The Ickworth Hotel

“AMAZING ON EVERY LEVEL”

This must be somewhere amongst our 20th visit since our now adult children were babies! We have utterly fallen in love with this place and its staff, and its recent makeover has taken things to a new level. Historically whenever we have been on holiday anywhere, we’ve always been really glad to … more

This must be somewhere amongst our 20th visit since our now adult children were babies! We have utterly fallen in love with this place and its staff, and its recent makeover has taken things to a new level. Historically whenever we have been on holiday anywhere, we’ve always been really glad to return to our beautiful home. NOT this time, our visit to Ickworth this time left us feeling borderline depressed to leave! The staff are simply amazing, and that’s EVERYONE we encountered, Not just reception, the waiting staff, the housemaids, even the kitchen staff for example would wave and smile as we and our inquisitive little one would watch them at work creating the amazing food they do!! The grounds are stunning, the staff are amazing, the food is amazing, the newly refurbished place is beautiful . We were staying just a few weeks after reopening after refurbishment, in 35 degree heatwave, so frankly my expectations were low, as I thought everything was stacked against them! My daughter’s expectation to the contrary was sky high! She’s always thoroughly enjoyed this place and to be returning as a family once again in adulthood was such an exciting prospect for her, that to these ends, she felt she could only therefore feel satisfied at best or more likely disappointed! She need not have worried! Her visit surpasses her expectations!!!! And that is extremely rare, when have we ever had high expectations of a place or experience that have been utterly surpassed!! In life you have people who leave negative reviews, and occasionally, I’ve felt it necessary to do so myself, but in a constructive way. And it’s fair to say that historically, I’ve had criticisms of this place, BUT anyone who criticises this place now, such would say more about THEM than this establishment! There are always times when something might not be fully on point, when you consider how many aspects of a hotel stay there are, pool, food, cleanliness, staff, facilities etc. etc. Any reasonable rational person will look at a stay in the round. And given this perspective, I simply cannot see how anyone could possibly leave anything other than 5 stars as it currently is.

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“Excellent stay with delicious food.”

We have just returned from two nights at the Ickworth hotel. On arrival we had a wonderfully helpful receptionist who checked us in and gave us a tour of the house which is stunning. When shown up to our room we were pleasantly surprised at the size of our cosy room. It was beautifully decorated an… more

We have just returned from two nights at the Ickworth hotel. On arrival we had a wonderfully helpful receptionist who checked us in and gave us a tour of the house which is stunning. When shown up to our room we were pleasantly surprised at the size of our cosy room. It was beautifully decorated and had everything we needed. Bed was also very comfy and the room has stunning views. We ate all our meals in the hotel and were so impressed with the high quality of food - it was all truly delicious. Stand outs were the gnocchi starter which I will continue to dream about after leaving and the wonderful breakfasts. Cocktails were also very tasty! We were two friends staying but did not feel out of place with all of the families that were also here. However I can also see how this hotel is ideal for a family as it has so much on offer for children. Every single member of staff was incredibly helpful and went above and beyond to ensure we had a relaxing and enjoyable stay. Our only one small issue was the heat in the room. We called up a few days before arriving to see whether there was aircon in the room as we were planning on going out and leaving the dog in the room. We were told there was and the rooms were nice and cool so we did not bring our fans. On entry into the room we could see there was in fact no aircon and just one desk fan - which was reasonably powerful but not quite an aircon. We managed to pop to the shops to secure two fans but this was not an ideal start to our stay. Would not normally be a problem had we not been in the middle of a heatwave. Unfortunately due to the heat we were restricted to exploring the beautiful grounds as it was too hot to venture out with our dog who it transpired was not happy to be left in the room. However this meant we could take full advantage of the wonderful hotel and facilities they had inside. One evening was cool enough and we had a lovely walk alongside some sheep which we wished we could have done more of. However this just gives us another reason to return! Another odd point is that there were no standard English breakfast tea bags in the room. We asked for some to be sent up and got every other tea bag other than that. Such a small thing but bring your own if you want a cup of tea in your room! Overall we had an excellent stay and we will definitely be returning at some point! I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone.

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“The Ickworth - july 2026”

The Ickworth positions itself as a luxury family hotel, and there are genuine highlights — the rooms are lovely, the kids club is excellent and the cinema is a nice touch. However, at close to £700 for one night, the overall experience falls short of what that price point should deliver. The hotel… more

The Ickworth positions itself as a luxury family hotel, and there are genuine highlights — the rooms are lovely, the kids club is excellent and the cinema is a nice touch. However, at close to £700 for one night, the overall experience falls short of what that price point should deliver. The hotel is clearly mid-refurbishment, and while the interior has been beautifully updated, the surrounding grounds haven't caught up. The gardens feel incomplete — the landscaping is unfinished, one of the play areas is in a state of disrepair and another remains closed off behind a fence. For a hotel that markets itself heavily on outdoor family activities, this is a noticeable gap. The pool, while usable, has no shallow end and very limited safety equipment for younger children — something worth being aware of for families with toddlers. The spa facilities are pleasant but come with an additional £25 per person charge for access to what is essentially a small outdoor terrace with a jacuzzi and sauna — an unexpected extra cost at this price level. Service in the garden was slow due to limited staff, and the main dining room felt unnecessarily cramped given the beautiful orangery was sitting empty — though when we asked to move, the team were happy to accommodate us. The Ickworth has real potential and the bones of a genuinely special family retreat are here. It just feels as though it has opened at full price before the full experience is ready to match. Worth watching for when the refurbishment is complete.

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“Sadly disappointed”

Lovely staff, amazing venue recently tastefully renovated. Very popular with families with young children and babies who were delightful. Food not impressive. Over cooked Sunday roast. Wine list dreadful, food mediocre. They need to look at some of the local superb eateries offering excellent food … more

Lovely staff, amazing venue recently tastefully renovated. Very popular with families with young children and babies who were delightful. Food not impressive. Over cooked Sunday roast. Wine list dreadful, food mediocre. They need to look at some of the local superb eateries offering excellent food and menu choices. Not cheap for what we had. Sadly disappointed.

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