Stayed on the second Sunday in January.
The place had a kind of Christmas hangover feel... Tinsel still up; very few staff about; restaurant not open (only bar food) ... Kinda Alan Partridge'esque

Other negatives were that there was no information card in the room to explain services that they might or might not have had; there was no safe. Biggest problem was that shampoo and soap dispensers had not been replenished and were completely empty ... only discovered when I was actually in the shower. It did have Wifi but it was expensive. Breakfast was £9 if you bought the prepaid voucher and was pretty poor.

Positives were that the room was clean and comfortable and the staff were pleasant and efficient.

Great evening. The food was excellent and considering we were approx 65 people it was piping hot and all served promptly. I was pleased to see that guests had made the effort to dress up, quite a few in bowtie and dinner jackets, making the experience much more enjoyable. Also the choice of DJ was perfect as he catered for all ages. We stayed overnight and were happy with the accommodation. Breakfast was good but would have welcome a bit more attention to clearing up the plates between dishes.

what a wonderfull new years eve we had at the holiday inn orwell the staff were so pleasent nothing was to much trouble the food was supurb this was all made even more enjoyable by the Richard the bar manager and I think it was darren the barman nothing was to much trouble for these two chaps I would go again next year

Having used HI for conferences and meetings - and always receiving good service and food, I was very disappointed by the above establishment. Check in was fine, the lady on the desk, bubbly and helpful. We got to our room (ground floor), and were greeted by a dirty towel on the floor just inside the door (probably dropped by the cleaner). The noise from outside was immediately apparent. The HI is right next to the A14 one side and a main road into an industrial estate the other and, I can't remember but don't think the windows were double glazed, although I could be wrong. The room was very hot with radiators both in the bedroom and bathroom on full so we had to open the window as it was stuffy.
We were advised that we would have to book if we wanted to eat in as they had 2 Christmas parties that night - fair enough, but then told there would be a limited menu and that it would be served in the conservatory, bit strange when the temperature was below zero outside. Having looked at the menu which revolved around burgers and fish n chips at £13. I don't think so!
We dined out. The TV was basic, old and only showed a few chanels, the remote temperamental. The tap in the bathroom dripped constantly - small things but annoying all the same. Then there's the bed - pillows - 2 firm, 2 soft. Except the 2 firm ones are like missing parts of the Penine Wall. Himself didn't want to give up his 2 soft ones so yours truly had the bricks. It's a good job we get on as the bed is one of those "roll together, like it or not" types. it was so "old" or "well used" you just drifted to the centre. Not a good night's sleep unfortunately....especially when himself is a big lad so I was squashed and more than a little grumpy the next morning!
Breakfast - advertised at £13.95 I think, was actually £9 via a voucher if you ordered it when booking in. It was....erm.... forgettable. The toaster only toasts on one side, tea was disgusting and luke warm. The hot order was amazing - you wait for ages then are presented with a sausage that's pink on one side and only luke warm, the bacon similar - microwaved I wonder??? Then there was the scrambled egg swimming in a sea of liquid which also had a "Rosti" or hash brown floating in it. Mushrooms - boiled or microwaved were hard, some were boiling others stone cold. All in all, pretty offputting. Maybe they should visit Premier Inn to learn how it should be done.
We will not return and I will reconsider my use of other HIs in future.