Name: Ivy Bush Royal Hotel by Compass Hospitality
Address: Spilman Street, Carmarthen, SA31 1LG, GB

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2026

Philip

Basic but alright for the night, but they have have a new charge of £5 per night for parking

2/10

Poor

24 Jul 2026

Silvia

103 room smelling musty. Gave us a new room where no water pressure, can’t open the window because radiator was in the middle.
We asked for a quiet room and we were opposite to the main road and of course no double glass.
Breakfast - dirty bowls and glasse.

8/10

Excellent

19 Jul 2026

Sefalkumar

Property is located in very good location but the wifi wasn’t good it kept dropping and also in bathroom there was no rugs available after shower I had to be careful not to slip otherwise it was a good stay

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

17 Jul 2026

Niti

Was disappointed when I realised on checking in that they had no Airconditiong.
It was a hot July with temp reaching 30plus.
On asking I was provided with a table fan that just managed to help but couldn’t sleep at night .
Next time will definitely check if the hotel has Air conditioning before booking.
Also had to pay for parking which was additional cost and not really good since already paid for the room .
No one came to clean the room I spite if asking several times and was told they were very busy and just came to change the towels.
The staff was helpful and the breakfast was good.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

17 Jul 2026

miss vishakha

Dusty and not clean, dissatisfied

8/10

Excellent

15 Jul 2026

William

Hotel was central and it was easy to park there. Booking in was easy. Breakfast was just ok Warm with some items uneatable or not attractive looking(black pudding, bacon beans, scrambled eggs)

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

12 Jul 2026

Charles

Have stayed here many times but was a little disappointed room133 felt like a single room that a double bed had been sqeezed in otherwise the room decorated felt very tired ,

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jul 2026

Laura

lovelly staff great rooms, good vibes we enjoyed xx

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jun 2026

Louise

Clean, breakfast was lovely, staff was very helpful

Friends

6/10

Pleasant

27 Jun 2026

John

Excellent staff the bar man also the lady at breakfast where brilliant, the bar area and restaurant are nice , room was to small and they need updating with the bathrooms

Partner

2/10

Poor

21 Jun 2026

Andrew

Terrible from start to finish. The building is very tired, dated, and frankly a mess. The staff sometimes try their best to be attentive but struggle to even be polite.

The leaks around the property are horrendous, often dripping water directly into your head when walking through a corridor or whatever.

The shower was barely functioning, with a dribble coming out that was pretty embarrassing.

Where parking for guests was once free, it is now £5 per day, so factor that in when booking.

There are not many places to stay in Carmarthen, and this hotel knows it has pretty much cornered the market, but please consider other options. Gave us the ick from start to finish.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2026

jason

Good value last minute break highly recommend

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

20 Jun 2026

Angela

My single room was appalling. Wallpaper peeling off the wall. Windows were so high up, I couldn't see out. Very shabby.
Staff were excellent.
Breakfast was very good. Plenty of choice and hot.

Friends

8/10

Excellent

16 Jun 2026

Graham

Q

4/10

Poor

12 Jun 2026

Samantha Elizabeth

Parking is expensive and bed was very uncomfortable. The room was not very clean.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Jun 2026

Vijay

Everything was good from entry to exit .Five pounds for parking 24 hours was good and you got £2 rebate at bar .
Rooms clean /Breakfast top notch .We enjoyed an overnight stay for 3 adults in a multibed 4 beds room

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

05 Jun 2026

Barry

Excellent check in and greeting from reception.

Room was adequate, if stuck in the 80’s but shower pressure was dreadful. Also shower is over the bath so be aware of this if you have mobility issues.
Parking is good but a 24 hour fee of £5 has been introduced, partly redeemable at the hotel bar.

Breakfast was good

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 May 2026

Craig

It was a great stay - as always. Breakfast great and the staff were awesome.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

29 May 2026

Gwyn H.

A little below what we expected. Needs a refurb and rethink. Basement room was muggy, with no view out of windw. Very noisy early morning with workers right outside window- disappointing overall.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 May 2026

Anthony

Location was good near the train and town centre. The room was comfortable shower was not very powerful but managed to get wet. The staff were really friendly and helpful, despite it being busy both days i was there. Breakfast was good but limited choice of hot food if you;re veggie. All in all the stay was good, decent pub across the road although the hotel had a good choice of beer.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

24 May 2026

Clare

The hotel was clean. Staff were lovely and helpful. The decor was very dated and in need of some serious TLC. It was quite noisy - lots of doors banging throughout the night, but this probably depends on the guests. Parking could have been free, but was an additional £5 a day, which isn't too bad I guess. Disappointed that given the hotel's history it didn't champion Wales in it's offerings - the tea bags in the room were for Yorkshire tea and the breakfast products were from Somerset, of course this doesn't make or break your stay but would have been a nice touch. All in all a perfectly ok stay.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

11 May 2026

Anthuvan

Property is good. But breakfast is not of adequate standards in terms of hygiene. Having said that, the hotel operations manager was indeed responsive and willing to sort matters out when a feedback was provided.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

01 May 2026

Jean

Bedroom and bathroom was immaculately clean. Bathroom had white fluffy towels and lovely deep bath.
Layout of bedroom floors are very rambling, with many rooms far from lift.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

26 Apr 2026

Ian

Excellent hotel and service

Business

8/10

Excellent

16 Apr 2026

Robert Julian

All round very good.

4/10

Poor

15 Apr 2026

antonio

Breakfast, running out of food

Partner

4/10

Poor

15 Apr 2026

Sheila

Fairly good choice of food, but it was cold.
Our room was clean.
Too much inappropriate furniture.
Only 2 channels on TV. Both BBC wales.
Window didnt shut properly, so lots of traffic noise
The.room stunk of stale cigarettes
Cutains too big for window and hanging off
Sticky wall behind bed head
Poor decor
Shower very difficult to adjust.and extremely hot
Sink not draining prooerly
Didn't use the bar or restaurant

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

09 Apr 2026

Craig

It looks and feels very tired and in need of an up lift to bring up to a good standard. Feels like it’s stuck in the 1980’s still.
Not happy to have to pay to park either.

Family

2/10

Poor

08 Apr 2026

Matthew

Old rotten windows. Stains on carpet, window did not seal around edges, noisy extractor system

Self

2/10

Poor

06 Apr 2026

Zoe

Dirty room, mouldy water in taps. Windows broken. Paper thin walls and staff singing and whistling at 3am cleaning up after party on a Sunday night. Kept everyone awake and multiple people complained. Breakfast included stale bread and cold food (we got there as soon as it opened). Went home with food poisoning. Complained to front desk and they shrugged their shoulders. Absolutely disgusting. Needs shutting down.

4/10

Poor

06 Apr 2026

Christopher

Room not ready, tv not working. Very noisy, what happened to the sound proofing god only knows. We left for home a day early as we needed to sleep.

8/10

Excellent

31 Mar 2026

Shabir

Nice place to stay if you intend to be near to the main landmarks

Self

4/10

Poor

29 Mar 2026

David

Food was warm, not hot.
Our room was below public rooms and we could hear staff movement from time to time in the night through the ceiling, but from 6am as they were setting up for breakfast it was none stop - sounded like a herd of elephants

Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

28 Mar 2026

Yash

Clean room, nice staff, helpful.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

19 Mar 2026

William

Bed was very firm like sleeping on a brick. Pillows completely opposite no support at all.

Self

8/10

Excellent

15 Mar 2026

Jay

A lovely room, clean with plenty of power plugs. Decent shower in bath. Room a little dated but otherwise great value and an awesome breakfast. The bar and staff team were always lovely.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

06 Mar 2026

Adam

Okay, not good for a long stay

Self

10/10

Exceptional

02 Mar 2026

tania

Fabulous stay very helpful staff very comfortable room

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

20 Feb 2026

William

Room was tidy

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Feb 2026

Savitha

Yes

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

16 Feb 2026

Judith

Heating (radiator) was not working in the room in February a very cold month . Portable Radiator given which also was not working then after another trip to front desk a portable oil heater was given which did work .
Air conditioning only blew out cold air.
T. V was not working correctly, screen was very fuzzy. I would not stay here again .

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

09 Feb 2026

Judy

Stayed for a concert in the local theatre but hotel nneeds some things looking int as both myself and my sister contracted norovirus. The hotel room was riddled with damp and smelled bad. The staircase rails are filthy and grimy and need a good wash. The public toilets stink as you go past them . Staff

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

29 Dec 2025

Graham

Great room as always and breakfast

Partner

8/10

Excellent

28 Dec 2025

Steve

Great parking, which is at a premium in Carmarthen. Fantastic breakfast. Cosy, but dated room.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Dec 2025

kelly-marie

Amazing huge selection of food coming back to stay again

2/10

Poor

12 Dec 2025

Verified traveler

I was given a single room and not the twin I paid for. The staff at desk did deal with the issue promptly but the standard of both rooms leave a lot to desired. They gave me a double. The wallpaper is damaged the bathroom tiles need regrouting. The curtain is hanging off at the join and is too high for me to reattach. The carpet needs replacing as it’s stained in places. Not worth the price

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

01 Dec 2025

Kenneth

Booked for 2 nights but Booked another day the day before I arrived and managed to get the same room for3 nights.Very helpful staff.

Leisure

4/10

Poor

23 Nov 2025

lorraine

asked for a room near reception, but was given a room on the second floor, curtains didnt fit so couldnt close properly, wallpaper was coming off the wall, bed frame old and worn looking, no wifi working and couldnt use my phone which has 5g as there was no signal, shower cold and no pressure at all, tap water was spluttering out of the tap, heating only came on some time of the stay and room was cold, not a good experience this time compared to other stays here previously, put us off returning now which is a shame as check in was easy and friendly staff and the breakfast is good too.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Nov 2025

Charles

Good location. Nice sized room. Good bar on site

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

18 Nov 2025

brian

Great breakfast choices.
Free car park. Central to town. Warm. Tea and coffee in rooms

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Nov 2025

molly

Lovely staff and large room

10/10

Exceptional

19 Oct 2025

Becky

Lovely triple room , breakfast great

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

16 Oct 2025

Val

Attentive staff

Leisure Friends

6/10

Pleasant

11 Oct 2025

Rob

Room wasnt cleaned.then upgraded to a diff room.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2025

Toby

Yes

Business

8/10

Excellent

08 Oct 2025

Gary

Nice big room. Well decorated & maintained. Newly refurbished bathroom.
Down side, lumpy uncomfortable pillows!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Oct 2025

John

Very comfortable stay in a building that has seen better days. Not all the lighting worked in the room.

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

06 Oct 2025

Sila

Visiting

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

05 Oct 2025

Karuna

Room Average

4/10

Poor

04 Oct 2025

Lisa

Dirty and in need of repair

So dirty and run down; stains on carpet. Filthy scum around the window, which I we couldn’t leave open as the hinges were broken. Shower curtain too long so you stood on it in the shower.
Walls are so thin you can hear everyone talking in there rooms.

8/10

Excellent

03 Oct 2025

Jodi

All we needed for a quick trip. Breakfast had many options.

2/10

Poor

03 Oct 2025

Steven

Unfriendly and unhelpful at reception. Corridors are so smelly. Then we went to our room and it hasn’t been cleaned! I asked for an upgrade or refund. Upgraded room was lovely but not even an apology or a suggestion of an upgrade or how to resolve. Would not recommend.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Sep 2025

Elaine

Staff were very helpful and the free wifi worked well. The room was very clean. If I find myself in Carmarthen again, I'd be happy to stay here.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

29 Sep 2025

Susan

Great hotel to stay, breakfast and evening meal was good would stay again .

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Sep 2025

Phillip

Good rooms

2/10

Poor

21 Sep 2025

Ruma

It was a convenient place for commuting. We found the staff very rude. We booked 2 rooms, which we thought would be the same size; however, one of them was good but other one was very tiny. Rooms were really hot, couldn’t keep the windows open because it was too noisy. No hand wash, also the temperature dial on the shower was unresponsive, and the shower was extremely hot. It was one of the worst hotels I have booked through Expedia.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

21 Sep 2025

Avril

Had a pleasant stay, staff friendly and polite. Lovely breakfast and food.

Disappointed with the corridor to our room, they hadn't laid down the carpet , it looked awful and cold. Disappointed with the shower also, the water wasnt hot, cold at times, not what you expect from a hotel.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

16 Sep 2025

Zoe

Not great

Skirting boards had mold on them, chairs were thread bear, curtains had been cut badly! And were covered in paint! Noisy under the bar! However the one saving grace was the bed was clean and the bathroom was decent a relatively new… had i not arrived at 10pm i would have looked for another hotel

Business

10/10

Exceptional

16 Sep 2025

Kevin

Good hotel in a great location

Great location in the centre of town with loads of parking. Stayed in the older part of the hotel, bed is really comfortable, white crisp linen and towels, bathroom is clean with good shower, great breakfast with a nice bar that has proper Welsh ale, staff are friendly and helpful; carpets need a bit of tender loving care. Would stay again and recommend to others.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

12 Sep 2025

Chris

Lovely hotel, but what was that noise???

Room 122. We initially had problems with excessive, constant, noise from what I surmise might have been a water pump at our end of the landing. It was plainly audible from half way back along the landing, never mind inside our room which, with room 120, was closest to the source. The noise was reported and the receptionist who came to inspect said she had never encountered the noise before. She said she would report the matter up the line.

Deciding not to cause trouble, we suffered a night without much sleep and spoke to another receptionist the following day, asking to be moved to another room. This was agreed and we thankfully said goodbye to room 122.

The noise was still ongoing when we checked out two days later.

I was disappointed the staff were not more proactive about moving us once the matter had been reported, but at least this was rectified by my pushing the matter.

Other than that and a quirky bathroom in need of some attention (and a failure of the wifi on 122's landing), the hotel was a pleasure to stay at. Staff were friendly and, despite the above, helpful, the food was excellent and the car park was large enough if you timed it right

Partner

8/10

Excellent

06 Sep 2025

Tim

Good and less good

Politely received and then left to our own devices. Room pleasant and spacious.
Evening meal was ok but served nearly 45 minutes after ordering. Not good and no apology or explanation. Probably an aberration.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

01 Sep 2025

Brian

Not quite Deluxe

We felt the room was lovely but lacking in storage ie a chest of drawers and too many chairs for 2 people. We were also surprised to find NO Mattress or Pillow Protectors these are standard in any hospitality business. And for a deluxe room we did expect biscuits and water which are also in most standard hotel rooms.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

28 Aug 2025

Nigel

Great staff

I was in the rooms below. The damp smell was quite strong. Breakfast was very good. Staff where very helpful and very nice. Great shower, just ashame about the smell. The mattress was old spring type and very uncomfortable.

Business

6/10

Pleasant

26 Aug 2025

Kev

Last night of tour - Worst!

This Hotel is very dated the room are clean, the Bathroom is another story, shower head bracket broken, leaky tap the runs all over the tiled surface. And the Loo 😳 knees against the wall is not an exaggeration!!

Food was not good, and service could do with a rocket up their a**e.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Aug 2025

M

One issue but handled well by staff

Generally very good.
One night stay for a car show at Carmarthen Showground.
Parking - access i stight to some spaces but plenty to chose from.
Check-in - good, friendly, polite an dquite quick.
Entry to room - this let the stay down, the room had not been cleaned from previous guests, check-in staff very concerned and helpful, asked to wait in the bar whilst room was prepared and free round of drinks due to issue.
Room - comfortable but needs a little attention e.g. with toilet lid up you couldn't fully push the flush handle and socket panel above dressing table was very 'flexible', also difficulty finding how to turn off all lights as 2 wall lights are operated by a fused switch on the socket panel above the dressing table.
Bar - with 2 functions on there was only 1 barman, he could have used some help to keep the queue down.
Food - standard pub type food, we all enjoyed it.
Sleep - very compfy bed and pillows and only distant road noise with the window wide open.
Apart from the room not being clean any other less positive points above are very minor. We had a very nice stay and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

21 Aug 2025

Gareth

Average hotel in a poor town. Staff friendly and renovated rooms seemed nice, others were ok. Breakfast ok. Nothing really wrong with the hotel, it was just average.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

20 Aug 2025

Paula

There were no towels or hand towels upon arrival, there was a dirty bathmat in the bathroom.
Everything smelt damp and musty, as you could tell with mould around the bottom of the shower.
There was glue oozing out between the floorboards in the bathroom which was still wet.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Aug 2025

Mary

As an older property and with all the difficulties to maintain such a property I feel it has been taken care of very well , it's charming and welcoming, clean a comfortable and the food is great.
We loved our 3 nights and hope to return in the future.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

13 Aug 2025

Sharon

Excellent budget option

Excellent buget option room spacious and clean. Food good breakfast included in the price. Syaff polite and professional.Highly recommended

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

11 Aug 2025

stephen

Great

Business

2/10

Poor

11 Aug 2025

Mrugeshkumar

NA

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

10 Aug 2025

Verified traveler

One night stay

Friendly staff, comfy bed, great location for Carmarthen town centre

Friends_and_family Friends

4/10

Poor

04 Aug 2025

Elsie

The Hot Tap in the bath did not work at all.
Fortunately we showered, and the hot water was OK from that.
There was no ITV Channel available on the TV which meant we missed a favourite programme.
Considerable noise from the High Street traffic meant that the window had to be kept closed.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Aug 2025

Kumudika Ridmani

I really like the staff and the hospitality.
Room was really good and clean as well.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2025

Robert

10/10... great service, room well equipped food at reasonable prices staff helpful and friendly cant fault it... will stay again

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

28 Jul 2025

GURJIT

staff are brillant and friendly, very good room

6/10

Pleasant

27 Jul 2025

Verified traveler

Good location. Nice breakfast and easy parking

Old property with smell. My room just above the bar, keeps noisy until mid-night. Stay one night for road trip so this is definitely fine for us. Buffet breakfast is good. Easy parking and good location which very closed to shopping centre.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Jul 2025

Neil

I don’t write reviews as most write rubbish.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Jul 2025

nick

The breakfast was cold. Bacon beans etc. In need of some updating

Business_and_leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

13 Jul 2025

gerald

Conveniernt easy walk to town centre

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

10 Jul 2025

Colin

Very convenient location in the town

Very convenient location in town with on site parking. Room was clean and a decent size. The only issue was noise from the road just outside the window and a party in the function room, but overall not too bad. Breakfast was good.

Partner

4/10

Poor

28 Jun 2025

Christine

Disappointing

Carpets and chairs were stained. Room smelt foisty. Hotel was very tired

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2025

Bikki