Best UK hotel for families? Recommendations please

[camberwellbeauty]

Has anyone had a good UK hotel experience with children? I've got three children under ten and I'd like to take them to a hotel, preferably with an indoor swimming pool, in England or Wales at Christmas.

Any tips or recommendations would be really appreciated.

Thanks

[candj]

We've been to Ickworth Hotel in Suffolk several times and enjoyed it. It's a beautiful location and they have an indoor pool, kids club/nursery, older kids games room, pony riding and a spa for the grown ups. You can either stay in the hotel itself or one of their self-catering apartments. The hotel group have several locations around the UK. Have fun!

[amydown]

Babington House is amazingly equipped for childern and they even have a creche for over 1's. A bit pricey but they do last minute deals for non-members sometimes.

[dulwichmum]

I reviewed The Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire last year with my children - I have to say, my children prefer it to Disneyland Paris. They are not cheap, but I promise you, you will have a complete break and the kids will adore it.

They have a huge walled garden with an outdoor and indoor swimming pool, and a super creche/kids club. Last year they had a special package where they had decorated the hotel and walled garden in the theme of Narnia for Christmas. They did something similar for Halloween - to do with the Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. In the summer, they turn the walled garden into an inland beech with steel drums and a huge barbeque etc. They couple breaks for parents with full-on entertainment for the kids, so you could do wine tasting (or their spa which won the award for best spa on the planet last year in The Telegraph), your hubby could do photography and the kids could be having a chocolate fight in the kids club - my kids are still talking about it.

A recent offer of theirs is here

Here is some of the stuff I wrote about it at the time. I have reviewed lots and lots of family experiences and breaks and The Grove is by far the best I have come across.

[felt-tip]

we've been to Ickworth too and its lovely.

[SteveT]

My children thought the Nare Hotel in Cornwall the most enjoyable, it has both indoor and outdoor pool with a hot tub, and a wander down to the beach was a five minute walk away but a ten minute climb back.

They thought the food was excellent as they catered seperately for them and there were other children around of various ages to mingle with.

You could walk out of the hotel grounds through a gate straight onto farmland for cliff top walks without having to negotiate roads which was a plus.

The time we were there it was scorching hot and we hardly saw the kids except for meal times as they would amuse themselves with their new found friends.