Seckford Hall Hotel and Spa — Hotel in East Suffolk

Had a reasonably pleasant stay at Seckford. Most of the staff were very friendly and helpful, only met 1 staff member who was rude and unhelpful. It was a peaceful location, the building itself and the surrounding gardens were beautiful. I rate the location a 7/10, as you didn’t to travel far to feel in the countryside, but there was traffic noise surrounding and minimal walkability options. The cleanliness a 4/10, our room was dirty, the towels and cloths provided were soiled, the bathroom had mould, and the spa was pretty grim (a thick layer of filth in the pool and water). The amenities I would give a 4/10, as there is a lot in need of modernisation. There is not much to do there unless you play golf, or wish to go to the spa (which felt unclean and understaffed, there was no outside spa garden or hot tub - just a big pile of construction materials, despite the website saying differently.) Sadly I had to give this hotels accessibility a 1/10 - this is not an accessible hotel for those with disabilities, mobility issues, or those with visual impairment. Both inside the hotel, the car park and the majority of the gardens as well. There is a large number of steps (even on ground level), steep slopes, uneven surfaces and trip hazards. In my opinion the staff also need further training around this issue, because I was repeatedly put in a unsafe position inside the restaurant, I was first asked to sit in the middle of the restaurant, where there was no safe place to get up and down from my chair, and no where to safely leave my walking aids. This was incredibly frustrating as made me feel very unsafe and unseen. I did ask to move tables, but the exact same thing happened in the morning at breakfast. So for me the positives were the location, and the affordability of the Sunday night dinner, spa and breakfast package, as well as the peacefulnesses. But negatives were the lack of accessibility in and outside of the hotel. The rooms lacked privacy as you could see into the rooms through holes in the door. The cleanliness was very concerning. And the food was disappointing - our dinner was served with burnt bread, that was then microwaved, so turned rock hard, as a starter (we obviously didn’t finish this as we physically couldn’t tear any more pieces off). The main was ok but lacking both quality and quantity - we had one carrot between us but over half a plate of peas, the meat was dry and chewy, not to mention we had over an hours wait. The food at breakfast was worse - the eggs were undercooked and inedible, the beans were stone cold, only 1 slice of very dry bacon, and a fatty cheap walls sausage (despite menu saying butchers), the tea and coffee served at breakfast was genuinely vile, and for me undrinkable. When I tried to get a decent cup of coffee from the bar, I was told by a rather rude staff member that it was not possible and that no coffee was available until after 10 am because of the machine, and I would have to wait nearly 2 hours for a drink - and then offered no alternative, just huffed at me and stomped off. The other issues to note: the bathroom light was broken. Our bedroom wall sidelights didn’t work either, it was either the very bright main light or pitch black. Our rooms shower/bath tub drain was blocked, so it filled with dirty water when showering and drained very slowly. Also, the feminine hygiene bag dispenser was empty, and we had very little toilet roll in the room. From our room, most of the outside court area can see into the bathroom, bedroom (and bed!).. unless you close the curtains and plunge yourself into darkness. I didn’t take many pictures because I wanted to relax and enjoy my special trip (not obsess over the poor cleanliness and quality) but was able to snap a few pictures. Overall I felt this hotel was tired, in need of improvements, and felt more like a cheap old B&B, rather than a 4 star hotel. I think with a few upgrades, deep cleans, adjustments and modernisation this hotel could be spectacular, but this potential...

My wife and I held our wedding party for 85 guests at Seckford in August this year. After looking at several venues in Suffolk, we agreed Seckford was by far the one we liked the most.

Once our date was confirmed, we had several months to prepare, and the Seckford planning manager guided us throughout. We especially appreciated Grace, who was incredibly organised, professional, and always quick to respond to even our longer emails.

Pros

As part of the package, we were given seven rooms plus the bridal suite, including breakfast. This was really useful and the bridal suite was of exceptional quality. A number of our guests also used the spa in the morning and were not charged, so we assume this was included in the package.

The menu tasting earlier in the planning process felt like a full meal and a romantic evening out.

The quality of the food on the day was outstanding. Attention to detail was excellent — for example, plates with gravy were correctly warmed and water on the tables was constantly topped up without us asking.

The team catered exceptionally well for allergies and dietary requirements.

The wedding managers running the event were superb and always one step ahead — proactively inviting guests in for the meal, encouraging people to dance, getting everyone silent for speeches, etc.

Seckford itself is a simply stunning venue.

The tables for dinner looked beautiful and required very little extra decoration from us. We only provided flowers and place cards but the tables still looked stunning.

Cons

It was difficult to estimate how many bottles of red and white wine we needed in advance. We assumed that house wines would be kept in stock, so pre-ordering felt a little frustrating. Unused bottles aren’t refunded.

We received conflicting advice from different wedding planners. For example, one planner told us we needed to pre-pay a bar tab and that any unused balance would be kept by the bar. However, Grace — our final planner — arranged for us to simply be charged the actual bar spend at the end. We weren’t sure why different approaches were given with the latter being best.

Parking appears limited when you first arrive and some guests may need to park further up in the higher car park, which is accessed via an uneven driveway. This could be a challenge for elderly guests — ours had to be dropped off first before the car was parked. It would be helpful if Seckford could reserve a few accessible parking spaces.

There is no dedicated room for the band, so we had to use one of our guest bedrooms until they finished at 11:30pm.

Approximate Costs (for 85 guests) £15,000 including arrival drinks and canapés, main meal, red and white wine, apple juice, dessert, tea and coffee, after-dinner buffet, 8 rooms (including the bridal suite — which is more like a small cottage with a touch of luxury), and breakfast for all guests staying over. Bar tab: approx. £850 Room deposit: £300 (promptly refunded) Taxi-cost from Ipswich to Seckford: £18 one way

Conclusion We would highly recommend Seckford for a wedding or party and are confident we made the right decision. The level of service and care they put into the evening is second to none. If you are looking for a beautiful venue with personal and professional service, this is the perfect choice. We felt...

Relaxing, stress-free, enjoyable, these are all adjectives I imagine when thinking of a hotel & spa … and all antonyms of Seckford.

My family & I ‘celebrated’ (mourned) my mother’s birthday here. We ultimately leave more stressed than we arrived.

The pool was shut by 6pm so we didn’t use it and all spa facilities were closed, so this review is for the food service and extends to the general hotel service.

To set the scene: we arrive at the hotel restaurant, hungry, hopeful, optimistic after seeing year-on-year rosette awards at the restaurant proudly plastered all over the entrance (were these photoshopped?).

We place an order for a bottle of champagne, the one that was meant to be in our hotel room on arrival but wasn’t, and a glass of coke. We wait. After 30 minutes, with no sign of drinks, and no food menus in sight, 1 of us leaves the table to ask a waiter for anything to arrive.

Another 15 minutes pass. I leave the table to go and place the order again. 5 mins later, the wrong drinks arrive. We place our original order again for a third time.

1 hour in, the menus and right drinks arrive. To celebrate Easter, the restaurant decided to remove the supposedly rosette-worthy A La Carte dinner menu, and instead distribute Easter Lunch paper menus. Nothing says sophistication quite like a pixelated photo of a cartoon bunny and a Word Art style ‘Happy Easter’.

We place our order and wait another half an hour for food to arrive. At this point, we’ve bonded with the tables nearby, similarly begging to receive their order. Tactics have been shared: prioritise ordering 1 thing to increase its chances of arriving and being accurate.

Throughout, the ambiance consists of hearing ‘I am so sorry’ said like a record player by one of the waiters as they go round the room apologising for various mishaps.

The food finally arrives. I had ordered sea bass which comes with gnocchi and kale. I look down at my plate, confused, before foraging under the kale to affirm my suspicion: they had forgot to add the sea bass.

I think ordering a sea bass dish and having the plate arrive without sea bass accurately summarises our stay here: you expect and ask for one thing, and instead you get nothing.

Breakfast was a similar story of slow service, a sad single waffle instead of the advertised waffles, non-existent table service.

If you’re going to charge the prices you charge, a new training plan is needed for your staff with improved management. Things like asking if guests want water or checking to see where menus/food are or pouring coffee for you are expected if you pitch yourself as a semi luxury experience. If things go wrong, have senior management take accountability, don’t have a poor teenager go round parroting how sorry they are, get the manager to come and directly apologise, offer to make it up to you. Don’t hand out paper menus that look edited by a 6 year-old or serve Easter Lunch instead of an A La Carte dinner, don’t ask people to stick to a 7:30pm dinner arrival time if you won’t serve them until 9pm, and don’t act like everything is okay when it is absolutely subpar.

Mishaps are one thing, lack of accountability, sincere apology, and any attempt at decorum are another. Slash the prices or rewrite the entire system to...