David Hollander

Review of Heythrop Park Resort

Sadly while this is an amazing venue at least last...

Sadly while this is an amazing venue at least last weekend when we stayed most of the staff must have been on holiday!! A very pleasant and efficient check in for a big group, the rooms ok, probably smaller than a Premier Inn but clean and a great walk in shower but after that was all downhill. Trying to get (an expensive) drink in the bar when one guy trying to supervise but effectively totally confusing the two younger team members who were trying their best one getting drinks the other making coffee, took forever and really they obviously had no bar experience or training so not really their fault. Our evening barbecue (was it?) food was average at best, tiny chicken drumsticks, burgers that were unrecognisable as such, a shortage of plates and when the very small deserts ran out friends were served profiteroles that were still frozen in the centre. My wife enjoyed the pool and spa the following morning while we had the morning out. On our return the same disorganised chaos at the bar and an expensive but awful sharing platter to keep us going. The Saturday evening do started better, the food was ok when it arrived, again far to few servers and only one director of operations for a couple of hundred people one table at a time. It was lamb, no mint sauce on the table. We did ask for and the time it took to arrive we had almost finished, someone must have been sent out to Waitrose!! Desert ok but again so long and trying to get a coffee a complete farce. Far too few waiting staff, ran out of saucers and teaspoons by the time they got to us and I managed to get half a cup of luke warm coffee. Could have been a great event but where was the organisation that should go hand in hand with a what advertises itself as an event venue? The last straw for a number of our group who had actually paid to upgrade to better rooms was when from midnight a very noisy crew started to remove furniture, cutlery etc out to a waiting van all the time making a lot of noise. After a phone call to reception it stopped for a while then recommenced even worse only quieting down at three in the morning!! Certainly no sleep for anyone on that side of the building!

Could have been great. Perhaps our group was just too big? Perhaps something you need to consider before booking this venue. I wouldn t go back again.