The Lady Elizabeth

The room was good with limitations one should expect with a 500 (?) year old structure. After whacking my head twice on a low sloping beam on getting out of bed I didn't do it a third time! Because of the nature of the building, there are also extremely steep stairs but the owners kindly oblige by carrying cases up for you. The pub has a nice vibe and there is a section away from main pub where you can eat comfortably even if you are on your own. The two sometimes-mentioned grouses from other reviewers about cleanliness and noise, I didn't find an issue - the room and bathroom seemed perfectly clean to me and even though I had a room overlooking the market square, I didn't notice much noise at all, even on market day. Location is excellent - right in the centre of town. I was a bit surprised that the owners weren't more friendly - never a passing greeting during the stay, like "how's it going?", and on leaving no "how was your stay"? I think I might have given a five star if the owners had been a bit friendlier.

We had two rooms for our family trip. Room 3 was large and comfortable. Room 2, the family room, was old fashioned and cheaply done out - torn carpet, rusty radiator, moldy shower and missing TV remote. Although it's sold as a family room beware as there are no window locks and it's on the top floor so extremely dangerous (illegal?) for children. The landing area entering into room 2 absolutely stank of cigarettes and has a disgusting stained carpet. Complete lack of sleep in both rooms due to other guests (or possibly staff?) slamming doors and arguing right up until 7am. Mentioned to the Duty Manager who didn't seem bothered.

This is a pub with rooms, not an hotel. Although in one of the the most attractive, and oldest, buildings in Sudbury the pub itself is not what you expect when you walk in…it had always had a reputation as being a rather ‘rough’ pub when it was called The Black Boy and nothing has changed much. The manager Carl was charming, as was his business partner, but I was not comfortable with the surroundings. The entrance to the rooms was through a tiny lobby and then a locked door which gave immediately onto a very steep, winding staircase. I was offered help with my luggage as it was almost impossible to carry anything up as you need to hang onto the handrail to get up the stairs. The room was surprisingly attractive ( I was on the second floor) and had all the amenities you would get in a proper hotel, but the shower room was not clean. The shower cubicle had thick black grime on the tile grouting and around the shower tray. At 11.30pm I was woken by an incredibly loud alarm above the bed which frightened the life out of me ( and my puppy). It sounded for about two minutes then stopped. Nobody came to my room to explain the problem and I could not hear any movement outside the room so I called the manager to ask what was happening and he said the alarm was being reset and apologised for the disturbance. I assume someone in the pub set it off.. I wanted a cup of tea in the morning but there was no sugar, so as I was departing early and had been told breakfast was 7.30-9.30am I started to take my bags downstairs ( took three trips up and down…) but there was no one around. I waited for a few minutes then started to walk through the pub and found the food set out on a table and realised you have to help yourself to the breakfast, which I wasn’t told. The room price was very reasonable and the management very helpful but it should be mentioned that the room access is very difficult, that breakfast is ‘do it yourself’, the bathroom cleaning needs to be far better and the ‘tea/coffee’ items left fully stocked. And above all it should be clear this is not an hotel.