Printable hotel details

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Horringer, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk


Ickworth

Suffolk, United Kingdom [view map]

Style
A family heirloom
Setting
National Trust parkland

With impressive gates and a quarter-mile drive up to the hotel, few entrances can be grander than the one to Ickworth House a stately home for all the family.

Need to know

Suffolk hotels: Ickworth, need to know
Rooms
27 rooms and 11 apartments at the Dower House.
Rates
£320–£740, including breakfast. There's a two-night minimum stay at weekends.
Check-out
11am.
Facilities
1,800 acres of parkland, with woods and lakes (wildlife tours and horse riding can be arranged), tennis courts, indoor pool and Aquae Sulis spa.
Poolside
There's a heated indoor pool open from 8am to 8pm.
Children
Playroom, crèche, adventure playgrounds, bikes and nature trails. Many rooms are interconnecting or have special child-friendly features; this is the hotel to take your children to.
Also
No smoking throughout. Wellies provided. Guests receive free tickets to the National Trust part of the house. Small dogs allowed.

In the know

Our favourite rooms
Ask for a view over the grounds, and specify if you would prefer rooms with a traditional or contemporary feel. Both are lovely.
Packing tips
Swimming costumes; outdoor-activity gear.
Also
Book a babysitter or nanny in advance if you want to leave the grounds without your offspring.

Food & drink

Suffolk hotels: Ickworth, food and drink
Hotel restaurant
Frederick’s is the fine-dining restaurant, where children are only allowed for Sunday lunch. The Conservatory is great for lunch or tea. Breakfast is served from 7.30am to 10am.
Dress code
Dress up for dinner at Frederick’s; otherwise, casual is fine.
Top table
A window seat overlooking the Italian garden.
Last orders
Frederick’s: 9.30pm. Bar open all night.
Room service
Full menu during kitchen hours, cold snacks all night.

Smithcard Smith card offer A free bottle of house champagne and a private viewing of the Italian gardens

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Smith concierge

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Ickworth

Horringer, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

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Ickworth

Suffolk, United Kingdom [view map]

Local restaurants

The Great House at Lavenham (+44 (0)1787 247 431) serves French food.

Local bars

The Beehive at Horringer (+44 (0)1284 735 260) is just at the end of the hotel drive, has a garden, and does great pub food.

Worth getting out of bed for

Newmarket racecourse (www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk). Ring +44 (0)1638 667 200 (www.newmarketexperience.co.uk) for a fully organised race day, or guided tour of a training yard.

Diary

July Newmarket Nights consists of evening races on Fridays, followed by live music (www.newmarketnights.co.uk). October Champion’s Day at Newmarket (+44 (0)1638 663 482; www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk). November Open Pit Lane at Snetterton Race Circuit (+44 (0)1953 887 303; www.brandshatchcircuits.co.uk).

For a full list of bars and restaurants in Suffolk, click here



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Ickworth

Suffolk, United Kingdom

Best for
Babies and up – children of all ages are welcome.

Recommended rooms

The child-friendly suites are your best bet, as they have separate sitting rooms (Theodora has enough space for up to four extra beds or cots; Amelie and Louis both have great views). Children sharing parent's room stay free, paying only for meals.

Crèche/day care

The Four Bear's Den is an Ofsted-registered supervised playroom, packed with toys, and open from around 7am until late, and supervised from 10am until 5pm (unsupervised during meal times). Parents need to sign children in, and can then leave the hotel and grounds if they take a mobile phone with them. Children should be left for a maximum of two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Activities

Plenty of space is putting it mildly – there are 1,800 acres of garden and parkland to get lost in. Borrow bikes (and helmets) for free, bounce on the trampoline, chase around the nature trails or go horse riding (extra charge). Club/Blu is an unsupervised playroom for older children, with table tennis, table-top football and PlayStations; PS2 games are available at reception.

Swimming pool

The heated indoor pool is open year-round, with plenty of armbands, floats and inflatable toys to borrow.

Meals

Frederick's Restaurant is adults-only after 7pm. The Conservatory serves family dinners. A daily two-course children's lunch and high tea (£5) is provided in the Four Bear's Den, and Café Inferno serves a children's buffet (cottage pie, toad-in-the-hole and other nursery staples, puréed for younger children; £8.50) at 5pm. Both venues have plenty of high chairs, and are happy to provide packed lunches, supply full-fat cow's milk, and heat bottles. Room service is available 24 hours, although limited after 11pm. The night porter is often spotted heating pre-dawn bottles of milk.

Babysitting

This is available at a cost of £7 an hour for a minimum of two hours, paid directly to the babysitter; you'll need to give at least a week's notice.

Baby-listening

A sophisticated baby-listening service goes direct to reception from in-room telephones.

No need to pack

Families with babies are provided with a changing mat and nappy bucket. Kettles, fridges, sterilisers and bottle warmers available on request.

Also

This child-friendly hotel is set on National Trust property, and guests at Ickworth House can explore the vast grounds for free – there's also a huge adventure playground. There are DVD players in all bedrooms, plus a library of DVDs geared towards children of all ages at reception.

Click here to view more child-friendly hotels in United Kingdom


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