The Jolly Sailor, Orford

We stayed for 1 night and then 4 nights shortly after, while visiting the Aldeburgh Festival. The pub is a very old one, with lots of character to the building, but of course that means the doors and corridors can be quite snug in places. The first night we were in Seafarers room, which is very small with nowhere to put clothes - avoid that one. The rest of the stay was in Loch Long, which was much better. Overall, the décor was a bit tired, and the servicing of the rooms a little patchy (they are used to one night stays, so 4 nights was unusual for them). Wifi was OK on speed, but rather flaky on connections. At the back, they have a large patio area covered by a big awning and a decent garden area - an excellent place to meet friends and relax. Breakfasts were substantial, but not sophisticated cooking. We only dined in on one night. Two of their better dishes were sold out, which was unfortunate. What we had was average pub food, but one dish was definitely weak. The staff were, without exception, extremity friendly and helpful - a pleasure to behold. Overall, a decent place to stay for our purposes, but with its flaws, albeit minor

Two of us had the double beef burgers which were very thin and over cooked and burnt on the edges. I was expecting fuller burgers and cooked to perfection at a price of £18 95.! The staff were very pleasant and friendly. It was a nice evening out except for thr burgers.

We had Sunday lunch . The food was very good and only a short Wait . The staff are very friendly and the cost was reasonable . The outside area is very relaxed with a verity of different seating, including tables and a large covered area picnic tables and deck chairs .

This is a great old pub with quirky rooms. We stayed 2 nights in a room called Flying 15 - lovely big comfy bed, good Wi-Fi and large bathroom with deep bath and hand held shower. The staff were all really friendly and attentive and nothing seemed too much trouble. Lovely food and very well catered for as vegans - fantastic mushroom burgers and onion bhaji wraps. Vegan full English breakfast and smashed avocado on toast also delicious. Big pub garden with views over fields made a lovely place to eat in the sunshine. If you are thinking of staying do be aware there’s a very narrow and step staircase to navigate to two of the bedroom together with low ceilings and wonky floors - all part of the place’s charms if can cope with them.

This poor score and review relates to the Jolly Sailor's Bed and Breakfast service and facilities not the restaurant or bar. Main issues: 1. Room booked direct so to secure a specific room. Requested a specific type of room,( which we thought we had secured) Told "it's on the ground floor with only a view of the rear garden and not overlooking the road", but all the rooms do and was woken up at 06.45 by bin truck. Answer from Management " We seemed to have got our wires crossed !!" 2. On-duty manager tried to convince us Body Lotion could lather -up and be used as bath/shower gel when we asked for some!! None provided; had to use hand wash!! Management Answer : "He gave you some shampoo" 3. Knew rooms only had a bath, but on advising our age on booking, we should have been cautioned that it is a deep rolltop bath. My wife struggled to get out of it. Answer: " There is no room for a shower because of the age of the building and eave's". that is obvious, but what about our safety? 4. Continental Breakfast: worst ever experienced. See Photo. Mouldy and stale Muesli - removed from photo, small cereal bowl with minute quantities of mixed berries, orange juice and bread and jam. We were told it was a spread and you may not want a cooked breakfast!! Answer: "we are a small hotel and not able to offer a wider selection and anyway most people prefer a cooked breakfast." 5. Payment: asked up front on arrival and after evening meal. Told why; "just in case you forget in the morning in the rush". Didn't make us feel particularly trusted. Answer: "That's our accounting system" We emailed the management twice with these main complaints ( there were others) to give them the opportunity to offer feasible and acceptable reasons. Unfortunately, they didn't, hence this poor score and review. Positives: Big comfortable bed, lovely linen, spacious and very clean.

After walking around Orford we decided to have a bite to eat here. Food wasn’t served until 5:30 and we arrived at 4:50 so had a drink in the beer garden first of all. Amusements are supplied for children- pencils and paper. Lots of board games are available too which is a lovely touch. When it came to the food we ordered fish and chips x2, plus a child’s size version… £46.00!!! Don’t get me wrong it was tasty but not overly large or spectacular, very, very expensive, especially as this didn’t include the drinks! Next time I would definitely go to a local fish and chip shop.