My boyfriend and I stayed at the Mistley Thorn for two nights at the end of October, and loved every second. We both work long hours and were stressed and in need of a quiet retreat to spend time together... and the Mistley Thorn delivered exactly that! The food was amazing- my boyfriend is already talking about a return visit in the new year, so desperate is he for another meal! Great fresh seafood, beautifully and simply cooked. Great wine list. Fantastic breakfast. We had a room right at the top of the building with a great view over the water.... on a cold and wet weekend it was lovely to watch the water in the warmth of the room!
One of the the lovely members of staff let us have a little 'snoop' around the empty rooms one morning, and they were all different sizes and shapes, but I would have happily stayed in any of them.
The only complaint of sorts is that the bar area is not very welcoming/comfortable unless you are eating. We came down before dinner hoping we could relax for a little while with a drink and have a chat, but it was quite awkward as the staff were setting up for the dinner service and seemed surprised to see us.
All in all, we loved it, and are definitly planning to return in a few months (no sooner-- my waistline will suffer too much!).

I simply love this place, the room is clean, nice and, comfy! They have nice soaps and cream in the bathroom. They cook local food and the dinner is really nice, desserts are incredible and the hot breakast is amazing! The people are nice and they make you feel at home. Really good value for money!

We stayed for one night following a recommendation from a family member and were not disappointed. Our standard room was large and comfortable with a sizeable bathroom. All the amenities you could want - bathrobes, tea & coffee making facilities, nice toiletries, hairdryer and iron/ironing board. The only negatives - we were next to a laundry area and we were aware of the vibration of the washing machine - although the bed was comfortable with lovely linen, we felt that the mattress was coming to the end of its life as the edges were not that supportive.
Our stay was on a bed, breakfast and evening meal basis and we were very impressed with the food and service. The 3 course dinner was delicious and there were several options that we would have liked to have tried had we been staying for another night. The breakfast was also excellent apart from slightly overcooked poached eggs.
We really enjoyed the area around Mistley; the Stour estuary with its fantastic diversity of birdlife, Manningtree, where we visited the sister restaurant of the Mistley Thorn called Lucca (great Italian), Dedham with its lovely high street and church and lastly Flatford, the site of many of Constable's famous paintings including the Haywain.
The Mistley Thorn and the surrounding areas are definitely worth a visit.