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The Ickworth Hotel and Restaurant

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Where? Near Bury St Edmunds, a pretty Suffolk village on the south-east coast of England.

Isn't Ickworth a stately home? It's inhabited by the Hervey family, and its last incumbent was the seventh marquess of Bristol. He died in 1999, after squandering his inheritance on drugs and signing away the family's right to live there to the National Trust.

Sounds like Ickworth has seen its fair share of decadent living? The marquess used to host frequent parties during which he would feed venison from silver plates to his dogs and offer guests cocaine for pudding. He also used to fire bullets into a door for fun - the door is still there, peppered with charred bullet holes, but now it is preserved under Perspex.

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When did it become a hotel? The National Trust leased the East Wing to Luxury Family Hotels, which opened it as an upmarket hostelry last June.

Who goes there? A mixture of well-heeled Brits (Maclaren pushchairs are de rigueur) and awestruck Americans, seeking a taste of aristo life.

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Any celebs? Understandably, remaining members of the Bristol family - including 'It girl' Lady Victoria Hervey - are not rushing to sign the register but Claudia Schiffer, Angelina Jolie, Boris Becker and Pierce Brosnan have all been sighted in Bury St Edmunds.

What's the decor like? Antiques-with-a-twist. Each of the 27 guest rooms mixes ornate pieces of furniture with modern prints, goosedown duvets and TVs with DVD players.

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