Hintlesham Hall

What People are saying

Rip me off

Kane M on 06/02/2018 09:34

What can I say about this place, I wanted a relaxing spa weekend away with me fiancee, so we arrived at the hotel and reception was pleasant enough, they showed us to our room which looked ok to begin with until closer inspection, we stayed in the Cherry orchard suit which for £400 a night was an absolute robbery, ok so the bathroom was ok but even then the shower didn't work properly, the sofa was all sunken and used and uncomfortable, tv's didn't work properly and the blinds were all old and also not working properly, we could cope with all this as there was lovely spa facilities we could Use! Wrong!! No pool at all and the hot tub was only allowed to be used by booking and it was only for an hour and they charge £20, never mind we'll get it for an hour and have a nice bottle of prosecco with us , nope wrong Again, the hot tub is only open till 5 and it was already 4.15, they let us use it but still charged the £20, useless doesn't really cover what this is, I also asked for a bottle of wine to be waiting in the room which I phoned ahead and changed to prosecco, wasn't until I got home Sunday and looked at the receipt that I realised that they still charged me for the wine, we slept ok ish but went down for breakfast in the morning and was faced with a very mediocre breakfast for £20 each, they asked if we wanted tea or coffee, we had tea and then realised we was charged for mid morning tea at £30, after the rubbish stay we had here we actually went to another hotel to use there spa which was much much better but obviously had to pay for that also but that was actually worth the money, any way I think needless to say after a very very disappointing experience I was not best pleased for a £566 bill for 1 night in what I can only assume is 2-3 star accomadation with really no spa facilities to use when you want and 3 bottles of prosecco, absolute rip off, you can get a 4-5 star hotel almost anywhere for £100 a night with free use of pool and Jacuzzi, 8am-9pm, I will certainly not stay here again and am very upset that I may as well thrown £350 quid down the drain and enjoyed a £150 night away somewhere that knows how far the £££ goes

Pleasent but not quite there

Ian B on 04/02/2018 07:10

Went for evening meal to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary. The building is a classic country house and well presented. The menus had good choices and the food was fine. The staff cheerful and pleasent but we came away slightly disappointed. It wasn't cheap, which is ok as I spent what I expected, but when paying high prices you some how expect the result to be greater than the sum of the parts and Hintlesham Hall wasn't. Minor tweaks would have made this a much better experience. Don't get me wrong. This place is good, especally in the culinary waste lands of Ipswich, but it could have been better

Visit

Louisa D on 03/02/2018 20:33

We stayed here for 2 nights very plesant stay, staff excellent very attentive and welcoming. The breakfast menu good selection and very nice. The dinner was fine dining and first class accompanied with the service. The bathroom well decor, the only let down the room needed little attentive attention ie upholstered armchair required steam clean, the rooms could value a repaint. The room was pleasantly cosy and warm. We both enjoyed the stay would highly recommend for a break away, the grounds are spectacular

Slightly Dissapointing

Ed I on 31/01/2018 17:23

I arrived late in the evening, and initially, I noticed how poorly lit the car park and reception area was. This could be easily improved.

Check in was courteous, but definitely not customer focussed, no mention of where breakfast might be found, and so on.

A young lad led me to my room, I carried my own bags and shirt up several flights of stairs.

The room was warm and ready for my arrival and equipped with water, bathrobes and so on.

I did not eat in the hotel in the evening but used a Toby carvery nearby. The restaurant does have a good reputation but I can only comment on breakfast.

When I came to go to bed, I quickly realised that the bed was well past its use by date. Whilst the linen was fine, I could feel all the springs and it was basically very poor indeed. The room was quite small, and frankly a little tired, although it had been recently decorated. Sadly the curtains did not fit well and allowed light in readily. The carpet was marked in places. On the window front, it simply would not close and the wind in the night made everything rattle. Frankly pretty poor really. I had a very poor nights sleep.

The bathroom was ok, but not very functional. The sink was a triumph of design over utility, one could not even rest a glass of water on it anywhere. The controls on the shower were confusing, not helped by missing pictograms. It took a long time to set it to an acceptable temperature. One of the shower heads was cracked and broken. The overhead shower was so caked with limescale that the jets were very uneven. There was mold in the shower on the ceiling and wall. Towels were ok, toiletries were ok. Toilet had a very stiff flush, and the bowel appeared dirty because of the discolored limescale. The toilet seat was worn and all its rests had long since disappeared. All of these faults are unforgivable as they are such an easy fix. Given the cost of this hotel, this level of dilapidation came as an unwelcome surprise.

I left the hotel quite early and was at breakfast at 7.00am. I required directions for breakfast and asked at reception. Directions were given, I was not shown. The breakfast room is pretty but felt dour. The lighting was insufficient, and the room lacked any semblance of atmosphere. This would be easily remedied with slightly better lighting and some background classical music. The breakfast itself consisted of a tiny buffet with lackluster cereals and a pretty meager selection of fruit salad, yogurt and so on. Much of the fresh fruit salad was made with fruit that had not had time to ripen properly. I helped myself to the buffet. Eventually, I was asked if I wanted tea or coffee, and I placed an order for a full English breakfast. I opted for this without fried bread. I believe that a hotels quality, and the level of respect it pays its guests, can be easily defined by its breakfast, so I will comment fairly comprehensively . - Poached eggs, cooked by an expert and made from a great quality fresh egg, sausage, disappointingly low on meat content, and over herbed- typical cheapo option really, back pudding, ditto, Mushrooms, lightly sauteed field mushrooms in biggish chunks but they did pass muster just about, bacon paper thin and a bit dry, again a cheap option, the tomato was horrendous, I have no idea if it had been steamed or microwaved, it was a tasteless disaster. The saving grace of this breakfast was decent fresh orange juice and good tea. Didn't try the toast, but it was cut from good bread and looked and smelt good, but then if you can walk you can make toast right? Overall, and given that this breakfast cost £18.95 I would have expected something sensational. This was not.

So, onto my departure. I checked out quickly and efficiently, but at no point was I ever asked if my stay had been ok, this was most remiss. Even Travelodge manages that!

I have included some pictures so you know what to expect if you book this hotel. I would be most unlikely to stay again, it was overpriced, understaffed, lacked any semblence of quality, was poorly maintained and eyewateringly expensive.

Lovely one night deal

OddsFamily on 28/01/2018 16:09

Second visit to a lovely quiet hotel in great grounds. The staff are very friendly and helpful and someone took us up two flights of stairs to a room at an end of a corridor called Cordelia. The room is on two levels with a spacious bathroom with low ceilings.

The food is amazing and we requested a special non alcoholic drink, which was brought promptly and was very refreshing. Nice touch with canapes before the dinner.

Only negative was the water was only hot for 45 seconds and then lukewarm so bath was not an option. The tv and dressing table should switch position for ease of use.

Hope to return soon.