit of background noise whilst I am nodding and lay on the bed. I have never lay on a bed so hard, it was like lying on a board. I even pulled the sheet back to check it was the mattress, unfortunately it was. Ok I have got to get some sleep so put up with it and get my head down, on two pillows that were nearly as hard as the mattress. I was woken early next morning with the dog barking in the room next door, GREAT. Breakfast was ok but small. If you want to stay at a hotel with a hard bed and pillows, this is the hotel for you. If you want to stay at a hotel a get woken early by a barking dog, this is the hotel for you. If you want to pay over the odds for food and beer, this is the hotel for you. I dont.

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mr Dorning Thank you for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel following your recent stay with us. I was very disappointed to read that you felt that we didnt have alot of choice on our menu as we have over 20 dishes on the menu and specials on a nightly basis as we try and cater for all tastes. Our sausage and mash is one of our most popular dishes on the menu and we get good reviews normally regarding it. I think its difficult to review the priory Hotel alongside the pub opposite as we are very different businesses. My apologies regarding the barking of the dog this was very unfortunate as something must of disturbed him as dogs are normally very well behaved when staying at the hotel and we do ask the owners that they are well behaved and don't bark too often. Would it be possible that you could contact me at r.kurdi@prioryhotel.co.uk and we could look at you returning to the hotel with my compliments kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

We booked in June, for a 2night dinner on the first night, bed & breakfast offer. We duly arrived on the 10th September, together with 2 other couples. The place is dated, we were given rooms 12,14 & 15, all chalet style. They were furnished very 70's, chipped paintwork all over & the bathroom in 15, the wooden side didn't reach the floor. The receptionist, Kelsey, was not at all friendly & was very abrupt. The service in the dining room at breakfast was below standard. The men ordered porridge & cooked breakfasts, the cooked food came first, followed immediately by the porridge! The waitress seemed surprised that we had expected the porridge first! They had no gluten free or white bread available, & this was at 8am!! We love dogs, but, we don't want to be woken by a dog barking at 6.45am in the room next door but one! The evening dinner was ok for 4 of us, but oh dear, the steaks were inedible, & had to be returned. Would we go go again...NEVER.

Our twin bedded room was fine, with comfortable beds and plenty of tea making bits and bobs. Let down by an unemptied bin in the bathroom, and a shower that lacked any power - the pump appeared to be not working. We chose to forego breakfast as we considered it overpriced for a 3 star hotel, so can't comment, and rating doesn't take include that.

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Stephen Thank you for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel following your recent stay with us. I was glad to hear that you liked your bedroom, with comfortable beds and plenty of tea and coffee making facilities for you. I was however disappointed to read that your shower didn't work very well and that your bin had not been emptied. I have taken this up with housekeeping to ensure that we don't get a repeat of this in the future. I feel that at £12.95 our breakfast is reasonable for a full continental and cooked option. Had you have booked an inclusive breakfast rate this would have been reduced as part of the package. I do hope that we can welcome you back to the hotel in the near future kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

The location of the hotel is just outside the town. It is just off a fairly busy road but the hotel is walled so you don't hear traffic or have any concerns if you have children. Just a Shirt gravel drive to the main entrance. Quite a grand welcome to this old house. (There are a couple of entrances but reception can be reached from both ways). There are 3 options for room locations, the main house (where I stayed, which has been sympathetically renovated keeping the character with oak beams), courtyard rooms (had a sneak peak, look very nice with all the facilities you need), the. You have the garden rooms, didn't get to see these but if they are anything like the other rooms they will be lovely. Reception is small offering hot coffee and take away cups. It was quick and easy to check in and if you need anything extra, it was sorted immediately. The room facilities are good, kettle, iron, ironing board, hairdryer, everything you would expect. The shower took a little while to warm up but once it's ready, it was lovely. Nice, clean and tidy. The hotel offers breakfast. Continental breakfast is available, small selection of pastries, cereals fruit etc. but nice all the same. You can also order a hot breakfast at no extra charge (although there are some extras that incur a charge smoked salmon etc.). All the staff we met were friendly and helpful. Lovely hotel, definitely stay again.

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Lollie Thank you very much for you review of the Priory Hotel following your stay with us. I was really happy to read that you had a lovely time with us during your stay. I have passed on all your comments to my team. I do hope we can welcome you back in the near future. Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

Good food ,,good servise very friendly Evening meal a good corsice each night We had our own seating each day in the same room for meals We were a group visiting gardening for 4 days Ssept 1st to 4 th 2017

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Joan Thank you for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel following your recent stay with us. We really enjoyed your group at the hotel for the 4 days and it was a delight to serve you. I do hope that we can welcome you back in the near future Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

Stayed here for 2 nights in the superior suite, no air con so is very hot in the rooms, the bed was two beds pushed together, its slightly dated but other than that a nice place to stay, has free wifi too and also free parking on site, close to Tesco too!

Booked hotel for a christening and arrived to hotel outlook is superb staff are extremely sparse and good luck trying to find one! We where told there was only 3 staff on and the manager had to leave to sort his horses out?! Great but when you need somebody that doesn't help, Got to our room and open the door to be greeted with the stench of wet dog! Then I looked up the hotel which does not make it aware they accept dogs! Yuk if I had know this wouldn't have booked it bathroom had dog hairs scattered all over and that clearly cannot be helped as hairs fly about with movement but still yuk! Bed was awful and any movement make it squeak and sound like it was splitting in two. Asked for some airfreshner and they had none, if I had pets myself I probably wouldn't be bothered by the smell but I don't and it's all I could smell and its revolting! So just be aware and tv is very temperamental but only needed to put my head down and get going the next day and for that it was ok

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Ms Heywood Thank you for your review of the Priory Hotel following your recent stay with us. I was very disappointed to read your comments regarding the cleanliness of the room. We do allow dogs to stay at the hotel but in limted bedrooms and we instruct our staff to ensure that the rooms are thoroughly cleaned following a dog staying. My head housekeeper Shirley has investigated this matter with her team to ensure that we don't get a repeat of this in the future. We do have air fresheners readily available and we have now left a bottle of this at reception and if we have a repeat of a bad smell in future we will be able to air and refresh the rooms as neccesary. I have also investigated the matter regarding the member of management that left the hotel and i do not expect a repeat of this in the future following my meeting with them. If you would be so kind as to email me directly at r.kurdi@prioryhotel.co.uk i would be very grateful. I look forward to hearing back from you Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

The hotel is tired and our room had a strange smell. The beds were very hard and the rooms had lots of random hairs. The staff were great but it seemed there were not enough hands on deck to deal with the demand. We popped to the bar for a night cap and had to ring the bell 4-5 times before a member of staff even arrived. They really did their best but when I asked why they were so thinly spread I was told "The manager has horses and had something he needed to do, so went home early". Now I can appreciate that there could have been something serious, but educate your staff to give your customers a suitable answer. Consider themselves lucky to get a 2 star review because if is wasn't for their staff it would be a 0.

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Mr Philbrick Thank you for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel following your stay with us. I have sent you an email to your personal email address regarding the matters of your stay and look forward to hearing back from you. Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

I stayed here for business over the weekend and was less than impressed when arriving at the Priory. The Hotel is very tired. It needed updating at least 10 years ago and musty smell follows you out the entrance door. I was originally put into room 14. On walking through the door, I was instantly hit by the smell of bleach and mold. I had to be out again quickly for dinner so got dressed and left. I arrived back at the hotel at 11:30pm and it had not got any better so I went and spoke to the staff member at the reception desk who kindly moved me to Room 19, which was worse. They did then move me again to a room inside the original building which was OK. The beds are not comfortable, the light in the bathroom has no on off switch so you have to wait for it to go off again by itself. The bathroom in all 3 rooms needed to be replaced (covered in mold) Decor throughout is very tired. In the morning I decided to go to the restaurant and order breakfast. At 7:30am the flies were all over the tables and cutlery. A staff member approached me in the morning to advise they were "treating the mold in the rooms that's why it smelt so badly of chemicals" ?! My suggestion would be to find anywhere else to stay!!!

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Ms Bennett Thank you very much for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel Following your stay with us. Firstly please accept my sincere apologies regarding the smell of bleach, i understand that my housekeeping team were doing some spring cleaning in some of the bathrooms and ideally these rooms should have been put off for the night to air them out. We are going to be starting a 16 bedroom expansion and refurbishment programme in Autumn of this year. We will also have a new glass conservatory dining room that will look out on to the gardens so some exciting times ahead. I have emailed the agent to which the booking was made to make an offer back to you so i am unsure if you have had any correspondence from them. If you would like to email me personally on r.kurdi@prioryhotel.co.uk then i can come back to you personally. I look forward to hearing back from you Kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

We went here for my husbands birthday on the 4th, after being let down by somewhere we'd already booked. We know Matt who is one of the chefs, who also works at the Ipswich hotel and brome grange and he suggested we tried it, as he was working there that night. He also did our wedding breakfast at the Ipswich hotel so we knew the food would be great. Well it was absolutely amazing and the lamb shank was devine. Would highly recommend a visit here. It's a beautiful hotel in a lovely setting. Staff are very friendly and looked after us well. Special thanks to Matt who saved the day.

RKurdi, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you very much for taking the time to review the Priory Hotel following your recent Birthday meal here. I was very happy to hear that you had a fantastic time with us and enjoyed the food. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future kind regards Rameth Kurdi General Manager

All the staff we came in contact with were very pleasant and helpful.Great choice at breakfast and service at table excellent. We were able to walk into town from the hotel so didnt have to worry about parking. We had a garden room,not in the main hotel, the idea we liked. Although we had a very nice stay the down side was that the room diffinitely needs an upgrade. The room was very tired,needs a new bathroom and all needs redecorated.

Our stay at the priory was very nice. My husband and I stayed in the annex which we were told had recently been refurbished and our friends were in room no 5. The staff were very friendly, from the manager to the cleaning staff. We had evening meals on three occasions which were very nice but a bit pricey to have every night. The special menu never changed which was disappointing as we pointed out to the manager while we were there,

Excellent staff, receptionist managed to find me a ground floor room even though I forgot to ask in advance. Very comfy bed, clean and freshly decorated bedroom. Food very good quality and great service.

Stayed here for 4 nights with a large group. Opinions on rooms varied (some need an upgrade) but ours in the courtyard was clean, comfortable and in pretty good decorative state. Cleaning was a bit erratic and toiletries missing but staff were keen to help. Slightly out of town (but only £4-5 taxi ride away) and it's beautifully peaceful with lovely gardens. Food was generally very good and the restaurant staff were endlessly patient and helpful - managing to serve our large group (@50 of us) with commendable speed. Decor in public rooms was a little "tired" and the bar is small and a bit limited but overall we were well looked after and enjoyed our stay.

Stay at the Priory Hotel quite often and can only say what a pleasure it is. The staff from reception to housekeeping are amazing and if there is a problem it is always solved quickly, quietly and efficiently. I do not read the reviews very often but was quite surprised at the attitude of a reviewer recently we can all find fault sometimes where ever we stay but if complaints are put over in a polite way it saves so much distress. The hotel is to have a major refurbishment in the near future some new rooms are already in use clean, bright, modern and airy. Plenty on offer for breakfast and from what I have seen the hotel is getting busy so maybe that speaks for its self.

Great hotel and friendly staff with a positive helpful attitude. From reception to the kitchen staff all go out of their way to make your stay a pleasant experience. Able to look after the business traveller or those visiting th historic Bury St Edmunds. Well done keep it up.

Stayed one July Saturday night. Clean and spacious room and bathroom. Good breakfast. Quite hot in room 5: would be more of an issue if the weather was better! Maybe the hotel should offer a fan in each room.

This is the first time we have stayed here, we would return if it was the same price, but don't expect too much. Read the other reviews, yes it needs a facelift, the beds were quite hard, the bathroom worked!! Rooms include tea and coffee. We were able to park right outside our room which was useful. The staff I have to say were very nice. This is not a 5* hotel and there's much better in Bury, but it did the job!

We stayed here before a wedding and were delighted by the room and the excellent dinner. The garden is lovely. Most surprising was the generosity of the staff, especially Lauren, who looked after our dog for the whole day when we were at the wedding. They didn't ask to be paid for this; they treated us like friends! We had a really happy stay here and will return. A lovely family hotel!

Kelly K, Owner at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for your review, we are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your stay at The Priory Hotel. Your comments have been duly passed on to our staff, We hope to welcome you again in the future.

This hotel really does need a facelift. First time I stayed I was in upstairs near kitchen and room was very hot and the shower was broken so very very hot. Second time I was in the garden rooms which are very dated and had a funny smell. Staff were very polite and breakfast was lovely but rooms let them down.

Kelly K, Owner at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for your review. We are disappointed to read your comments, but delighted to say that we have a refurbishment project ahead of us and have already completed some refurbishments. We hope that you will return again in the future to see the improvements we have made.

Stayed in chalet in grounds of hotel, bedroom ok apart from very hard pillows. Bathroom had had grouting done between tiles, but needs updating on fixtures and fittings. Main hotel desperate for update, shoddy appearance. Owners need to spend some profit they make to turn this hotel to a more desirable condition. My friend stayed in room 7, if offered this room, refuse. Bathroom had been regrouped, but fixtures and fittings need to be replaced. Awful smell in bathroom, suspect it is coming from the kitchen when they are cooking. Sloping ceiling as it is in attic. This room should be used for storage and not paying guests. Staff pleasant. Intend to contact Best Western with hotels problems

Kelly K, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to review your recent stay with us. I am so sorry to hear that we did not meet your expectations. The hotel is currently undergoing refurbishment in some areas around the hotel, and would really like the opportunity to welcome you back in the future to show you the progress we have made, and hopefully restore your faith in our hotel.

From the moment I phoned the hotel to make a special request, until the time we left, we found the staff friendly and very helpful. Our lovely room overlooked the garden and was quiet and peaceful. We thought the food was well presented and delicious. I have no hesitation in recommending The Priory Hotel.

Kelly K, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for taking the time to review your stay with us. I have passed your kind words onto the relevant departments. We hope to see you again soon.

Stayed here for 1 night 15/7/17 room no 7 Avoid this room . This room was uncomfortably hot to the point that i was sick and almost fainted during the night , even with the windows fully open. It is situated in the roof of the main building and would appear to be above the kitchen. No aircon or fan . Was noisy in the morning due to its situation above the kitchen and overlooked the kitchen staff rest area so could here all their conversations as well as smell their cigerette smoke. Everything was crooked in the room from the pictures to the tv and the basin in the bathroom , somebody didnt care when it came to that room.!!! Now the bathroom was a complete joke. The shower hose wasnt long enough, the water which was a dribble was cold, the wood work and the bath panel were falling to bits and the worst was the toilet did not flush away the waste, even after 9 flushes, embarrassing .!!! The bed had seen better days, antiquated headboard but my god the mattress, i have never seen one as disgusting as this one, it was basically brown and stained from top to bottom , i wish i had looked at it when i got into the room , but as we were due at a friends party we got in , changed and went out so i didnt look at it till the morning . The breakfast was very nice , but the staff were obviously under pressure. We ate it in the conservatory , the roof paint was falling off and the carpet was dirty and i had to ask someone for everything i needed. There were no glasses for fruit juice, fruit juice had ran out, had to get someone to take our order and ask for sugar twice. To be fair the staff were very pleasant considering the pressure they were under. When we went to pay in the morning before leaving, another guest was complaining so we added ours to this once he had finished . They really wernt bothered. The room was £126 including breakfast for the night through booking .com ( whom i shall also be complaing to) so if you said 10.00 a head for breakfast at the most ( which would still be over priced) thats £ 106 for the room which is daylight robbery. The management for this group need to take a long hard look at this place and spend some of the hard earned money that their guests pay for the rubbish rooms they get . This place needs a complete overhall. We will never stay there again and will make sure that anybody else we know doesnt either.

Kelly K, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Thank you for your review. I am very disappointed to read the issues you experienced whilst visiting our hotel, and have taken you comments and feedback to each of our departments. We are currently in the process of refurbishing a number of areas throughout the hotel, over the coming months. I really do hope we get the opportunity in the future to show you the progress we have made.

This is a comfortable, well run mid market 3 star hotel. We had a comfortable room, but the bathroom was a bit tired and the shower needed modernising as it was old and weak. Nice lounge and bar. Enjoyable breakfast. No complaints. A bit far from the town centre if you dont have a car. Otherwise book with confidence.

I stay here regularly for business reasons and have frequented most of the rooms the hotel has to offer. The room I stayed in last night was the worst so far. Dirty walls and carpet, mould building up in the shower and several arachnids sharing my room for free. It is about time the hotel spend some money and upgrade the furniture in their rooms as it is very old and out dated. I didn't ask for an early wake up call but the noise from an adjoining room at 0615 was enough to wake the entire hotel. Fortunately for the hotel I'll be back as my company make the bookings, if it was up to me I wouldn't bother.

This is a well run pleasant hotel. Our room was fine, a decent size, if a little dark, but I imagine this was an exception because of its position adjacent to a leafy tree. Bathroom was a bit tired and the shower was very weak indeed. Otherwise we had a good nights sleep in comfortable beds. Comfortable lounge and bar. Breakfast was good. No complaints. Does what it says on the tin. 3 stars for this 3 star hotel.

My wife and I stayed for one night to celebrate an "important" birthday and had a wonderful time. We had a lovely room, the food and wine were excellent and the welcome from all the staff was superb. The grounds are a delight and I can't understand why more people were not using them, especially as the weather was so good. I can see that the hotel is undergoing renovations at the moment, and you can tell that this is needed in a few places but this did not detract from our experience.

This was our 8th year of coming to The Priory for a Family get-together.This year was especially important as it was my mother's 90th birthday. There are 16 of us, including 4 children. We had a few issues with communication initially when arranging the booking, but eventually these were resolved. From the moment of our arrival, we were looked after in a wonderfully efficient and friendly manner, nothing was too much trouble. The supervisor James, was excellent throughout and saw to our every need. We had the lovely Terrace Suite which opens up on to the gardens. The meal was beautifully presented, and looked and tasted delicious. Following our meal, we were informed there was a BBQ being held on the lawn, and we were invited to take part in the games being held. Several of our party had a lot of fun playing rounders! My mother thoroughly enjoyed her day, and we all agreed this year was the best ever. Excellent service and a wonderful lunch. We will be returning for our 9th annual reunion next year.

Unfortunately didn't get to visit as it took 4 emails and three phone calls to enquire about wedding prices and dates. Finally spoke to lady and never received details really disappointing the venue would have been perfect ..... but left us wondering how they would have managed our special day

Stephan_Marriott11, General Manager at Best Western Priory Hotel, responded to this review
Dear Zoe, Priory Hotel is a small family business and all of us strive to deliver great guest experience and looking at all the previous reviews it is clear to see that our hospitality is second to none. We are extremely disappointed that we did not meet your expectations and we clearly got it wrong for you on this occasion. I can only sincerely apologise for the serious communication breakdown. We are investigating the matter and I would appreciate if you could contact us directly so I could apologise in person and get some more details regarding the incident.

We were visiting Bury St Edmunds and booked the Best Western for a Saturday evening. On arrival we were welcomed by a very efficient receptionist. We were given room 35 which is one of the cottages, the room was a good size with a very comfortable bed. In the evening we returned for dinner around 8:30pm. Our waiter was Luke who was young and very capable. We ordered a rump steak and a calfs liver, both were well presented and beautifully cooked, It was the best steak I have had in many years. With both mains served on hot plates one of my testes. Breakfast was good as well. We will be going back

My wife and I spent 6 nights at the hotel and had a very enjoyable time. The room was comfortable, the food, dinner and breakfast, excellent. All the staff were very professional, polite and attentive. Nothing was too much trouble. The manager, Stephan, and his assistant Anna were excellent hosts. They looked after their guests very well and when necessary mucked in with everyone to ensure a good service. Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area is lovely and very interesting. Even after six days we did not get to see everything wanted to. If we decide to come back then this is the hotel we will come back to.

Stayed here for one night on business. Decent accommodation in chalet style rooms. Rooms were spacious, clean and adequate. Restaurant in hotel was good quality. Only grumble is the road noise from the rooms as is noticeable but it didn't disrupt my sleep. Decent hotel, no frills but would stay here again.

Just spent the weekend here with our family, (17 of us) Fabulous, excellent food & service. Rooms spotless & beds very comfortable.All the staff brilliant led by Stephan & Anna, highly recommend this hotel.

Nice hotel with very attentive, welcoming and accomodating staff. The breakfast was plentiful and well prepared. Lovely old house with attractive grounds. The room was clean, large enough and in a lodge style.

I stay here on occasion, when looking for a good nights stay whilst travelling. The rooms are in a lodge style, which means you can feel independent from the main building. The bar is a little dated, but not an issue

We held my daughters wedding ceremony and reception here on Saturday and i can not recommend this hotel and most importantly its staff highly enough. They was absolute fabulous from the Managers, waterers waitresses, reception and chefs. Firstly they kept us informed prior to the wedding day and most importantly during the day. The gave ideas if we wanted them and did all we asked, and in my option went above and beyond in delivering a fantastic wedding. They invited the bride and groom to see the rooms i.e. ceremony, wedding breakfast, reception and evening buffet all before the guests viewed them. They really went out of their way to make the Bride and Groom feel so special. They also looked after myself as the Brides mother and decorated the hotel beautiful. Also i would like to thank the Chef who sadly i did not meet on the day, but have to highly recommend him and his team for the food they produced. From the Wedding breakfast to the buffet, all the food was home made and totally not only looked amazing but tasted amazing. So if you are looking for a wedding venue that the staff REALLY look after you and care about your and make your day so special then book here. Excellent service, food and stunning grounds.

The staff at the priory hotel were really friendly, Stephan Marriot and his team were very obliging, they made us so welcome, even made our dog welcome as well, the grounds were beautiful, we have no hesitation in booking another weekend away

I stayed here for 2 nights. The staff here were great. The reception staff were very helpful when my friend had trouble with the Wi-Fi. The hotel is about 30 min walk from town. The grounds are lovely

Stayed here for two nights in the most dog friendly hotel we have every stayed in. From the moment we checked in the owners could not have done more to make us feel right at home even offering our beloved cocker spaniel food fit for a king! The garden room was the most comfortable room ever, just charming overlooking a very well manicured garden, just perfect. How often have you seen dog lovers a bin outside your room for our poo bags? Answer NEVER! Brilliant idea. How often have you seen a sign on the outside of the door to warn staff that a dog might be on the other side of the door? Answer NEVER! Brilliant idea. Thank you to the staff for making us feel so welcome, we had a great stay. Forgot to mention the food...first class.

Stayed in Room 9, a twin room, with my sister. Very close to reception, perfect for us. Room was spotlessly clean, ample facilities for our needs. Well worth the money. Service and staff were excellent, reception ladies very helpful. We had dinner in restaurant in evening with more family, the food was much better than I envisaged. Scampi and salmon were really nice, big portions too. Breakfast was also very good, cooked food was quick, eggs benedict beautiful. Would definitely return.

Lovely traditional hotel. Within walking distance of the town centre. The staff were very welcoming and helpful. We stayed in one of the annex / chalet type rooms. The room was clean and tidy but maybe a bit dated and not totally ideal by current standards. If I were booking again I would try to specify staying in the beautiful historic hotel itself. The breakfast was superb. Reasonably priced hotel and in a good location.

24 of us stayed for up to 3 nights as a base for a walking group. The staff were very accommodating and helpful manged well by Stephan and his Assistant Anna. The rooms were comfortable and the food very good. A superb weekend. Thanks to everyone in the team. Well done. Will revisit even as a smaller party.

Stayed here with work colleagues. My room (no.5) was very comfortable , a good size and overlooked the beautiful grounds to the rear. My colleagues were staying in the attached chalets around the grounds and whilst ok they said that they were dated and tired with a need for refurbishment. The staff at the hotel were friendly and accommodating. The evening meal was very good. Good range of local produce, beautifully presented and very tasty. Was not expecting such a dining experience. The breakfast was also very nice especially the cooked one. This hotel is a 20 minute walk from the town centre.

We met some friends here for lunch although restaurant was quiet we all had an excellent lunch. Food their was a good choice and we all enjoyed it very much. I had a lamb shank which was tender and very tasty. The pear apple and plum crumble also excellent.

Excellent Hotel. Accommodation is in the form of Chalet Rooms. Nice and warm and comfortable. Housekeeping did an excellent job of servicing the room and kept the tea tray well stocked. Breakfast was good and served in a timely manner.Bar was comfortable. Staff were friendly and helpful. A traditional hotel. A taxi into Bury St Edmunds will only cost approximately £5.00. Free WiFi in the room. A reasonable sized car park. Would quite happily stay here again.

20 family & friends had birthday celebration lunch in conservatory room leading onto garden. The staff were all very pleasant, efficient & welcoming; the food was excellent & the venue perfect, especially as the children could relieve their boredom by playing football etc in the garden.

Good parking. Rooms/chalets are large.we had a bath and shower. Comfortable bed with good pillows. Breakfast was lovely. Tea tray could do with more tea and milk on it. Staff very friendly and helpful. We would stay again.

This is a traditional hotel: There's nothing odd or quirky about it; the staff are welcoming and efficient; the food is prepared to order, good quality, delicious and good value. I've never stayed here but have been in from time to time for meals. We'll be back.

We stayed as part of a car club group. Excellent roomy parking. The good food was pleasantly served. Nothing was too much trouble for the friendly staff. We hope to return in the not too distant future

Plenty of parking. Good room - we booked a superior room and got a six foot bed and ample space in the room. Everything was fine for us. We only had bed and breakfast and the service and food were acceptable. We did have difficulty getting the heating put on when we were in our room. We were told the heating was on a timer, which we can understand, but it was cold and we did need the heating on, although a few weeks ago it was very hot and heating would not have been required.

Getting the family together from four corners of the country is not easy but the Priory made it more than worth-while and a great occasion for 20 of us. Pre-lunch drinks were attractive and well served. We had four beautifully set tables in the Conservatory with views down to the garden. The pre-ordered choice from a selection of four for each course enabled all tastes to be satisfied. The food was attractively presented, had interesting flavours and was delicious. Even a toddler had his own nicely set out meal! The staff were attentive without fuss, yet friendly and knew how to serve. We all enjoyed a very leisurely time together. It's great to be able to walk out into the garden to chat longer. To cap it all the bill was very reasonable. We appreciated the quiet, efficient organisation with all details attended to and helpful suggestions. Family members who stayed overnight enjoyed the relaxation - and the great breakfast. So - a big 'Thankyou'.

We held our wedding reception at the Priory and it was more than we could have asked for. Everything was done as per our requirements, the consevatory was spotless and tastefully decorated. The staff were very attentive and no-one was kept waiting for food and drinks. The food was EXCELLENT, every guest commented on how great the food was. Beautiful grounds, and though it was a bit chilly out (February) the sun shone and the scenery was perfect. There was no time limit to vacate the premises- we paid for use of the consevatory and it was ours for the entire day and night. As we planned to go to our honeymoon that night, we did not stay over at the hotel, but were allowed to change into our travel clothing in one of their rooms. Just before we left that evening, we were given the gift of a free night in their bridal suite whenever we wanted! We will definitely return for a romantic meal here. It's now one of our special places.

Had a wonderful birthday dinner with all the family in a Private Dining Room. Food was excellent and the staff were very welcoming and accommodating. The bedrooms are very spacious. We all had a fantastic time and would definitely revisit.

From the moment we were greeted by Anna & Stephan to our departure the service was incredible and food amazing. We booked a table of 11 and was offered the conservatory as our own private room over looking fabulous manicured gardens. Arrival drinks for all, including incredible children's cocktails which went down very well. Great food and service all evening and some pretty good rooms to boot. Spacious family rooms with all mod cons. This hotel is very child and pet friendly as our 2 young black labs were made a fuss of and were allowed free run of the hotel (apart from restaurant of course) Great value and worth the money for a large party including overnight stay. The staff were all attentive and friendly with all of our party. Well done Priory, looking forward to visiting again. 5 stars

Our room was in the garden annexe ( no. 11). It was tired & dated & lacked the 2 most important essentials for a pleasant stay i.e a refreshing shower- the water flow was so poor it was unsuitable for hair washing & barely general washing & a decent bed- this was too hard for restful sleep and the mattress itself was stained.The walls are so thin we could clearly hear the conversation etc from our neighbours. Accommodation basically needs complete refurb. Disappointing!

Had a lovely Mothers Day Lunch at the Priory today! Superb food and very personable staff made it a really pleasant occasion, thank you! Nice little touches for the Mums too! Recommended ...so do try it! :)

Set in pleasant grounds, the Priory lived up to expectations ! On arrival, the staff were personable, welcoming and attentive without being intrusive. The meal was superb, well presented and delicious. Highly recommend a visit, I am sure you will not be disappointed !

Having just spent the weekend in Bury for the Christmas Fayre and having booked ourselves into the Best Weston we feel you should all know.....No the Hotel may not have the best decor and could do with a little bit of a face lift, BUT do not take all at face value, As always we are always greeted by happy friendly staff and always happy to help. We had decided to have a meal in the hotel, IT WAS AMAZING!!! we went for something different and got something very beautiful, and for the chef to come out with our meals and explain the dish.Fantastic!!! Credit where credit due!! We had a great weekend and will be returning again....

We stayed here yesterday to attend Christmas market. We had two rooms, both were in garden area. They were clean, but very tired and worn. The bathroom was the worst, loose tiles, mound and black scum around window, sink and bath. Carpet in room was dirty and worn. Reminded us of old chalets we used to stay in at Butlins as kids. Not worth £114 a night.

Just back from a weekend at this hotel with my mum and her partner. The rooms were great, I was in a single but the bed was almost double. Very comfortable. We ate in the hotel both evenings, the food was lovely and the service great. Although it was a first visit for me, my mum and her partner stay here regularly, so Stephan, the new manager, kindly bought us a round of drinks. They commented on how much it has changed since the last visit (all positive). The staff were all helpful, attentive and friendly. Looking forward to my next visit.

We were invited to a friend's birthday lunch, 12 of us in the party, and had pre-ordered our menu choices. We felt embarrassed for our hosts for a number of reasons. The service was appalling and to find a member of staff we had to go to reception because there were not enough waiting staff. We were the only people in the restaurant and there was another small private party in another area. The whole place felt tired and lacking in welcome or atmosphere. The final straw was the main course - a tiny amount of veg, a grudging amount of roast beef, undercooked roast potatoes and a gravy that was thin and tasteless. The management should be there on a Sunday to see what actually goes on, as there are 12 people who will never go back. There are so many local pubs offering wonderful Sunday lunches making The Priory even worse by comparison on price, atmosphere and quality