Ickworth Hotel

Truly terrible experience - don’t come if you don’t have kids! We booked a get away for one night before Christmas as both the Ickworth website and LFH group website specifically advertised luxury breaks for couples. We were very aware it was family friendly too, but we got there and it was clearly ONLY for families - not a single adult only space, really loud, messy, noisy. Service by very young and clearly overwhelmed staff was terrible. They forgot half our meal, forgot all our drinks orders, everything was extremely slow and dinner was really expensive. Breakfast was even worse, waited about 45 mins to get a cup of tea. They had to actually move all the plastic kid’s plates and cups off a table and find some real ones so we could eat. Building is also very run down - damp, lots of things broken. It’s a beautiful building and the setting in the estate is fantastic but it was all looking very sad. Spa treatments and staff were brilliant, the saving grace for us! Probably really fun if you have kids, but if not then DON’T.

We visited the grounds on a cold winters day and had a lovely walk. We booked our afternoon tea but needed to change the time, the staff were brilliant so friendly and accommodating. The food was plentiful and tasty and we even had to box up some cakes to take home. Staff were polite and attentive. The conservatory was closed for repairs so we were in the lounge but it was still really nice. It is a bit dated but it’s an old house. It was warm comfy and relaxing. It was a really nice treat.

Loved our stay (with two young children and a dog!). We had 2 nights at New Year in a Deluxe room. Lovely and spacious room with all comforts you would expect, with biscuits and a DVD player which was a bonus for the kids! Beth and Phil (General Manager and Deputy General Manager respectively) deserve a particular shout out and thanks from us, however I can safely say that the staff as a whole make this hotel what it is. We feel like we’ve just returned from staying at a friend’s (rather large and nice) house. Beth discovered it was our dogs 1st birthday - cue a specially piped (with mashed potato) birthday plate, gourmet bowl of food and “pupcake” for dessert. Our Hazel was in heaven! Above and beyond!!! The hotel has an A La Bark menu so Hazel had a few other delicious meals while she was staying. Kids absolutely loved it, lots for them to do, and we even managed a dinner by ourselves with the use of one of the hotel’s baby monitors that we borrowed. They loved swimming in the pool and enjoyed the activities that were put on during the stay and the games room downstairs. We understand that a big refurbishment is due to take place and that the swimming pool will be developed into a small spa complex with jacuzzi which will only add to the appeal of this special place. We are very excited to see the results of this - but we may be back before this as we had such a good time! Grounds are beautiful, walking early and late you can get the feeling you have a country estate to yourself! Thank you all, we are already looking forward to returning!

Historically we would have given Ickworth Hotel 3 stars, but as it is local to us, we still tend to stay 3-4 times a year. The biggest issue was always the poor service and lack of effort throughout. Often the restaurant at dinner and breakfast was run by young staff with limited experience and no visible management. Similar with reception. So a consistency of mistakes, delays and missing orders. Also there was always a never changing restaurant menu with little more than pub food. How things have changed… We were greeted by a superb Front of House Manager who wouldn’t be out of place at a top London hotel. She was well-spoken, smart, charismatic, engaging, and super helpful. She even referenced us as “welcome back” customers. The room door had a huge bow on it (all doors did as part of Christmas - this was never seen before attention to detail). We even had a Christmas tree in the room. A jar of biscuits was waiting on the desk - which made our boy’s day. The Restaurant Manager was the same class act. Friendly, efficient, and nothing was too much trouble. The menu had also been revamped and had some great dishes. Huge effort around the hotel had been made, with XMas decorations and activities/packs which our boy loved. Kids could help themselves to a glass of milk and cookie after submitting a sleigh design drawing. The library was also increasingly well equipped with toys for kids. At breakfast, the young serving staff had clearly been better trained and supported by management as they were far more “on it” than previous visits. I assume the Front of House and Restaurant Managers were new, as we’d never seen them on previous visits - and everything ran so much smoother with more effort throughout. What a superb investment - the hotel is now what it should be, 5*.

Receptionist very unhelpful when we popped into the hotel. Despite notices suggesting the hotel is open to non residents the receptionist Kiera was very rude when we visited on a Saturday morning. Despite the national trust Cafe being closed at the time of our visit we were not made to feel welcome to have a drink or breakfast here which is what we were hoping to do. Being local and having previously had a warm welcome it is really disappointing to learn this is no longer the case.