What a wonderful Tudor castle! Spend a real good weekend there, rural old English country side…read more Golfing is place next door. Nice little and old villages around, good for a walk. Friendly staff, spacious rooms and very delicious food.

Seckford Hall is a beautiful Jacobean, or Tudor, house just outside of Woodbridge, Suffolk. We…read morearrived minutes before a wedding party, which was lucky as the reception is in a tiny corridor and it was crowded with just the two of us there, let alone a party of revellers. We were shown to the Dairy Suite, in the Dairy Cottages, which is 'in the annexe'. We hate being put in the annexe when we have booked stay in a beautiful hotel. This annexe is quite a way from the hotel as well. The Dairy Suite door opens onto a sitting room with galley kitchen and there is a downstairs bathroom. Upstairs is the bedroom and an ensuite loo. The decor... well, dated iis one word for it. The promotional photos of the rooms in the main hotel show modern, updated, bathrooms and bedroom decor. This Dairy Suite is full of pink carpet, dark wooden varnished furniture and the bathrooms are pink suites. It's yucky. The duvet and pillows were pretty poor quality. No spare pillows provided. There are modern, flat-screen tvs upstairs and downstairs but only terrestrial channels and the buttons on the remotes only partially worked. There are tea and coffee making facilities but they are of the most instant kind - Nescafé sachets, herb teas, Darjeeling bags and yucky, yucky UHT cartons. It makes such a difference if there is a coffee percolator and fresh milk. There is a fridge so it's easy to provide fresh milk. There is wifi and it is free - but it is weak an a bit slow, but still. The plus point about the whole stay was that the main hotel could have pretty noisy with a wedding party (or three) whereas our room was very quiet and I ended up having a surprisingly good night's sleep. We had dinner in the Bistro (the fancy shmancy £39 for three courses restaurant only had one table at 9pm, too late for us) and actually it was very very good. We had Guinea Fowl and a roast lamb and it was tasty home cooking. Not fancy, but tasty an perfectly coked. Pudding was sticky toffee pudding, a favourite of mine, and it was perfect! The bill for three, with a good bottle of red wine was approximately £75.

This is a nicely refurbished Holiday Inn - or at least our room was - and is a good base for…read moreexploring either the Suffolk coast or Constable country (which is another way of saying that there isn't actually anything to do around the hotel itself). Very decent sized pool and a jacuzzi, handy for the main A14 and A12. However, when we stayed there, we could not find a single pub, restaurant, curry house or anything nearby.

New to motels, I'd never seen how they work before. You probably know better than me. I was with a…read moreseasoned business traveller who said you get no surprises, easy parking, no thought requried, and room to work on papers in the evening. .the free swimming pool is very unusual so I give a 5* qype rating. You give your room number to the boys in the health spa who lend you a towel. Take a pound coin as a locker deposit, and you're away: you can swim about amid the sales managers on their monthly conferences and the lost tourists. There is even some kind of spin dryer for wet boxer shorts. It's a small pool but not many guests have cracked the code of how to use it for free. Entrance is near reception, which you can probably find your way back to via the identical corridors and stairs passing other lost tourists on the way. I didn't have a pound coin but no sales managers pinched my shoes so it didn't matter; if I'd bought a wallet it might have been different. Drop your towell in the bin in the wall opposite the health spa reception. .the bar is unusual Very old looking suffolk beams re-assembled inside a characterless shell. Surprisingly successful. Beer reasonably priced; wine expensive. Sometimes there are stacks of The Independant newspaper for free on the left as you walk-in, and staff will leave one outside your door in the morning. I think that's free if you sign-up to the mailing list, but it could be free anyway. Holiday Inn may do cheap deals for rooms, but breakfast is too expensive at £8 and even WiFi is £3. There is a large Tesco round the corner so I suppose you could get a Value potnoodle or even a Value microwave or toaster and set-up a door-to-door breakfast service, but they'd probably chuck you out for that last bit and you migt have to find the smoke alarm and wrap something round it to use a toaster. If you're travelling with others and want a cheap characterless breakast deal, the garden centre in Woodbridge near tourist information had a 2 for £5 breakfast offer advertised only to people driving-in. Vegetarians catered for. Vegans possibly at a push. Another reviewer stated that there wasn't much else close to the hotel. True. When I forced myself to look beyond the car park I saw some rather lovely fields and hedges and things, but the site of a car park and an A road has to be overlooked. For a pound or two more you can stay at the Holiday Inn Orwell which is more exciting because it is in a trading estate rather than a field next to a road junction, but if I were going to Suffolk again I'd plan a route past one of the pubs that has cheap rooms above it. There's one in Sudbury that's even cheaper than a motel. It may be much worse, but a motel is only novel once, and I've had the experience. On the other hand if you want a motel in a car park with no breakfast or wifi, this one has a free swimming pool so 5*. If you want to shop around hotel-booking sites, you might want to start on a cashback site like http://topcashback.co.uk/ref/employees : alpha rooms is one of their cashback links.

Stayed here overnight before. Lovely room and food was delicious. Have also stayed here for a…read morewedding party. Easy parking, easy to locate and staff very friendly and helpful. Would recommend.

This hotel is set on the edge of town, not too far from the A14. It has beautiful outstanding…read moregardens and its an impressive looking building - all great for taking fantastic outside photos for a wedding venue. There is also a separate annexe in the gardens which is used for conference facilities, and the hotel is able to cater for such functions with a fantastic range of hot and cold buffets, tea and coffee, and an array of biscuits, pastries and cakes. The main building contains usual hotel rooms which are of a good standard, and the food within the restaurant is excellent. There is also a bar. There is a large room which can be used for small wedding dinners as well as the main restaurant

What a gorgeous venue, with a Tudor-style combined with its Victorian high ceilings, sweeping…read morestaircases and an idyllic setting in Suffolk. Just outside the lovely town of Bury St. Edmund's, it has a wonderfully old world ambience with wide open areas and ornate wood panelling. The pub and dining area make it a superb venue for special events. It is also a brilliant destination for a weekend away as well. Breakfast is also a real treat, as the Full English has some of the best cooked and crisp bacon seen in a while, along with an abundance of fruit juices. Last of all, and certainly not least, with the kind and welcoming staff, this venue is highly recommended on top of the warm setting.

Great service, amazing food, and minimal paranormal activity. I was put up here by my work and I…read morecouldn't be happier with the accommodations. The hotel is a bit off the beaten path but the landscape of the area is amazing. Just a short drive to the historical Bury St Edmunds where you can experience the "smallest pub in the world" amongst other historical attractions. I was fortunate enough to experience a very rare night of snow which accented the rural aspect of the grounds.

Well Im surprised no one has yet reviewed this hotel. I stayed there last night…read more Staff were polite and attentive , room clean , of a good size , and comfortable (The bed wide enough for 3 people !) Wireless Internet worked in room, though it was one of the furthest away from reception. The downside was it was closer to the busy A14 so on a hot night I found it necessary to close the windows because of the noise, and sleep naked. I had booked a rate inclusive of Dinner at £100. The Table d'Hote is £25 for 2 courses, and of the 3/3/3 variety (3 choices each course), which I perused whilst drinking a pint of (surprisingly for this area) John Smiths. I could happily have order any of the dishes available that night but settled for Prawns in a filo pastry with garlic dip. They were delicious but were battered , not in filo ! I also was not offered a bread roll and butter despite ther being a side plate and knife. The lamb I selected for main was beautifully cooked to my liking (slightly pink in the middle and well done on the outside. Menu was that it would be served on a bed of mustard mash, but I requested it without mustard and it wasnt a problem (a minted mash would go well). Fresh veg were also served. I usually decline a dessert, but as I had paid for it anyway, the chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream and a 'straw' of white chocolate were a delight. Breakfast was buffet for the cold part, but the excellent hot breakfast served directly form the kitchen (none of that awful hot buffet stuff). Horror of horrors, butter was served in those infernal parcels, so you can't open them without greasing you finger ends. It was made worse by the butter being soft ! When its harder it comes out in one piece but this had to be scraped of the paper. All in all , a very acceptable hotel, they just need to pay attention to some smaller details , and it would be 5 star . I award 4 stars this time Tonight and tomorrow Im in two different Best Westerns at Frensham in Surrey and Christchurch in Hants (thought that ones an old favourite). I will review these also, interesting to compare them, asthey are similare in size and price.

Stayed here acres times , great hotel Hungry Horse opposite with big food fir a big appetite!!read more

It's a lovely child-friendly hotel with lots of extra amenities - the National Trust Property…read moreadjoining, a swimming pool (a quick dash from the main door), enormous grounds (including a 7mile walk/cycle), a dining room for families in the Conservatory and a smarter option in-house : the Frederick. There's a cinema room downstairs which shows films (DVDs - familiar ones) at 6pm and 8pm. Children's games-room down the hall (air hockey table, ping-pong, Wii and Playstation, and a football table), a crèche (babies & toddlers) and a den (child care and activities for older kids). Hire bikes, big or small, and Beds are lovely and (a little too) soft, pillows are all synthetic so a bit hot at night in winter, but you feel cosy and the decor includes some beautifully chosen pieces from the fifties and sixties - the desk lamp in our room was all-Thunderbirds-Are-Go!! Loved it. A few annoying things - staff are all a bit spaced out, harassed or very young (experience is important). It's difficult to get their full attention. It's an old house, so it's a bit of a warren of halls and staircases. That can go either way, depending on you. It does affect storage options so don't expect modernity - practical? Yes. Sleek and easy to open & close? No. The pool needs more changing rooms, and at least one more shower (it ONLY HAS one). But it's a good size and a good depth (1.4m) - you can swim some decent lengths. Complimentary towels come to you all warm & toasty. The glass windows make it a lovely indoor/outdoor space. Bean bags at the poolside - a winner. If you've for the cash then this is an ideal getaway for tired mums & dads. Romantic dinners a deux, kids kept busy, family-fun things to do (rain or shine), you could make some great memories here!

We spent a wonderful weekend at Ickworth in Suffolk. The hotel is located within a former private…read moreresidence of eccentric aristocrats, in a very large park which is now managed by the National Trust. The hotel is part of a small hotel group who has spotted a nice niche with affordable luxury hotels targeting families with young children. Compared to many small, charming boutique hotels where children are not necessarily very welcome, at Ickworth everything has been thought for children and for the parents at the same time. The staff was super nice, very flexible (late check-out, help with activities, organising dinner in the lounge rather than the restaurant etc.). We made the most of the park (Italian gardens visit, jogging in the forest, ride on bikes with the children, poney) and of the hotel (restaurants, swimming pool, kids activities, lounge for parents). We also visited the market at nearby Bury St Edmunds which was great. We will be back and will probably try to get friends with us to share such a great experience. Only downside to note was the entrance of this wonderful castle filled by prams... (they need to hide them!), wifi isn't free (com'on!) and the service for the Sunday lunch was veeery slow as the place is so popular with locals on Sunday.

We stumbled across The Crown while we were staying the night in Woodbridge (a town close to…read moreFramlingham, where Ed Sheeran grew up). The menu caught our eye and it didn't hurt that they had a Michelin 2017 rating! We got the following: Pork belly Sous vide squid Catch of the day All of their food was beautifully plated and OMG the seafood was so fresh and cooked so well. I had never had a dish prepared by sous vide method and it blew my mind. It was also a nice bonus that they had WiFi since I could check in and post my photos. I hope to find another place back home (los Angeles, California) that is just as great as The Crown. One day we'll be back!

Pretty much everything a successful pub with rooms should be…read more Relaxed and casual dining at its best, the food (although the menu has changed radically since my previous visits) was still of an outstanding quality, genuinely excellent. Add to that the location, the ambience and the general relaxed air and you have yourself a 5 star dining experience. Really rather excellent.

This hotel is situated on the outskirts on the town with easy access just of the A14. The hotel has…read morea large private car park and a drop off zone right outside the main entrance. The bedrooms are simple but more than adequate and all have en-suites and tea and coffee facilites. There are also several conference rooms which can be booked according to the parties needs and the hotel is able to provide tea and coffee with biscuits, as well as a range of buffett food, which is all of a reasonable standard. There is a large bar and restaurant area on the ground floor and the food served is of a good standard. The reception staff in particular have always been helpful and polite and will arrange further transport (such as taxis) if needed.