Swinfen Hall

We got married here last month and whilst the venue itself ticked all the boxes for being breathtakingly beautiful, it really was the perfect wedding backdrop, however it a shame that we can't say the same for the staff and customer service which is the reason for my 1 star review. I won’t delve into every single detail of how much was spoilt for us on our wedding day due to the staff and pure lack of care from our wedding planner, else I'd be here all day! So I’ll start with a few positives because nothing can take away from the breathtaking building itself of Swinfen hall and its views; our pictures are stunning and the grounds are simply beautiful, perfect for a wedding and as soon as we viewed this venue we knew it was the one. The wedding planner at the time, Lucie was also one of the main reasons we chose and booked this venue. The communication and booking process was simply faultless with her; she was at our beck and call 24/7, answering our emails at all hours of the day, even when she was on annual leave! She never failed to let us down or hesitated to answer our 100s of questions most weeks; she was was simply amazing and the worst thing Swinfen Hall did was allow her leave because quite frankly she was the best thing at that place and devastated doesn’t even cut it when we found out she was leaving. Ever since Lucie left, straight away the communication plummeted, we were passed over to another wedding planner and we were assured she would look after us. I had read other reviews previous to developing my own opinion to the place and struggled to believe at the time that what I was reading could actually be true. These reviews spoke about the poor customer service, none-existent management, no communication, lack of care/empathy and how other weddings would have been a complete shambles without John- the master of ceremonies. Now, I have experienced what seems to be the 'norm' for this place, I can 100% agree and sympathise with these people because it is all completely true. The communication and customer service is basically non-existent; you cannot get in touch with anybody- ever! They give you all these means of communication, but why? the phone is never answered, whatsapps are read and ignored and emails are ignored. This was ongoing for about 6 months and we raised our concerns multiple times and eventually when our wedding planner did reply, there was always an excuse of 'lack of staff' 'systems being down' 'phones not working' etc. We gave her the benefit of the doubt and once we had eventually arranged our final meeting, everything was put into writing stating our final details of the day. The night before the wedding, everything was taken to the venue ready for it to be put out the next day. I sent a detailed message to her instructing where everything needs to be and she assured me she would take care of everything. The day of the wedding, we saw our wedding planner briefly in the morning and up until our receptio

Disgusting Do not go anywhere near this venue. The treatment we have received has been unimaginable. We booked our wedding with Swinfen whilst at their wedding showcase in January 2023. Our wedding date was booked and deposit paid in February 2023 for our wedding on October 12th 2024. We even went back with both parents to show them our venue. We then lost all communication, no emails were being responded to or calls returned for months. Yesterday my partner managed to get through to the phone which has been on answerphone for the longest time to be told all weddings for 2024 have been cancelled due to renovations. We had absolutely no idea, and they had no intention of telling us or retuning our deposit I’m not sure had we not been so persistent that we would have found out. To say we’ve hit the roof is an understatement we have lost 7 months of planning and money. the worst part by far is that they do not care, we were told we would receive a call today at 11 and have been ignored again since with no phone call. They 100% would have known back in January their plans to shut for 2024 so to hold a wedding showcase is beyond me. The sheer lack of empathy is heartbreaking, I adored this venue and have put some much money and time into the planning for there, we are losing so much more that just our wedding venue. I’m so heartbroken that this is what my wedding planning has turned out to be. Even if they renovate the place from the ground up the management, owners and staff will be the same and if they don’t care now, they won’t care about you in future.

The management was nonexistent, really, there was no management evident throughout the wedding weekend. Organisation was nonexistent. Fortunately the limited number of front of house staff who were on duty including John our toastmaster were heroic, and the kitchen staff produced beautiful food.

We arrived expecting the most sumptious lunch.We were offered drinks before we could even take our coats off,no offer of a drink at the bar instead we were ushered quickly through a pleasant room with log fire to a cold uninviting side room where other arrivals were putting their coats back on as it was so cold. On to the food,the canopies were dried up and flavourless,the starters were just about acceptable. Dont worry my partner said the main course will be something to remember,Wow ,i will never forget it,a half inch thick slap of dried up turkey,raw vegetables and roast potatoes,the sprouts were totally raw. Our previously ordered drinks arrived to be quickly followed by the barman with cash machine,we must have looked shady and they thought we were going to run off. The Christmas pudding arrived,it must have come from the same place as the turkey,dry and flavourless. What a disasterous lunch and all for the giveaway price of £350.00

Place is a joke. Staff half baked. Food shipped in and reheated. Toilets had been used...not cleaned. Never book your wedding here, it's such a disappointment. Owners/management ineffective, clearly all about the money, full of promises, but failing to deliver on every level.

As a photographer and video production company I've been here many times and it's a favourite venue of mine. The same key staff have been here for years which speaks volumes. I've done jobs here for top-flight Premiership football players. Beautiful inside and grounds are very photogenic all within easy reach. Summer or Winter, can't go wrong here.