Name: Dragonfly Hotel Colchester
Address: A12/A120 Ardleigh Junction, A12/A120, Colchester, CO7 7QY, GB

4/10

Poor

20 Jul 2026

Nordia

The front office staff was really helpful, cheerful and overall welcoming. That's the only good thing we experienced. The room was not very clean, the cups in the room were not very clean and the cups and plates at breakfast were visibly dirty. We hung the sign for the room to be cleaned and they only changed the towels, leaving everything else including the garbage in the room and the beds unmade.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

16 Jul 2026

John

No cooling anywhere, fan in room, but not suitable to overcome hot times.
One of the two bed main lights not working, and battery cover missing from TV control. 2 small glasses for medication taken and tooth clean available in bathroom although reception immediately given from restaurant area. Maybe the water in the bathroom is not maintained drinkable?
Fruit available for continental breakfast only provide uncut apple and not opened small oranges??
Property throughout and space outside very good.

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jun 2026

Beverley

Friendly, helpful and clean. Would use again.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2026

Stephanie

The staff were very friendly , cheerful and helpful , despite being short staffed

8/10

Excellent

17 May 2026

IAN

Breakfast menu quite limited

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

15 May 2026

MARK

Nice hotel with a free breakfast. Comfortable beds for a good nights sleep. Easy check in.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 May 2026

Paul

Very basic breakfast choice, evening food was good though

Self

8/10

Excellent

13 May 2026

Bridget

Nobody at reception . After ringing the bell for awhile we managed to get someone going home from their shift to help us. That said the rooms were clean and comfortable and we enjoyed our stay

Family

8/10

Excellent

12 May 2026

Scott

Breakfast choice not the best, evening meal was good

Self

10/10

Exceptional

16 Apr 2026

IAN

Breakfast options a bit limited for vegetarians

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Apr 2026

mary

Breakfast, room, staff, environment all great

Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 Apr 2026

Richard

Clean, helpful staff and comfortable beds,

Self

10/10

Exceptional

02 Apr 2026

Phill

Lovely friendly staff and great food

Self

10/10

Exceptional

22 Mar 2026

marion

All great no issues nice breakfast free parking, a little out of the city but easy with a car

Partner

4/10

Poor

22 Mar 2026

Scott

Not for me, Avoid if possible. Another one of his hotels is used for immigrants[so I was told]

Self

10/10

Exceptional

24 Feb 2026

Joan

Helped with early check in spotlessly clean very friendly

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2026

Candy

Clean, comfy beds and tv with airplay

Self

2/10

Poor

22 Feb 2026

Candy

I stayed in several hotels locally this week while visiting a relative in intensive care at the hospital nearby. I had booked this hotel for myself and my mum for Saturday.

On Friday morning we were told that she would not survive. In the distress of that news, I missed the cancellation cut-off for the booking. I attempted to contact the hotel shortly afterwards by phone and email to explain the situation and request some flexibility, even if that meant moving the booking rather than cancelling outright. I received no response.

I then asked Hotels.com to assist, but was informed the hotel would not make any exception to the cancellation policy.

I fully understand that policies exist. However, given the circumstances and the fact I tried to make contact as soon as possible, I had hoped for some level of compassion or discretion.

This was a very difficult time for my family, and the lack of any flexibility or response was disappointing.

6/10

Pleasant

17 Feb 2026

Neil

Breakfast needs serious improvement.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

08 Feb 2026

Colin

Everything was fine. Good value, clean, helpful staff.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

29 Jan 2026

Des

Staff great
Hotel bit dated and out on a limb

Business

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jan 2026

mary

Every where is clean, staff very polite and friendly, always smiling.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

11 Dec 2025

Tracy

Breakfast over cooked

Business

10/10

Exceptional

10 Dec 2025

Alison

We stayed for one night for a cheerleading competition. Beds were really comfortable. Price was really good and the evening meal was delicious and a good price. I would absolutely stay here again!

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

08 Dec 2025

Viktorija

Room was quite dirty. I kept finding hairs everywhere. Breakfast was poor, especially as someone who doesn't eat 'full english' type foods. Atmosphere in the evening was quite uncomfortable in the bar area.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

07 Dec 2025

Darren

Staff were friendly - room was ok, needs updating and there was a funny smell in the room too like someone had been smoking?

But overall it was clean and comfy

Friends_and_family Friends

6/10

Pleasant

30 Nov 2025

Felicity

This was a 2 night stay. Lovely staff, but not many of them. No hot water in our room, had a tepid bath. The room was not cleaned on the Saturday, no bins emptied. No coffee sachets in the room, just a very few tea bags.
Breakfast is supposed to be between 8 and 10. By 9.am
All hot food had been taken away, no bread left. So only option was some cereal and yoghurt. All fruit had also disappeared except some apples. The second morning was a bit better, there were a few croissants and pain au chocolat, but soon all were gone and not replenished. The hot dishes were some green looking scrambled egg, badly cooked bacon and some chipolatas with baked beans. Terrible. The tables and chairs are very shabby and round the back of the hotel, disgarded mattresses and broken armchairs. Not a pretty sight. The bar stopped serving at 10pm. Which is very early. I would not return.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2025

Nigel

Great stay at the Dragonfly hotel. The staff are friendly and always helpful. The room was clean and tidy. We look forward to our next visit.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2025

Julie

Room was a good size and comfortable. Hotel is spacious and staff are friendly.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Nov 2025

Klarna

Friendly staff clean room great breakfast

10/10

Exceptional

16 Nov 2025

Nigel

Return guest.
Perfect for our needs, location spot on. Breakfast lovely, but Sunday was a little short on items, not up to usual standard. No plates available. so maybe a new staff member not used to breakfast service???
Room large, clean and comfy. In room drinks great, large cups, and if you run out go to restaurant and pick up more. No complaints. Bathroom standard fare, shower HOT and powerful, smallest gripe was temperature was tricky to select, small movement could have big change, but once set it was wonderful.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

03 Nov 2025

Caroline

Rooms are good but problems with noise and no hot water.
Staff did their best and moved my room because of noise ( the source of which they couldn’t find) but ended up in one with no hot water.

10/10

Exceptional

17 Oct 2025

Emma

I’ve stayed in several places in Colchester to access the university. This is by far the best. Easy free parking. Lovely and clean. Modest but plentiful breakfast. Comfortable clean beds. Large rooms and everything included. Iron and board. Hairdryer. Toiletries and towels. Good deals on several sites. Always affordable with free breakfast.

10/10

Exceptional

16 Oct 2025

Steve

Always stay here before setting off on Eastern European aid trips. Great hotel at a reasonable price.

Business Self

10/10

Exceptional

13 Oct 2025

Andrew

Clean, comfortable room. Good ensuite. Hotel staff very friendly. Breakfast a little limited but overall a good stay.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

07 Oct 2025

Stephen

Good hotel . good price

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

04 Oct 2025

Sue

Warm welcome. Everything I needed. Parking and easy access to A12. Basic breakfast at 06.00

Self

6/10

Pleasant

03 Oct 2025

Carl

Does what it says on the tin for the money.
Location is tricky - miss the last turn off the main road and it's a long way back!
Food was not great - evening meal was basic and 'hot breakfast' was small - no eggs after 8.30!
Okay for the price but could be better.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

29 Sep 2025

Kevin

Overall a good experience. Breakfast was buffet style with a good choice of cereals if you wanted. Evening meals were well cooked and realistically priced but not served on Sunday. The Crown Inn is within a few minutes walk though.
Staff were helpful and readily available during this stay. Rooms are a good size. Evenings were getting cool and manually adjustable radiators are fitted. The Hotel is handily placed for touring south suffolk as well as Essex. Flatford mill being just a few miles into Suffolk is a must see for art lovers!
Would definitely book again if I'm in the area.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

15 Sep 2025

Tony

I booked this hotel as it was beside a lake but there was no view of the lake as in the photos or any access disappointed

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Aug 2025

Tarik

Wagwan61

Great friendly staff

Self

10/10

Exceptional

27 Aug 2025

Katie

Lovely hotel and staff but the restaurant was closed both nights so I had to order on just eat. Location wasn’t great tbh but still a nice hotel

Leisure

6/10

Pleasant

25 Aug 2025

REZA

Stay in Colchester

Nice hotel on the outskirts of Colchester with easy access to the town and Ipswich. The room was nice but was very dusty on the curtains behind the chairs and lots of our spider webbing in the corners. Shower was hot and powerful enough and the breakfast was 4 out of 5.

Business Self

8/10

Excellent

18 Aug 2025

Rebecca

It was a lot better than it looked in pictures tbh.
Our only issue was our shower, the cold tap did not work so very much a boiling hot shower! We told the staff the next day who wrote it down to have a look.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

10 Aug 2025

David

Friendly staff.
Nice to have the bath and not just a shower.
Breakfast was limited on options.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 Aug 2025

Fatima

What an amazing, reasonably priced and idealistic hotel!
With breakfast included, it was worth returning again and we shall do.
Friendly and helpful staff.
Highly recommended.

Business Partner

8/10

Excellent

02 Aug 2025

charu

Hot Breakfast buffet items were ok but food was cold on both days.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Aug 2025

Tom

Great little hotel if you’re working in the area. The staff are great. Don’t be staying in travelodge’s when this is here.

Business

4/10

Poor

29 Jul 2025

Peter

There was nothing to like. the cleanliness of the common areas was well below par. the cleanliness of the bathroom left much to be desired and the carpets were not hoovered.The room was not serviced at all during our three night stay,.No dining available on Sunday evening, about which we were not aware. Breakfast choice was abysmal. This was an experience not to be repeated.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

22 Jul 2025

S

The hotel entrance is lovely which belies the real state of the decor which is very outdated and carpets, particularly in the hallways really old and smell. Room was fine, fan provided which was welcome.
The staff were welcoming, and hardworking. Continental breakfast was a disaster as there was nothing left when we went down at 9am Sunday morning. Not even a toaster . No croissants or yogurt or fruit. Staff were embarrassed but management should ensure there is enough food when breakfast has been paid for in advance.
Its a beautiful setting and quiet . Bed was comfy and water hot so lots of positives too.

Partner

2/10

Poor

21 Jul 2025

Ricardo

Unusable Room and No Refund

I had a very disappointing experience at this hotel. The room I was given had a strong and persistent smell of cigarette smoke, which caused me a headache within minutes. The receptionist acknowledged the issue but the hotel was fully booked, so I had no choice but to leave and find another place to stay. I was told a refund would be arranged, but it was later refused. Poor customer service and no accountability. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel based on my experience.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

17 Jul 2025

Christopher

Unfortunately thenpeople in the room next door were loud and there were no other rooms available.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

15 Jul 2025

Roy

Good accommodate at sensible price

Nice stay and reasonable prices

Business Self

6/10

Pleasant

15 Jul 2025

Alexandra

The hotel was ok for the price paid. Plenty of car parking spaces.

Room was passable for two nights. It was cleanish, carpet could’ve done with a thorough hoover and not just where people walk. Bed was hard. Room was very hot but at least there was a fan but couldn’t have it on to sleep. Shower curtain was mouldy and trying to get the shower to a temperature we could shower under was tricky.

The USB sockets didn’t work in the room so had to go and buy a desktop plug in adapter so we could charge our devices.

Breakfast wasn’t great. Reasonable selection but the milk for cereal was warm and so was fruit juices. On both mornings they had no white bread for toast I was told they had run out on the first morning but still none on the second morning even though there was a large supermarket five minutes down the road. We ended up going to a fast food restaurant for breakfast.

So we had out of pocket expenses which could’ve been avoided.

Overall it was ok for the money but I will stick with my usual chain hotel in future.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

11 Jul 2025

Suzanne

This was a great option to split the journey home after a late arrival off the ferry.
Staff are amazing. There were not many guests in the bar when I arrived so was very quiet.
I would have liked there to be dedicated motorcycle parking.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jul 2025

Tom

Nice clean quiet hotel good for the price

Business

8/10

Excellent

29 Jun 2025

Dawn

Not many staff on this morning for brekkie but it was fine x

Friends_and_family Friends

4/10

Poor

23 Jun 2025

Hayden

Very Disappointing

Our 2 night stay in room 122 was not the best. The room was generally clean except for the persistent odour of stale urine (which was unsuccessfully treated) in the bathroom. Very warm nights were the main cause of restlessness. There was no cooling aprart from keeping the window open to the still night air on the first night. The second night was better with a mild breeze. No fan or air conditioning was present.
Breakfast was uninspiring with low quality sausages and a scrambled egg mass. The toaster was very ancient and needed some studying to find out how it worked. The toasting was very hit and miss. Tea was OK and coffee from a vending machine (no payment required), really not a good substitute for a good filter or espresso machine.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

06 Jun 2025

Emma

Clean and tidy. Best of this type of hotel
I’ve stayed in for the Colchester area. Hot and continental breakfast. Tables needed clearing though. Very little staff presence. Clean and basic rooms with no bad smells. Same goes for linen and towels. Easy parking. Easy route into Colchester. Very happy with my stay.

Business Self

6/10

Pleasant

13 May 2025

Emma

Average

Bed very uncomfy, no room service offered and service quite slow

Business

6/10

Pleasant

11 May 2025

J

Decent room

Room was decent size,clean and generally comfortable. The bathroom fan wasn't working properly, the shampoo and shower gel dispensers were empty and no staff available to help.

Business

8/10

Excellent

29 Apr 2025

Helen

Clean, efficient, helpful service. Easy check in and out

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 Apr 2025

Vikki

Ok stay for the night. Bed was comfortable. Room catered for needs.
Need to get coffee machine fixed. A note to say ‘please use kettle’ was needed.
Staff very helpful and pleasant. Thank you

6/10

Pleasant

20 Apr 2025

Manoj

As vegetarians, there was no hot food available at breakfast for which we had paid and would have expected. Even the continental breakfast was sparse! I would even have expected some biscuits in the room for the daily charge. The rooms are not changed daily either

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

06 Apr 2025

michael

Just the ticket. No complaints at all. Lovely staff

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2025

Julie

We had a very nice overnight stay. The hotel decor was welcoming, warm and bright, and all staff were friendly and professional. The beds were fresh, clean and comfortable and the bathroom was very clean. The shower was powerful and hot and there were toiletries provided if needed. We brought our own hairdryer and there didn't appear to be one provided in the room. The heating was efficient and easily adjusted.
There was a large selection at the continental breakfast buffet, and the cooked breakfast was hot and fresh, with good quality bacon and sausages.
Our only slight criticism was that the breakfast tables were painted wood with no covering and did not appear as clean as they could be. Tea/coffee stains on the table tops and dust in the grooves around the edges detracted from the otherwise lovely, bright breakfast room. The paper menus were also food/drink stained and could easily be replaced.
Overall we thought The Dragonfly was a great, reasonably priced hotel for our overnight stay and we would stay there again.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

20 Feb 2025

Paul

Good value for money

8/10

Excellent

16 Feb 2025

Nigel

Nice hotel everything thats needed

Nice hotel, clean, warm welcoming.
Location for Colchester excellent
Breakfast lovely, tasty and plentiful, cooked or continental on offer.
Rooms spacious, warm. Only low point was no daily housekeeping, so had to replenish tea, coffee, milk from breakfast area, not a real problem lots to pick from there.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

09 Feb 2025

Tarik

Nice and clean beautiful surroundings

Self

10/10

Exceptional

07 Feb 2025

P

A surprising stay

Never used Dragonfly (Suraya) hotels before so was not sure what to expect.
The reception was warm, welcoming and could not be more helpful
My room was large (executive), warm, cosy with a great sized bed that was really comfortable
The food was good, great choices, fresh and delicious, shame i could not put on room or open a tab.
Spirit drinks were limited in choice.
All in all a great stay and would look to use this chain again through the East of England

Business

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jan 2025

Dan

Nice stay, easy check in

Business Self

8/10

Excellent

14 Jan 2025

Steve

Convenient comfortable hotel at a good price. Staff are friendly and helpful. Restaurant was not open Sunday night.

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

29 Nov 2024

Nigel

Another great stay!!

The hotel is well placed for the traveler. The rooms are comfortable and spacious. There is a good choice for breakfast, With a bar and restaurant you can enjoy a casual drink and food during your stay. The staff are very helpful and friendly. Free parking onsite is a great bonus as you seem to have to pay almost everywhere else. My only gripe is that we had an executive room with very poor WiFi connection. This does not detract from a very nice stay and we will look forward to returning next year.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

10 Nov 2024

Sonia

Overnight stop!

It was am overnight stop to attend a funeral.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

26 Oct 2024

Steve

Great stay as usual. Its a lot to ask having arrived at midnight but food and a drink would have been perfect.

Business_and_leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

21 Oct 2024

Steve

Really like the hotel it is convenient and clean with a reasonble resturant. For this stay I needed to change the dates and between Expedia and the hotel they couldn't get their act together to move the date in time which left me with no choice but to make a second booking which cost me a lot of money.

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

03 Sep 2024

Julia

Dragonfly

Lovely hotel.
Room and bathroom were very clean.
Bar area was pleasant and reasonably priced.

Inly let down was that the food service was a bit slow, we waited about 50 minutes.
Lots of people were waiting for meals then they all came out in one go.

6/10

Pleasant

29 Aug 2024

Richard

We stayed for the evening son incorporated an afternoon lunch / dinner and must say the food was only average. The breakfast the following morning was terrible and because we didn’t arrive till 8.40 am some of the choices were not even available having presumably run out

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Aug 2024

Steve

Comfortable, convenient and good value.

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

19 Aug 2024

Verified traveler

Convenient stay

Good location , good room. A good base to explore the area. Breakfast ok.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Aug 2024

Beryl

Need more food options for breakfast.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Aug 2024

Verified traveler

Friendly and helpful staff. Overall great stay.

Friends_and_family Friends

4/10

Poor

18 Jul 2024

Carl

Not the best experience

It's clearly a hotel running to a tight budget. Dinner in the evening was ruined as the kitchen 'lost our order' - after 50 minutes of waiting we had to re-order! Room was okay - but didn't get serviced, even with the 'Please Service my room' label hung on door.

For similar price could have stayed at Holiday Inn...

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2024

Verified traveler

Great!

The staff couldn't do enough for our comfort and help us throughout.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jun 2024

Nikki

Very polite friendly staff, good food. Will be coming back

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

30 Jun 2024

Merly

Dated

The hotel is dated

Business

10/10

Exceptional

22 Apr 2024

Natalie

Overnight Stay

What a lovely hotel - couldn't fault it. Had never heard of the brand of hotel before, but all was good. Very quiet hotel so had a peaceful sleep. We eat there too and again, couldn't fault the food or staff - would definitely use this brand of hotel again

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

18 Apr 2024

Claudina

Excellent stay very good value

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Mar 2024

julie

The roadworks on the motorway that take you to the exit junction are horrendous, stay in the left lane as soon as your map's tell you it's approaching. I had to come off and go back on myself, glad the bar was open when I arrived!

Business_and_leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

25 Feb 2024

Verified traveler

Room was nice, bed was comfortable. The plug didn’t stay in the bath. Breakfast was ok but no choice of alternatives for hot breakfast for vegetarians.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2024

Donna

Great stay!

We were welcomed as we stepped inside by Jess on reception. We asked for a front facing room & she obliged. The hotel has a really nice interior as you walk in. Very inviting. Our room was clean and comfortable with a good shower over bath. Nice & quiet. We ate dinner in the restaurant it was hot and very tasty & fairly priced. A nice bar & lounge. Very relaxing & comfortable throughout. We slept well & had breakfast though we only wanted toast but there was hot stuff if you wanted. Coffee machine did a nice latte. Glad I found this little gem. Shout out to Amber who served our meal & again Jess. Both friendly & efficient a credit to the hotel.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2024

Angelina

Lovely stay

Lovely hotel lovely breakfast. No remote for tv but they gave us an option to move
Room or free drink each !!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jan 2024

Kathryn

Cannot fault this hotel or the staff in any way!
Exceptionally clean, friendly staff, decent food and extremely affordable. The toiletries were of a decent variety and lovely too.

After reading some rather horrifying reviews, I found myself looking for such faults. However, i didnt find a single one.

Will certainly return and use the hotel again if travelling in this area.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

18 Jan 2024

Richard

I booked an executive double room but it was identical to the standard double room I had at the Dragonfly hotel in Ipswich the previous night. It wasn’t an executive room. The room is reasonably comfortable but when I have booked an executive room in the past it has more room and bigger desk etc.

Business

8/10

Excellent

14 Jan 2024

Robert

Not the best place to find.

It was fine, although not the best place to find if you don't know the area and it's dark. We missed the turning off the slip road and then couldn't turn around as we were on to a dual carriage way with no immediate roundabouts. It took us at least 15 miles out of our way. There needs to be a sign or make reference to what signs are there.
The other points to make are no mention was made about having to register for parking, or offer of a WiFi password.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jan 2024

Verified traveler

Thank you 🙂

A fantastic start to the New Year. Always welcomed with a smile, the room clean and aired, the receptionist helped with all that was asked, thank you to all of the team.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Jan 2024

Fiona

Overall very good value for money

Staff were helpful and friendly. The room was comfortable. The cooked breakfast could have been better and also the coffee but overall very good value for money. My only gripe was the internet access which you can only access by filling in a form with a lot of personal details that you must agree can be used by others for marketing. There was no opt out option. So I decided to do without. I feel that internet access should not come with added price/conditions.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

11 Dec 2023

Hannah

No main light in the room - only had lights in the bathroom & 2 small bedside lights so the room was really dark. There should have been a light above the mirror in the room but this didn’t work.
Main shower in the bathroom also didn’t work - had to use the smaller shower head.
Walls were paper thin - could hear someone in a neighbouring room snoring and then what sounded like choking & making the strangest noise all night which wasn’t very pleasant.
Plenty of towels & breakfast included which was nice.

Leisure Self

2/10

Poor

31 Oct 2023

John

Breakfast very little food left no coffee on one day. Sent back food in evening not eadable. Waited 1 hour for main course. Asked for room to be serviced. told only serviced after 4 days. Had clean towels left outside room.
Very disappointed. Will never use again

8/10

Excellent

26 Oct 2023

Sarah

Clean comfortable hotel

Lovely clean hotel, can check in electronically on arrival but receptionist there to help if needed.
Stayed one night for business, comfortable only one thing missing was a hairdryer. Would stay here again

Business