Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club — Hotel in East Hertfordshire

Don’t Book your wedding here

I don’t like leaving bad reviews but I think other brides should know…

We had several issues with this venue:

We booked a year ago and during that time we had 3 different wedding coordinators and I had to constantly chase to get a response and even to find out who my coordinator was. We got placed with the manager Laura, for stability but this wasn’t given There were no personal touches, like if we called by phone to discuss things, they would palm us off saying people were busy and then later only, finally, respond to our chaser emails that we had phoned to escalate about in the first place They lost our items, (neon sign, portable charger, and large bridal floral arrangement) we had to chase to find out where it was as we had no response from them. Two weeks later our events manager Laura offered an apology after we chased them again, but that was all At check-in, we double-checked to see (as we had been given (not by choice) two different bookings for night before and night of the wedding), if we needed to check out and check in again. They told us that there would be no issue and we did not need to do this. On the day of the wedding, I (the Bride) got stuck outside my room as my key HAD been deactivated! I called reception from another room and let them know where I was and they confirmed the key had expired. It took 30 mins for someone to come up. When I complained about this issue they told me ‘that they didn’t know where I was’, even though we called from a room and confirmed the room number with reception There were dead bugs in our room. Manager confirmed that this is an issue they struggle with generally The night before the wedding, my room had an electrical black out. No one came up for 30+ mins and had to call again to remind them. It was 11:30pm and I’d really have liked to go to bed as I was getting married the next day. They weren’t able to find the fusebox to fix the issue for another 30 mins once they had arrived at my room We were told the wedding venue room was ready for the big day by the night before, so that we could go in and add our final touches oursevles. When doing so we found that there were stains on the sweetheart table, and other tables, and the settings/decorations weren’t right.

The venue is lovely and on-the-day coordinators were lovely but for £230 per person plus another £3000 for the ceremony, plus another additional £600 for a wet weather option for a room we were already hiring as our dance floor is honestly not worth the stress.

The general manager has reached out after I had complaint to Marriott directly. they offered money back - which does cover the item that was LOST BY HANBURY MANOR and some point. Again, does this compensate for our wedding day and stressed caused. Still would not recommend...

It’s been almost year since I got married here, this venue was so traumatic it’s taken this long to write the review.

Firstly and most importantly this venue is fraudulent. It’s a scam for no better term. I wish I had gone with an independent brand, because soulless chain brand is what this place is. They take your money and deliver the bare minimum.

I would have taken them to court, unfortunately my husband acting rashly accepted their poor refund as an apology. Honestly no amount of money could undo the damage they did that day.

They served our hot food cold, they held back paid alcohol, they even charged us for a room that wasn’t even for us. They are using a wheelchair that isn’t fit for purpose, and caused an accident. This list of what they did right is one item. The beauty of the building. Everything that was within their control they did not.

The way management behaved was disrespectful, and unforgivable. We had planned to celebrate our lives there throughout the years, but I will never be stepping foot in a Marriott anything. I’ve taken the points and converted them to a brand worthy of my money. Even the points I was promised wasn’t given to me. There is nothing I can praise this venue on.

They maybe good for a lunch, or a dinner. However it’s clear from other reviews that they aren’t capable of event planning despite a whole department dedicated to exactly that. The event planners have no power or coordination over other departments. They take your money, make promise they can’t deliver.

If you’re planning a wedding for your sake go elsewhere where. Stay away from big brands that will treat you like a cheque, find an independent brand that cares. This is the most important day of your life so far, and I wouldn’t trust them with a birthday party.

I feel that they used me for a staff party. There’s no reason to hold paid alcohol back unless you want it for the staff. And to not admit that, is shameful. Your stock doesn’t lie, but the staff certainly do.

Welcome to the modern scam. Charge high prices and deliver bare minimum. To clarify I’ve worked in events, and I recognise holding it back so staff can have a drink on the house. It’s a disgraceful practice.

Hanbury is a sham. Please save yourself the misery. Not to mention the state of the rooms, they haven’t been invested in since they opened the doors. It made sense why there was never a bedroom for us to see in the viewing process. They hide their imperfections until you’re into too deep to pull out.

Save yourselves and run!

Photo attached was the only thing they did right which is looks. Unfortunately guests didn’t take picture of imperfection as it wasn’t in their nature to ruin a happy day....

I must admit, I wasn’t looking forward to staying here after reading alot of the negative reviews. However, now I’ve stayed here and experienced it for myself I would stay again! I’m not saying there wasn’t a few issues but you have to realise that hospitality was badly effected by the Covid lockdowns and Brexit so they have lost a lot of their staff. With that being said they are trying to keep a safe environment for everyone and provide the best service they can and in our experience the staff were very polite, caring, accommodating, helpful and professional.

At check in Samatha allocated us 2 Prestige rooms (in the main building). Apparently these are the nicer rooms (last renovated 3 years ago). Both rooms were a good size overlooking the golf course and luscious greenery. rooms were as expected; clean, usual amenities (although cups are paper/plastic due to Covid). Empty mini fridge, bath with separate shower, 50inch tv, bathrobes, slippers, sofa and chair and a coffee table and desk. There’s an in room safe, toiletries, and can open the windows for fresh air. There is no aircon due to this being an old manor building but the hotel provides a small fan on the desk. The rooms are also not sound proofed so you will hear some noises.

Breakfast is served buffet, the first morning the food was cold the bacon dried out but we asked for some fresh bacon and Magdalena bought it straight away. The toast was cold because the server pre does them. The coffee is from a machine which uses real beans so doesn’t taste too bad, the tea you can ask for a pot of tea or make one yourself from the wide selection of tea bags available. Theres tasty fresh fruit and pastries, cereal and yoghurts to choose from. Need to book for breakfast lunch or dinner (due to Covid spacing). room service is currently take away only from reception and not delivered to the room.

There was a small mix up with our dinner reservation at the Cast Iron Grill but the manager Albert kindly found us a table and the service we received from Andreea and Dana was impeccable. The meal was enjoyable.

The spa pool is in the main building. There’s a nice ambience and feel about the area and the staff are attentive, friendly and accommodating.

The tennis courts looked old, they also have a couple basketball hoops (which need repairing) Not sure when they will be repaired but I’ll be bringing my basketball next time. The hotel grounds and the golf course is well kept and...