The Ickworth Hotel and Apartments - A Luxury Family Hotel

Service was good, lodge is a short scenic walk from the hotel, the grounds are stunning and definitely worth a visit. I can’t wait to come back.

This is a wonderfully friendly hotel. Both of my children ( 10 and 4) loved the extra touches of kids mocktails, child bathrobes, yotos to borrow and hotel wide scavenger hunts. As some have said service can be a bit relaxed or slow, and when kids are tired having been travelling in a car that can be frustrating. It’s why I didn’t send an overcooked fish back as I think the kitchen were overwhelmed and the kids couldn’t wait. But the fish was a fluke, as the rest of the food, and the cocktails we had were delicious. Breakfast is epic and all staff were amazing with my daughter’s food allergies. Staff were lovely in the spa, and the hotel had a lovely warm and welcoming feel. Decor is a little bit tired in places, but with kids it just made it less intimidating as we did worry so much about the odd felt tip mark. Also the grounds and overall appearance of the hotel is stunning. We’d love to come back to this or another one of the other hotels in the chain.

I had booked an afternoon tea for my partners 65th birthday. To say it was a disappointment is an understatement. £70 for not a lot, 1 pot tea between 2, staff didn’t ask if everything ok or ask if wanted more tea. Spoilt the day for partner. Left hungry

We were given at Xmas a £60 voucher for a cream tea. We chose ickworth as it looked lovely and indeed the house and surrounding area is. So for £70 we had a small tower of finger sandwiches that I worked out to be 4 slices of bread with filling (tasted lovely). 4 scones that quite frankly were dry and warm (Lidles) are batter, and some small cakes (again very nice). One pot of tea, and the world’s smallest Diet Coke. Took some time to be served by the most bland, miserable staff. No one asked if we were okay offered more tea or anything in fact. The adjoining table of two had two towers of cakes etc, as did another. Quite frankly a rip off

We have just stayed in the Lodge at Ickworth for two nights (7th and 8th June) to celebrate my husband’s 70th birthday. Five of us stayed at the Lodge in rooms Rowan and Abele and the rest of our family stayed in the National Trust Keepers Cottage. I was very disappointed with the both the standard of decor and cleanliness at the Lodge, in particular in Rowan. I am attaching photos that show a large area of blown plaster due to damp on one wall, blackened mildewed sash windows (on the INSIDE) which clearly have not been cleaned for some time, an area of spotted carpet damage by the side of the bed in the master bedroom. I wiped the window frame with a bit of damp tissue, you can clearly see how with just a tiny bit of effort, this could have been remedied. The bathroom door has no lock and doesn’t close fully, it pops open. The carpets are very worn. On our day of arrival (at 3pm) there were grass cuttings everywhere in the communal areas of the Lodge and up the stair cases. On the plus side, the beds and pillows were very comfortable indeed and I liked having a fridge and fresh milk in our room. Breakfast at the hotel was of a good standard and all the staff we encountered during our stay were helpful and pleasant. In contrast the National Trust Keepers cottage was vastly superior and far less expensive. It is a five minute walk from the Lodge. It was much cleaner and furnished to a higher standard. Unfortunately this just served to highlight the shortcomings of the Lodge. We know Horringer very well as my mother-in-law lived there from 1984 until her death last year. We greatly appreciate the beautiful surroundings that Ickworth offers but feel that a lack of maintenance and poor housekeeping let the hotel down. I would not recommend the Lodge at Ickworth Hotel to anyone visiting the area, especially as there is the option of staying in one of the National Trust cottages which in my opinion are of a far higher standard. I contacted the hotel manager about the shortcomings encountered during our stay. This is part of his response: ‘Your photos have been sent to the Housekeeping Manager to urgently address the cleanliness issues of the bedroom and the blown plaster is being addressed by maintenance tomorrow’. He also said: ‘The Hotel bedrooms as well as the public areas we know are in need of some major investment’. Anyone thinking of booking the Ickworth might want to wait until the improvements have been made.

My wife and I went to the Ickworth Hotel, for afternoon tea for two. I had been given a gift voucher for Father's Day. Being grandparents ourselves we found the rows of children's wellington boots at the entrance were charming if a little unusual. The corridors were similarly lined with spare chairs and the first impression of the hotel leaned towards the chaotic rather than the aesthetic, but the tea room was cosy and attractive. Under closer scrutiny, as we enjoyed our tea, we noticed that the room could do with a little more organisation too, but we nevertheless enjoyed the atmosphere. The staff were welcoming, the service a little slow but if anything additional was required - extra tea or butter for example - it was willingly supplied. The sandwiches were good, the scones very nice, the cakes delicious and the tea excellent. Rather expensive for what it was but it was a gift and I am not complaining.

Me and wife had a two night stay and found the room nice with great views of the garden. The pillows were the most uncomfortable we have every had. Service in the lounge and restaurant was very slow. Waited forty minutes for a cup of coffee and a beer. On second days breakfast my breakfast took over half an hour to be served. Including me speaking to staff twice. The grounds and gardens were fantastic and we had lovely walks around them.

Ickworth house hotel was an amazing experience for my self and husband who was celebrating his 66th birthday. Staff were exceptionally friendly and attentive and meals were superb. Our package included our terrier Roo enjoying the experience and she certainly didn't waste any time settling onto her special bed provided and her bag of treats and ball. Ameilie room was so comfortable with huge ensuite, comfortable bed and lovely period furniture. We thoroughly enjoyed the grounds around the house and hotel. We definitely recommend a stay at Ickworth. We can't wait to return.

I am absolutely shocked at the terrible slow service and quite frankly small and disappointing afternoon tea at Ickworth Hotel. Bread in sandwich was stale, scones okay but had to ask for jam and butter and cakes not enjoyable at all. For £30 per person, I’d expected this to be a bit special but to be frank, I’ve not had a worse afternoon tea (and I’ve tried quite a few). I would not recommend here at all, not just because of the food but the service was so slow despite only half a restaurant and five servers!!!! It took 20 minutes for someone to take our tea order. This was bought for me as a gift for my 40th birthday and I feel so disappointed that friends wasted their money on this for me.