The Ickworth Hotel & Apartments

Ickworth House may be one of the most venerable country estates in the country, but there's no standing on ceremony there. Built in the late eighteenth century, and famous for its central rotunda, which connects its two curved wings, Ickworth is a country house hotel par excellence – and more so than most because (almost uniquely) its aim is to make you, your kids, even your pets, feel as at ease and as at home as possible, and thus make everyone feel to-the-manor born at least for a few days.

Situated at the end of a very long drive, which winds through this 180-acre Ickworth estate from the pretty village of Horringer, just outside Bury St Edmunds, it was the home to the same family for almost 200 years – a colourful history that is well documented on its walls. The ancestral home of the Marquis of Bristol, it was a big party venue in its Edwardian heyday, hosting European royalty among others, until the 7th and last Marquis died well before his time, having frittered away the family fortune and it was entirely turned over to the National Trust and one of the wings was remodelled as a hotel (the rest remains under the purview of the National Trust).

There are 27 guest rooms in the main building, plus 11 'Lodge' rooms in the grounds and the 3-bed 'Butler's Quarters by the pool. They come in all shapes and sizes, and are all equally open to couples, families and their dogs, with a good choice of doubles, suites and family-sized rooms in the main house that can accommodate parents and up to three children. On the whole they are homely rather than posh: some are traditionally furnished, others more contemporary, but all are spacious and have large bathrooms, and the Lodge rooms especially are very versatile.

It  can also be nice to be short walk away from the main main house, not least because the grounds and gardens are gorgeous, and reason enough to stay here on their own. But there's also an indoor heated swimming pool too, located in the former stable block,  a series of spa treatment rooms in the basement, plus a creche and a games room, and a cinema showing family films that has been ingeniously created out of the old kitchen: everything you need, basically to de-stress while ensuring your kids are well catered for.

Plus of course the park and woodlands of the grounds are a fabulous, safe environment for families, with everything from a kids' playground to a tennis court, cycle routes and more. Don't get us wrong: Ickworth would make a very nice place indeed for a romantic coupley weekend away: the conservatory restaurant Frederick's is deliberately child-free, and you can just as easily have a romantic walk in the grounds as hare about like mad things.  But it is nice – and refreshing – that Ickworth doesn't keep its charms just for grown-ups.