The High Flyer

I think the High Flyer is confused as to what it is - hotel, restaurant, bar, tea room. I think it fails on all fronts. We checked in on a Sunday afternoon for a 2-night stay. The hotel only has 6 rooms, and it doesn't take being a hotel very seriously. As we entered our "Deluxe Double Room" there was a strong stench of black mold in the bathroom. We returned downstairs and reported it to the manager who said she would immediately investigate. She acted surprised, but mold takes time to grow, so the problem must have existed well before we arrived. We left the hotel to attend a service at Ely Cathedral and to have dinner, returning later only to discover the manager had placed a bowl of water and lemon slices in the bathroom - which had no impact on the smell at all. We were forced to keep the bathroom door closed with the windows wide open to minimize the odor reaching the bedroom. The following day (Monday), we returned from a day exploring the area only to discover nothing had been done to improve the smell, and the manager wasn't on duty. Also, when we checked in, we were asked what time we wanted breakfast. We were told that breakfast is normally 10:00am, but the manager would see if they could get staff to come in earlier! Later, we were told there were other guests wanting breakfast earlier, so the hotel had arranged for breakfast to be staffed. Breakfast was disappointing - just cooked food, no fruit. After we finished breakfast, we were asked to pay. I asked for the breakfast to be added to our room, only to be told that the hotel's computer system doesn't allow breakfasts to be added to the room. I remember the days before computer systems when breakfast could be added to the room :) So, we went to the bar after dinner on the Sunday to have a nightcap. The bar was pretty empty - just one other hotel guest - and the bar closed really early. The following day we checked out the restaurant and it was deserted, so we again went out for dinner. After dinner we returned to the bar for a nightcap and, again, it was deserted (this time we were the only customers). It appears that this hotel/bar/restaurant/tea room has absent owners, and I don't think the current staff is providing good service to customers.

Our room looked OK on first inspection. Dust around the TV and picture but bathroom was clean. Tea and coffee in room ok. We didn't eat in the restaurant as we were meeting family. The reason for the low rating is to the insect and flea bites I suffered from just a one night stay. These were not noticed before I left but driving home I discovered bites on my legs, head and chest. Emailed Hotel got no response Telephoned Hotel and was told they would look into it but to contact the *********** who I had booked through. The Hotel looks good but is dated and could do with a refurb. Ely is lovely place to visit but we would not stay at this Hotel again

I booked a table of 8 based on the reviews and the exciting looking menu for my wife's 40th Birthday. The place was very quiet for a Saturday night but it took an age for our initial drinks order to completely arrive. I ordered a 10oz sirloin and other guests variously ordered pies, pork belly, burgers etc. My steak was awful - it arrived literally cold to the touch, served on a cold plate with a half-cooked tomato and a single mushroom with a side of a small basket of fries. My nephew's was the same and he had a peppercorn sauce which he said was flavourless and grainy. To be honest, I genuinely do not think that it was a sirloin at all – the texture was more like rump and there was a lot of stringy fat running throughout the meat. My wife had the pork belly which had so little actual meat on it, it could have passed as a vegetarian option. My son's burger was equally appalling, with the burger overcooked and hard yet with undercooked bacon on it. The menu makes a big deal of the pies being homemade and hand crafted but they looked like commercially available ones to me,. Desserts were equally disappointing - the apple crumble had no discernible crumble on it - more like stewed apples in custard, and to quote my nephew, the brownie tasted horrible. I booked this event hoping for a lovely meal with family and I did not complain at the time because I didn’t want to completely spoil the occasion but I was completely appalled by the overall standard of the food. Everything seemed to be done on the cheap with poor quality ingredients and the only highlight the staff provided was bringing out the birthday cake at the end. It cost me over £35 per head for food that wasn’t worth half of that and we would have been much happier going to a wetherspoons.

Great friendly service, good food and the most comfortable beds. definately coming back. L Kinsella and family (visited 11th-12th Feb). We arrived on saturday to visit family that have moved in the area recently and left on sunday.

Lovely weekend stay at the High flyer Ely, very friendly staff and food was excellent , eggs Benedict , creamy garlic mushrooms, homemade cheese cake just couple of the delicious menu , location perfect, will certainly go again

Great food and brilliant service. We went with 2 young children but it is suitable for all. We will definitely go back and recommend to friends and family. We had a carvery and the children had a children's meal from the menu, it was all delicious and very high quality. The staff were very friendly, great with the kids and even the chef came out for a chat with us which pleased the children.

We enjoyed a post Christmas getaway at the very welcoming High Flier, which is very well located in Ely with a large free car park directly behind it. Its own car park is very small but on this occasion we did manage to park in there. The pub and restaurant areas are very well decorated lending to a very relaxed atmosphere which extents up into the rooms. The staff were all friendly and very welcoming we arrived early and were pleased to find our room was ready. Our room (#1) was very comfortable, clean, well appointed with a cosy fresh decor. The smart tv is the biggest we've ever had in any room that we've stayed in . There was a good selection of tea,coffee and hot chocolate, plenty of sockets , hairdryer, iron , ironing board and a safe. The bathroom was spacious with a lovely powerful shower. There is also a good free wi-fi connection. Breakfast isn't included in the room rate, but there is a good choice at a reasonable rate, we really enjoyed it as we did the evening meal and the superb Sunday carvery . We have no hesitation recommending the High Flier and indeed hope to return soon.