Tuddenham Mill

SET BESIDE SLEEPY MEADOWS and a mill pond, Tuddenham Mill is a picture of rural Suffolk tranquillity. But behind those 200-year-old timbered walls, this rustic looking boutique hotel oozes metropolitan chic.

Step inside this mill with the mostest, and all is minimalist cool. Think weathered beams and sleek glass, lofty ceilings and vast beds, Italian pendolino lights and cubist sofas. Bedrooms flaunt curved Castello baths for two, while bathrooms gleam with chrome and oversized showers.

Late lunchers were still enjoying a post-prandial chaser on the sunny terrace outside the bar on the afternoon we arrived. A pair of swans were gliding across the millpond, while a heron flapped slowly across the bank opposite. It’s a picture of English rusticity, and kingfishers and deer are often spotted here.

Lavish loft suites

Understated colours – charcoal, taupe and stone – are set off with bold modern art and snowy bed linen. We loved our toasty fireplace inset in the wall, the huge windows framing tall trees and Suffolk pastures, and the giant sofa.

Our west-facing Loft suite had a sun-dappled terrace where we sipped a glass of vino watching the sun sink behind the fenlands, before sinking ourselves beneath the suds in our giant shell-shaped bath and – the ultimate decadence – watching the end of a movie on our widescreen telly. There was even a telescope for some serious star gazing.

It’s the little touches that add the big Tuddenham Mill pamper factor. Baths are stocked with Elemis lotions and potions, which guests are urged to take home. There’s a fridge stocked with fresh orange juice and chilled Chablis, a decanter of sloe gin, home-made fudge next to the ready-to-brew fresh coffee, and a Missoni dressing gown to snuggle into while playing chilled sounds on the Bose sound system.

Tuddenham Mill’s Four Loft suites offer the max in space and comfort. Standard Water Meadow rooms – many having double-ended baths – are also generously sized, opening on to a terrace area with open fields beyond. Rooms in the original Mill House have plenty of space and wood-beamed character, though are nearest the road so could be a tad noisy.

Tuddenham Mills sleek-n’-chic restaurant matches beamed ceilings and bare brick walls with smart furnishings in black and bitter chocolate. The original giant water wheel is now encased in glass as a reminder of the building’s industrial past. Sit by the window and watch the swans change colour as changing lights flicker over the water after dark.

Don’t want to dress for dinner? No worries – accommodating staff will happily serve supper or breakfast in your room. This is a place made for indulgence.

© Room for Romance