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Mermaid
Yarmouth Road The Mermaid, Handforth Bridge, Ipswich IP1 2EN England
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Room & Suite (17)
Dining (7)
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Avg. £100 /night, 1/22 - 1/23
£100
per night
£79
per night
£57
per night
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Reflects recent average nightly prices reported by our partners, and may not include estimated taxes or fees. Price at checkout may differ.
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About
#1 of 1 special inn in Ipswich
Location
Rooms
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Family
Budget
Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Bar / lounge
Children's television networks
Highchairs available
Non-smoking hotel
Outdoor furniture
24-hour front desk
Wifi
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Breakfast buffet
Complimentary Instant Coffee
Kids' meals
Room features
Air conditioning
Desk
Seating area
Flatscreen TV
Bath / shower
Complimentary toiletries
Hair dryer
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Location
Yarmouth Road The Mermaid, Handforth Bridge, Ipswich IP1 2EN England
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 58 out of 100
58
105 Restaurants
within 0.75 miles
Reviews
4.0
271 reviews
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Reviews summary
This summary was created by AI, based on recent reviews.
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The Mermaid Hotel garners praise for its cleanliness, with guests frequently commending the immaculate rooms and facilities, including the fresh, tidy pub. Its service is highly regarded as well, thanks to the attentive and friendly staff, although an isolated incident of rudeness was reported. The rooms are celebrated for their spaciousness and convenient amenities, despite a few remarks about the absence of lifts.
Visitors also appreciate the comprehensive amenities like free Wi-Fi and the secure setting. The hotel's prime location is a hit for its easy access to local attractions and ample parking. While the hotel is deemed a great value overall, some guests have pointed out extra costs and room provisions as minor drawbacks.
Location
Convenient
Rooms
Comfortable
Value
Affordable
Cleanliness
Spotless
Service
Friendly
Amenities
Satisfactory
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Detailed Reviews
Stayed for just 1 night so didn’t have to travel home after a long day at Foxhall stadium. Easy arrival, fantastic room, large, air conditioned, exceptionally clean and wallpaper on one wall, makes a change from all magnolia painted! No noise at all. Only thing I would have liked was more light, window very small. Best nights sleep in a long time, so much so we pulled back the sheet to look at the make if the mattress. Will be back when the need next arises!
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 1 Oct 2021
thank you for kind review
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We recently stayed at this hotel for the first time whilst visiting family in Ipswich. We arrived earlier than expected but had no problem being allowed to park the car and go for a wander. The room was very spacious and air conditioned (brilliant in the recent heatwave). Room exceptionally clean and the tea tray was well stocked daily, more so than most hotels we have stayed in. We stayed in a room on the river side, which was very quiet and dark at night. Check-in is at the adjacent pub where the drinks and food are very reasonable in price and tasty. TV was excellent, modern and with plenty of channels available. No iron or ironing board in the room but are available on request. Hairdryer in drawer as standard. Ample plug sockets with USB chargers in-built was a bonus.
The only drawback we had was a lack of clothes storage, especially if you are staying for more than one night. There is only a single stand with 5 coat-hangers and a couple of shelves (hanging maxi skirts up resulted in them hanging over the shelves) so we lived out of the suitcase. An addition of a set of drawers would be beneficial, the room is certainly large enough for one to be added. There are no drawers anywhere in the room, even by the bedside or dressing table. This is unfortunately why I have given four stars instead of five as it was a bit of an issue for us. This may be a personal preference for us but we would and will return due to the location, cleanliness and friendly and welcoming staff and would definitely recommend.
The only drawback we had was a lack of clothes storage, especially if you are staying for more than one night. There is only a single stand with 5 coat-hangers and a couple of shelves (hanging maxi skirts up resulted in them hanging over the shelves) so we lived out of the suitcase. An addition of a set of drawers would be beneficial, the room is certainly large enough for one to be added. There are no drawers anywhere in the room, even by the bedside or dressing table. This is unfortunately why I have given four stars instead of five as it was a bit of an issue for us. This may be a personal preference for us but we would and will return due to the location, cleanliness and friendly and welcoming staff and would definitely recommend.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 21 Sept 2024
Thank you !!
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
A lot to digest? Read an AI-generated summary of recent traveller reviews.
Came in as a table of 4. We were greeted politely and taken to our table by Julie, who explained how everything worked and any deals that were on. Went to the bar whilst we waited for the 4th member of our party and ordered a couple of drinks. Served in good time. My daughter kept herself entertained in the indoor play area which was good. Cutlery was brought over to us not long after we sat.
Once our party was complete, we went to the bar and ordered our food. Very smooth process. Jayne, who had served me the first time, asked all the right questions you would come to expect.
Food arrived quickly, all was hot and very tastey. My daughters waffles and fish fingers were perhaps a bit over, but she ate as much as she usually does at home so can't have been that bad. We had a lovely waitress named Shannon, she was top notch, came and checked to make sure everything was ok and cleared our table after we'd done. Offered desserts but we were stuffed.
Overall, really good service and food. Returns done the place good, looks much better now. If you feel you can brave the atmosphere of fear racing through the country, then do try them out. Well worth it.
Once our party was complete, we went to the bar and ordered our food. Very smooth process. Jayne, who had served me the first time, asked all the right questions you would come to expect.
Food arrived quickly, all was hot and very tastey. My daughters waffles and fish fingers were perhaps a bit over, but she ate as much as she usually does at home so can't have been that bad. We had a lovely waitress named Shannon, she was top notch, came and checked to make sure everything was ok and cleared our table after we'd done. Offered desserts but we were stuffed.
Overall, really good service and food. Returns done the place good, looks much better now. If you feel you can brave the atmosphere of fear racing through the country, then do try them out. Well worth it.
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 1 Oct 2021
thank you for your kind review.
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
‘Good evening.’
The mask-less man sits at the reception desk, hunched over his phone and texting rapidly.
‘Good evening!’
He looks up, unsmiling, uninterested, ‘I’ve just gone off duty’.
He shouts to someone down the counter, and moves away a little to continue his texts.
She approaches, also unsmiling and mask-less. Without making eye contact, she looks at the computer and asks, ‘Name?’
The room is a motel room, brown décor, quiet, fully equipped, and with the promised river view. It’s not the motel’s fault the river is scummy here and only glimpsed through trees. The window is locked shut, which may be sensible on the ground floor. Instead, the room is fully air-conditioned – although the air conditioning unit translates 22 degrees to mean a chilly breeze.
A laminated list of Covid precautions ends by reassuring us that the list itself will be put into quarantine for 72 hours after we leave. However, the list makes no reference to masks. Not even the blandest, most tentative reference to either staff or customers wearing them at any point. It’s an airborne disease with 35,847 new cases in the UK today.
There’s no law compelling the staff to wear a mask. Or to wear a friendly face. Or to look customers in the eye. However, if you want customers you are charging £120 a day (yes, the rates go high in August) to feel safe and welcome, then it might be best to go a little beyond the legal minimum. I felt unsafe, I felt unwelcome, and I won’t be back.
The mask-less man sits at the reception desk, hunched over his phone and texting rapidly.
‘Good evening!’
He looks up, unsmiling, uninterested, ‘I’ve just gone off duty’.
He shouts to someone down the counter, and moves away a little to continue his texts.
She approaches, also unsmiling and mask-less. Without making eye contact, she looks at the computer and asks, ‘Name?’
The room is a motel room, brown décor, quiet, fully equipped, and with the promised river view. It’s not the motel’s fault the river is scummy here and only glimpsed through trees. The window is locked shut, which may be sensible on the ground floor. Instead, the room is fully air-conditioned – although the air conditioning unit translates 22 degrees to mean a chilly breeze.
A laminated list of Covid precautions ends by reassuring us that the list itself will be put into quarantine for 72 hours after we leave. However, the list makes no reference to masks. Not even the blandest, most tentative reference to either staff or customers wearing them at any point. It’s an airborne disease with 35,847 new cases in the UK today.
There’s no law compelling the staff to wear a mask. Or to wear a friendly face. Or to look customers in the eye. However, if you want customers you are charging £120 a day (yes, the rates go high in August) to feel safe and welcome, then it might be best to go a little beyond the legal minimum. I felt unsafe, I felt unwelcome, and I won’t be back.
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Date of stay: August 2021
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 1 Oct 2021
thank you for your fed back sorry to hear your stay wasnt up to standard.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed at the hotel from the Thursday night to the Saturday night we was supposed to check out the Sunday morning but we left Saturday night late . We had booked the accessible room due to my physical health however when we got there we were given another room . Thursday night was fine . We both ordered the full English and it was disgusting and a waste of time !! On the Friday evening we came out of the room to have a cigarette and we could smell cannabis !! We notified the lady on the desk and she came over to check, when we came back into the hotel the lady asked us if we could smell it and we no longer could smell it however the lady had sprayed air freshener every where , why spray air freshener if she couldn’t smell it herself!!!! When we went to bed at 10.00pm all we could hear was stomp , stomp , stomp above us up until 3.00am and then it started again at 7.00am , we had enough!! So that’s why we decided to leave early on the Saturday night . When we was unpacking the car on the night we arrived there was a male hanging about the car park asking for money to stop at the hotel and for drugs !! The situation of the hotel was a perfect location for us to visit family but the hotel and the food totally let everything down and would never stop there again !!!!! The picture below is of the butter that came on the breakfast plate !! All dripping around the breakfast!!!:
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Date of stay: December 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 21 Sept 2024
Thank you for your feed back
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Booked a disabled access room lots of space in the room the double bed was very good clean and comfortable. The housekeeping was spot on our bed was made every day ( we had a 3 night stay) and fresh towels each day our housekeeper was Tracy thank you very much. This is our 2nd time staying here next time we come over to Ipswich I will book this room again
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Date of stay: June 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 21 Sept 2024
Thank you !!
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Really comfortable bed and soft pillows. Room very typical of a motel but it was clean and functional. Room was however cold and I couldn't see how to adjust the heating. Not much of an issue as I wasn't there for long as it was just one night and I checked out before dawn.
One real issue I have is at the time of booking the room rate was £52 for one person but invoice states two persons and they have charged me £58. Need to take this up with Booking.com so beware.
I chose this hotel as it was handy for my visit to Ipswich and it had parking and breakfast. At the time of booking I couldn't see the times for breakfast so rang the hotel. They said 0700 and this was confirmed when I arrived Friday afternoon. Unfortunately breakfast is not available till 0800 on a Saturday so information was incorrect. I had no breakfast and a 3 1/2 hour journey ahead of me. A McDonalds was across the road was open but not my taste.
One real issue I have is at the time of booking the room rate was £52 for one person but invoice states two persons and they have charged me £58. Need to take this up with Booking.com so beware.
I chose this hotel as it was handy for my visit to Ipswich and it had parking and breakfast. At the time of booking I couldn't see the times for breakfast so rang the hotel. They said 0700 and this was confirmed when I arrived Friday afternoon. Unfortunately breakfast is not available till 0800 on a Saturday so information was incorrect. I had no breakfast and a 3 1/2 hour journey ahead of me. A McDonalds was across the road was open but not my taste.
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Date of stay: December 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 21 Sept 2024
Thank you !!
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Stayed in a family room found hairs in the bath one a curly 🫣 and also tea tray mug had a really long hair in it carpet looks like it needs a good clean. Room basic but comfy bed. First problem...Went over to the Mermaid pub what a cockup that was. Initially told we hadn't booked breakfast with our rooms which we had so disputed this with another staff member who checked and said we hadn't she got man in charge who checked again and it was included. Chap in charge we had just seen outside smoking so came in and stunk of cigarettes dressed in a t shirt and zip up fleece not a very professional look but got things sorted. We ordered our meals at 8 o'clock mine was veggie carvery so needed cooking separately. No mention of the carvery shutting at 8 when I ordered. Sat waiting for our meals and noticed the carvery all being cleared away. I went up to chef and explained I was waiting for my food only to be told it had been changed to a fish finger sandwich🤔🤔 as the carvery was closed so I disputed this again I spoke to a lady who took my order at the time told her nothing had been said about the carvery closing at 8 😠back came the "man in charge" I reordered a different meal but no apologies from any staff. I did however get my meal free of charge. A lad working there called Leo was however really helpful and apologetic. When I told him about the issues with the room he offered to get it recleaned for us and gave us a drink on the house. His customer service skills were excellent clearly did his best to make our stay better. Apparently the chap in charge was not the manager but just covering but still very unprofessional in manner and appearance. Couldn't recommend this place and would not go back
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Travelled with friends
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 21 Sept 2024
Thank you for your feed back
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
A very warm welcome from lovely staff members,
The beds and linen were very clean,
The bathroom had a few issues with the flooring coming away from the wall, and a couple of other minor issues. We had a disability friendly room so others may be different.
The bedroom had a few unidentifiable stains on the walls but I don’t sleep on the walls so not really an issue
The beds and linen were very clean,
The bathroom had a few issues with the flooring coming away from the wall, and a couple of other minor issues. We had a disability friendly room so others may be different.
The bedroom had a few unidentifiable stains on the walls but I don’t sleep on the walls so not really an issue
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Date of stay: August 2020
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from julie markham, General Manager at Mermaid
Responded 1 Oct 2021
thank you for kind review
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Been back to meet family half way,point ipswich, have been a few times to great for large gatherings.
Bush as usual we arrived didn't realize it was a foity day, but still got served and fokd came out promptly.
The manager was spot with kids making sure they got their food first we all had carvery, and after very dangerous portion of chocolate cake to go.
Good prices good service and great location this is why we will we return.
Bush as usual we arrived didn't realize it was a foity day, but still got served and fokd came out promptly.
The manager was spot with kids making sure they got their food first we all had carvery, and after very dangerous portion of chocolate cake to go.
Good prices good service and great location this is why we will we return.
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Marston's Inns, Revenue Management at Mermaid
Responded 5 Oct 2022
Thanks so much for your kind review
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hello
Many thanks for your enquiry
we do have a medical fridge in our reception area for all guests to use, however there isn't a freezer in here. We do however have a freezer in the pub adjacent to the Lodge. Access to this would though be during permitted hours of 7am - 11pm and not overnight. I hope this information helps you
Kind Regards and happy holidays
Julie Markham
"No need to bring soap, body wash or shampoo. The stuff in the bathroom does the lot, excellently."Read full review
"Do not expect 5 star amenities, but for basic room with no frills a good place to stay with good food at the Mermaid pub."Read full review
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PRICE RANGE
£58 - £73 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United KingdomEnglandEast AngliaSuffolkIpswich
NUMBER OF ROOMS
28
Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect nightly room rates, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Mermaid
Which popular attractions are close to Mermaid?
Nearby attractions include New Wolsey Theatre (0.5 miles), Ipswich Museum (0.7 miles), and Ipswich Town Football Club Stadium Tour (0.5 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Mermaid?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
Which room amenities are available at Mermaid?
Top room amenities include air conditioning, a flat screen TV, and a desk.
What food & drink options are available at Mermaid?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant, a lounge, and breakfast during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Mermaid?
Conveniently located restaurants include Maharani, Kwan Thai, and Biryani Hut.
Is Mermaid located near the city centre?
Yes, it is 0.5 miles away from the centre of Ipswich.
Are there any historical sites close to Mermaid?
Many travellers enjoy visiting St Peter's by the Waterfront (0.9 miles), Pykenham's Gatehouse (0.9 miles), and Jean Ingelow House and Archway (0.6 miles).
Is Mermaid accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access and reduced mobility rooms. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.