Front of property – evening/night

Reviews of The Thomas Paine

3.5 out of 5
The Thomas Paine
33 White Hart Street, Thomas Paine Hotel, Thetford, England

Reviews

7.6

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 50 out of 133 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 44 out of 133 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 16 out of 133 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 11 out of 133 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 12 out of 133 reviews" "

8.0/10

Cleanliness

8.0/10

Staff & service

7.2/10

Amenities

7.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Will

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
After returning to the area after 16 years, we chose this hotel for the personal touch over other chain options. The hotel's staff was amazing and accomodating. They provided great service and every meal was delicious. The Thomas Paine Museum was of special interest and full of information for this history buff. We cant wait to book our next trip.
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2023

4/10 Poor

Nicholas

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
The room needs decorating, the pillows need replacing and the windows need replacing, preferably with double glazing to reduce the noise from the busy road outside.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Petet

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great little hotel. A real find
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Keith

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A wonderful stay
Great friendly welcome by Gez and his team - Very friendly, professional service and attention. Room fantastic, drinks great, Goat curry - the best!!! Will be back just for the food and drinks available and attentive staff/friends
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Pauline

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Very nice building.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from Gez on 19 Jun 2023
Thanks Pauline building goes back to 1743 glad you enjoyed it was great to meet you both.

10/10 Excellent

david

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed overnight while going to a gig in Thetford forest. The owner and his wife and staff were perfect hosts, very friendly and helpful. Enjoyed our meal and drinks. Atmosphere relaved and freiedly. Would definately stay again and happy to reconmend.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from Gez on 18 Jun 2023
Hi sir many thanks for your kind words it is much appreciated by the whole team. Happy you enjoyed our hospitality and cuisine..Look forward to your return.

10/10 Excellent

Ken

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023
Response from Gez on 3 Jun 2023
Many thanks sir for your kind rating

6/10 Okay

Ian

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The staff here were super friendly but my goodness, the noisy from midnight until 2 in the morning from the washing machines was terrible, an awful Sunday night
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023
Response from Gez on 3 Jun 2023
Many thanks for your words on our staff

10/10 Excellent

Christopher

Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from Gez on 3 Jun 2023
Many thanks for your generous rating much appreciated

10/10 Excellent

Carol

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful hotel. Owner and staff welcoming and attentive. Absolutely lovely room with everything you need in the bathroom. Good choice of menu at reasonable prices and cooked to perfection. Highly recommended.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from Gez on 3 Jun 2023
A pleasure to look after you as always our team are happy to see you enjoyed our hospitality and cuisine, we look forward to seeing you again soon.

4/10 Poor

calum

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Disappointed
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023
Response from Gez on 30 Apr 2023
Disappointed with ? 95% of our customers leave happy and come back so a little more info would help if it was brought to our attention.

2/10 Terrible

George

Business traveller
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Dreadful
The hotel should not have been open Undergoing refurbishment No hot food at all
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023
Response from Gez on 8 Mar 2023
The hotel public areas are closed Monday to Thursday and have been for two years which is quite clear on all websites. All public areas are open Friday to Saturday. Due to staffing nowadays and many other areas of business I’m sure you would understand. We are number one in all areas around the area, we don’t do food and is clear on all sites. All our rooms are to an excellent standard and any works do not affect the experience within our hotel.

10/10 Excellent

Roy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely Hotel
Had a lovely stay here great location very friendly staff will definitely be back
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023
Response from Gez on 13 Feb 2023
Many thanks it was a pleasure to look after you we await your return

8/10 Good

Mr Theo A

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Hotel in Darkness
The hotel is not staffed from Monday to Thursday so no restaurant or breakfast and reception. We are met by a lovely young lady who checked us in and left. There are a number of good restaurants within easy walking distance. Strange coming into a hotel in darkness, but certainly not off putting. We will stay there again.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

2/10 Terrible

Richard P

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2023
Response from Gez on 20 Jan 2023
Always unfair to rate someone low when you are the one that made the mistake in the first place ?

4/10 Poor

Garry

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
dont
the site is currently a building site. They are doing the place up..no bar or restsurant. entrance round the back. Dont think nyone on site at night . NO mention of any of this on hotels .com showr no pressure due to building works assume
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2023
Response from Gez on 16 Jan 2023
Thomas Paine hotel on site that you booked under and our website do go and have a look and no mention of shower pressure to anyone as staff onsite with a number to call aswel. Special check-in instructionsThe front desk is open Friday - Sunday (2:00 PM - 10:00 PM)Front desk staff will greet guests on arrivalFor more details, please contact the property using the information on the booking confirmationThe restaurant is open from noon to 11 PM on Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 5 PM on Sunday.Renovations and closuresThe following facilities are closed on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday:Bar/loungeRestaurant

8/10 Good

Gillian

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely room, building work hopefully finished soon
I was upgraded to the Thomas Paine room and it was amazing. A very special room, with sitting area, writing desk, high ceilings and just gorgeous. The shower was not as powerful or user friendly as I would have liked, but I could cope. There was confusion over breakfast - it has to be booked in advance online, and is only a box breakfast. There is currently a lot of building work going on in the public areas, but this is hoped to be finished soon and the final result looks as though it is going to be amazing. The owner was very friendly and proud of his hotel, rightly so. I would definitely go back, especially once the building work is finished.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2022
Response from Gez on 16 Jan 2023
Thanks was a pleasure to look after you and your requirements. We await your return

10/10 Excellent

Patrick

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Amazing food and comfortable beds
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2022
Response from Gez on 16 Jan 2023
Many thanks pleasure to look after you

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Not what I expected
There was a lot of building work being carried out, and the bar and reception was closed. The shower had very low water pressure, too.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2022
Response from Gez on 19 Sept 2022
It does say quite clearly that public areas are open Friday l, Saturday and Sunday unless pre booked and also we do have construction going on but does not affect our standards and quality for your room experience with us.

6/10 Okay

andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

2/10 Terrible

Amanda

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Gez on 5 Jul 2022
95% of our reviews are excellent, the fact that you did not read the instructions properly is not our fault.

10/10 Excellent

William

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

4/10 Poor

Ann

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
After travelling 260 miles it was very disappointing to find that the entrance to car park was blocked off due to construction work. We had difficulty navigating the one way system and pedestrian walkways etc to find an alternative entrance at the rear of the hotel. Also the main reception door was locked so we had to carry our luggage round the exterior of the property to enter by a make shift front entrance where decorators were working. There was no breakfast available and no bar do to the refurbishments being carried out. Won't be returning to this hotel again as it was definitely not good value for the price paid.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022
Response from Gez on 24 Jun 2022
It is very clear on our website and the site you booked on that the hotel is under full refurb and construction is going on, but this doesn’t affect the rooms. It is also stated that public areas are closed Monday to Thursday but breakfast is available in the room pre ordered but you did not do this even when asked. You have probably not noticed what is going on in the last two years but we still do our best as you can see from our other reviews. Your family have stayed extra nights and wanted more rooms but we couldn’t accommodate as we are full and all want to come back !!!

8/10 Good

Alan

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

PAUL

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

4/10 Poor

Rachael

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Elizabeth

Stayed 1 night in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Ian

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

6/10 Okay

Chip

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Centrally located and check-in service. However the rooms and public areas leading to the rooms could benefit from a fresh coat of paint.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022
Response from Gez on 24 Apr 2022
Thanks for your comments don’t know if you saw that there is construction going on at the hotel and over all platforms it says that we are refurfurbing the whole hotel.

8/10 Good

Susan

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Samantha

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastic Hospitality
Fantastic hospitality! Gez and Rosie made me feel like I was family in my hometown. The meals were lovingly prepared from scratch and locally sourced beef! They were absolutely delicious! My room was a large corner suite with a newly renovated bathroom…quiet, comfortable and stocked with tea, coffee, milk and lovely biscuits. The gin selection is fantastic along with great wines at the very warm and friendly bar…staff and family were always on hand to take great care of you. I would highly recommend a weekend stay if you’re passing through town as a solo traveler. Then what’s more is the history of Thomas Paine himself…if you don’t know about Thetford’s famous son…then take a trip to the Thomas Paine Hotel for walk through history on inspirational American Independence. Will definitely be back for a visit!
Historical Plaque on Thomas Paine
Side view of the hotel from the main road and top of White Hart Street
Interior staircase windows
The George Washington room
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2022
Response from Gez on 26 Apr 2022
Thanks for your kind comments, it was a pleasure to host you and so happy you enjoyed our hospitality and cuisine. Your room with the new bathrooms are very popular and we are so happy to get this right. Look forward to your return.

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2022

10/10 Excellent

Nicholas

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2021

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2021

10/10 Excellent

Olabisi

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The hotel interesting historical place and the staff were well informed to share its history. The stay was pleasant, the room very clean and the service was great. Will recommend this particular hotel for comfort and peaceful stay
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2021

6/10 Okay

Lisa

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely historical building, however I feel the resident information books need updating or a temporary notice in them to advise, there is no cooked breakfast and meal times don’t follow what is shown in the information. I finished working at 7pm and was looking forward to ordering room service which was shown to finish at 10pm only to be told that the kitchen was closed at 6pm. As I was there for business a cooked breakfast and evening meal would have been nice considering what I paid for the room. On a plus, the staff were friendly.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2021

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Disliked: Staff & service
Hotel wasn't open until someone turned up!
Started with great communication about check in as there was no-one on the reception, in which when i arrived the hotel looked closed. No lights on, no doors open, to which i had to wait for somebody to arrive to check me and another party in. Literally the hotel was closed. This wasn't stated in the booking apart from the restaurant not being open, which is fine. I dont normally give reviews but this was just an odd experience. After the nice enough chap booked us in, after turning on some lights he left, leaving what i assume no staff in the hotel. The stay other than that was ok, bit dated but comfy enough.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021
Response from Gez on 15 Oct 2021
You are clearly sent a message explaining that the rooms are open but public areas are closed Mon- Thursday, the hotel was literally closed is wrong because you were checked in by someone. All our customers read the messages sent but you obviously didn’t. Writing anonymous reviews !!!

10/10 Excellent

D C A

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Arrive as guests, leave as friends
Close to the bar there is a sign saying that you arrive as guests and leave as friends. Exactly our experience. Rooms were lovely for the price, room comfort was really good. You can judge a lot by whether a room has quality biscuits or not, if at all. Food in the evening was lovely and the wine was quality. Staff and the owning family are friendly and welcoming. Very pleased and will stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021
Response from Gez on 15 Oct 2021
Many thanks for kind and honest feedback, we throughly enjoyed looking after you and await your return.

10/10 Excellent

Laura

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Would stay again
Good sized room and bathroom. Lovely comfortable bed and quality linen. Tea, coffee and milk were replenished each day. Food in the restaurant was delicious. Large gin range at the bar. Knowledgeable staff. We really enjoyed our stay. Friendly and relaxed.
Lounge part of bedroom
Bathroom
Bedroom
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2021

8/10 Good

Pamela

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Interesting old building in a good location. The only staff member we met was extremely friendly and helpful. We were given a room upgrade so we had lots of space - enormous room and bathroom. Wifi signal was awful. Due to COVID there was no proper breakfast and the restaurant was closed on the days we stayed.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Rob

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Warm welcome from staff. Working away from Home so the hospitality was well received.
Stayed 19 nights in Aug 2021

4/10 Poor

Karen

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

Steven

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2021

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Room slight let down but food & hosts were lovely
We booked a 1-night stay at the Thomas Paine Hotel to round off the end of our week-long UK trip. We had been staying in a shepherd's hut prior so we booked the "luxury" room as, what we thought, would be a treat. The hotel has recently undergone some renovations but unfortunately the fresh paint didn't make up for the lack of luxury. The room was more basic than luxury, including a dirty tv remote that didn't work properly and no extra frills you might expect. The picture of the "luxury double" on the website was much larger than the room we were in. This led us to think that we might be in the wrong room as, after already paying via hotels.com, we received an email saying that we had not paid and needed to pay when we arrived - at a cost £20 less. As it has been difficult for hotels due to covid, we didn't question the cost difference but we'd say the "luxury" room was more worth the lower price. All of the staff, including Gez's family, were helpful and we enjoyed a lovely meal prepared by Gez's wife. It's a shame that the room was a let down because it's otherwise a nice hotel with a lot of character in the restaurant/ bar and the family running it.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

2/10 Terrible

john

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

Paul

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Last minute.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

Daniel

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Nice room
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Carol

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent service absolutely lovely family run hotel lovely people nothing is too much trouble
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

Francis

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021