Hotels near St John the Evangelist, Bury St. Edmunds

The Ickworth gave us the ‘Ick’! It was such a disappointment, a real Halloween halfterm horror. This is the fourth FLH hotel we have visited and was definitely the poorest. Our first disappointment was being housed in an outhouse, a drive away from the main house. It was shabby and uncared for, right from the outside which didn’t inspire confidence. Both house and room had broken doors which didn’t start the stay well. The family room reminded me of student digs. They were nothing like the website. They were dirty, smelly and dated. No hot water on the first morning. Beds and windows were broken. Daily room service was terrible, no hoovering and dusting. By day 3 with of the four of us sharing it was gross but the in-house bugs liked it. Restaurant was chaotic, hot, poor and expensive. It is spread over three rooms so difficult to get any table service. Breakfast buffet was often empty and dimly lit so it was hard to see the food on offer. The staff were very young and untrained. Nothing arrived at the table together and we were always waiting 30-60mins for food. Windows were filthy and the one vase I saw of fresh foliage was full of dead leaves in dirty water. Chairs were faded and covered in food stains, as was the carpet. We stuck it out for half our stay then left. The senior management were very attentive when we complained. They seemed unsurprised and resigned to our comments about the poor state of the hotel. They said it is due a refurb soon but management needs a refresh too. Left feeling robbed, disappointed and sorry for all the families get to get through halfterm there. We were refunded some of our bill at least:(