We’ve been reviewing staycations, getaways and holidays since 2008 and we have been fortunate to stay in some exceptional places. Very recently though, we got to stay in somewhere that we can only describe as magical. A truly special place, that we just can’t recommend highly enough.
That place, is The Farmstead Lodges in Suffolk.
Looking at the website before our trip, we could tell this place looked special, but no Instagram feed or website can quite paint the real picture of just how special it is. We’ll try to do that in this review though.
The Farmstead Lodges, Suffolk
The Farmstead Lodges are set in the heart of one of the UK’s most beautiful counties. Close to the magnificent town of Woodbridge, out in the countryside lies a large, wooden gate and hedgerows. Behind them, a gorgeous site with eight luxury self-catering lodges. And what made the site feel so special to us, was there is nothing else around. It feels, like a high-end retreat. We didn’t hear a peep out of our neighbours, other than for the daily “good morning’s” as we walked our dogs. Aside from that, we could hear birds, owls and a gentle breeze through the surrounding woods. Absolute bliss.
Now the lodge itself is what made this place so exceptional. Each lodge is a thing of beauty, entirely made of wood and absolutely beautiful. And this place deserves far more than five stars for the sheer attention to detail.
Now this is going to difficult to quantify, but every single thing has been thought of. In the kitchen, a fantastic aga awaits you. That’s positioned neatly next to a top notch Grind coffee machine. And with that, a VERY well stocked jar of coffee pods. No corners cut, here.
In the fridge, local milk.
Upon check-in, the radio is tuned to a chill out station and there is a bottle of red to welcome us. That’s alongside some super user-friendly instructions and a bowl for our dog.
There are magazines, a smart-tv with every app you can think of.
The lodge is stocked with products from Norfolk Natural Living, and that includes everything from shampoo, to hand-soap to washing up liquid. There’s just no expense spared, anywhere, on anything.
The bedding…the absolute best quality. We’ve stayed in some very luxurious hotels and yet nothing we’ve ever had has felt this good. Ever.
Two large guest rooms, a dining area, a living room, a brilliant kitchen… but that’s not all. Our lodge came with its own garden and best of all, a veranda. And what a veranda as well. Not only was it absolutely huge, it also had its own private, plumbed-in tin bath. That meant on our second night, we were able to soak, in privacy thanks to the curtain, outside, listening to owls.
I would say the whole place feels like a money-can’t-buy experience, but of course, it can. Which means you can sample it too.
Off the site, there is so much to do in the surrounding areas. We absolutely fell in love with Suffolk across our weekend stay.
After a heavenly night’s sleep, we got up early and headed to the bustling market town of Woodbridge. There, we found fantastic pubs, bakeries, shops and walks. To us, the place had a holiday feel to it; It was gloriously busy and everybody there was so friendly and proud to tell us what a fantastic town it is. Mave’s Tearoom, Honey + Harvey and “the UK’s best gastropub” The Unruly Pig are all worth a mention.
In the afternoon, we headed to the town where Ed Sheeran grew up, Framlingham. Hope to the incredible Framlingham castle – aka “the castle on the hill”. Again, here, we had a fantastic stroll and checked out numerous bakeries, pubs, and some brilliant gift shops. The Farmshop is a particular highlight.
By late afternoon, we were whacked, and our little Pomeranian was desperate to get back to the lodge, so we indulged him.
The kids loved flopping out on the large sofa, watching a movie, whilst us parents chilled on the veranda before making the most of that bath. Once the kids were asleep, we too sprawled on the sofa, enjoyed a movie and even more-so, the wine. Because the place is so relaxing, we had no issue cooking, and were happy-as-larry eating our dinner in such unique surroundings.
Again, we all slept like logs in our beautiful beds before making use of the very generously-sized walk-in showers. It was time to pack our things and with much, much sadness, we said goodbye to The Farmstead Lodges.
But our adventure didn’t end there, because just twenty minutes down the road was another absolute gem in the form of a brilliant little town called Aldeburgh. This delightful and unspoilt seaside market town quickly became a new favourite place of us. A sprawling pebble beach, excellent fish and chips, some brilliant bakeries… we spent a good few hours here, and rounded off our trip with some huge gelato ice-creams. We will definitely be back.
The Farmstead is an absolute sanctuary, away from the real world. Just being in the lodge felt like a treat. We were constantly saying to each other “just look at it” and we came home with tonnes of interior design ideas as well.
It feels like a place that we and the kids will always remember and always speak about fondly. There is no doubt that we want to return, and soon. We kept saying how we’d love to share it with another family, it is so large, so luxurious and so cosy. It felt like an absolute escape, a place where time stands still and you get to live in a place surrounded by beautiful nature – and yet, it feels like absolute luxury.
We’re not exaggerating when we say it’s one of the best places to stay in the UK and we can’t rate it highly enough.
For full details see https://www.thehotelguru.com/hotel/the-farmstead-suffolk where rates start at only £192.
