The Ickworth Hotel

Really lovely hotel with lots do do for both families and couples. Really lovely room in the lodge and we had a really relaxing break. The facilities are great, swimming pool and bike hire and we toured the grounds and the house. Really friendly staff and nice food.

Worked here sometime ago, back in the area to meet some colleagues and decided Ickworth to be the venue. Ask if we could get a private room and the staff duly obliged, thank you! Coffee lacked a little punch, but other than that we had a good meeting in an amazing setting. Will always return when in the area.

Spent one night at Ickworth Hotel and had a lovely time. As a guest at the hotel got free entrance to Ickworth House a National Trust property. Our room was not large but very comfortable and bathroom was adequate. We booked a standard double. Had dinner I adult only restaurant called Fredericksburg and food was delicious and staff excellent. Breakfast was good but not relaxed as lots of families with young children. The hotel is very child friendly with toys and games in lots of different locations. Our only complaint was hotel allows pets and we did not know this as we would have made sure we requested a room that had not had pets in. When we went for dinner had a pre dinner drink in the drawing room and another guest had their dog on one of the sofas.

A four star review as we had a lovely weekend of good weather and fun.. it was looking like a potential shocker on Friday evening but after some words they came back and saved the day. I booked The Ickworth for 14 people including three children for the weekend. It was my Dad's 70th and he has been unwell to the point where we didn't think he would make it to this birthday. As such I really pushed the boat out and we did something different. It was expensive but seemed like a great option - country house, activities, nice food and for him close to home. On the run in I was concerned as reviews were mixed at best.. particularly on the service front... but I am a worrier by nature and I know that some reviewers want Dorchester levels of service for Holiday Inn money! When I arrived I felt much more at ease.. I thought the whole feel was upscale and it was just the type of thing where he would feel special... I was excited. The rooms were spacious.. my Dad stayed in The Grand Tour and they had put a bottle of fizz and a card there for him which was nice touch. Also the room was bigger and better than the pics show and I could see he was made up as was I. We dined that night in the conservatory and here some really poor service that others had spoke of came to the fore. There were not enough people serving and those there were there were very junior and not on top of the situation. Plates were left out uncleared from surrounding tables, things asked for were not brought and I started, after spending a small fortune on the weekend, to get stressed. Following on from this the waitress at the end of the meal didn't know the times for breakfast. Adding to this the drink prices were criminal - £26 the starting point for an OK white wine.. mmm. The theme continued in the morning - breakfast was a little chaotic with no one in charge, Also although some of the options were good they were still a little wanting at this price point. During the day we had a great time. Tennis, bike rides (though the bikes were ill maintained and I did some running repairs) and swimming. It was a fabulous day. A trip to the pub in Horringer was also good .. and it reminded me of the importance of service.. As I ate my cheap sausage sandwich I was asked this simple question in a genuinely interested and angering manner; "is everything ok with the food .. can Get you anything else." No one at this point had asked such a question at the expensive hotel! My older sister took things in hand and had some conversations with the management and they worked .. we had booked the board room and the service from a different waitress, Beth, was exemplary as was our food. We played music, had a laugh and it was as I had hoped. It was just a shame that the first night and then breakfast service had got me worried when I should have been relaxed. I was super thankful to the staff for turning it round. So - great location, nice rooms, great concept, great activities, great for kids, great food.. but that poor standard service and a few things could make what you hope to be a 5 star trip into a 2 star trip and the hotel should sort it and pronto. I have wild camped, stayed in Holiday Inn's and paid £1000 a night in my time so I really know the levels you should expect and with this in mind here are a few observations: - Really needs someone properly running the show - Bulbs not working in three of our 5 rooms.. come on the basics! - Breakfast level needs a bit of a jump. - Silly silly drinks prices... having no bar is an error. That said we conducted some in room BYOD as the service was so light - Bikes not working as they should - essential to fix as this is highlighted as a key feature in the hotel video. - Instant coffee in rooms, some of which cost over £300 a night.. really!

Stayed 2 nights with our family (2 adults, 2 children 3yr an 8m) in a family room. The room was big enough for the family and had a curtain to create a children's sleep section which was nice. There is no a/c, which would have been nice as it was quite warm, but you wouldn't need that for most part of the year. The family facilities at the hotel are great for young children, toy boxes on every floor, great nursery/play room, playground outside, trampoline, pool, bicycles...everything you need. The one thing that was at times frustrating is the service level in the restaurants. They seemed to be understaffed with some personnel lacking good hospitality skills. Overall we had a lovely weekend but the hotel is pricey.

We have visited Ickworth Hotel a number of times but feel this time the word luxury was missing. Our beds were barely made the rooms were not cleaned and the common parts of the lodge were not hovered through. We had to ask for toilet paper and one day when we returned to the room we had no paper in one of the bathrooms also the tissue box never had any tissues in it. We always enjoy our stay but unless certain things are kept up I feel you can no longer call it a luxury hotel. One other thing the young women serving drinks in the lounge of an evening made you feel as if you were putting her out to ask for a drink we would expect polite service.

Came here to use a voucher my sister purchased for myself and wife as a treat. Food was good service was poor. There was nobody to meet you and show you to your table. We waited 10 minutes to be seated and we were the only ones in the restaurant. The same happened when we left no one came to collect the plates or asked how we found the meal and we left on our own. Not worth £22.50 per person.

We went to Ickworth Hotel to celebrate Grandma's special birthday. The six adults and two children (4yrs and 7yrs) were accommodated in double rooms and a family suite in the Hotel itself. Throughout our stay we enjoyed the use of free bicycles, swimming pool, walks and activity clubs for the children. The children had early evening meals, entertainment and room listening service while adults enjoyed relaxing evening meals, well cooked, presented and served. We could not fault the quiet attention given by all of the Staff to both adults and children alike. Thank you for a memorable celebration weekend.

We stayed for a week in the Butler's Quarters so this review is based on that rather than the hotel per se. It's a large 3 bedroom self contained flat which provides all the amenities for a family stay. It's a little dated and the kitchen in particular could do with a refresh, but there's nothing wrong with it. It's very close to the bikes and swimming pool which was absolutely ideal. We are the 1st night in the conservatory but the food was pretty average and very expensive for what it was. From then in we visited local restaurants and the Six Bells and Angel Eaterie in particular were absolutely superb. The six bells is a short cycle and very family friendly. The main advantage of Ickworth is the National Trust property attached to it, and not withstanding the proximity to pool and bikes, we could have rented one of the NT cottages on the estate for less. This is my 2nd visit to a Luxury Family Hotel and they are far from luxury but they do provide a good selection of facilities and understanding staff which is often half the battle. The 6pm cinema was very popular as was the adventure playground and fairy garden. Also great to have tennis, croquet, badminton all available for free. The creche looked good as well. One more thing: we didn't eat breakfast in the hotel as the apartment is self contained, however they automatically add them to the bill and we had to ask for them to be removed, which they did without issue..