The Gonville Hotel Cambridge is a boutique, three-storey hotel in the UK's historic university city of Cambridge, a perfect base for exploring.
The Gonville Hotel Cambridge is a boutique, three-storey hotel in the UK's historic university city of Cambridge, a perfect base for exploring.
Stephanie Holmes stays at Gonville Hotel, Cambridge, UK.
Location: On the edge of Parkers Piece, one of the key green spaces in this magical historic university city.
Style: Charming boutique hotel with a long-standing history of hospitality.
Price: The hotel uses dynamic pricing, so rates vary depending on availability, seasonand time of booking. At the time of writing, Google was showing prices ranging from $232 to $636.
Perfect for: A unique base to explore the city, while having some peace and quiet away from the centre’s hustle and bustle.
Part of The Gonville Hotel's buildings date back to the 1840s, and many of the room's design touches reflect the hotel's history.
First impressions: I spent five years living in Cambridge before moving to NZ, but I don’t remember the Gonville, despite it having operated as a guest house on this site since the 1840s.
It’s quite unassuming from the outside, being only three storeys and having a similar style to the houses and other buildings on the street.
Stepping inside means arriving in a tranquil and luxurious reception area, with plush seating and a friendly staff member behind the reception desk.
Chilled citrus-infused water is available in a dispenser, with fruit lollies in a bowl for you to help yourself.
The décor immediately immerses you in Cambridge, the bicycle and university print artworks and feature wall give the perfect sense of place.
The hotel is one of three in the Chaplin Hotels collection – independent, boutique hotels based in East Anglia. The others are Maids Head Hotel in Norwich and The Ship Hotel in Brancaster.
There are 92 guest rooms at The Gonville Hotel, Cambridge.
Rooms: There are 92 rooms across the three floors of the hotel. My mum and I were in a superior twin room, with plenty of space to stretch out.
The wallpaper had a cute vintage postage stamp print and that, coupled with the lower ceilings and crushed velvet armchair, gave the room a cosy feel.
We had a view of the gardens from our bay window, complete with cushioned window seat, ideal for relaxing with a book and a cup of tea and biscuits.
As well as a glass bottle of Harrogate mineral water, and a kettle with teabags and sachets of Galaxy hot chocolate, there was an Opal-brand coffee maker (similar to a Nespresso), with three types of pods. None were labelled and there was no menu, so I couldn’t tell what they were.
It’s an older building, so expect some gentle noise – doors opening and closing, water through the pipes, noisy air conditioning etc – but nothing that will cause much of a disturbance.
The large wall-mounted TV has Freeview channels, as well as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and YouTube etc.
The Gonville Hotel Cambridge is a boutique, three-storey hotel in the UK's historic university city of Cambridge, a perfect base for exploring.
Bathroom: The splashback of the shower featured a photo mural of the King’s College ceiling and stained glass – another great way to showcase Cambridge’s most popular tourist attractions.
It was a shower over bath, with quite a steep side to hop over. If you have limited mobility, you should ask for an accessible room as the clamber might be too tricky.
Toiletries were in wall-mounted, refillable bottles to save on plastic waste.
Food from The Gonville Kitchen at the Gonville Hotel in Cambridge, England.
Food & drink: The bright, sunny breakfast room off the lobby offers daily Continental and a la carte options, including cereals, fresh fruit, pastries, cold meats and cheeses, eggs Benedict, smoked salmon and full English options. Each table had a small vase of fresh flowers, which was a lovely touch, especially while visiting in spring with the blooms opening across the city.
The self-serve coffee machine was easy to use and provided passable flat whites, lattes, etc.
The Gonville Kitchen is the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, open for lunch, dinner, afternoon teas and events.
Facilities: A wellness centre on the ground floor provides beauty treatments and massages but bookings must be made in advance. There’s no gym on site but hotel guests have free access to the Kelsey Kerridge Leisure Centre, a few minutes walk away.
If you’re arriving on a self-drive holiday, parking is available at GBP28 per day. Book direct and you’ll be eligible for a free chauffeured city tour in the hotel’s gleaming Bentley.
For two-wheeled travel – and to get around the city as the locals do – borrow one of the hotel’s bikes. The city is perfectly set up for cycling, with bike lanes almost everywhere and very flat land.
In the neighbourhood: Halfway between the train station and the city centre, Gonville Hotel is well-situated for exploring.
Stroll across Parkers Piece to get to the universities, the river, shopping, bars and restaurants, or walk 10 minutes west to reach the beautiful Botanic Gardens and historic museum the Fitzwilliam.
Locals love nearby Mill Rd for its mix of pubs, cafes and restaurants.
Don’t miss the chance to go punting on the River Cam – take a guided tour with Scudamore’s for an informative and relaxing way to see “the Backs” – the heart of the university’s most beautiful colleges, like Kings, Trinity, Clare and Magdalene. Drifting under the Mathematical Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs is a quintessential Cambridge experience.
Go early – the first tours start at 9.30am – to have the river almost to yourself.
Family friendly: Interconnecting rooms are available and there’s a children’s menu in the restaurant.
Accessibility: The hotel offers several accessible rooms located on the ground floor. These rooms have 87cm wide room doors, and 86cm wide en suite doors that open outwards. Toilets have lateral transfer space. Each room is equipped with a functional emergency alarm.
Bathrooms in accessible rooms are equipped with emergency pull cords, grab bars near toilets, and raised toilet seats to enhance safety and comfort.
There’s a lift to all levels, and public spaces like restaurant, spa, lounge, concierge desk and restrooms and all wheelchair-accessible.
Wheelchair-accessible parking spaces are available on-site. While the hotel cannot reserve these spaces, they can be contacted directly to discuss specific requirements.
Sustainability: Guests can opt out of housekeeping for the duration of their stay. Water bottles are glass, not plastic, and toiletries are in refillable wall-mounted bottles.
