Premier Inn Ipswich Town Centre - Quayside

Hotels
Premier Inn
8.4 (21 reviews)
33 Key Street,Ipswich,Suffolk,Suffolk , Ipswich , GB

Facilities

Parking
Restaurant
Breakfast available (surcharge)

Review Highlights

Pros:
Helpful staff
Clean rooms
Good location
Comfortable stay
Cons:
Limited food options
Minor room issues

Categories

Cleanliness
8.56
The rooms were very clean and tidy.
Service
9.03
Staff were very welcoming, helpful, and accommodating.
Location
8.57
Good location, walking distance to the town center and local attractions.
Room Quality
8.52
Rooms were comfortable with good amenities.
Amenities
8.05
Standard amenities for a hotel of this rating.
Value for Money
8.51
Great value for money despite minor issues.
Food and Beverage
7.56
Food quality could be improved; limited menu options.
Overall Experience
8.43
Overall positive experience with some minor hiccups.
* This sentiment is summarized by AI based on user reviews.
Updated at: 2026-01-17 01:44

Property Description

Watch the world drift by at the Premier Inn Hotel Ipswich Town Centre (Quayside), where comfort meets adventure in the heart of Ipswich.

Prime Location
Nestled opposite the picturesque quayside, our hotel is a stone's throw away from thrilling river cruises on the River Orwell and the historic site of Sutton Hoo.

Culinary Delights
Savor delectable meals in our tasty onsite restaurant, perfect for unwinding after a day of exploration.

Ultimate Comfort
Retreat to your stylish and extra-comfy room after your adventures, ensuring a restful night’s sleep to recharge for the next day's escapades.

Don't miss out on the perfect getaway; book your stay with us today!

Important information:

Approx 70 spaces, 4 disabled bays (both underground and overground spaces). Cost: 9 GBP for 24 hours. Car park managed by Horizon Parking. Height restriction on underground car park, no height restriction on overflow car park which is overground. Space for coaches.
Exit M25 J28, continue on the A12 to J33, take the 3rd exit at the roundabout onto A14. Exit A14 J56, at roundabout take 2nd exit (Ipswich Central A137). Continue on A137 over 4 roundabouts following signs for town centre. Continue over the traffic lights, at next roundabout take 2nd exit, at double roundabout take 2nd exit following through traffic signs, Orwell Quay/Cliff Quay, turn right onto lower Orwell St, take right following signs to Manningtree, arrive at hotel.

Check-in and check-out hours:

Location

Guest Reviews

8.4
Based on 21 reviews
Cleanliness: 8.56
Service: 9.03
Location: 8.57
Room Quality: 8.52
Amenities: 8.05
Value for Money: 8.51
Food and Beverage: 7.56
Overall Experience: 8.43
S
Stewart
10
Pros:

The staff are very welcoming and helpful.


2025-12-29 via Nuitee
R
robmac1957 Business Scottish Borders, Scotland
8
Clean and Comfortable
Pros:

Stayed 3 nights and it was fine, clean, comfortable and good service. The staff were friendly and it was ver6 reasonably priced.

2025-11-28 via Tripadvisor
V
Voyage687971 Couples
10
Fantastic
Pros:

Fantastic. Our 3rd visit.

Superb location. Great rooms and food. Staff service exceptional. Nothing too much trouble. Friendly professional and accommodating.

2025-11-22 via Tripadvisor
9
940michaelc940 NONE Colchester, Essex, England
10
Good value as always.
Pros:

I finally found the car park after following directions from Sat Nav and no gate for entrance security but plenty of spaces. Woman on reception a little abrupt but that was just bad luck.Room wonderful .We were there two days.Only problems were a difficult to work coffee machine and a somewhat temperamental heating system.(fan blowing cold sometimes when heat on)These niggles do not effect my view that the stay was great value for money.Great location on waterfront and within walking distance of town centre.Ive been with Premier many times and failures occur when bad staff.

2025-11-16 via Tripadvisor
V
Voyage23467339852 Family Norwich, Norfolk, East Anglia, England
10
Staff absolutely lovely
Pros:

Stayed Tuesday 11/11 for just the one night. We were running a bit late and needed to get to a show by 8 and still needed to eat. The two staff (sorry, didn’t get their names but one chef and one front of house) were absolutely brilliant.

They were very quick and intensive and nothing was too much bother. Likewise the lady we spoke with on the Wednesday morning re leaving our car whilst we went into town.

Premier Inns don’t tend to vary much but this one totally stood out for quality of their staff. Thank you

2025-11-12 via Tripadvisor
D
danielsP5984KD Friends getaway
10
Good Location
Pros:

Good location in Ipswich. Stayed here one night to attend a football match at Portman Road, which is a short 10 minute walk from the hotel.

The car park at the hotel is small, however I did manage to find a space. Bit of a squeeze parking a Berlingo in here but there is also an overspill car park just across from the hotel.

Check-in was easy - two screens to do self-check in and somebody on reception who took my car registration details as it costs £9 for 24 hours to use the hotel car park.

Room was clean and tidy. Very good black-out curtains and minimal noise, despite being on the 1st floor at the front of the hotel directly above the street.

Breakfast was good - standard Premier Inn fare. Some items could have done with replenishing, though.

No issues checking out the next morning and was back on the road heading north after a good night’s rest.

Would recommend.

2025-11-05 via Tripadvisor
T
thomfam123 NONE
10
Excellent in all respects
Pros:

Brilliant -we know exactly what we'll get - friendly welcome, clean, warm (adjustable!) room, good food, always works really well for us.

2025-11-03 via Tripadvisor
P
P1705JUlindseyr Family
6
Good hotel, let down by the restaurant
Pros:

The hotel was well located, although there weren't many on site parking spaces. There is an overflow nearby, though. Also the soundproofing could be a bit better.

The staff are all very friendly and helpful, and the automated check in is a time saver. The decor feels fresh and the room was very clean and functional, with a comfy bed.

The restaurant is a real letdown, though. The advertised menu was not available, only a very reduced one, and there was no children's menu. Had I paid for the meal deal I would have been quite miffed. Also the kitchen seemed to have difficulty in producing an adequate supply of food for breakfast, even though the place wasn't exactly heaving. We went down to breakfast at various times over three days and there were always empty dishes. Very disappointing.

If it wasn't for the restaurant problems I would have given a much higher rating.

2025-11-01 via Tripadvisor
6
645saraho Business United Kingdom
10
Fantastuc welcming fabulous team! 5 stars!
Pros:

The location is lovely near boats and also a lovely littke pub and shops and pizza.
The staff at the premier Inn work very hard 5 star service and very happy to help.
Amazing diligent team with a friendly welcome as a solo traveler on business.
The chefs food is 100% fresh so many flaviours you will not be dusapointed!
Thank you very much for a lovely stay and also my room was spotkess! Thank you

2025-10-21 via Tripadvisor
D
DayTrip33867650751 Couples
10
Ipswich Quay Delight.
Pros:

Stayed for 2 nights on 16/17th October 2025.Wonderfule location for wandering the harbour and town. Electronic booking in machines not working but incredibly helpful and cheereful staff sorted things manually. Room was clean and tidy and we are considering buying one of their mattresses. The breakfast was .MIND BLOWINGLY good, everything hot and tasty. Would recommend Quayside Premier Inn for a stopover.

2025-10-21 via Tripadvisor
B
bigtreez43 Couples Margate, Isle of Thanet, Kent, England
10
Pleasantly surprised
Pros:

This was my first premier inn stay so I didn't quite know what to expect.
The first good omen was getting a covered parking spot 2 seconds from reception in the pouring rain🌧
I had booked premier plus with the hope it would be better than travelodge (who I have totally given up on!)
We were on the 5th floor in a lovely sized room with a coffee machine, complimentary sparkling water and chocolate in the fridge and a very comfy bed.
Slept great, no noise even though our road looked onto the main road.
Breakfast was good, the lady on reception was doing about 7 different things at a time, all brilliantly I may add.
Because I booked early and it was a Sunday night, it cost me £48 plus the brekky... fantastic!!
Would definitely use premier inn again

2025-10-21 via Tripadvisor
T
Tour36623037102 Business Bristol, England
10
Wow !
Pros:

I’ve not stayed at any Premier Inn for the last two months, I’m normally a very regular customer.
This is my first visit to Ipswich Quayside and I am very much hoping it won’t be the last.
The level of service here I feel is above and beyond what you normally get at a similar establishment . There was a slight issue of me booking in, but that was more because of the third-party involved rather than Premier.. Jack sorted that and Teale looked after me from their one, Teale is a credit to this company, ensuring I was happy with the way my booking had been sorted and also later on in the restaurant where she was very attentive and chatty which makes all the difference when after a long day working on your own somebody takes the time to say hello and smile. Also of note was Hayden who also made time to make me feel comfortable in the on-site restaurant. Talking of which it was my first viewing of the new menu, wow!
You really must try the spring rolls, I so enjoyed them. I had them two nights running, the new pizzette is also worth a dabble. So basically in my first visit to Ipswich. Quayside I encountered excellent service and really decent tasty food so I think I must also include the chef on this review.
Hopefully, I’ll see you all again soon !

2025-10-20 via Tripadvisor
I
ishaf2018 NONE Cononley, Skipton, North Yorkshire, England
10
Lovely hotel
Pros:

Brilliant hotel just found it hard work trying to get in to the underground parking which I needed to park in due to my mobility issues and needed disability parking drove around the one way system 5 time looking for entrance and it was dark so didn't help needs a sign pointing saying where parking entrance is

2025-10-14 via Tripadvisor
G
ginah9800 Couples Leigh-on Sea, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
10
Great location.
Pros:

We stayed on a Sunday night in a room on the 2nd floor. The hotel is on the ring road but we didn't hear any traffic noise. Room looked like it had recently been refurbished. All staff we met were lovely and helpful. We parked in the underground car park. £9 for 24 hours via the hotel. Great location over the road to the marina. You get a great view from the restaurant. Breakfast was lovely and fresh. Sausages could have done with being a bit more browned off though. Will definitely stay here again next time we are in Ipswich.

2025-10-13 via Tripadvisor
M
MrNiceGuy007 Couples Leigh-on Sea, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
10
One Sunday night stay couldn’t fault it
Pros:

We stayed for one Sunday night, we dropped our bag with reception and we were offered 24 hours complimentary parking which was a nice touch.
Our room was on the second floor and was very quiet, no traffic noise at all. We both had a great nights sleep.
The room itself was very clean and everything looked brand new.
Breakfast was typically premier inn and was really nice to have a view of the marina from our table.
The two ladies that run the restaurant were very friendly.
Location is perfect for the marina and not too far from the town centre.
Highly recommend the Waterfront bistro on Sunday afternoon they have live entertainment and the Soul man was excellent and is literally across the road from the hotel.

2025-10-13 via Tripadvisor
6
645steveh645 Business Littlehampton, Arun District, West Sussex, England
2
Poorly located, poorly staffed, very noisy, unsanitary bathroom
Pros:

To start with calling this hotel QUAYSIDE is a bit of a deception. Like Stansted Airport is nowhere near London, Quayside is not really near the quayside. Looking out of the window in the direction of the quay, the view is a mish mash of odd tower blocks - a mixture of residential and recently failed businesses. You cannot see the quay. But it is there! The car park is not attached to he hotel, being on the other side of a road and we parked about 100m away. Wading past litter and skips I was glad it wasn't raining. This "hotel car park" charged by the 24 hours. As a guest we were entitled to a discount from £10 to £9 per night.
Stepping off the pavement and entering the building you find yourself not in a reception but a public area that includes a parcel pick up locker. A sign indicates you are to find reception on the first floor. This is a security issue apart from an unfriendly start to a stay. At night, anyone may loiter inside the building.
Reception is a misnomer as well as there is a small unmanned counter and two flat screen self check-in terminals. A harried and impolite staff member bolted towards us pointing at the screens and telling us to use them. Not the best greeting I've ever had in a hotel. We asked for a second key and this staff member made a second card for us. Waste of time as it turned out, as it happens everytime we go to Premier Inn, the self service machines NEVER successfully make a second key card. This one was no exception and simply didn't work. Only the Premier Inns with proper receptions seem to be able to provide working second keys.
The room looked OK and we were relieved to find it had an opening window. However, we were surprised to find it was a full blown tilt and turn window which is safe if you just tilt is back, but I wouldn't leave a child un-attended as the the window can be fully opened up and the fall is straight down to the pavement below. We were on floor 4. A fall would almost certainly be fatal.
Despite the hotel being quite new, the air conditioning system was typically naff. The room was very hot and, of course, these turn themselves off after a while and you wake up so hot you have to open the window.
The problem with the window being open is the two lanes of traffic 1.5metres away from the front of the hotel. The hotel is on an island with two lanes going one way out of town on one side and two lanes coming in on the other. It was very noisy and at 5am, we had to shut the window again to block the noise.
During the early evening we returned from the rather underwhelming quay (we had found it) having found very few places to eat or drink, with most venues either closed or simply gone. We went to the hotel Thyme restaurant and stood by the "Wait to be Seated" stand. It was 7:30 and there were exactly 5 people on 3 tables in the restaurant with about 20 tables empty. The staff member came up to us and asked if we had a reservation. We said we did not. She told us we could have a table at 8:15. I queried the fact that there were plenty of tables empty to be told the problem was not enough cooks! I've eaten in plenty of Thyme restaurants before and although quite tasty, they are basically out of a packet and warmed up. It's hard to see the problem. I would have been furious if I had been silly enough to pre-pay for a Meal Deal only to find there were not enough cooks! As we were not invited to sit at a table with drinks until the cook could cope with unpacking a couple of curries and putting them in the oven, we decided to scour the area again to find someone who did want to serve us.
Breakfast at 9:00 was equally uninspiring. Buffet breakfasts are becoming the Premier Inn norm unfortunately and they can be good or "disappointing" - nothing in between. This one had some cooked items solidifying under the heaters but quite a few items missing. Fair enough up to point - no one wants to see food wasted. However, where as most of these have a cook in attendance to cook missing items fresh, there was none in attendance here. We waited for a bit and other guests queued with us. After awhile I leant over the counter and called out for anyone able to wield a spatula. A cook emerged from somewhere out of sight and took orders for, eggs, black pudding etc.
While I waited for those to cook, I went to make toast to find no brown/granary bread. I could have asked someone, if I could find someone, but was losing the will to stay in this dump any longer.
About cleanliness; I used to think that Premier Inn could be relied upon to provide a nice clean and quiet room (they used to do a good night sleep guarantee!). Covid provided the excuse to change daily clean to clean on departure OR if requested (who would you ask at an unmanned reception?). The room we had was VERY deficient this time. You are provided with one bath towel and one hand towel hanging in the bathroom and one bath towel folded on the shelf below the tea and coffee. The first annoyance was when my wife went to the toilet and closed the bathroom door, she found a used and wet towel was hanging from the hook on the back of the door. So much for cleaning the bathroom on departure! The second fundamentally more foul incident was when I took the second towel off the shelf and went to use it after my shower and found, hidden in the folds a large brown stain. I like to think that a previous guest had allowed tea or coffee to drip onto the towel and refolded it to hide the stain. The alternative is too foul to consider. Either way the way these towels are left on the shelf leaves them open to abuse, by silly or malicious guests. It is clear that this towel was not provided for our booking and if APPEARING not to be used, these shelved towels may be there for weeks I suppose. Yet another sign of Premier Inn racing to the bottom to take Travelodges place. Interestingly they don't leave the extra pillows unbagged and unsealed. Just the towels.

2025-10-10 via Tripadvisor
D
DianeS672 Couples Southampton, Hampshire, England
8
Friendly clean hotel
Pros:

A very clean hotel. Friendly, helpful staff.
We had a normal room. Very clean, lots of hot water for showers etc.

The staff worked very, very hard. Receptionist was doing several jobs (well). She checked people in for breakfast, cleared tables, set tables in between assisting guest requests and guests leaving the hotel. The lady preparing and cooking all the food for breakfast was very helpful - lots of choice.

My only criticism is the noise of the traffic and when this was quiet the aircon kicked in and was equally noisy.

2025-09-30 via Tripadvisor
T
T1966ZAclairem Family
10
Leanne should train every staff member!
Pros:

Leanne is so helpful. She really did make a difference to my dealings with PI.

If you go, and all of the colleagues are anything like as friendly and professional, you are in for a real treat!

2025-09-29 via Tripadvisor
3
331rikum NONE
10
Great hotel
Pros:

Very nice hotel, staff are lovely and very friendly, it is easy to get to town centre and shops located next to some nice restaurants,

2025-09-18 via Tripadvisor
K
K2679YNrichardi Couples
10
Really helpful staff
Pros:

Firstly I'd like to thank the woman on reception who quickly sorted out my booking error. What's also nice to say, is that there is nothing yo complain about. The room was plush and modern, the bathroom clean and shiny. We slept really well, and woke up up to a specially made vegetarian breakfast. Easy access to the quayside bars and restaurants.

2025-08-31 via Tripadvisor