Dog & Partridge Bury St Edmunds — Restaurant in West Suffolk

This was a mixed bag, if ever there was. There’s a lovely entrance area to the accommodation leading to a security door to the nine rooms.

First impressions of Room One on the ground floor were excellent. A very attractive space, nicely appointed with the sort of bathroom you only see in glossy magazines. Everything was beautifully clean. Then, on a sunny spring Friday late afternoon, I realised there was an unbelievable volume of noise from the busy courtyard. Easily solved, I thought. I’ll close the window. Problem. Several catches were broken, damaged or missing on the bedroom window, leaving a gap on the single-glazed pane. I opened it to discover that, behind a very overgrown bit of garden with wheelie-bins in it, only a short distance separated me from the hordes. In the bathroom, the top window was wide open and appeared immoveable. Adam, the GM, said it ‘was the first time he had heard of the issues’. Then I went to put a folder in the bedside table drawer, only to discover that a previous guest had left some black lacy underclothes in it. On my way out for afternoon tea at Harriet’s Cafe, I reported that and, thankfully, the drawer was empty upon my return. By early evening, the volume of the garden crowd had intensified, so much so that I couldn’t even hear the television, some form of SMART TV for which there were no instructions and, it appeared, no connection to the internet, featured in the on-screen menu. I left for dinner, returning to my room around 9pm. Much loud chatter from the patrons outside. I rang the reception number. No answer. I tried again. No answer. No wonder the phone records, at the time of writing, some 281 missed calls. Adam told me in the morning that there ‘simply isn’t time’ to answer the phone. By now the noise from the garden was indescribably awful. I tossed and turned, managing to get to sleep some time after 11, only to be woken up again by somebody emptying glass bottles into a skip at a quarter to midnight.. In the morning, feeling like death warmed up, I enjoyed the excellent bathroom facilities and made my way to breakfast. Full English seemed to be the obvious choice at only a little over three pounds more than the continental version and which also included that. I accept they don’t have many guests, but the continental offering was very sparse; cereal, some croissants, pain au chocolat and not a lot else. The orange juice was truly horrible, some ghastly long-life concentrate methinks and the coffee, from a flask, was similarly dreadful. I noticed Adam, the general manager, had treated himself to a freshly-brewed cappuccino or somesuch, so clearly the facility for freshly-brewed coffee exists. Their breakfast picture on the website shows mushrooms and two sausages. Now there are no mushrooms and only one banger. Despite there being so few guests, there was an actual chef to cook breakfast to order which was excellent. I suspect, being the only single person staying, I had drawn the short straw. Room One seemed to be the closest to the courtyard and should be avoided at all costs, certainly if you want to get to sleep before midnight. Is the building listed? Is double-glazing not allowed? Why was the courtyard area extended around the corner, so close to the accommodation? At £105, without breakfast, you should expect a decent night’s sleep.

I think Greene King’s CEO, Nick Mckenzie, should try out the room for himself. Something would change....

I have been visiting this pub for several years mainly prior to visiting the beautiful Georgian Theatre Royal which is very close by. I have always enjoyed the beer here which is mainly Greene King and doesn't have far to travel as the brewery is just next door ! The food has always been of good quality and served promptly but that has changed drastically and with downward quality and service. At my last visit a few weeks ago with a friend I have never been served such a greasy plate of fish and chips and such a small serving (but thankful for small mercies because it wasn't very nice at all !). But I gave it the benefit of the doubt until our latest visit. Believe it or not they were advertising and selling a Christmas festive menu, and this is the third week in October ! But the pies on offer sounded quite good and tasty so the three of us placed an order, only to be told that they hadn't got any ! Knowing that we were about to place a food order why weren't we informed ten minutes earlier that they didn't have certain items on the menu ? Back to the list and make a second choice ; back to the bar to place an order. Guess what ? They hadn't got any !!!! Now, irritation sets in and having to choose a third option ----- a burger, which I try and avoid at the best of times. Who knows what ingredients may have made their way into it ? But that's what eventually arrives at the table; a lacklustre plate of bun and burger topped with half of a tasty gherkin and the most execrable French fries that I have ever tasted which were cold and inedible within minutes. Did you enjoy your meal we were asked? My friends were kind enough to say that it was okay but nothing was said when I replied how greasy and cold it was. Needless to say we will be finding somewhere else to eat pre-theatre...

Booked this hotel due to it being near the town centre and having its own carpark. Unfortunately there are about 8 spaces at the back of the hotel, so if you arrive on a busy Saturday afternoon be prepared to drive around looking for a car park with a space. Luckily on our 3rd time around the block a space became available in the pub car park, albeit a very narrow space.||We were able to check in early and were greeted by Adam who explained all the hotel details to us. Rooms are at the side of the hotel, we had room number 1 which was located on the ground floor facing the rear garden area. The room was quite dark but as we weren't in there for too long it didn't bother us. There is a kettle and coffee machine, iron and ironing board, fan and hairdryer. Toiletries are also provided in the bathroom. 2 tins of IPA were also left for us to try, very nice touch. A few tea bags and coffee sachets are provided but definitely not enough milk. Also would have been nice to have some hot chocolate. There is a heated floor in the bathroom which was nice first thing in the morning but the heated towel rail didn't seem to work.||The pub is extremely busy so I would advise booking a table early if you want to eat there. We didn't but the food that we saw looked very nice. The town centre is a 5 min stroll so we were away from the noise but near enough to venture out. There are plenty of restaurants and pubs in the area along with a good shopping centre.||Breakfast was fantastic, plenty of options including healthy choices for those that need to watch their diet. ||Check out was a bit slower, there were no staff members around which I find strange considering it was check out time. It took one of the staff's children to find someone for me.||All in all a good stay and we...