Gonville Hotel Cambridge Review – A Couples Minibreak

As we recently had such a lovely couple of days away in Cambridge, I thought I’d share our review of the Gonville Cambridge Hotel, a beautiful boutique hotel tucked away on the corner of Parkers Piece. Having a family, means having nights away, just the two of us as a couple are far rarer now. So, by the time they come around, all the time I’ve spent researching and reading reviews of nice places to stay, ups the anti on getting it just right and the Gonville certainly ticked all the right boxes.

Here’s how we found our stay as a couple staying for two nights with dinner and breakfast…

Stylish luxury is the way I’d start by summing it up. From the moment you drive in with the Bentleys parked up out front – the décor and interior design is at least four star throughout. Not only that, but so well thought out, with an understated colour palette full of rich natural tones, all beautifully complimenting each other, to show off the furniture and accessories all tastefully placed.

The artwork adds a nice finishing touch too, mostly themed around Cambridge, with city maps and quirky poster style prints, mixed in with modern photography, all dotted around the hotel.

We booked this hotel as a chance to have a little mini break relaxing together after a hectic few months, and it was just the calm we needed. On arrival it certainly did have a tranquil feel. We were checked in quickly at reception and went up to our room.

What are the Bedrooms Like at the Gonville Hotel Cambridge?

This for me was the highlight, our bedroom was one of the most beautiful I have ever stayed in. Not that there’s a grand decadence hitting you as you open the door, more an understated elegance – with the muted colour scheme of sage green and blush pink, highlighted throughout the welcoming interior furnishings and décor.

The space was big too – plenty large enough for us to spend time in the room, just relaxing. There’s two lounge chairs and a little table, then a huge sumptuous bed piled high with cushions and velvet throw, and even a roll top bath in the room, for some truly decadent bathing. There was also a Nespresso which is always a big tick for me and a contemporary (although a tad small bathroom) with some decent toiletries to use.

When booking our room originally I also booked us a table in the terrace restaurant for dinner on our first night. This unfortunately is when although we had a great meal, is where a couple of niggles came in.

I’d booked dinner in what I thought was the Terrace restaurant online, and when we checked in, was told where the restaurant was located, for our reservation later. Yet when we came down to eat at 8pm, we found the double doors, we’d been told to go through to the restaurant in the bar closed. Now this wasn’t a problem as it turned out that on Sundays they have the dining in the bar instead, but as there wasn’t any staff around it took us a while to figure this out. In the bar itself there were lots of tables occupied and people waiting at the bar to be served, yet only one (that we could see at the time) person working there.

As that person was busy serving food to a couple at one of the tables and there were already other guests waiting to be served – we didn’t really know where we were supposed to be, and still looking for the terrace restaurant rather than the bar, we wandered around aimlessly for a while. We then went back to reception where the receptionist explained that we’d be in the bar instead. We then went and sat at a table back in the bar and in all fairness the waitress then appeared pretty quickly with a drinks menu.

We did then have to ask to see food menus too and it was a shame, as we then felt like casual walk ins rather than having booked a table weeks before as part of our planned trip away, as the response to asking for food menus was to be told that if we wanted to eat as it was already 8pm there was quite a wait as they were pretty busy.

In fact though, although this was true and it did take quite a while for our food to come, the wait didn’t feel too long as the drinks came quickly and as we’d spotted the stack of board games as we came in, it was fun playing one of those with a drink while we waited. Despite it being understaffed, it was a nice atmosphere in the bar and it was a lovely evening. The food was a typical casual bar menu, however what set it apart was the quality – I had soup and then a chicken burger and my husband the mussels and a scotch egg salad. All clearly made with quality ingredients and nice little touches such as interesting dressings and a rich decadent chocolate pudding to finish.

Breakfast at the Gonville Hotel

We also had breakfast both days and again the food was good. There’s a menu for hot food as well as a buffet for continental items. The buffet wasn’t vast like it can be in some hotels, so wasn’t overly exciting to visit, but the pastries were nice and the food ordered off the menu was good quality and came quickly. Interior wise I’d say this room is the only one that didn’t feel in keeping with the interior design of the rest of the building. The conservatory that’s set up for breakfast was fine, but felt a little tired.

Facilities at the Gonville Cambridge

We stayed at the Gonville for two nights and enjoyed using it as a base on our trip to Cambridge. As we had so much else planned to do, there were some facilities that we didn’t get the time to use, but I thought worth mentioning, as they have some interesting extra touches that would definitely elevate a stay there. As well as giving off a grand air as you enter the premises, you can also book to have the ride in one the hotel’s Bentley’s outside. You can go free of charge on a tour of Cambridge, with the driver pointing out all the sights. There’s also bikes out front that you again can hire for free while a guest at the hotel. Lastly although not a full spa, they do a hot tub and relaxation area for guests and links with a local spa as well, to book treatments.

Gonville Hotel Cambridge Parking

Parking at Cambridge hotels is important as its so scarce to find a space otherwise and in my experience when hotels have a car park they are small, you generally also have to pay to use them. This was the case at the Gonville Hotel, it’s an extra £25 to park and they can’t guarantee you a space when booking. I was a bit concerned about this when booking, so I had a chat with reception before coming and they reassured me that there’s a public carpark a couple of minutes away that’s a similar price to them to park in overnight if needed. They did also say they didn’t think it would be an issue as their carpark isn’t generally full on a Sunday evening and this was in fact the case. There was plenty of space when we arrived.

Another transport related facility that I thought is worth mentioning, is the electric charging points. There were lots in the hotel car park, which was brilliant for us being able to charge up easily overnight.

All in all we loved our stay at the Gonville Cambridge – An elegant quintessential British hotel, perfect for a couples getaway to relax.