Ivy Bush Royal Hotel by Compass Hospitality in Carmarthenshire

We stayed here on the 22nd of November staying here for my birthday, my wife and I checked in with our dog and took out bags to the room and went straight down to get food, on arrival at the bar we ordered a drink and asked where we could sit with our dog(This is supposed to be a dog friendly hotel) only to be told we could not sit anywhere inside only out on the decking. Note storm Bert was in full flow. We then had to go back to our room and eat at the table in it. We went to bed and the door between the next to ours banged all night due to a window being left open in it, we spoke to reception the next morning and we moved rooms to a suite which smelt badly of smoke but we put up with that as it was only for one night. Since being home we have emailed twice about this issue yet no reply. This morning we received a PCN although we had put our registration into the tablet inside so my wife called the hotel and told them about it and the other situation and was told she would get an email with the managers direct email this has not happened. She was also told that we would have to appeal the PCN. Why would we have to do that when the hotel has the power to contact the carpark management and explain we had stayed two nights and not been made aware we had to put our registration in again on the second night. We were not the only customers to have had a PCN form that weekend. As an establishment you need to change your website and remove dog friendly and train all of your colleagues around the carpark issue. I’m happy to discuss these issues with the management.

Tacky rooms, sleep affected by overhead noise. TV remote was not working. Informed manager, no response.

In urgent need of an update. Carpets in some areas leave a lot to be desired. ( they are black not the intended colour). Food not too bad. Some rooms on the small side. Most staff helpful and friendly.

Complaint submitted 29/09/24 Dear Mr Yeates, I should like to make a complaint. My friend and I had lunch in the bar yesterday (28/09/24). We ordered, and I paid by card. Sometime later my friend went to the bar and ordered more tea, for which she paid, and the barman asked her to pay for the lunch. She explained that her friend had already paid. When we left we found we were being pursued by one of the barmen. We stopped and he said accusingly “You haven’t paid!” There were many ways he could have broached this diplomatically and politely, for example, “I’m very sorry but we don’t seem to have kept track of whether you have paid, may I just check?” However, he chose to accuse us of not paying, therefore, accusing us of attempted fraud, without any possibility that it was your staff who may have made a mistake. I stated that I had paid. He then demanded: “who did you pay?” and I, a little taken aback, said “well the man who was behind the bar at the time.” He said: “I messaged him and asked and he said you didn’t”. “Well I did” I replied. This was getting embarrassing, so I turned and walked back into the hotel foyer to sort it out in a more appropriate place. As I walked across the foyer I was accosted by another member of your bar staff, a large man, who blocked our way and also accused us of not paying. I repeated that I had paid. He asked me to prove it. I asked whether he could not check on the till and he replied: “We have, and it isn’t there”. This was happening in the foyer where we were surrounded by other guests coming and going. He demanded that I go onto my banking app and prove that I had paid. I had to open my bank account, in the foyer, where your staff, my friend and anyone passing by could see my private banking information, including how much I have in my bank account. I had no wish to share this information. I proved that I had indeed paid, at which point the first barman who had accosted me, disappeared without a word. I said to the larger barman who was still standing over me, “this was badly handled, and in an accusatory manner!” He began to argue with me, telling me it had not been accusatory although, firstly, he had not been present outside during the first accusation and therefore, was not in a position to comment on that, and secondly, did not understand that the statement “you have not paid” is an accusation. It was not at any point done in a friendly, diplomatic or non-confrontational way. There was no question, in either of their approaches, that the mistake may have been on their part. Neither of them apologised. • Your staff embarrassed and humiliated me very publicly, forced me to expose private information and offered no apology when I proved that I had paid. • I had not been given a receipt by the bartender who took my payment. What would I have done, in those hostile circumstances, had I paid cash? I would not have been able to prove it. • Why did your staff tell me they had checked when they clearly hadn’t? They could have checked the payments on the card machine, instead of demanding to see my bank account. (There had been plenty of time for them to do this, we were there a long time). • I suffered a sleepless night following this treatment. I have dined in many cafes and restaurants over the years; I have never been treated like this before. I should like to know what your policy is in such a situation and whether you train your staff at all to deal with these issues, as it would appear they have no training and poor manners. Not only did they deal with it in an offensive way, as stated, they did not even have the common courtesy to apologise. I would also like to know whether you consider this sequence of events acceptable and a good reflection on your hotel. I look forward to your response,

Lovely hotel staff v friendly food superb even when they were so busy with 2 coaches.

Had our wedding at the Ivy last Saturday, the whole day was fantastic ! From start to finish, everything run smoothly and on time. The room was decorated beautifully ( unfortunately I didn’t take a picture )😢the food was delicious, compliments to the chef! Thank you to Jack and his team for making our wedding day perfect. Richard and Cheri Murrell

Lovely hotel though a little dated. The staff are very friendly, the food is good and the rooms are comfortable. The hotel is located just a short walk from the Castle, the town and the historic church. We will be back.

Lovely, clean hotel, very close to town. Amazing breakfasts. Friendly helpful staff.

Thinks its acceptable to waste peoples time and not respond to calls.

Our recent experience at Ivy Bush, was anything but unbelievable. This isn't the first time we have stayed at this hotel however our latest visit was overshadowed by an unwelcoming service and a room not fit for purpose - Room 110. As a family of of 5 (2 adults and 3 children), we always stayed in one of their basement rooms but we were given a room on the first foor with a double bed, another with 2 singles. That meant, I had to sleep on the floor so that the children would get somewhere to sleep. When we asked for extra beddings from the gentleman at the front desk, who was unwelcoming, it was like taking a sweet from a child. On top of this, the said room was very dirty, dead spider on the window, dirty carpets, dust on the table, very dirty extractor in the bathroom, mouldy grout, and the list goes on. I took lots of pictures and wish I could attach them here for everyone to see. The only positive experience was the breakfast services from the wonderful ladies. We will not be going back to Ivy Bush ever again!

Stayed at the hotel with my husband for two nights. Rooms seemed a lot more dated than the images on the website. Staff on the reception desk were really pleasant, which is a lot more than can be said for one of the ladies clearing the dishes during breakfast. We stood waiting, unsure whether we needed to wait to be told where to sit and when we saw her and asked her, she just mumbled that we could sit anywhere. We weren’t asked if we’d been there before, shown where anything was or offered tea or coffee, however, there was a nice young male that brought tea/coffee when my husband approached him on both mornings. I’ve given 4 stars for the pleasant staff, however, I would only give the lady with the ponytail one as I saw her scowl at people leaving the breakfast table. Location was good as it is a short walk to the shops.

We had our wedding at the Ivy Bush. Everything was excellent. All the staff were very polite and helpful . Jack the manager is exceptional. Our wedding was Everything we wanted and more

So disappointed. Booked as a stop after getting off the ferry and although we're able to check in after midnight we wished we carried on driving. On arrival there was no one at reception, although we were able to walk straight in! Eventually we were checked in. Told breakfast was 7.30 am til 9 and left to find our oom in a maze of corridors and stairs and mini flights of steps. The room was really old, tired, dirty and unappealing. Who hangs pictures with water stains along the bottom, pictures of close ups of headboards? All the lampshades were askew, cleaning was awful ( tops of plug sockets had a really thick layer of grime and the bathroom grout was in urgent need of redoing. Add to the lack of mattress, duvet and pillow protectors the disgusting stain mattress made us further regret our visit. The room was hot and stuffy but at least the holey, moth eaten curtains allowed movement of air through! The only drinking water( from the bathroom tap was either hot or warm?? No cold water came through. Would definitely recommend giving this a miss ( but like when you say good morning to the receptionist and she ignores you)

Had a superb lunch of sea bass, it was simply divine. Sat outside on the terrace in beautiful sunshine. Service was 1st class, the waitress king and courteous. The Ivy Bush is in a class of its own, the place to go if you want something a bit more special.

I booked an executive twin room on the 17th of June for 22nd to 24th July, but when we checked in, I was given a standard twin. And when querying it with reception staff was lied to . He said, " I CAN GUARANTEE YOU ARE IN AN EXECUTIVE TWIN." I compared the rooms on the website and seen the difference. I went back down again to question him, and he was adamant it was executive room. On checking out, I spoke to a different reception worker, and he confirmed it was a standard twin room. As you can see, the difference between the 2 types of rooms in the photos.

My first thought when visiting this hotel is that this was the premier hotel for Carmarthen. I was quite disappointed upon arrival to see all the paint peeling off the windows. I next asked the receptionist where the toilets were only to be directed downstairs from the bar. The interior of this hotel looks like it needs an uplift. I should, however, say that I did not go into the guest rooms, so I am unable to speak about them. If you are physically challenged, I do not know if there was another way to access the toilet. I have given this hotel two stars for location only because if you drive through the busy main street, you may easily miss it.

Enjoyed our stay here. Needs some updates. Really enjoyed the food here. The chili and Queen's Corination sandwich were awesome!

Great staff, lovely breakfast 😋 loads of choice 😀

Location of this hotel is centralised making it easy to access everything, car parking available and a lot of spaces, so we had no trouble finding a spot, breakfast was delicious and a lot of options. Bed was very comfortable and large and perfect.

Wounderful staff and great service. Will definitely be coming back here.

Excellent value for money. Clean room wit hot shower, WiFi. Lots of parking space and a full breakfast with fruits juices etc.

Just love it. Great position in Carmarthen and also gave us easy access to Botanic gardens and Aberglasney.

Wonderful stay just what I needed

Nice room , good staffs. super breakfast .value for money .

Great accommodation, including a fantastic breakfast and free parking. Recently fully refurbished, friendly helpful staff, great food and all at a very competitive price (rare these days in my experience)

Rooms outdated. Floors boards creeked badly. Double bed very uncomfortable feel to the middle every time you got in. Staff friendly and welcoming. Breakfast very good lots of choice and ample portions.