Hotels near Pakenham Water Mill, Bury St. Edmunds

From the front and on the website the hotel and rooms look amazing. To say I was slightly disappointed would be an understatement. I had a fabulous greeting and valet parking, which was lovely. I was escorted to my ”courtyard” room.... which from the outside looked like a storage cupboard, on a walkway by the road. The room was extremely small and very tired looking. One small window overlooking the smoking area. The rest of my group, 14 of us in total, were in the main hotel, huge rooms,big bright windows, copper baths, sofas. Very nice and a vast contrast to what I was put in. Quite disappointed.

We stayed here for two nights for my wife’s birthday. We have been here several times before but the last time many years ago. Room was lovely. A heritage room in the wool Hall end of the hotel. Lovely size. Fully equipped with tea and coffee, hot chocolate and biscuits. TV and desk. En-suite bathroom and shower and a built in wardrobe. Huge bed and a sofa and chair along with a coffee table. If you do stay here you are entitled to two hours a day free in the spa. If that’s your thing. We sat in the airman’s bar at lunch time on the first day. We hadn’t eaten so we had sandwiches as a light lunch. My wife had salmon with whipped cream cheese and I had a Ruben, both served with crisps and a side salad. All very nice. The barman Dave is a real find. Very good at his job and very knowledgeable. An excellent asset to the hotel. A real treat for us was honey roast chilli nuts on the bar. We ate far too many but they are very moreish. The only let down was the Gallery restaurant menu. Not a great selection of food. My wife didnt really fancy any of it and I wasn’t bowled over with enthusiasm so unfortunately we didn’t eat in there which was disappointing as we were looking forward to it. We had breakfast served in our room in the morning. There is an extra charge for this so be aware. Breakfast was wonderful. Fill in the menu at night, it’s picked up by the night shift and delivered at your chosen time. Food was really good. Full cooked English breakfast, cereals and juices. Tea and coffee, toast and preserves. All hot food was hot and all very fresh. Our stay was very relaxing and we really enjoyed the experience. The only down side was the restaurant menu. Sadly not our taste at all and we do eat out a lot so maybe a wider selection needed.