The Regent (Regent by Citystay)

Rooms and decor

Picture a row of handsome Georgian brick townhouses looking out over a wide green in central Cambridge. One of them is The Regent (Regent by Citystay), a small independent guesthouse in an 1830s building that keeps its old-world character. What sets it apart from a chain hotel is that the same family has run it since the 1940s, so walking in feels homey rather than formal. The rooms are simple and easy on the eye, plain and practical, in warm tones with well-kept furniture. Reviews agree the rooms are clean and the beds are soft enough for a better night's sleep than you'd expect at this price. The size is just right for resting after a day on your feet. Best of all, many rooms face Parker's Piece, so you open the curtains to greenery and morning joggers instead of a blank wall. That old-house warmth in the middle of a university town is what brings people back.

Food and amenities

The appeal here is in the simple, honest touches. It starts with the free to-go breakfast the guesthouse puts out, which is ideal for travelers who want to head out to the colleges or the river early without sitting down for a long meal; grab it and eat by the park. There's free Wi-Fi throughout, and the overall feel leans toward homey comfort rather than fancy facilities. What really wins guests over is the friendliness of the people running it; reviewers praise the staff and owners as welcoming and ready to recommend a restaurant or a route like real locals. After decades as a family business, the care for guests carries a personal touch big hotels often can't match. And facing Parker's Piece is like having a wide public park as a free front lawn for a morning stroll or stretch.

Location and getting there

Location is The Regent's strongest card, no question. The guesthouse sits on Regent Street, facing straight onto Parker's Piece, the wide green square that acts as the city's lungs. From here it's roughly a 5-10 minute walk into the famous old city centre, with its shops, restaurants, the historic University of Cambridge colleges, and the River Cam, where punting is the thing to do. You can explore all day and barely touch a car, which makes it ideal for anyone who likes to leave the car behind and see the city on foot. Cambridge railway station, with its easy link to London, is about a 15-minute walk or a 5-minute taxi ride. For people arriving by train without a car, a central base where everything is walkable is hard to beat, and it saves both time and travel costs.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First, this is a guesthouse in an old 1830s townhouse, not a new hotel, so room sizes and specs vary; some rooms are smaller than you'd expect, and because it's an old multi-storey building with no lift, some upper-floor rooms mean climbing stairs. If you have a lot of luggage or stairs are tricky for you, ask about the floor and room when you book. Second, amenities are basic in the independent-guesthouse style, with no on-site parking, so if you're driving, sort out a nearby public car park in advance; anyone expecting 5-star service should adjust their expectations. Last is noise: rooms facing Regent Street can pick up some daytime traffic, so light sleepers should request an upper-floor or inward-facing room, and a few reviews feel parts of the old building could be modernised a touch more.

Our take

From reading through plenty of real reviews, The Regent (Regent by Citystay) sells a central location, family warmth and good value, all wrapped in a characterful old Georgian townhouse with a real story. If your trip looks like staying in a charming old building where the curtains open onto green, a few minutes' walk gets you to the colleges and the River Cam, you grab a to-go breakfast and head out early, and the people looking after you feel like friends with tips, all at a price gentler than the big city-centre hotels, this is a value pick worth a look. But if you put a premium on spacious rooms, full amenities or luxury service, a guesthouse like this won't tick every box. Overall we give it 8.3/10, best for solo travelers, budget-minded couples and history lovers who want a walkable central base and value over the polish of fancy amenities.