Wivenhoe House Hotel in Colchester

Had an utterly scrumptious afternoon tea at Wivenhoe today, fresh soft bread, warm scones and lush carrot cake. Special thanks to Vusi for the tour of the hotel and for being so helpful when booking. Thanks to Megan for being a fabulous waitress and all the staff were just so friendly. Very attentive service and the food was really delicious. Definitely worth a visit - can thoroughly recommend.

Only experienced a couple of lower rooms. Service was very good.

Only had afternoon tea...it wasn't good

We were back to this gem of a Hotel in Wivenhoe, were the staff, service and food never disapoint! Lionel our favourite Restaurant and Events manager was putting his feet up, welll deserved day off, however his team, did not let him down. The food menu compared to pre covid is a little simpler, however the taste and execution of dishes perfect, the little scotch egg starters, delicious and the moules perfectly cooked with a beautiful light sauce. The staff, for their years, attentive and hard working, it was a real pleasure to meet them and hear of their aspirations. They have the best trainer after all, Lionel knows how to support, train and bring out the best in people, after all, he is in our opinion, the heart of Wivenhoe House.

Didn't use a room. Booked afternoon tea, well worth the experience, lovely setting on a nice sunny day.

An absolutely wonderful hotel, very charming and stately. We felt welcomed and respected by staff, special mention to reception staff and to the breakfast team. Room was beautiful, with lots of toiletries and drinking facilities. Bed was comfortable. As we were on the fourth floor the room was quite hot when we checked in, but the portable aircon and fan provided helped to keep us cool (and almost cold!) throughout the night. Breakfast was absolutely delicious with a small selection but of high quality, which we prefer. We'd love to be back!

Clean and comfortable room. Friendly staff. The area is very quiet except birds sounds which I like. However the rate is expensive. The restaurant has limited food items and expensive. Better if added more dishes from Asia and the Mediterranean countries

Great place. Nice staff. Good food

Too many tables crowded in, but the Jersey Boys were great, and the chicken meal was lovely

Exceptional service (including room service), and wonderful premises and surroundings, what's not to like? We only stayed for one night but it was wonderful.

From check-in to check out two days later this was a superb place to stay. A staff team which, throughout the hotel from reception, housekeeping and restaurant, went above and beyond to ensure our stay was totally enjoyable. Well appointed, spotless, comfortable, spacious rooms (Portico & Wyvern), great food and a tranquil, parkland location on the Essex University campus. An absolute pleasure to stay there...will definitely be back.

Had afternoon tea here last Saturday, all staff from reception through to the staff waiting at tables were extremely attentive, nothing was too much trouble. Atmosphere and decor inside fantastic. Our afternoon tea was very good too much to eat at time but we're able to take home what we couldn't eat.

Had afternoon tea with my daughter. Absolutely super. Highly recommended.

Perfect afternoon tea to conclude our week of vacation in England. The setting is just magnificent The service as we imagine it, classy and refined The scones are just incredibly good

As usual good food , rooms and staff. Great position etc. Brasserie could do with usong leaf tea again though.😂

The attention to detail in the rooms was incredible. Food snd service impeccable

It’s a great hotel and restaurant

Luncheon with wife and relatives.Very beautiful venue and gardens. Service was excellent and all staff were kind and attentive,food was excellent and very tasty. Sincere thanks,we will return soon.

The hotel is very nice and quiet. The staff are amazing, very friendly and welcoming. The hotel location is excellent for those who intend to go to the university for short business or graduation.

Excellent lodging. Terrific if need lodging near University of Essex. Wheelchair accessible. Accessible wet room was fantastic;staff were resourceful and placed a folding shower bench that was perfect. Toilet was too low compared to other toilets encountered throughout the UK. However, the staff was terrific, the room beautifully appointed and the environment quiet. All and all a great place. Highly recommend.

I often stay here for work. The rooms are well-appointed. The breakfast buffets are very tasty. Service is very good. The views depend on which room you are in. It is a very old building in parts, as it was even painted by Constable. But there are new-build wings and the rooms are comfortable. They are making an effort to be eco friendly. The restaurant is also good for dinner.

WH is a very comfortable hotel with excellent facilities for wheel chair users. The room was spotlessly clean and well presented with a balcony overlooking park land. An easy accessed restaurant on the ground floor provided pleasant surroundings with good space between tables. The menu was large and varied with a wine list offering a good selection of wines. The service was excelent and friendly but was not rushed. Our evening meal was great and throughly enjoyable with a good break between courses. Breakfast was very good with a good choice between hot and cold foods. We had an enjoyable visit and would return in the future.

We had a lovely stay at Wivenhoe House Hotel. My husband is in a wheelchair and we were delighted that the accessible room not only had a balcony with a view of the garden but also a great wet room with plenty of grab rails and lowered sink. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and kind both in the hotel and in the restaurant where we enjoyed a very nice evening meal and breakfast.

Staff, experience, live musician superb. But charging £8 for 3 bottles tap water not acceptable on a bill of nearly £300 for 6 people+baby in highchair. Vegan nut roast very unpleasant, couldn't find a nut, seemed to be only rice

Had a great high tea theregood at atmosphere

Wivenhoe House is exceptionally clean and well presented however this is a mixed review on our one night stay. We stayed one night on the “winter offer” which gave us one nights stay in a superior room, breakfast and a three course meal with half a bottle of champagne in our room for approx £250 which is a pretty good deal! I booked it as an early Mother’s Day treat. The champagne in the room (part of the offer) was delicious - really lovely and good quality. The room was large and very clean. The beds were comfortable. The staff were nice and helpful and the grounds are pretty. My mum enjoyed her three course meal - mine was quite average but perhaps I just chose the wrong meals. For example I ordered the crispy belly pork which had no crisp/crackling on it whatsoever. I found the dessert options quite bland with no hearty desserts on offer but that is just my personal preference. The biggest issue for us was the noise during the night and very early in the morning - we were kept awake by loud doors slamming all the time. In fact, we were jumped awake by this over and over again so neither of us had more than a couple of hours light sleep. The walls seem to be very thin in the modern part of the hotel (where the “superior” rooms are). I could hear our next door neighbours using the toilet in the night and we could hear… every little detail. We also heard loud shouts of “HOUSE KEEPING!” coming from the housekeeping staff way before our alarm went off at 0830 - again for us that’s very early to be shouting at the top of your voice at the risk of waking up guests. The rooms were also incredibly warm, despite us turning down the radiator. What was supposed to be a restful night away, sadly wasn’t and we’ve both returned home more tired than we were yesterday. For two NHS shift workers, that’s such a shame. The breakfast was ok. Nice range of options but the scrambled egg from the buffet was stone cold. We found it quite hard to fathom that the breakfast finished at 0930. Most people spending time away from home don’t want to have to get up early - even half an hour more would make the timings better. Perhaps it’s usually more of a business hotel and therefore most guests are up early anyway but for us, an 0830 alarm was unnecessary and unwanted. Overall, it wasn’t completely awful but it didn’t serve the purpose we wanted it for and I wouldn’t visit again through fear of another restless nights sleep.

We went there with our father in law for afternoon tea pleasant experience nice surroundings good service

Excellent place and a portion of good food.

Went for a wake. Room provided was lovely and the food tasty. Quite a few blue badge parking places and an accessible entrance via a ramp/lift. Staff unobtrusive and helpful.

Lovely friendly staff. Beautiful food. Room was amazing we enjoyed the free standing bath. Will be back

It's a hospitality training hotel and it does feel like it, you do need to treat the staff like they have training wheels, a little rigid in the service, perfectly fine just don't expect the finesse and you won't be disappointed.