Seckford Hall Hotel & Spa

Beautiful, luxurious and fantastic grounds

Booked for my Dad's birthday, staff were lovely and they gave my dad a birthday dessert.

We liked the style and the history of the building. The grounds with the chickens and pond was fun to explore. We liked the size of the room we booked and the decor.

Beautiful grounds, a really relaxing spa and excellent dinner! Would love to go back in the summer.

The only good thing one can say about the afternoon tea was the cup of tea.
Food appaling.
Waitress unfriendly.
One could not pay me to go back.

We booked a special deal night at Seckford Hall to take friends for a major birthday. It's a beautiful building with great character. On arrival there was one person in the reception area dealing with someone and another who just smiled at us but never said a word. The person dealing with the guest disappeared and we were waiting for quite some time before anyone else appeared. Telephones were ringing throughout this time - no one answered them. We had telephoned the hotel the day before arrival and again no one answered and after checking in we called reception from our room to see if there was a WiFi password and again no one answered. Our rooms were spacious although not in the manin building but in a block which was a walk away outside across the car park and located next to the spa. Fortunately it was not raining. The WiFi in the room was awful with a very weak signal which kept dropping out, not fit for purpose. The deal offered by the hotel included hot chocolate on arrival which we had to ask for and it was at best luke warm. Dinner was very ordinary. A starter of pork pie was exectly that - a slice of pork pie. The steak was cooked exactly to order but not at all tender. The staff were friendly but it took two reminders to get some things we had ordered. At breakfast we waited over 20 minutes before someone took our order which we had to leave the table to ask for - the waiting staff didn't seem to take account of who arrived when and took orders in an entirely random way. The breakfast was, however, well cooked, hot and served relatively quickly. On leaving breakfast we couldn't return to our room as tree surgery was taking place next to the car park. The hotel hadn't thought to warn us about this or suggest we move our cars. We did find another route which could easily have been signposted by the hotel. When we checked out the bill was way more than than we expected. It was a collection of totals with additional charges which were not specified including random gratuities. It appeared impossible for an itemised bill to be presented and the person on reception had to bring someone from elsewhere in the hotel to help. We had to look on the reception PC screen to see what we had been charged for and it soon became clear that various drinks and additional main courses from dinner had been charged to our bill. It took well over 30 minutes to sort out what should have been a simple process and it still apparently remained impossible to get a printed itemised bill. The signed bill from dinner was eventually located which made clear what we had in fact ordered and that we had not each had extra main courses which had been added to our bill! Although the hotel had asked if this was a special occasion and we had confirmed, more than once, that it was, no account was taken of this even though we had been given the impression that it would be. On leaving we had to wait for a time until it was safe to pass the tree surgery which could have been avoided had we been notified earlier.

We did have a pleasant stay at Seckford Hall. It’s a beautiful hotel dating back to 1530, so it has bundles of character with lots of panelled wall rooms and wing back armchairs. However, for the price paid for the hotel and spa package plus drinks it was a fairly expensive one-night stay, so we both expected more attention to detail in certain areas.

We arrived early before check in time and had a lovely massage then went to relax by the pool. The whole pool area was empty, which was great for us, but when we went to find a chair or sun lounger to sit on every single one had wet towels on like they had been reserved so although the place was completely empty there was nowhere to sit. My husband went and got a staff member, and they removed some of the wet towels, but the spa & pool staff should ensure that beds are cleared when not being used. The ladies changing rooms are very small so it’s not easy to get changed once there are more than four people in there, so maybe the hotel should consider expanding the ladies changing area into the almost empty men’s changing rooms next door and moving the men’s ones elsewhere. The shower gels in the shower area were empty so it would be good if these could be regularly checked. They are very large bottles so should not run out if checked twice daily.

Our hotel room was on the ground floor and was a very nice with lovely views of the lake but a bit overcrowded with furniture, with the TV on top of the dressing table and the only mirror in the room was largely obscured by a very tall piece of furniture with the tea & coffee items and kettle on so there was no accessible mirror. The lighting is low, which creates good ambience but is not good for doing make-up and hair. The room had windows on 3 sides so had both venetian blinds and black out blinds. One of these blackout blinds was too short for the window, which was quite bizarre.

In the ensuite, the shower was over a Victorian style bath tub, but the main shower head was all blocked like it had not been cleaned in ages and the hand held shower worked fine but the shower glass panel for the bath was far too small and not well sealed so when using the hand held shower the floor got completely flooded and I had to use the towels to mop it all up. I did report this at checkout and reception seemed to not know about this issue, but judging from the water damage around the bath area, especially all the paint peeling off the skirting boards, I would say it was a very well-known issue that had been going on for a long time. There was also a piece of electrical cable coming from the ensuite radiator that was too long creating a large loop of cable on the floor which was a trip hazard. These are things that maintenance staff should be all over. The bed was comfy, but the open-style wardrobe only had two spare hangers which is only enough to hang your coats on. It’s just not very adequate.

We had a really good dinner at ‘1530’ restaurant, and as part of our booking we got £30 per head off the evening meal. We thought this was good deal until we saw the menu prices. We had assumed it would get you 2 courses, and we would just buy our own drinks and dessert, but alas the main courses are mainly £30 each and the starters are £12-17 each so the voucher only really gets you a main course and nothing else which is a bit poor.

We sat down to breakfast at 9.30 am the next morning to a nice, cooked breakfast of our choice, but service was quite lacking and when I went to the buffet area for toast and croissants there was virtually nothing left. There was not one slice of bread left to make any toast and only 3 small croissants and no other pastries. I had to ask staff for bread to make toast. As breakfast was until 10am I would expect the buffet to be continually checked and replenished. It also looked a bit of a mess, so it needed more looking after. Staff should be keeping the buffet tidy and well stocked.

So, in conclusion we did like Seckford hall, and if we had bought this on a discount style website as a package deal it would have been fine as we enjoyed our stay, but as it was booked direct with the hotel and was quite an expensive break we really expect staff to be much more attentive over the rooms, ensuites, pool area and the buffet.

Had a lovely time at Seckford Hall despite a slight hick-up with the aircon in our room which was promptly sorted out by the ever attentive Lou....who upgraded us to a beautiful room for the remainder of our stay. Thank you Lou... we shall return. The history of the building is amazing and you can feel how it is steeped into the floor boards as you take a drink in the cosy bar. Food and staff were great, the pool is quite small and you need to book, although while we were there it was mostly empty.

Interesting historic property with many original features. It’s a bit on the pricey side but I did get a room upgrade which made it worth it. Fantastic copper bath in the room. Great breakfast with a lot of options and made with quality ingredients.

amazing spacious accommodation in Elizabethon manor and beautiful spa set in Tudor beamed barn

We had the absolute pleasure of spending a night at stunning Seckford Hall. The super friendly, efficient staff added to the relaxed atmosphere in the lounges, dining room, bar and wonderful spa. Wherever we sat, wandered, ate and drank, we felt at ease despite the hotel being fully booked.
Our suite under the roof had a very comfortable bed, copper bath tub, freshly made biscuits, coffee, tea and plenty of space. We slept very well unaware of anyone else and it was spotlessly clean.
Our evening meal and breakfasts were delicious - the Atlantic cod with shellfish and steak from a local farmer were perfectly cooked along with mouthwatering sauces and vegetables. The high quality local products used in the kitchen add to the positive ethos of the whole hotel. We certainly experienced the best of Suffolk and East Anglia.
It is a joy to see such wonderful old buildings and their gardens, grounds and lake being brought back to life and put to such good use for us to enjoy.
We are hoping to return to this very special place.

Amazing to stay in this historic Elizabethan Hall and enjoy the spacious luxury. Staff excellent and very helpful, Courtyard suites are ground floor (no lift in main part of the hotel) and well furnished but up quite a few outdoor steps from the main building... as is the spa. All worth the effort...spa set in wonderful Tudor beamed barn with lovely pool and usual facilities... also very clean and well run. We stayed to visit Sutton Hoo, only a five minute drive away, and one of the best examples of the National Trust work that I have ever visited. I look forward to staying again at Seckford.

Beautiful building inside and out -heritage well preserved - gardens rather lovely too. Small but entirely adequate bedroom overlooking front lawns - good blinds and curtains ensured outside lighting did not cause disturbance to sleep. Bed comfortable. Bathroom - appreciated the provided lovely toiletries. Breakfast - acceptable.

Clean ,comfortable and efficient staff. First class food.

Beautiful building, great food ideal for a Special treat. Staff attentive and polite.