Tuddenham Mill

Tuddenham Mill was as gorgeous as it looks in the pictures, however it is right on a main road, so even though not the busiest road it is still noisy and you can hear it in the restuarant and from some of the rooms. The homemade fudge and biscuits are gorgeous and the food is very good – however, some of the meals do try slightly to hard.

You must visit the Nutshell pub just to see how small it is and that people really do drink in it.

The hotel was lovely, just as described.

We had dinner in the hotel which was wonderful. And for breakfast they were more than happy to serve us in our room which is a nice touch to a stay away.

We had two small things that 'niggled' us. Firstly our room in the west mill was beautiful, however, I just don't understand how an open toilet just behind your bed is an attractive appeal. I think they should consider putting a door off from the bathroom that leads into the dressing room area, just for privacy.

And also we did not receive our Mr & Mrs Smith goodie bag! Now, whilst this was not the reason we stayed at Tuddenham, it is those nice touches that are promised that keep you going back.

Overall: lovely place and great food. Cute ducks and ducklings too!

Definitely worth a visit but if its early on in your relationship, I would stay in a different room!

Mr & Mrs Smith's Response:  "We have passed on your suggestions to the hotel and your goodie bag will be posted to you – Tuddenham Mill sends its apologies. Many thanks for bringing this to our attention"

Just five minutes from Tuddenham Mill, across the dual carriageway, sits The Olde Bull Inn. You can’t miss it. It’s extremely large and looks slightly incongruous; this 16th Century coaching inn stands near the roundabout on the busy A11. What we didn’t know was The Olde Bull Inn was holding a 70s glam rock evening and it was standing room only. We were just about to search out an Indian or Chinese when I spied a separate dinning room across the courtyard. And what a difference a courtyard makes.

From a noisy, crowded, basic pub, we were transported to an oasis of Sanderson fabrics, Farrow and Ball paints and chocolate-brown leather chairs. And nor did the food disappoint. To start I had a poached pear, stilton and bacon salad which was soft and crunchy, sweet and tart all at the same time. Sublime. My wife had the homemade soup of the day which was as creamy as it was delicious. A sun-dried tomato, parmesan and toasted nut risotto with a delicious home-made basil pesto was to follow. I had bangers and mash. The sausages were perfectly done and the mash was made out of sweet potato with a good covering of red wine gravy. If you’re looking for good, honest – actually it’s better than that – perfectly prepared and cooked food, with attentive service for around £25 a head, then The Olde Bull Inn is worth checking out.

The city of Ely is a must visit. The town itself is beautiful and in the summer there were morris dancers and an open-air market. The main attraction has to be Ely Cathedral. Stunning. And on the weekend we visited we were lucky enough to catch the Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra and choir practising inside.

I won't recommend any other eating place as you would be mad not to eat the delights that Tuddenham Mill's kitchen produces!! I will recommend that you bring your bikes here (locked storage is available). A great place to cycle is Thetford Forest with well marked out cycle routes from easy to technical. Also worth a visit is Anglesey Abbey (+44 (0)01223 810080 which has a working mill and stunning gardens. Ickworth House (+44 (0)1284 735 270) has an interesting interior and if you fancy a walk you will feel like you are the only ones there - with a 4 mile and 8 mile route that the more elderly visitors obviously avoid (this was a sunny Sunday in June and we met no one on the 4 mile path!).

Superb hotel, wonderful food, beautiful setting. You can really chill out with a drink and eats by the stream watching the birdlife. Recommend: Peacock's tea room by the river in Ely, the Beehive pub, Horringer, and Bury St Edmunds – wonderful abbey and grounds, very cheap market. Ickworth House (NT): great grounds, house and new restuarant. We rate the Mill the best Mr & Mrs Smith hotel we have stayed in... so far. We will certainly come back again.

We were upgraded to the Loft Suite south which was fabulous. Although the hotel is right on the road we were not disturbed by traffic noise, only owls! Loved the Jo Malone toiletries and food. The biscuits and fudge in the room were superb. We ate lunch on one day at the Stone Angel Café (+44 (0)1284 756100) in Bury St Edmunds and with all the usual food chains it was good to eat somewhere a bit different. The only disappointment was that our Mill Bag didn't contain any preserves as they were out of jars. Definitely worth another visit.

This is a fantastic hotel! The staff are excellent and the hotel more than lives up to expectation. We stayed a Sunday night and ate in the restaurant, sampling what I think must be the best Sunday roast we have ever had.The setting for the hotel is idyllic and the rooms had more than one could expect. We also felt it was value for good money.

A delightful romantic hideaway, with great easy access transport links. The perfect place to take – or meet up with – that special secret someone.

Walking. That's what Suffolk is all about. And I don't mean the sort of walking where you have to own a sturdy (and lets face it, unattractive) pair of walking boots. I mean the sort of amble through stunning, peaceful, flat countryside which gives you lovely rosy cheeks. There can be no better tonic than a bracing walk (in the rain in our case) and when your room at Tuddenham Mill has a big bath and a roaring fire, there is definitely a happy ending.

After indulging ourselves at the hotel for the first two nights of our stay we decided to go in search of some good old fashioned (gastro-)pub grub on our last night. Following a little research – and a lot of direction from some of the local residents – we decided to give The Olde Bull Inn in the lovely village location of Barton Mills (barely a five-minute taxi ride) from Tuddenham Mill – a whirl. The Olde Bull Inn is a true free house, which has no ties with any brewery, and a wonderful olde worlde feel about it. There are two bars to choose from: the public bar and the more formal restaurant, and although the public bar was extremely busy on the Sunday night we tried it, they managed to fit us in (just). We would suggest that you try to get there before the early evening rush.Honest homecooked food and a menu to tempt all appetites and tastes – we thoroughly enjoyed our time there although we were glad to get back to the indulgent surroundings of Tuddenham Mill to sleep off another night of excess!

As Tuddenham Mill truly is off the beaten path and there isn't much within walking distance (other than leisurely beautiful walks). However we walked into 'town' to the local pub, The White Hart. It was a beautiful sunny day and though it was slow, everyone was superbly friendly and it had a real local atmosphere. Though the facilities at Tuddenham Mill and the bar were superb, you can get away from the other guests by popping into this little gem. Worth the less-than-five-minute walk!

We took a last-minute break to escape the London rain in July. Normally Tuddenham Mill has a two-night minimum stay at weekends (like most desirable Smith properties!) but we rang up the Smith Travel Team on Friday morning and managed to score a room for the Saturday night only, and at a discounted rate as well. We stayed in a Meadow room, which was beautiful. I am always in question of the "cheapest" rooms on offer – but in this case was not disappointed. Huge, comfy beds with perfect pillows, large Jo Malone toiletries, a lovely terrace looking out onto the meadow (including some marching swans)... Then the touches such as fresh coffee, fresh orange juice, and the delicious home-made biscuits... I was in heaven. Topping it off were the fab meals (lunch, dinner, AND breakfast were eaten!). Breakfast in your room can be arranged and it was superb; and they were happy to cater to any tastes. Upon leaving I requested to buy a jar of the berry jam – they were out of jars however happily arranged to send it on by post when they receive their supplies.

Nothing was too much trouble (when the rare occasion of needing anything came about). Great last-minute getaway – highly recommend trying the last-minute one-night only deals!

The place was everything we had wished for in a weekend away (minus the children). The accomodation was stylish, the food very enjoyable. The highlight of the weekend was a leisurely glass or two of wine on a Saturday afternoon, in the sunshine overlooking the mill pond. Highly recommended.

Our room in Tuddenham Mill was lovely with a long-reaching view. We tackled the two-mile walk to the Red Lion pub, a great walk through the countryside and well worth the trek as the food was very tasty. Breakfast is hearty with some unusual choices.The scrambled duck eggs with hot salmon was delicious. Our meal in the restaurant was okay – the cheeseboard was very well put together. You felt at the end of the meal that if they hadn't tried to put so many combinations together and went back to basics then the meal would be more pleasurable.