The Bell Inn

United Kingdom , Ipswich
DISS , The Street
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50 reviews shown

8/10

Excellent

13 Apr 2026

Jane

Good location for an overnight stay.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Mar 2026

Lee

Lovely hotel

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

02 Feb 2026

Georgia

Staff were great, room was overall lovely and clean but coffee and kettle was dusty and few bits in the room that was a little run down hence the 4 stars.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

01 Feb 2026

Philip

The room was spotless, as was the entire hotel. All staff were very good as well. One small gripe, there was a booklet in the room about the Bell Inn, sadly the cover was sticky! But this did not detract from a very pleasant stay.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

12 Jan 2026

Rosalind

Good service, location and food.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

22 Nov 2025

Kim

Lovely clean room, very friendly staff

Partner

8/10

Excellent

17 Aug 2025

Peter

Nice place to stay. We ate dinner and breakfast there as well as stayed. The dinner was lovely. I felt the continental breakfast was a bit of a let down. They didn’t replace empty items for a long while, and I noticed people coming in to find no bowls or some items of food. Appreciate there weren’t that many staff in at the time but need to keep an eye on that. Cooked breakfast looked good.

Room was very hot and had to have the window open all night (which wouldn’t stay in place and kept blowing open and shut with the breeze), didn’t cool the room down much at all, I don’t think this was weather related, it was just a very hot room. Luke warm shower and it took ages to get any warm water to wash in the sink. Bed very small for two adults. Our friend lucked out and had a huge bed to himself. Appreciate we just booked a double room and not king size but still a little disappointed in the room itself.

Overall it was a great stay despite a few niggling things. We enjoyed the bar and dining facilities . Would we stay again? Absolutely. Lovely location and despite being situated in a busy road it was very quiet.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

16 Aug 2025

Karen

Excellent hotel in heart of New Forest

Room was good and food and service excellent. We have stayed before as ideally situated near to Beaulieu where we attended a car show

Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 Jul 2025

James Skip

At check-in they didn't have me down as a client. The clerk was very nice but had to make up a room for four. The rollaway metal beds were awful, mattresses were thin and the bed was small. Not a good nights sleep for the kids.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jun 2025

Amanda

Quiet location. Restaurant and bar was fabulous. Room had all we needed. Thank you

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Apr 2025

Mark

Unplanned stay, since our original spot didnt work out..
It turned out to be a lucky break.
The area, New Forest, is beautiful, with ponies roaming wild, and an excellent pub across the road.
Staff were helpful and rooms comfortable.

8/10

Excellent

02 Feb 2025

Ben

A lovely stay. The only downside was radiator in the room wasn’t working, so a little cold.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Sep 2024

Daniel

Great place expensive brekkie

Great place but breakfast is massively overpriced. One option of paying £29.99. Weather you want a limited continental or just scrambled eggs in toast it’s one price. Quite archaic.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jun 2024

Timothy

The area and the hotel was really nice

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jun 2024

Verified traveler

Very nice room, all well appointed and very clean. Hotel had a very nice atmosphere with extremely helpful, friendly and efficient staff

Self

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jun 2024

RICHARD

An excellent overnight stay with a very good sized room. The food was too a very high standard and a good choice from the menu.
Only issue I had was the bathroom was very hot despite the towel rail was not on and could not see how to turn the heating off , this is a minor issue but would recommend this hotel to anyone staying nearby

Business Self

4/10

Poor

27 May 2024

Ben

Unfortunately, a massive disappointment. Room was supposed to be a deluxe for four, could barely fit one bed in. Food & breakfast overpriced, room too warm, music playing from upstairs till late at night. One nice lady on reception; one rude with a poor attitude. TV in room didn’t work. This is a 2-star hotel really. I would expect a partial refund for what we experienced.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

18 Feb 2024

Philip

Constructive Feedback

The Reception of guests on arrival and during one’s stay is vital for establishing a warm welcome and stay. Both Shirley and Kayleigh are very professional and did that throughout our stay. Please pass our thanks onto both of them.
If you would like some constructive feedback please encourage and guide the younger young lady who was on reception when we first arrived early for some advice and assurance prior to our 3.00 pm arrival that afternoon to our booked room
Who greeted us with a disinterested “ Hello” and who took some time for me to extract a smile. I’m sure she has great potential.
Thomas was and is also Excellent and carried our cases to the room, managed the bar with aplomb and made us so welcome for meals and finding us the right table.
I hope the above is useful feedback and we look forward to returning again.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

23 Oct 2023

Leah

Nice stay

Nice stay: friendly staff, room nice but nothing too special and quite hot so wouldn’t want to stay in summer, pretty location but not walking distance to any cafes/villages etc.

Quite baffled that the breakfast was £50 (£25pp) which was more than the beef Sunday roast….?!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

18 Oct 2023

John

All round excellent stay

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

20 Jul 2023

Robert

Everything about the Hotel was good BUT DONT STAY IN ROOM 18 as the vent for the kitchen is very noisy and goes 24 hours a day

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Apr 2023

Vikramaditya

Staff were brilliant. Also spa facilities and gym are nice. Turndown service did not refresh the room amenities like coffee, drinking water etc.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Nov 2022

Mark

Excellent hotel for a short New Forest break

The hotel is lovely with horses and donkeys wandering around across the street. The staff were all lovely and very welcoming - we stayed with our cocker spaniel and could eat and drink at some nice tables near the log fire. The hotel provided dog treats and water bowls. The food was very good with a chestnut and wild mushroom gnocchi being a favourite. Room and beds very comfortable and decent Wi-Fi throughout.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

06 Sep 2022

KAREN

Very clean, friendly staff, quiet, lumpy bed mattress and old carpet and furniture.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Sep 2022

Andrew

Overnight Stop in the New Forest

Lovely hotel in a lovely location

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jul 2022

Vince

Great place. breakfast was soooo good

Business

10/10

Exceptional

10 Mar 2020

Robert

Simple easy stay

Great stay. A clean, comfortable and nicely laid out room. Great food and good service

Business

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Good location, friendly staff and good food and drink options. Would stay here again.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Everyone was so friendly and we were upgraded for free the dinner was superb

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Sep 2019

Verified traveler

Excellent

I loved how doggy friendly the hotel was, they made me and my pooch very welcome and nothing was too much trouble.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Sep 2019

Elvio

Comfortable room, fabulous restaurant. Nothing bad to say about this hotel.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

13 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

It was a lovely room in lovely settings, and the food 5* best meal I have had in a long time

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

11 May 2019

Verified traveler

The old features of the property have been stripped away leaving it bland. Especially the bedrooms. There were staffing issues in the restaurant. Restaurant empty in evening. Breakfast service poor. Food good apart from soggy white toast. Hairdryers on bedrooms old fashioned and poor. General feeling of second rate product.

Leisure Pet

8/10

Excellent

29 Apr 2019

MICHAEL

the bedrooms and bathrooms are in need of some serious maintenance, the restaurant and other areas are good and the food was excellent

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Apr 2019

Alexander

Great base to explore the new forest from!

Lovely place. Amazing food, friendly Staff, comfortable Room.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Apr 2019

Margaretha

Almost perfect

Fantastic place to stay. The staff are super friendly, especially on reception! I can’t fault it.
Only wish the pillows weren’t so thick.

Friends

8/10

Excellent

12 Oct 2018

Verified traveler

First and foremost, the food is excellent. Completely delicious and worth going back for. The decor throughout the downstairs is lovely, but (and this is a big BUT) the lighting in the restaurant is so bright that it kills all the ambiance. Bottom line: we would not go back for that simple reason. It's not a cheap place to eat by any standard, and therefore you want it to be cosy and a bit romantic too. It definitely wasn't. Not saying you could operate in there, but you might at a pinch....
The staff were excellent from start to finish. Full stop.
Our room, number 16, was on the front which, although it was right on a fairly noisy road, must still have beat the back which just overlooks the car park. On the plus side, we saw donkeys wander by in the morning, which was magical. The room itself was comfortable and spacious. For some strange reason there were 2 bath towels for 2 people, but just one hand towel - both days we were there. Never had that before. Odd.
Main bug bear was no space to put out toiletries in the bathroom, and it would have been nice to have a small coffee table in the bedroom.
All in all a pleasant inn, but a few things to iron out.

10/10

Exceptional

21 Sep 2018

Verified traveler

Room good - disappointed there was no bath unlike the smaller rooms upstairs.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

04 Sep 2018

Alan

Lovely hotel in the middle of the New Forest.

We spent two nights in this out of the way hotel. Nice room, great breakfast, helpful staff. Plenty of parking.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

29 Jun 2018

Brenda

All day AND night long, the traffic was FAR too noisy in our bedroom. Also, we had to be careful not to bang our heads on the low level ceiling at one side of the bed. Staff & breakfast very good.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Apr 2018

Nathan

Amazing Hotel

Amazing stay, The hotels in such a great area and has animals roaming round the grounds freely which was amazing to see.

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jan 2018

Vicki

Lovely hotel. Great weekend break.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

30 Dec 2017

Monika

Nice village with great walks and country side

Very cosy hotel in nice location. Dinner was delicious and breakfast rather nice, too. We enjoyed our stay.

6/10

Pleasant

28 May 2017

Rachel

Nice hotel but extremely expensive.

Stayed as I was attending a wedding nearby. Had a single room with a single bed in for £79. Extortionately expensive for a single room and no breakfast. I won't be staying again.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 May 2017

Jennifer

A lovely Olde Worlde Hotel

A lovely olde worlde hotel. The room was newly decorated and extremely comfortable, although it would have benefitted from blackout curtains, as the sun streamed in from 5a.m. The staff were polite and pleasant, The bar was very welcoming. I didn't eat there, so cannot comment on the dinner service but the buffet breakfast was perfectly acceptable but would have been improved by the addition of fresh fruit. The garden was very nice. I would be happy to stay there again. I thought it was good value for money.

10/10

Exceptional

07 May 2017

Verified traveler

Excellent facilities. Excellent staff.

Road a bit noisy...this is not a quiet forest road.

6/10

Pleasant

18 Apr 2017

Tessa

Lovely setting. Bit disappointed about noise from continuous traffic. And my bed was not comfortable it wS a single and had a large dip in it. The other bed which my son had was fine.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

11 Dec 2016

Anthony

OK but not again.....

Nicely positioned for the New Forest. Shame that this hotel could not cater for vegetarians at breakfast, even though they reckon they can! Seemingly vegetarian sausages in the freezer but the staff were unaware that there were there........Sort of spoiled the breakfast experience, as the service was great. Our room was very hot and not as large as the website photo suggested. We were also over the bar which meant music and a Friday night party all came through the floor.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

28 Nov 2016

Duncan

LOVELY HOTEL BUT LET DOWN BY THE RESTAURANT

Arrival and check in was nice and simply done by a very pleasant young lady on reception.
The room was spotless, comfortable and extremely well presented.
However...... our stay was completely let down by the restaurant!!!
We had a table for four booked for 2030, we arrived on time had a pre dinner drink and was seated on time. Whilst looking at the menu we were aware that the party on the next table we're really not happy with their meals and either exchanged or simply sent back their order. We ordered starters which were all ok but nothing special and between us for mains we ordered 2 wild boar schnitzels, the beef medallions and a venison pasty. We are not convinced that the meat was wild boar as it was very light in colour and not at all 'gamey' tasting and was very white like normal pork!!! The venison pasty was way over cooked and extremely dry. The beef medallions were the only acceptable dish of the four. All dishes were serve delicious on cold plates and were served before the starters were taken away which meant we then had to wait for cutlery etc to arrive. Two of the desserts chosen were nice enough but the cheese selection was way of fun the mark, £9 for a very small selection of cheese served only with 9 cream crackers for two people to share!!! Also we were moaned at by the waitress about how long she's had been up and on her feet all day and at what time she would staring again the following morning..... not of our Inverness!!!!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

14 Nov 2016

Alistair

Great room, food, and service, only 1 small issue

Great hotel, stayed here a few times now with work and always happy when I get word that we are eating and staying here again.

Only slight issue would be the door to my room (loft rooms No 30) let's lots of light in from hallway and throughout the night so had to put towel down to block it out.