The Oaksmere

East Anglia Suffolk Eye

  • From £109 a night
  • 14 Guest Rooms & Suites
  • Boutique Hotel
  • Country House Hotel

The perfect countryside weekend escape for jaded city-dwellers.

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It's always nice when someone with a vision comes along and rescues a tired old building that is long past its best, and that's exactly what happened when local businessman Fraser Duffin came upon this old North Suffolk country house a few years ago and gave it the treatment it deserved, renovating the rooms and the restaurant, and in general breathing life into what is now a rather wonderful old country house hotel, using local materials and local craftspeople in the process.  Fraser isn't finished yet: he's still busy renovating the kitchen garden and in time hopes to add more rooms and a permanent wedding venue. But already this lovely old building, which has an ancient Tudor core and a Victorian extension, boasts as comfortable and up-to-date a country vibe as you could ever wish for, with a cosiness that can’t help but make you relax.

Fraser likes people who come for the weekend, leave the car keys at reception and chill out good and proper. This involves making the most of the hotel's sumptuously equipped rooms, hanging out in the cosy, flagstoned bar, which doubles as the village’s main watering-hole, with a proper pub sign outside, sport on the telly and a decent menu of bar snacks and pub grub – perfect for meeting the locals. There’s a cooler but much less characterful cocktail bar on the other side of the entrance hall, which feeds through to a comfy lounge and the hotel’s slick but relaxed restaurant, which has a menu that is local, British and mainly meaty, using beef from the next door farm, local game and pork from nearby Blythburgh. In summer its windows open out on to a large terrace, beyond which lie the hotel's extensive grounds – perfect for a stroll after dinner.

As for the rooms, they are all different, with big windows and high ceilings in the Victorian wing and cosy beams in the Tudor part of the building – plus four more contemporary rooms in the old coachhouse, 2 of which have private terraces and are ideal for families. They’re all pretty contemporary, with bespoke headboards designed by the owner with knobs and buttons that control pretty much everything in the room – lights, music, a/c, even the window blinds. Each room also has tea-making facilities and Nespresso machines, complimentary biscuits and mineral water, a mini-bar and Sky TV. The bathrooms are well-equipped with rainfall showers and whirlpool baths in most of the rooms, robes and Elemis toiletries, and one of the downstairs coach house rooms has a wet room and can be adapted to cater for guests with limited mobility.

All in all The Oaksmere is a country house escape not far from London that doesn't stand on ceremony, and understands that jaded city-dwellers want nothing more than to chill out at the weekend. Jump in the car on a Friday night... and flop!

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Details

Open

Open all year.

Pricing

Double rooms and suites from £109 to £179 a night with breakfast.

Location

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Getting There

Access to the Oaksmere is through the front gates after which you follow the drive and signs to the car park. Exit is via the rear gates. Approaching from the south, follow the A140 and turn left at the Brome Swan onto the B1077, then turn immediately left into the Oaksmere entrance gates. From the north, follow the A140 to Brome and make a right at the Brome Grange on to the B1077 then immediately turn left into the Oaksmere entrance gates.

Features

  • Bar
  • Gardens & Grounds
  • Parking
  • Restaurant
  • Wifi

Looking For...

  • Dog-Friendly
  • Family Friendly
  • Five-Star Luxury
  • In the Sticks
  • Wedding Venue

As featured in

Cool Places: Britain's Coolest Places to Stay, Eat, Drink... and More!

A lavish full-colour guide to more than 200 of the very best places to stay in the UK – everything from boutique hotels and designer B&Bs to chic country cottages and luxury glampsites.

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Dog Friendly Britain: Cool Places to Stay with your Dog

A full colour guide, Dog Friendly Britain showcases the very best places to stay in Britain with your dog – everything from boutique hotels and cosy gastropubs to seaside B&Bs, country cottages and the latest glamping sites.

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What Customers say about Cool Places

Everything I needed for a stay

I'm already looking forward to going again and would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting the area. It definitely deserves a five star rating!

Nathan, Verified Customer

6 out of 5!!!!

This place was amazing… I could not recommend this place enough, I’ll be singing their praise for many years to come and we are going to book again soon.

Barbara, Verified Customer

Easy to navigate

Great site that offers a really broad range of places to stay across the UK. Easy to navigate and book holidays.

Patrick, Verified Customer

Such a great variety of properties

Found this website when looking to book a staycation for later in the year. Such a great variety of properties and the website is really easy to use. Already shared with my family and friends.

CT, Verified Customer

Great, simple, straightforward

Great, simple and straightforward. I will definitely be using Cool Places again.

SM, Verified Customer