This hotel had good sized rooms, and a desk to work at if you needed to. There was plenty of storage/hanging space, comfortable bed and lovely bathroom, with nice tiling detail. The shower was powerful and hot water good. The one draw back perhaps was the bar closing quite early for this type of hotel.

Reception

On arrival at 21.15 we waited in reception for over 10 minutes with no sign of anyone, (no desk bell) a member of bar staff saw me through the windows, but did not do anything, when I went to the bar that was also empty as was the restaurant in the end went back outside and rang the night bell, the receptionist then appeared and apologised saying she had forgot to put the phone out!! What ever that means. The lady was very helpful and pleasant but check in was not simple, as I had booked online.
I also have to say this is the first hotel I have stayed in where when you pass reception or staff in a morning the staff does not say good morning to you!!

Bedroom,

Very old and dated looks like it was last decorated around 30 years ago. Cleaning standards not great. The curtains are very stained looks like they have not been cleaned since smoking was allowed in rooms, the two windows had cobwebs and spiders on them, very dirty, one would not open the other would not close properly, very draughty but thick curtains to cover them, only problem is the radiators are behind the curtains!! A mass of wires and extensions underneath one of the room curtains which not only looks bad but is a fire risk.

Paper coming off the wall in places but looks like it needs to be replaced anyway, the desk is stained with cigarette burn, and water damage, large full length mirror behind the chair, and dressing table mirror behind the TV. Room cleaning was below average and the bed making was the worst I have ever seen. Bed average but very noisy (as clearly quite old) as is the refuse collection at 06.10 when you are woken to the sound outside of WARNING, Vehicle reversing!!

Lots of lights in the room (11 in total) and not a sign of an energy saving lamps in any of them! TV was a good size but very poor quality picture, sound out of sync with the pictures very off putting watching the news, very limited choice of channels with no info what you are watching etc. Movies are available at an additional £8.99 why bother you can go to the cinema across the road for £8. Wi-Fi is £9.99 a day!! What planet/decade is this place on? Cross the road to the local bar, or many other local businesses that offer free Wi-Fi, such as Subway, or buy a coffee at Frankie and Benny’s and use theirs.

Bathroom

Very small and narrow but fully tiled.
No window, but an extractor fan that was not working, not great for a bathroom, especially when you have used the shower and cannot see anything as the mirror is so steamed up. Lighting from celling down lighters so casts a nice shadow over your face when trying to shave.
Plenty of hot water for a bath etc, but shower fell off the wall, and was either too hot to use, or just a dribble if you tried to cool it down.
The Toilet brush and bathroom not very clean at all and needs a good deep clean. Towels were fine white and soft.

Breakfast

We asked where we went for breakfast and was pointed to a lovely room (clearly recently refurbished) at the rear where a massive selection of all you could wish for from a buffet breakfast was on offer. No staff around again, so we found ourselves a seat and was eventually asked our room number and if we would like Tea or Coffee, we ordered two coffees, this arrived along with some toast, we were pointed to the buffet (I have to say no one seemed to be in control of the staff and they seemed very disorganised) we collected our plates and served ourselves breakfast only to find there were no eggs, so we had to wait while our breakfast went cold for the eggs to arrive.

The food looked lovely, apart from the fried bread, which was inedible, and the Croissants were not fully cooked inside, the coffee was terrible however we both enjoyed the breakfast but have to say we were both ill during the day.

On reading the table menu while eating I noticed you could opt for a relaxed breakfast and the staff would serve your breakfast at your table so we decided the next morning we would take that option.
The next day seemed more organised as a very nice lady seemed to have everything running like clockwork. (clearly she must have been off the day before) When asked if we wanted Tea or coffee clearly I opted for Tea and that was very nice indeed. I asked if I could order my breakfast, which was met by shock and confusion (do the staff not read the menu) the nice lady was called over and I was told just to go and help myself, (I have to say the lady was most pleasant and helpful.) so what is the point of the menu saying?

Alternatively

“To allow for a more relaxed service our waiting staff will be pleased to take your breakfast order for hot food and serve it to you at your table”

Clearly whoever wrote this has not told the staff.

The Ivy bush has everything but clearly needs an efficient manager who can tune all this areas that need attention, and refurbish the rooms and bring the hotel and procedures up to present day expectations.

One final point I have very grave doubts about the fire precautions at this hotel, as with all hotels I stay in, my first job is to check the fire action (which is printed in red and very hard to read) my escape route to fire exits, fire alarms etc.

I was on the second floor, we had NO fire escape other than the main hotel staircase, which on the ground floor is fully open to the bar, reception and various lounges, on the first floor landing what I assume (not labeled fire doors keep shut) are fire doors to protect the escape route from the second floor but these had massive gaps under them!
I did not feel safe in my room, but it appeared to have a full automatic fire alarm. The emergency lighting also left a lot to be desired and in no way does it comply with current European regulations with just two units on the stairs.

All in all I feel sorry that this great old building is being let go, and while I understand times are hard for business (and I have by no means listed all the problems) it appears it is quickly being allowed to through mismanagement to fall into disrepair, it clearly needs a new management team to take it back to the three stars the AA has given it, I sadly would not return again.
See my photos!

We stayed at this hotel for one night during November 2011. It is a comfortable hotel with plenty of places to sit around to read, relax have a quiet drink or have a bar meal. The staff were excellent and were only too happy to help and seemed eager to make our stay a comfortable one. We stayed in room 122 which was classed as an executive room - it was very clean but not anything really special to be honest, but a good comfortable room. We ate in the a la carte restaurant which was fairly quiet - the meal was excellent to be honest and better than we expected, the price for the two course meal was £20 each so good value for money. Overall we had a comfortable relaxing stay,

Stayed here for 1 night in October with my wife and 3 year old child.

Nice friendly staff in reception and bar.

Staff mainly friendly in restaurant but one member of staff was quite rude. We ate in the bar in the evening as it was nice and comfortable with sofas and tables. The food was burnt and this male member of staff almost threw the plates on the table. He never uttered a word. A younger waiter served the ice cream to our daughter and he was very friendly and mannerly.

However, at breakfast, the gruff member of staff came to our table and said the room only had single occupancy and we were not entitled to breakfast each. This was in full hearing of the couple at the next table. The breakfast was very poor - rather like a greasy spoon than a hotel.
I went to reception who said that it appeared there was only one booked into the twin room even though we had charged for 3 dinners! Reception accepted that it was their mistake and that the waiter should not have approached us in the way he did. They were mortified and there was no additional charge.
The hotel is very central and a minute's walk from the town centre - ideally close to all amenities. Such a pity about one member of staff and the poor food