Poets House

Great breakfast, beautiful rooms! Close to the Cathedral and schools nearby.

Our room was a good size and at the front of the hotel, overlooking the green. I was a little concerned about traffic noise as we were facing the road, the windows looked quite old with just some secondary glazing fitted, but it wasn’t an issue and we slept well. Facilities included a TV, safe, coffee making facilities, etc., as well as complimentary water, biscuits and crisps. The shower was a bit on the feeble side and the temperature fluctuated somewhat, but other than that it was all very nice. Our deal included a meal on the first night. The small print is that it’s limited to £30 per person, and only includes food, not any drinks. Depending on what you choose you can certainly get a couple of courses for your £30, or very close to it, but if you want one of the more expensive options, or three courses, that will be extra. That said, I think if you did pay any extra you’d be sorely disappointed. Our Avocado Crispy Bacon and Egg Salad to start sounded good, but there was very little avocado or bacon, instead it was about 95% salad leaves. A main course of Prawn linguine with garlic, chilli, shallots, cherry tomato, parsley and white wine did better in terms of the prawns with a few plump and juicy ones in there, but it was bland in the extreme, no flavour at all. After heaping on a ton of salt and pepper with little improvement we asked for some parmesan. Obviously I expected it to be grated, but it seemed as though the chef cut a few small slices off with a knife and we got these in a bowl. I was so gobsmacked I didn’t even think to question it. By then we were a pound over our allowance, and based on what we had so far, decided to skip any desert. On the plus side though, the restaurant itself it quite smart, and the staff very friendly. The breakfast was a mix of help yourself buffet for the cold food, and ordering for hot. Choice in both areas was a little limited, with no cold meat or cheese and only plain yoghurt for example, and some of the hot options being rather restricted such as just scrambled eggs on toast but no smoked salmon, or just avocado on toast with no poached egg. The buffet was not kept restocked, with no orange juice on the first day, and just one solitary croissant left from the pastry selection. The full English was pretty good, but the scrambled eggs on toast were a little disappointing, with the eggs being quite crusty in places, almost more omelette like, and the toast was burnt on one side and soggy on the other as though they had been standing around for some time. Overall, this was a nice hotel, a good location and friendly staff. But the catering let it down, and I thought it seemed very expensive for what we got, with our room being over £300 per night. If it wasn’t for that it would have got four stars.

Greeted at the door, told to find a seat and told menus would come. Server came. We asked for menus and he went away and came back with menus. Then waited for our orders to be taken. No service, no hospitality. So went to another establishment for to be served.

We enjoyed a fantastic lunch with friends: the menu is varied and pleasantly different from many other restaurants, the wine list is very reasonably price and has a great range, and the atmosphere is very pleasant. The staff were particularly pleasant, especially Michaela who was attentive and helpful throughout.

We live reasonably local and were looking for a special meal to celebrate our anniversary, the Poets House did not let us down! Whilst we only saw the reception and dining areas this is just a really pleasant place to be, from the tasteful decor to the very welcoming staff. We were attended to by Elliot and Michaela, both of whom were extremely attentive without being obtrusive. Food was excellent with the Panko Halloumi Fingers a particular highlight. Whilst this was the first time we had visited it will certainly not be the last.

A quiet get away with my partner turned out to be an absolute dream at the Poets House Hotel. We were immediately made to feel welcome and all staff went way above the call of duty. The bedroom was huge, the bed comfy, the bathroom immaculate - I could not fault this choice in anyway. Ely is beautiful and this hotel made it even better.

We had the most wonderful time at poets house , personal service , attentive friendly staff As it was my birthdays they kindly offered us a lovely cocktail of our choice , dining experience was very special and food was lovely our waitress at dinner was so kind and friendly

Myself and 11 of my closest friends have just spent a fabulous weekend at this hotel. From the first moment I reached out to the hotel to book for a party of 12, nothing was too much trouble and this made the booking to our exact requirements seamless. On arrival the first thing to highlight is the location, the views from the hotel and its proximity to the Cathedral are second to none. Then the rooms; they do live up to the pictures and the whole hotel is presented to an exceptional standard. Food and drink does not disappoint! really lovely bar with excellent service and a great range of handmade cocktails and the dining experience is special where you definitely won't leave hungry and all our dietary requirements were met! Massive thank you to all the staff who looked after us and made our visit really memorable, with a special thanks to Sara and Christine.