Newmarket Inns

The room was warm,the bed comfortable and there was plenty of hot water though the bathrooms weren't en suite.Breakfast was served until 11 am.The position in the town for facilities is excellent. The staff did not speak good English.Ordinary tea ordered on arrival came as green tea and the waiter did not understand the difference. The tv had no remote and there were only 2 channels that were clear without interference.There was no clock or radio and only one small lamp making reading impossible.Because its on the main road and does not have double glazing one is constantly being disturbed making sleep difficult. The breakfast was cold which was a shame because the sausage mushroom and tomato were cooked well.There was no menu so you had to guess what the choices were or what full english or continental offered. The white toast and butter cam on the same plate as the cooked breakfast and there was no marmalade ,honey or any other conserve on offer. At 10.15 ish in the middle of my breakfast and on a cold November morning the french windows at the front were opened to allow delivery of the Greene King products,barrels of beer etc. It was absolutely freezing making a leisurely breakfast impossible The place was supposed to remain open until12am but at eleven thirty the staff had cashed up and buying a drink or getting a cup of tea was impossible. I was really glad I was only staying one night.

Room small, clean but basic. Shared Bathroom recently refurbished. Within easy walking distance of the central colleges - no worry about drink driving, taxis etc. Didn't get back to room until 0600, slept in until 1015. Came down at about 1045 to leave and was asked whether we wanted breakfast (included) - had assumed it would have finished much earlier, but being restaurant as well, was available until 1130, so pleasant surprise, including an excellent cappuccino style coffee, which I badly needed! Polite helpful cheerful European staff more than made up for any lack of more than basic facilities. No en-suite rooms and only one shared serviceable bathroom, however a second was being fitted out - a bit of a problem with a number of others probably preparing for the same night out, however in the event it wasn't a big issue at least not for us. We found it without too much difficulty, through good luck rather than good navigation (I had printed out a map) having negotiated the oneway system and roadworks. Parking in Cambridge always a potential nightmare and no hotel parking. We knew this and planned for it. Others had probably discounted this place for that reason, however in the event their loss was our gain. Unloaded in loading bay a hundred yards past hotel and then I went and parked the car about 20 minutes picturesque walk away on a residential street to west of the river for free. Didn't fancy paying ncp overnight rates! Absence of decent convenient mirrors in rooms a bit of a nuisance. I was a bit nervous about fire escape, as the place is a bit of a warren and one section of staircase was completely blocked by decorating equipment, albeit it did not appear to be part of the fire escape route. Plenty of signage, but did not appear to be illuminated, don't know whether this is required. In the event our room was quite close to an escape out onto the roof, so I was re-assured.