Dolphin Hotel Reviews 13

We booked an exec.room with balcony &river view last August for 3 nights from 28th April. We were a party of 20 people from our MG club. On arrival we were told our room wasn't available due to a maintenance problem. The room we were given was basic witha view of carpark,skip and rubbish.2 other couples in our group had the same welcome.The price difference was £100 but we were offered £57.50 refund.The manager Liz was very apologetic and understanding but decisions had to be made through the elusive owner who couldn't be contacted by mere customers. No email or phone call advised us of this. The basic room had a tea tray with no biscuits ,a kettle but no socket within 6 ft. The room had no drawers, just a short rail on the wall.After booking in we were told the bar was closed, again with no prior communication. Apart from the location there is little positive. Breakfast was overcooked, plates stone cold.A very disappointing visit, never to be repeated.

Our daughter booked 2 night stay for my husband and I. Upon arrival one member staff only for the weekend. Reception looked like a dive, instructions to where our room was limited by one staff member who could not clearly communicate simple instructions.
We were told no restaurant or bar available due to remodelling of hotel. breakfast was temporarily set up in the old bar we were informed.
It was wet and cold storm during our stay, when we got to our room it smelt of damp windows wide open trying to mask mouldy damp smell which s as gain made room cold.
Decor and standard of room one star basic, tired and dated decor and furniture
In the nighttime we were freezing cold sitting with our coats on we went back to reception to ask about heating we were told heating is on
Our room had no heating had to get one staff member to come and see for themselves we were not offered heaters or change of room

The place is a dump my daughter paid for bottle of Prosecco to be in our room
Staff said you get your Prosecco when you check out
We did not stay it was a disgusting place and needs closing down

We made a booking with dolphin hotel for two nights.
My wife fell ill and was admitted to hospital for five days. They refused to change the date and we lost our money and they were unhelpful and rude.

BOTH Wowcher and Hotel running a scam false advertising the hotel does NOT look like its photos!!
Dirty, derelict no bar no restaurant staff don’t care manager was telling reception guy to lie to customer on phone saying she wasn’t there (probably a complaint) took them a week to reply to my complaint which I sent 15 minutes after arriving!
They basically tell you it’s not their problem and lie, when you contact Wowcher they do the same so get passed back and forth never getting a resolve. Would love to show the real pictures of the hotel versus what they advertise!!

This is no way a 4 star hotel - all the 2 star hotels I've stayed in were better. Dirty, unkept. Terrible.
No restaurant, bar closed at 7.30am.
Very dirty dusty room. Black hairs all over the bathroom; so dirty I didn't want to shower.
Staff, particularly the woman in the morning were rude and unhelpful. The only member of staff who was helpful was the man I booked in. I will be telling my company never to book personnel here again.

Booked a family room ... room 16, that had a double bed and a single bed in a separate room. Booked direct with the proprietor, Ravi Gupta. He promised free breakfast. This was yo be our third stay at the hotel. When we arrived we were told that Room 16 had been given to other guests, we would have to stay in a double room with a child's trundle bed. We are three large adults and a child trundle bed would not suffice. We asked to speak with the proprietor, he refused to come to the phone. It was take it or leave it. I went to collect a friend from the town and saw Mr Gupta. We stopped and asked him what was going on. He was rude, not accepting any blame, saying we were offered a reasonable alternative. He knew we had booked for a dear friends funeral ... he did not care.
We returned to the hotel to be told we were not welcome. It was gone 11pm, we were left "homeless".
Mr Gupta does not deserve to be in business. He has no client care whatsoever. Money is his God!
When speaking to locals in the town we were told that is notorious for this behaviour. Wish had known this!

UPDATE WE WERE ASKED TO LEAVE AT 11PM BY THE OWNER RAVI GUPTA.,.VILE HUMAN..... Been sat here since 8-30 after booking our room a couple of weeks ago , we booked a family room for 3 adults all in there 60s to be told when we got here our room has been let, I have just had surgery on my spine and was given permission from my surgeon to attend our friends funeral tomorrow, 22-30 and still sat in reception as the man on the desk refuses to ring the owner Ravi who we have met twice before . He was told by the person who let our room to put 3 of us in a room with a double bed and they would put a child's bed in it for the 3rd adult , it's disgusting treatment of guests we loved this hotel but will not ever use it again

I don't believe this hotel should be open at this particular time. Probably in 12 months time when it may possibly be finished. The location is beautiful but that's where it stops. At present it is like a building site. The room was standard, but generally clean. However the bottom of the bathroom door was dirty and some tiled were badly placed in bathroom. The windows throughout the hotel were very dirty. It was hot weather so the windows in the restaurant were open. The frames had dust and cob webs which must have been there for months. Also dead insects on frames. One window had a crack which is a Health and Safety issue. There is one very pleasant lady who carried out the duties of chef, waitress and cleaner. The bar is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 5.00 p.m although advertised on a board outside differently. Also no restaurant facilities except for breakfast. That was probably a bonus because nothing inviting to attempt you to eat there. The patio flags really need to be jet washed and the weeds surrounding the entire building need to be removed. Patio tables need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Avoid this hotel at all costs.

We booked a dinner, bed and breakfast deal at this hotel in April, using Wowcher. The Dolphin were unable to provide the evening meal and advised us to contact Wowcher for a refund. We have since contacted Wowcher, who tell us to get back to the Dolphin for more information. And so it goes on. Dolphin say that they will deal with it and 'promise' to ring back, no-one ever has. Almost three months later I'm still waiting for my refund.

This place is a DUMP! I bought a Wowcher deal…however it’s cheaper to book direct.
We purchased dinner, bed and breakfast to be told after a 2 hour drive that there is no restaurant and to take it up with Wowcher who also don’t seem to care that this hotel is being renovated.

The room had no mirror other than the bathroom so had to do my hair with my make up mirror. The bathroom lights and fan are on sensors so if you need a wee or two in the middle of the night, they are LOUD and stay on for 10 minutes.

Booked a two day stay via Woucher. There are some very cruel reviews on here from bigots who have never stayed here, please ignore. The picture on Woucher showed a small riverside hotel, on arrival a very large complex undergoing a major rebuild. In the makeshift reception ALL staff we met were lovely, good humoured and cheerful. We were with friends and had rooms 8 and 9, ours being 9. On one side of the corridor were rooms 1 to 12, on the other something like 20 to 30, very strange.
Entering our room it was immediately apparent it was spacious and well decorated. We did see it was less than 5 feet from the main walkway to St Ives and very busy. Bathroom had a VERY odd sensor that turned light off very randomly. My rumba technique improved dramatically trying to keep the light on and shave! The bathroom door had just a lick of primer and no top coat either side. The toilet roll holder hanging by a thread but tiling and fittings otherwise fine. Our friends on room 8 had more luck, they had a light over the bathroom mirror AND net curtains in bedroom. We discovered ours was the only room in hotel without nets meaning we had to keep curtains drawn for any privacy. Enjoyed the sight of a guy bagging dog poo outside on Sunday morning. There is no bar or restaurant, breakfast in a conference room and absolutely fine. I'm sure when all is done it will be good but not rebooking till then!

A friend and I visited St Ives to walk along the river. We parked in the hotels pay and display car park. Whilst walking back through their car park I found some litter on the ground which someone had dropped and not bothered to put in the bin. I picked it up and put it in the hotel bin. Immediately I heard someone shout "Oy" and was confronted by two members of staff who insisted that the bin was private and I was not allowed to put rubbish in it. After a 20 minute heated conversation I told them that in future I will just leave rubbish on the ground when at their establishment. Their website describes their situation as picturesque - how long will it be picturesque if people don't pick up litter!!!

Once I explained it was litter from their property I had picked up there was no apology or gratitude for trying to keep the surrounding area picturesque and I was made to remove it from their bin and take it to another on the public road... for this reason and the fact that the staff were rude and condescending I would not recommend this hotel and will never go back there in future.

This hotel has taken Money from us during a time where our booking had to be cancelled due to get pandemic. Also in one of the rooms was a NHS worker that was required to be present at work. Ravi Gupta the owner has never come to the phone when we called in order to reach an amicable solution or has never returned our calls. He acted so selfishly by not returning back our money or offering us a stay there in future. This man has no integrity at all. At least if he called back or tried to have a conversation with us I can understand, but instead he chooses to ignore us or lies so he doesn’t have to refund us.
I Do NOT recommend this hotel. Ravi Gupta is an untrustworthy man!