The Varsity Hotel & Spa
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Fast facts
Check in from: | 15:30 |
|---|---|
Check out before: | 11:00 |
Pets | Pets not allowed |
Amenities
Wi-Fi
Parking
Air conditioning
Fitness centre
Spa
Front desk 24 hour
More about The Varsity Hotel & Spa
The Varsity Hotel & Spa
Situated in the centre of Cambridge, with valet parking near the edge of the River Cam, The Varsity Hotel and Spa offers modern rooms, and an impressive rooftop terrace with uninterrupted views.
Reviews from 
Couple
Comment: 6 Apr 2026
Stayed in: Apr 2026
Best staycation
The varsity hotel & spa in Cambridge was very amazing starting from the reception everyone was so welcoming they made us feel like we at home rooms, gym, spa were clean and they were worth for the money and the room were sound proof was so peaceful , the service in the restaurant was good too looking forward to go back
Couple
Comment: 1 Sep 2026
Stayed in: Aug 2026
Top tier hotel stay!
We had the such an amazing stay here! The location is perfect for staying in the central city, with a rooftop bar to see Cambridge city! The rooms were lovely and clean, the staff were so friendly and breakfasts here are great. Would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Cambridge!
Definitely book into the spa linked to the hotel as well!!!
Definitely book into the spa linked to the hotel as well!!!
Couple
Comment: 31 Aug 2026
Stayed in: Aug 2026
Perfect anniversary stay – we’ll definitely be back!
We had the most amazing stay at The Varsity for our anniversary and honestly couldn’t fault a thing.
We stayed in the Senior Fellows Superking room, which was absolutely beautiful – spacious, comfortable and such a lovely room to come back to after a day exploring Cambridge. We genuinely didn’t want to leave when it was time to check out!
The team had also decorated our bed for our anniversary and left us a little anniversary cake, which was such a thoughtful touch and made our stay feel even more special.
The hotel is in a fantastic location for exploring Cambridge, and we loved being able to enjoy drinks on the rooftop with the gorgeous views over the city.
Everyone we came across was so friendly and welcoming, and the whole stay felt special from start to finish.
We had such a lovely anniversary and will 100% be returning. Thank you to everyone at The Varsity for making our stay so memorable! ❤️
We stayed in the Senior Fellows Superking room, which was absolutely beautiful – spacious, comfortable and such a lovely room to come back to after a day exploring Cambridge. We genuinely didn’t want to leave when it was time to check out!
The team had also decorated our bed for our anniversary and left us a little anniversary cake, which was such a thoughtful touch and made our stay feel even more special.
The hotel is in a fantastic location for exploring Cambridge, and we loved being able to enjoy drinks on the rooftop with the gorgeous views over the city.
Everyone we came across was so friendly and welcoming, and the whole stay felt special from start to finish.
We had such a lovely anniversary and will 100% be returning. Thank you to everyone at The Varsity for making our stay so memorable! ❤️
Couple
Comment: 29 Aug 2026
Stayed in: Aug 2026
Temporary building works next door taint a beautiful stay
Tucked down a little side street in a great location. Had booked medium rate room and they gave us an upgrade. Room was beautiful, large and clean, threw open the curtains to the balcony to a BUILDING SITE next door which was disappointing. But balcony was great with comfortable furniture. Kettle with teas, mini bar of wine and nuts, coffee pod machine! Bedding was lovely, great pillows, matress really comfy, shower nice and hot, elemis spa soap, shampoo, conditioner etc all very lovely. Staff are really lovely, helpful and accommodating. Was grateful for the robes and slippers after getting caught in the rain! Theres a tablet with hotel info / room service ordering and hotel info on the tv homescreen. Got woke up to drilling and banging early from BUILDING SITE which I know they cannot control but when you're purposely away to relax and unwind you just don't want it on a Saturday morning...hotel should maybe warn you on their website, its a lot to pay to stay over with that noise (luckily i cant add videos to this review) and it went on for hours! Use the hotel Valet service for parking, it's worth it but the nearest car park is not far. Breakfast was cooked perfectly and a good selection of hot and cold food. Roof top terrace was cIosed on our stay. We would stay again, but after the building work next door is completed.
Couple
Comment: 25 Aug 2026
Stayed in: Aug 2026
Disappointing
I am baffled that this hotel has such a high google and trip advisor rating. Good points are the location is really central (albeit noisy), the staff are nice enough and there’s a smart tv in the room so you can watch Netflix etc. That’s about all the nice things I can say.
Everything else was disappointing. The hotel feels shabby and grubby and the attention to detail is very lacking.
First cleanliness - the bathroom walls have dirty marks and the door handle areas of the room doors look grubby. There were hairs on the bathroom floor and in the shower. There’s pink bacteria staining in the shower. The skirting boards are dirty. The fan in the room is very dusty which made us not want to use it, the hairdryer is even dirty. The public areas are dirty too with marks on the walls and doors, and carpets that need a proper clean. You get the feeling everything only gets a cursory wipe between guests, never a deep good clean. Everything is also shabby looking - things are peeling, fraying and feel dated. Nothing feels well cared for.
Then there are lots of annoying small things that make it feel like the guest experience is not considered. Like the shower only having a fixed shower head - if you need to rinse your hair properly after washing you have to move from shower to the bath and lean over the bath to use the shower head attached to the bath taps. The hairdryer was missing the styling attachment. There’s a random old Apple MAC desktop computer in the bedroom for some reason. Theres no mirror over the dressing table in the bedroom. We got 1 room key between 2 people and it’s on a massive annoying keyring so we had to take it off to stop it taking up loads of room in my bag. There are only 5 hangers in the wardrobe for 2 people. The curtain wasn’t hung up properly. There’s no fridge in the room. These are all small things but they add up to an overall feeling of everything being a bit lacking.
We didn’t use the restaurant, gym or spa. We were actually planning to use the restaurant before arrival but after feeling so disappointed about the hotel generally we didn’t want to bother. We did have a drink on the roof terrace and that was disappointing too. Yes the views are great. But it all looked dated and worn, there was no music on, it was chilly up there but no blankets for people. Nothing to make it feel like a nice atmosphere at all. Drinks were expensive which is absolutely fine if you’re getting an ambience that warrants it, but it definitely didn’t. Maybe it was because we visited in the middle of a weekday, but I don’t think that should make a difference.
I don’t think this hotel deserves its 4* rating at all, I think it’s very overpriced for what it is and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone
Everything else was disappointing. The hotel feels shabby and grubby and the attention to detail is very lacking.
First cleanliness - the bathroom walls have dirty marks and the door handle areas of the room doors look grubby. There were hairs on the bathroom floor and in the shower. There’s pink bacteria staining in the shower. The skirting boards are dirty. The fan in the room is very dusty which made us not want to use it, the hairdryer is even dirty. The public areas are dirty too with marks on the walls and doors, and carpets that need a proper clean. You get the feeling everything only gets a cursory wipe between guests, never a deep good clean. Everything is also shabby looking - things are peeling, fraying and feel dated. Nothing feels well cared for.
Then there are lots of annoying small things that make it feel like the guest experience is not considered. Like the shower only having a fixed shower head - if you need to rinse your hair properly after washing you have to move from shower to the bath and lean over the bath to use the shower head attached to the bath taps. The hairdryer was missing the styling attachment. There’s a random old Apple MAC desktop computer in the bedroom for some reason. Theres no mirror over the dressing table in the bedroom. We got 1 room key between 2 people and it’s on a massive annoying keyring so we had to take it off to stop it taking up loads of room in my bag. There are only 5 hangers in the wardrobe for 2 people. The curtain wasn’t hung up properly. There’s no fridge in the room. These are all small things but they add up to an overall feeling of everything being a bit lacking.
We didn’t use the restaurant, gym or spa. We were actually planning to use the restaurant before arrival but after feeling so disappointed about the hotel generally we didn’t want to bother. We did have a drink on the roof terrace and that was disappointing too. Yes the views are great. But it all looked dated and worn, there was no music on, it was chilly up there but no blankets for people. Nothing to make it feel like a nice atmosphere at all. Drinks were expensive which is absolutely fine if you’re getting an ambience that warrants it, but it definitely didn’t. Maybe it was because we visited in the middle of a weekday, but I don’t think that should make a difference.
I don’t think this hotel deserves its 4* rating at all, I think it’s very overpriced for what it is and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone
Excellent location
Thompson's Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8AQ, United Kingdom|0.6 km from city centre
Check in and check out
Check in from:
15:30
Check out before:
11:00
Good to know
Pets not allowed
Please contact the hotel for details about adding extra beds.
The Varsity Hotel & Spa: FAQs
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