Second time staying and the first was 5 stars. This time around it was three. Service on the whole was great. The staff when checking in yesterday evening were polite, friendly, helpful and professional and are a credit to you. The room is so comfortable, lots of space and an amazing sleep. Unfortunately this time around, it appears the shower thermostat was broken. There was hot water coming out of the sink, but very lukewarm water from the shower no matter how hot it was turned. These things happen although it is frustrating having a freezing cold shower for a long day of work and flights ahead. When checking out, the lady on the desk took my key and didn’t ask if everything was ok, just took the key and looked away. I proceeded to tell her about the shower and my thoughts on why it was broken and she said that she would get maintenance to look at it. I’m not looking for anything apart from an apology which only came when I prompted her further by saying again and reiterating that all I had was a cold shower. Disappointing if honest but otherwise all good and I’ll be back in two weeks’ time for business.

Had an amazing stay.cant wait to go again. From the brilliant reception staff to restaurant staff, they were so attentive. The room was wonderful, and the views so peaceful. We chilled out immediately and had the best nights sleep. Breakfast was great, and then a walk around the grounds wonderful. The Italianate garden was incredible. We didn’t want to leave. Having stayed in a few hotels around Bury StEdmunds, we rate this hotel the very best and can’t wait to go again.

I wish I had read the reviews on here before booking this hotel. Everything everyone says is for their stay in April is sadly correct. The grounds of this National Trust Ickworth Estate are are stunning, and the building's interesting. The hotel however is no way near four star. It is dirty, threadbare, woodworm everywhere, Paint peeling off the walls, mould, spider webs that had gather dust, I've seen better decorated rooms in hostels! However the furniture is old and interesting. The service is very very slow... Breakfast was basic, the soya milk in my coffee was clearly passed it sell by date and was disgusting. I went to go and get a nicer coffee from the national trust cafe (who even admitted that their coffee is much better than the hotel). I ordered poached egg on toast, The eggs were under cooked and cold when they arrived, and then was told I had to make my own toast. The conservatory where they serve breakfast is falling apart, there is a plastic sheet being held up by duct tape on the ceiling which is actually falling down, there were cobwebs everywhere and dirty windows, and sticky chairs. This hotel could be so grand and luxury if they actually spent some money on it. But right now they're going to be getting some damning reviews from residents because they are not living up to a luxury 4 star status. Needless to say we will not be returning nor recommending.

The grounds of this hotel are unbelievably beautiful. Taking walks with the kids and the dog is a luxury and very special, watching sheep and Lambs walk up to you, the kids part and the Italian gardens. The hotel however is very run down, needs money spent on it, and the service is very slow. The furniture is usually a bit dirty, cobwebs and stain etc. but if you are a kid you just have fun. A cute crèche for kids, a nice warm indoor pool and a kid friendly environment. Lots of nice elements to it, but the food isn’t great and it takes a long time to get served.

I once remember someone defining a brand as ‘a promise delivered’. On that basis The Ickworth, under the banner of the company ‘Luxury Family Hotels’, does hit the target on the ‘hotel’ part. But it is placing a semantic burden on the English language which is possibly more than it can reasonably be expected to bear with the other two epithets. For if it was ‘luxury’ surely guests would have access to the whole swimming pool, rather than just the half that wasn’t being rented out for private lessons. If it was ‘luxury’ there might be fresh croissants or freshly squeezed orange juice at breakfast, rather than the feel of an Eastern European budget airport hotel to the continental spread. If it was ‘luxury’ there might have been even the merest suggestion of help with the luggage either at arrival or departure. The building is genuinely impressive and the potential is there for a uniquely impressive offering but too much of the interior was dated, particularly the dining room and our en-suite bathroom, with strong staying-at-grandma’s-house vibes. If there was a true ‘family’ focus would the hotel have hired out the children’s cinema room to a private function on our first night? Would the crèche staff have been so officious about letting the children use the toys outside of supervised hours? Would there be stinging nettles underneath the trampoline in the playground? Having been to Moonfleet Manor thee years ago and loved it, Ickworth was a very different experience. Is it just local management or is it a more pervasive change across the whole chain? On inspection we noted that within the last year there is a new Group Operations Director and now a new ‘Group Revenue Director’. All of a sudden it made more sense that the very first thing you lay eyes on when walking through the front door is a framed advert for hiring the hotel as a wedding venue. Similarly, a very pared back evening menu for adults that looks like it can be left to a ‘cook’ rather than a ‘chef’ seems to fit with the feeling of a once impressive business loosing its way. Individually each of the staff was pleasant enough but there was no sense of ownership, cohesion, common purpose or genuine excellence. I might be wrong, but the inclination is to infer that incoming directors have already zapped front line staff morale and are well under way with a process of surgically eradicating all the characteristics that previously drove customer satisfaction and which made the brand resonate. For sure all these things fall firmly under the ‘first world problems’ heading so it is hardly time to get the violins out. But when you use the word ‘luxury’ in your name, and charge accordingly, you create expectations. Unfortunately on this occasion our impression was of a balance tipping in the wrong direction - not from the producers to the consumers but from the revenue payers to the revenue extractors.