Good Hotel Guide Review
Cranes, container ships, Holland-bound ferries … The views from this quayside Victorian hotel with its striking iron-lace balcony overlooking the Stour and Orwell estuaries are ocean-going, stirring, never dull. It is owned by the Milsom family (see Talbooth House & Spa, Dedham), and rejoices in its maritime surroundings, from the industrial-chic ground-floor Navyärd bar, serving Scandi-inspired small plates, ales and interesting gins, to the first-floor brasserie with exposed brick walls, bare bulbs, leather banquettes and an eye-catching work by Essex’s own James Dodds, ‘boatbuilding’s artist laureate’. An all-day menu includes burgers (beef or chickpea), Harwich crab, fish and chips, thyme-roasted celeriac with crushed butterbeans. The bedrooms, in neutral shades with splashes of colour, are ‘comfortable enough’, and have complimentary snacks and soft drinks in a minibar fridge. The stand-out is the spacious Mayflower Suite in the adjacent former Angel pub, with lots of seating, a telescope in a huge bay window. Neighbouring Dovercourt – home to Maplins holiday camp in the sitcom Hi-de-Hi! – has a sandy Blue Flag beach. Ho-de-Ho!
Hotel details
Address
The Quay
Harwich
Essex
CO12 3HH
England
Telephone
01255 241212
Bedrooms
14. 7 in annexe, 1 on ground floor suitable for disabled.
Open
all year.
Facilities
bar, lounge (in annexe), restaurant, private dining room, small lift, in-room TV (Sky, BT, Freeview), civil wedding licence, balcony, small front terrace, parking, EV charging, restaurant, bar wheelchair accessible, adapted toilet.
Background music
in the bar.
Children
all ages welcomed, extra bed £20.
Dogs
allowed in bedrooms (no charge), bar, lounge.
Credit cards
Amex, MC, Visa.
Prices
B&B doubles from £140. À la carte £40.
Other reviews
Good Hotel Guide articles about
The Pier at Harwich
- East Anglian Daily Times: 10 of the top hotels to visit in Suffolk and North Essex in 2019
- The Lady: 10 family friendly hotels for summer holidays
- Huffington Post USA: Ten hotels to visit on Halloween
- Huffington Post USA: Historic hotels in England you have to visit