点评:Carparking
When we drove into the castle grounds, we experienced complete congestion; cars were reversing, cars were turning, and returning cars were driving towards us, we were blinded by headlights! People were walking between the cars, looking for parking spaces - it was dark, and it was utter chaos. There was no signage and no one there to direct us.
We stopped the car to ask a member of staff where we should park - before we could speak, we were told ‘you can’t park there’, (I absolutely knew that! That was the whole point of stopping – to ask where we should park! ) we were told park on the road as they’ll be plenty of spaces there! This was not the welcome I had been expecting.
Welcome drinks
By now it was nearly 7:10pm. As we walked up the stairs and entered the building it was clear that the event staff were a bit behind schedule; they were fluffing around inside, and it looked as though they were unsure what they were doing. We approached a young man with a tray of drinks. He then offered us an alcoholic welcome drink and then requested we move to the side room as he didn’t want us to blook the corridor. As my husband doesn’t drink, he enquired if there were non-acholic drinks available, my husband was told no, and that if he wanted a non-acholic drink he would have to go up to the bar area and request one.
I had actually paid to have five non-alcoholic beverages on our table for dinner - so one assumes the Event Manager was aware that there would be some people attending the event that do not drink alcoholic beverages. To tell my husband that if he wanted a non-alcoholic beverage he was to go up to the bar and get it himself was appalling and made worse by the fact that my husband has had two replacement knee operations and finds stairs challenging at times. Why was there not a selection of both acholic and non-alcoholic drinks available for guests upon arrival?
Dining area layout – cramped – Health and Safety issues
The dining area/room was cramped, tables were squashed together, and the room was very stuffy. Our Table – table 8 had been placed on the dance floor, along with another table, seating 10 guests. Four of the chairs on our table including my own, had a chair leg balancing on the metal edge of the dance floor – this was dangerous and fearing the chairs may lose balance, my guests and I had to stand up and move the table more into the middle of the dance floor away from the edge. Fortunately, there was just about enough space for us to do this. This was clearly a health and safety risk – when setting out tables these sorts of hazards should be looked for and avoided.
Whilst serving the food the waiters had to to squeeze between my guests’ chairs. On three occasions two my guests had their chair knocked by a waiter, whilst they were eating their food, as the waiter tried to squeeze past. This was unacceptable, and I was highly embarrassed by this.
Was there a risk assessment undertaken for this event – I fear not?
Waiting on the tables
It was obvious when the waitresses and waiters brought out the food, they had had very little training. Our table was in the centre of the room (on the dance floor!) and at one point we were surrounded by waiters wanting to place food on our table, which was intended for Table 4.
When our food did arrive, we didn’t know whether we were moving to the left or to the right for our plate to be placed on the table and at one point, we had two plates pushed between myself and my husband at the same time. It was so busy, and it was not easy for the waiters to move freely around the room as the tables were placed so close together, it was difficult for them. Our guests all agreed it was also very disconcerting having to watch the lady in charge with her hand held radio walking up and down the room directing the waiters, and talking presumably to the kitchen staff at the same time – I’m not suggesting that this is something that should not happen but it should have been undertaken more discreetly, it did not seem very professional at all and was quite off putting when eating.
It was certainly not an enjoyable experience for our guests either as they were unable to relax and enjoy their meal with so many waiters pushing between the tables. In my opinion the room was set up for more guests than there should have been for the size of room. It was not a pleasant experience for most guests, and I am sure we will not be alone in complaining about this.
Food – quality and presentation
Regarding the food the starters were enjoyable and nicely presented. The main course, however, was very disappointing and far from the Turkey ‘Wellington’ I was expecting.
The menu itself was very misleading and gave the impression we would be served a Turkey, leek and cranberry Wellington, however what we received was Turkey, and a leek and cranberry Wellington. Not quite the same thing!
My guests and I had all ordered turkey as the man course, and we were of the same opinion; it was not pleasing to look at - it looked processed and like it had come straight out of a tin, just like spam and to be honest the gourmet cat food I give my Ragdoll looks more appealing. The turkey itself was dry, there was very little gravy or puree on the plate to enhance the palate, I personally had the smallest twig of broccoli and the leek and cranberry Wellington, looked more like a tart. Other guests on our table, who were not members of our party; were of the same opinion, we found this out when we spoke to them after our meal.
People Leaving – table cleared
As we were being served our main course the event manager come over to our table and told us we would need to vacate our table when we finished, so that the table could be quickly cleared and removed from the dance floor. We were told deserts would be served in another room and we could go in there. Focusing on the food that was in front of us we didn’t get the chance to question this, although we were not happy about it. Then as we were eating our meal the people that had been sat at the other table next to us on the dance floor, got up and walked out, leaving their food on the table, untouched - clearly something wasn’t right, and this was quite unsettling. Moments later the plates of food were taken away, and the table was cleared. This did not make for a pleasant environment.
Standing room only!
As soon as we had finished eating, we were reminded to pack up our drinks and move out of the room. This time we had the opportunity to ask where else we would be seated. We were told there was no room for another table or chairs, so basically, we were being told we had to stand! Why did I pay the same price as others attending the event when my guests and I had to spend the rest of the evening standing?
We moved into the room where the desserts were, bucket of beers, and wine under our arm. We had no choice but to take it with us as there was nowhere else to put it.
The desserts looked amazing but unfortunately did not taste as good as they looked and to be honest it wasn’t pleasant eating the dessert standing up, straight after a main course!
We complained about not having a table and somewhere to sit. But no one seemed interested. Eventually we were told we could have a high table for our drinks; bearing in mind there were 10 of us at our table. Sure, it’s fine to offer a table, to put our drinks on but where were we all going to sit? And where were we expected to put our belongings, bag, phones etc? No consideration was made for this at all. Also, my husband cannot stand for long periods and although not registered disabled has a disability. No one seemed interested when I mentioned this, the Event Manager said there was nothing she could do.
Why did no one mention to me at the time of booking, that my guests and I would only have a chair and table to sit at whilst we ate our starter and main course, or to ask us if anyone in our party was disabled or had a disability and check if this was likely to be an issue.
At no time did anyone advise us that we had been allocated a table on the middle of the dance floor, and we would have to vacate that table straight after our main course.
We also didn’t even have a chance to sit and chat and get to know the rest of the people on our table after our meal, as you would expect to. The whole thing was appalling and completely unacceptable.
Finally, after about an hour, a small high table was placed by the corner of the dance floor, and our drinks were placed on to it. The table was not stable and when another guest knocked the table when walking passed, my glass of wine fell over spilling wine on to the floor. I then had to go to the bar to get another drink – I explained the situation to the manager and was offered a glass free of charge, and quite rightly so.
We sent a complaint to the manager and our comments have been completely disregarded. The only response we had was that guests sat at tables on the dance floor are offered free drinks and a posier table. We were most certainly not offered free drinks ! We have since written again asking for a refund of our drinks purchase - three weeks have passed and we are still awaiting a response. As for the posier table with two tall chairs - this was no way going to accommodate the 10 guests at our table. Would i visit this venue again - NO!!! Not unless there is a change of management and they have experience organising proper events. Don't waste your money there in 2026!!
翻译:停车
当我们开车进入城堡时,遇到了严重的交通堵塞;车辆倒车、转弯,还有迎面驶来的车辆,刺得我们睁不开眼!人们在车流中穿梭,寻找停车位——当时天色已黑,一片混乱。没有任何指示牌,也没有人指引方向。
我们停下车,想问问工作人员应该停在哪里——还没等我们开口,就被告知“不能停在那里”(我当然知道!停车的目的就是为了问问应该停在哪里!)。他们告诉我们停在路边,那里有很多停车位!这可不是我期待的欢迎方式。
迎宾酒水
这时已经快晚上7点10分了。我们走上楼梯,进入大楼,很明显活动工作人员有点忙乱;他们在里面踱来踱去,看起来好像不太清楚自己在做什么。我们走到一位端着一托盘饮料的年轻人面前。他随后给我们提供了一杯含酒精的迎宾饮品,然后要求我们移步到旁边的房间,因为他不想让我们在走廊里走动。由于我丈夫不喝酒,他询问是否有不含酒精的饮品,得到的答复是没有,如果他想喝不含酒精的饮品,就得自己去吧台点。
事实上,我晚餐时已经付了五杯不含酒精的饮品的费用——所以可以推断,活动经理应该知道会有一些客人不喝酒。告诉我丈夫,如果他想喝不含酒精的饮品,就得自己去吧台点,这简直令人难以置信,更糟糕的是,我丈夫做过两次膝关节置换手术,有时上下楼梯都很困难。为什么活动开始时没有为客人提供含酒精和不含酒精的饮品呢?
餐厅布局——拥挤——安全隐患
餐厅/用餐区非常拥挤,桌子挤在一起,房间里很闷。我们的8号桌被摆放在舞池中央,旁边还有另一张桌子,一共坐了10位客人。我们桌上的四把椅子,包括我的,椅腿都悬在舞池的金属边缘上——这很危险,担心椅子会失去平衡,我和客人不得不站起来,把桌子挪到舞池中央,远离边缘。幸运的是,我们勉强够用。这显然存在安全隐患——摆放桌椅时,应该注意并避免这类危险。
上菜时,服务员不得不从客人的椅子间挤过去。有三次,两位客人在用餐时,因为服务员试图挤过去,撞到了他们的椅子。这令人无法接受,我为此感到非常尴尬。
这次活动是否进行过风险评估?恐怕没有。
餐桌服务
服务员端菜的时候,很明显他们几乎没有接受过任何培训。我们的桌子在房间中央(就在舞池边!),一度我们被一群服务员围住,他们都想把菜放到我们这张桌子上,而这张桌子原本是给4号桌的。
菜终于上来了,我们不知道该往左还是往右挪才能让服务员把盘子放到桌子上,甚至有一次,我和我丈夫之间同时被塞了两个盘子。当时餐厅里非常拥挤,桌子摆放得又近又密,服务员很难自由走动。所有客人都一致认为,看到那位拿着手持对讲机的女主管在房间里来回走动,指挥服务员,同时似乎还在和厨房工作人员交谈,实在令人不安。我并不是说这种做法不应该发生,但应该更加低调一些。这种做法显得非常不专业,而且在用餐时也让人很不舒服。
对于我们的客人来说,这绝对不是一次愉快的用餐体验,因为很多服务员在餐桌间穿梭,让他们无法放松地享受美食。在我看来,就房间的大小而言,容纳的客人数量似乎过多了。大多数客人的用餐体验都不愉快,我相信我们并非唯一对此感到不满的客人。
食物——品质和摆盘
关于食物,开胃菜味道不错,摆盘也很漂亮。然而,主菜却非常令人失望,与我期待的火鸡“惠灵顿”相去甚远。
菜单本身非常具有误导性,让人误以为我们会吃到火鸡、韭葱和蔓越莓惠灵顿,但实际上我们只吃到了火鸡和韭葱蔓越莓惠灵顿。这完全不一样!
我和我的客人们都点了火鸡作为主菜。我们意见一致;这道菜卖相不佳——看起来像是加工食品,直接从罐头里拿出来,就像午餐肉一样。说实话,我给我的布偶猫吃的高级猫粮都比这好看。火鸡本身很干,盘子里几乎没有肉汁或酱料来提升口感。我个人只吃了一小根西兰花,而韭葱蔓越莓惠灵顿看起来更像个馅饼。我们桌上的其他客人(并非我们一行人)也持相同意见,我们在餐后与他们交谈时得知了这一点。
客人离席——餐桌清理
在我们享用主菜时,活动经理来到我们的桌边,告知我们用餐完毕后需要离开,以便尽快清理餐桌并将其从舞池移走。他们告诉我们甜点会在另一个房间供应,我们可以去那里享用。我们当时只顾着眼前的食物,根本没机会质疑这件事,尽管我们对此很不满意。用餐时,隔壁桌(舞池边)的客人起身离开,把食物留在桌上,一动不动——显然出了问题,这让我们很不安。片刻之后,餐盘被收走,桌子也被清理干净。这实在让人难以接受。
只能站着!
我们刚吃完饭,就被提醒收拾饮料离开房间。这次我们终于有机会询问接下来的座位安排。得到的答复是没有地方再放桌椅了,也就是说,我们只能站着!我付了和其他客人一样的价钱,却要和他们一起站着度过剩下的夜晚,这算什么?
我们只好走到摆放甜点、啤酒桶和葡萄酒的房间。我们别无选择,只能把它带走,因为没有其他地方可以放。
甜点看起来很棒,但可惜味道却不如预期。说实话,主菜之后站着吃甜点实在不太舒服!
我们抱怨没有桌子和座位,但似乎没人理会。最后,他们说可以给我们一张高脚桌放饮料;要知道我们桌上可是有十个人呢。当然,提供桌子放饮料没问题,但我们坐哪儿呢?我们的行李、包、手机等等又该放哪儿?他们完全没有考虑这些。另外,我丈夫不能长时间站立,虽然他没有登记为残疾人士,但他确实有残疾。当我提到这一点时,似乎没人关心,活动经理说她也无能为力。
为什么预订时没有人告诉我,我和我的客人只能在享用前菜和主菜时坐在桌椅上?也没有人询问我们一行人中是否有残疾人士,并确认这是否会造成不便?
没有人告知我们,我们被安排在舞池中央的桌子旁,而且主菜结束后必须立即离开。
我们甚至没有机会像往常一样,在用餐后坐下来和同桌的人聊聊天、互相认识一下。这一切都令人震惊,完全无法接受。
大约一个小时后,终于在舞池角落摆放了一张小高脚桌,我们的饮料也放在了上面。桌子很不稳,另一位客人走过时碰到了桌子,我的酒杯翻倒了,酒洒了一地。之后我不得不去吧台再点一杯酒——我向经理解释了情况,经理免费给了我一杯,这当然是理所应当的。
我们向经理投诉了,但我们的意见完全被忽视了。他们唯一的回复是,坐在舞池边的桌子旁的客人可以享受免费酒水和更舒适的桌子。我们当然没有享受到免费酒水!之后我们再次写信要求退还酒水费用——三周过去了,我们仍在等待回复。至于那张配有两把高脚椅的舒适桌子——根本容不下我们桌上的10位客人。我会再去这家店吗?绝对不会!!!除非换了管理层,而且他们有组织正规活动的经验。2026年了,别再浪费钱去那里了!!