Best Western The Rose and Crown Hotel in Colchester

Had a lovely stay on Saturday. Beautiful 4 poster bed. Comfortable and huge. Found the room to be relatively quiet, which is exactly what we wanted. Breakfast was plentiful, but eggs and bacon were slightly overdone to our taste. The only criticism I can give is that there were a large group of guests that had been to a wedding the previous day, and they were exceptionally noisy at breakfast. So much so that we ended up walking out before finishing our meal. Might have been more acceptable if the staff had asked them to keep it down a bit.

This hotel suited me well for a midweek overnight stay with work, with some minor gripes. I found the room a little too warm and the pillows slightly uncomfortable. But the staff were friendly and efficient, the room was clean and comfortable (I suspect it had recently been refurbished), the parking was free and on-site, and the location was good, being a reasonably short walk to the town centre with pleasant pubs and places to eat. I was surprised, with the hotel location, that road noise wasn't an issue, and found the hotel overall full of character and charm.

The perfect base for exploring the city

The location was OK, but not many places to eat nearby. I was in the annex building, on the ground floor. Room service left my window open on the first day. Luckily nothing was stolen as being on the ground floor, it would have been easy to climb in and there were a few dodgy characters hanging around. Breakfast was OK, but very overpriced. Service was OK. Park ing was difficult after 17:00 due to having a relatively small carpark which was obviously being used by non customers to yhe hotel. The main building was lovely, with lots of history.

Apparently a haunted hotel but I had a peaceful night sleep

Unfortunately they do not warn guests when booking that they have wedding parties booked at the same time, hence, we could not get served at the bar and it was very noisy affecting our experience and sleep. Room was fairly tired, but breakfast was good. We did not get value for money with our stay sadly. Very disappointed.

Shabby hotel, they should worn guest before booking ,that they will have a wedding 😞, couldn't sleep at all, looks like they or might be renovating inside of the hotel ?!?! The wedding and the guests of the hotel where using the same bar , queues for over 30 min... Rooms looks good in the photo but in reality they are run down... breakfast was decent but you have to pay separately.Overall the hotel is very expensive for the service, cleaning they provide..if you book with them enquire if they have a weeding other wise chances of sleeping are very small

cute hotel. do not except too much from food or the rooms, they have seen their best times. service is friendly and location with free parking is good. (10min walk to the castle)

We held our wedding here on 10th May 2025. The events planners (Sian and Ilze) did an amazing job The day went smoothly they sorted everything and this left us to just enjoy our day. The venue is beautiful and we love the period features of the beams, wonky floors. Perfect backdrop for a wedding. The secret garden added that extra special element in the middle of Colchester. The food was delicious - large portions, no-one went hungry that's for sure! Can't recommend them highly enough.

Pleasantly surprised at the value offered .beautiful historic hotel, rooms clean and tidy..didn't have breakfast as we were leaving early, unfortunately they were not serving evening meals but I was aware of this when booking..that was a shame as I would have rather given them my money. Nice and quiet, about 15 mins walk to centre which I imagine is very lively if you booked a hotel there...would book again

Beautiful old building with lots of history. Great location as we were visiting the university. Apologies for my previous review I left the rubbish review for the wrong place!!

This is the worst night I have ever spent in an hotel. Dead tired I tried to run a bath but no cold water. I fiddled with the complicated taps to no avail. Got dressed again and went for help ( no telephone in room) and the receptionist came up to help but couldn't do it either. So I then had to wait for the night porter to arrive and he eventually fixed it. Then I couldn't open the seal on the shower gel so was reduced to using the miserable piece of soap provided. The hair dryer only worked on cool so that was useless. The room was opposite a garage so I was woken at 6.00 a.m.by their noise plus the trains. The fruit provided for breakfast was unacceptable. This was certainly not up to normal Best Western standards and obviously only survives on the fact of being quaint.

Honestly don't understand all the complaints. I stayed here a few nights back with my boyfriend, we stayed in room 204 as we're into all that paranormal stuff. The receptionist was lovely, she told us a few stories of what others had experienced and showed us around down where the old cells are. The room was amazing, the bed was really comfy and there was plenty of tea, coffee and even hot chocolate and biscuits in the room. Lovely fresh towels in the bathroom and amazing smelling shampoo and body wash. We also had a drink at the bar, the bar as well as the hotel is so beautifully, historically kept and the barman was also really friendly too. The only downside was being woken 3 times during the night to what sounded like something heavy being dragged across a wooden floor, in the room we were in and a weird faint sound of horses, but that sort of stuff is what we were looking for. So, for us, we really enjoyed our stay and we'll definitely be back at some point. :)

Staff are very rude and demanding. They ignore information told to them and like to make out that it’s a privilege to take your money and to demand more money is an even bigger honour to ask for. I would recommend avoiding as they will just change prices when they feel like it.

Once you are this 600 year old building you feel the ambiance of this place. So, we are getting wed here next year , tonight we came for a taster and quite honestly it is really good. I’d give the sea bass a 5/5 absolutely on the money. The staff EXTREMELY friendly…. Glad we made this choice. Our wedding coordinator Sian is brilliant, highly recommended

Best stay in year's breakfast lovely service great young waitress was excellent deserve pay rise great stay thank Y

I stayed at the Best Western Hotel for a wedding event, and unfortunately, it was a disappointing experience. The bar and reception were severely understaffed. Despite the hotel knowing about the wedding, only one bartender was on duty, resulting in long waits. Breakfast was equally chaotic, with only two servers handling the entire breakfast room. We waited over 30min for someone to take our order an hour for our food, and there were no clear instructions on how to order. Very bad The bathroom was very clean, but the bedroom had issues. The carpet was dusty around the bed edges, and the mattress was extremely uncomfortable and outdated. I heard from other guests who shared similar complaints. Front desk staff needs better training. My interaction with them felt unprofessional, as if I was a bother rather than a paying guest. Overall, this best western Hotel needs to improve its management, staffing, and customer service standards.

Not enough parking and bar staff were very slow serving. But the rooms are beautiful.

I attended a wedding here, but I didn't stay. The preparations for the wedding were superb and the staff were kind and efficient. The food was excellent, and the atmosphere was very welcoming. A super venue for events.

Just a beautiful place staff amazing lived every second being there for my cousins wedding

Traditional hotel and conveniently located.

I really liked the bar. Great breakfast, and the service was good. Great value for money

Stayed for a wedding and it was a most magical experience, reception staff really helpful with my booking….will be back! Thank you!

Great place to stay, staff are very friendly and helpful, and the food was amazing Highly recommend staying here

Uncomfortable bedding. Hand-held shower. Very low ceiling had to bend down while walking around the room. Im only 5ft 4". Husband 5 ft 9" and banged his head twice. Uneven floor and claustrophobic. Not a relaxing night away atall. Did not stay in the room any longer than too. Paidcamost £100. Worse stay and room ever. Bar staff had private conversation and hid behind the back when we approached the bar and did not acknowledge us, so we went to a nearby pub. There was a wedding on and feel the Wedding guest got priority.

I stayed in a refurbished room which had a Nespresso coffee machine. It's a great location for visiting east Anglia. The breakfast offer needs improving...

We really enjoyed our stay, the young lady at reception that day was amazing. Such a wonderful person, we couldn't thank her in person when we checked out as she had finished her shift but her service was excellent. We loved how cl3an the hotel is.

Excellent service from front of house employees, all very helpful and happy. PRIYA even printed off the history of the establishment which was very interesting and informative. DEFINITELY a stay that was different in an old part of Colchester. Room was unique and the beds very comfortable. Breakfast was excellent value and the produce was of very good quality. Definitely will return to this establishment if we are ever to return to the area, full marks given for value and professionalism. The Hotel is unique being over 500 yrs old and has been renovated to the original plans, very comfortable lounge and dining areas. Bar served most drinks and was very nice too. We'll done to all who work here, a credit to the hospitality industry.

A very, very, very old (600 years) building with loads of character and authenticity. Really amazing you're in such an old place, that holds so much history. Downside: mind your head!, creaky floors, a bit less space, small windows But very nice to see and to experience this characteristic building. We had one night stay, and I wouldn't recommend for a weeks stay (I.m.o.) Very friendly staff. It was a lovely experience.

Did not stay overnight, was at a family function.