Seckford Hall

Built by a confidante to Elizabeth I, William Seckford, this well-preserved Jacobean mansion is a unique place to stay, tucked away down a cul-de-sac near Woodbridge amid bountiful grounds and rolling countryside. It has characterful and contemporary rooms,  a spa and pool and well-maintained gardens to stroll in – and it's also just outside one of East Anglia's most attractive towns in Woodbridge,  and very handy for touring the Suffolk Coast.

Seckford Hall has 32 guest rooms, most of them in the main house where some have four-posters that go back as far as the building. The best rooms overlook the gardens behind, and the most spacious rooms are ‘Courtyard’ doubles and suites converted from a series of outbuildings. Many rooms have baths as well as showers, all have tea and coffee-making facilities, Freeview TVs, White Company toiletries, and the higher end rooms have robes and are more spacious. Dogs are permitted in a couple of the Courtyard rooms, plus there is a proper family room here as well as two large suites that can easily accommodate a family. All in all, considering the nature of the building, its grounds and facilities, most of the rooms are great value for money.

The hotel's public rooms make for a great place to lounge about and do nothing for a while: there's the the wood-panelled Great Hall, where you can enjoy an atmospheric cream tea or just sit and read the paper, plus there's a cosy, low-ceilinged bar and a spruce 2 AA Rosette restaurant, 1530. The food and service here are more relaxed and up-to-date than you might expect, with a short menu of half a dozen starters and main courses, both refined enough for a special occasion and simple enough for a midweek dinner.

Just off the A12 outside Woodbridge, Seckford Hall couldn’t be easier to reach. Woodbridge has been voted as one of Britain’s best places to live numerous times in recent years and has lots of charm, indie shops and several good places to eat. It's also close to the Viking site of Sutton Hoo, Rendlesham Forest (Britain’s Roswell, for conspiracy theorists), Orford and its fish restaurants and some of the southern Suffolk coast’s most delightful spots.