Review of Hintlesham Hall, by Jamie Dunford Wood

The first thing to decide about staying in this hotel is how you are going to get there. Because although it is just a few miles from Ipswich and therefore within easy reach of London, the drive there can be a horror of roadworks, roundabouts and heavy congestion. If you're coming from elsewhere - the Midlands for example - you have no such worries. Otherwise take the train.

The approach up the short drive takes you to an impressive Georgian facade, but any thoughts of arriving in style are dashed as you are led around to a more modest reception block hidden behind shrubbery. Inside, the public rooms are a mix of grand and cosy as one would expect from an English country house hotel - but not overdone. They've managed to retain the feel of a home, with fabrics matched without too much care, fine rugs and collected antiques - partly the result of its private ownership. Parts of the house retain very old wainscotting, and in the library there is an antique painted wooden floor.

The theme continues in the rooms upstairs - no two the same, many with exposed beams, most of a decent size, with a variety of antiques and feature beadsteads - some upholstered, others with ornately turned bed posts. Carpets are slightly worn to match the well-used antiques - where in some hotels this might signify lack of care, here it reinforces the lived-in feel. No floor above the ground is level. The presence of any interior design, if it exists, has been discreetly disguised.

The best views are to be had from the main house rooms - a rather fussy grading system prices four types of double room from small through good sized and principal to large principal. The staff do their best to upgrade guests when the hotel is not full. Of the suites, the Braganza has the finest views over the lawns while there's a cosy Queen Ann suite on the second floor. For a good standard double, ask for Ribbon. Bathrooms are basic, but adequate - this is not super luxury, but homey-comfortable.

The same goes for the service, the man delivering room service soon appearing behind reception, later in the dining room and the next morning lugging furniture out of store rooms. As always, food is a major focus here, and the business of eating is given pride of place in the massive Great Hall, rather garishly decorated and more reminiscent of a school gym than a temple to gastronomy. But it is large enough to allow room between tables and to banish that curse of the English Country House Hotel - hushed dining. But in the cold light of breakfast you feel you're very late for class. As for dinner, one often longs in these hotels for simple brasserie fare - steak frites, eggs benedict, and at least something without 'jus'.

But large hotels with small amounts of rooms (this has 33) relies on local dining out trade, so kitchens need to produce feature food. Here they've gone as far as introducing small group tastings and cooking demos, which means every so often in the quiet of the morning a white stretch limo will pull up and deliver 12 secretaries on an incentive day out. Still, they've managed to avoid a Michelin star, with everything that does to the mix of clientele, but you need to eat carefully to avoid being kept up all night. A huge and extensive wine list, heavily annotated, also helps put the hotel on the local map. Finally a team of heavily-accented foreign guest workers - in this case French - are pitched in at the sharp end to complete the image.

There's plenty to do around here, in a lazy sort of way. Antiquing in Suffolk villages, walking on the strand at Aldeburgh, visiting famous churches and Constable country. There's even golf in the grounds, as well as a rudimentary gym and small pool and fitness centre, though the hotel is keen not to be seen as a resort, and the golf is kept separate. The hotel is popular with business people from Ipswich - the UK's mini-silicon valley - and domestic vacationers from London and the Midlands. What Americans do find their way here apparently like the fact they do not see too many of their compatriots. We know the feeling.

All in all Hintlesham Hall is not the most convenient place to get to, but it is an English country house hotel of character and without pretension in an interesting part of the country.