Balbirnie House — Hotel in Great Britain

I attended a wedding here last Saturday 4/10/25 and how you are the top wedding venue absolutely amazes me!!

I encountered varies issues throughout the day just as a guest, never mind the issues the bride and groom encountered.

Firstly the venue was absolutely freezing the entire day to the point that everyone was wearing coats/slippers throughout the wedding/ meal/reception.

I stayed here earlier in the year and experienced the exact same issues regarding power, where you had generators outside so I know this is obviously a regular occurrence, which has resulted in me having the flu this whole week from how cold it was!! Something needs done about this, as weddings are genuinely a family affair with children and elders attending. This could have a greater affect on them.

Secondly when last orders were called I went to the bar for a double pink gin and lemonade and a raspberry sourz shot. I took my shot at the bar and took my drink to the table. Upon taking a sip of my drink I realised I had been given a glass of water rather than the gin, which I had been charged £14.85 for,(including the shot) the bar was already closed when I went to complain but there was no staff around. I was sober at the time so instantly could tell it was water but I got a driver who hadn't been drinking to taste to confirm. I finally managed to track down an employee who was collecting glasses and managed to exchange it, but it concerns me that this is obviously a common occurrence at the end of the night when the bar staff think people will be too drunk to notice the difference. How many times have you got away with doing this, I was the only person being served before bar shut so couldn't have been confused with someone else's drink, it was intentional. I will be reporting this to trading standards as this is illegal! Absolutely scandalous!!

Thirdly, the last time I checked we do not live in America, therefore service charge should be optional and not mandatory, so it should be a consumer choice on whether to tip or not, depending on quality of service provided. I do not appreciate being charged an extra 10% on every transaction, especially not when the service didn't warrant it and I'm not being provided with the drinks that I order. The signs telling you this are very small and not directly in eye line so very hard to see, especially when the bar is busy as it's at the side of the bar. Some of the staff were very defensive when requested to remove it. The staff should enquire if you're happy to pay it or have the option on the card machine to pay or not, not just automatically add it, even when service is poor!!

I would encourage anyone considering this venue...

Our third time staying at Balbirnie House Hotel and not sure if we will return. The rooms are in need of proper maintenance and upgrade. We were in a suite on the ground floor, which was very spacious and on first impressions we thought it was very nice until you see the black scuff marks on walls and woodwork and broken blinds. As we were unpacking and went to put our toiletries into the bathroom, there was a very strong smell of smoke in the room. The window in the hall which overlooks the smoking area had been left open by the housekeeping staff. The door into the bathroom had previously been kicked in and the frame was loose with 3 or 4 nails prominently sticking out at head level and lower down. This is advertised as a family suite which would have been a danger to children. Also advertised as having views of the gardens, our view was of the smoking area to the back and bins, noisely being used by staff and empty barrels to the front. The reception team arranged for a diffuser to alleviate the smell of smoke which did help eventually. They also asked for photos, although the receptionist who brought the diffuser saw the state of the door frame. They had not been made aware of this by housekeeping. No offer of a change of room or having any maintenance done during our stay. We were advised that the email with the photos would be sent onto the maintenance team and also to management, who would be in touch with us. Two weeks on we have heard nothing from Balbirnie management. We waited to hear from them before submitting this review to give them a chance to look into it. Our stay was a wedding gift, which the hotel had been made aware of, so we were very disappointed with the room and the lack of action taken. The restaurant and bar staff were very attentive which is the reason for the higher stars score for service. The food was delicious. We had afternoon tea in the Orangery and our request for more savoury than sweet was accommodated as we had requested this in advance. We also changed our dinner reservation from the Seven tasting course menu in the orangery to the bistro as when we asked for a swap out for 2 courses, beef tartare (raw mince and raw egg yolk) and scallop crudo (raw shellfish) for cooked meat and fish, we were advised we couldn't despite requesting this more than 24 hours in advance as we had previously been verbally advised to do. The decision to eat in the bistro was a good one. The fish and chips and beef bourguignon were delicious. This hotel has won numerous awards as best wedding venue but it needs to keep up the maintenance in rooms and public areas if they want guests to return and...

Had our wedding here, and was miscommunication after miscommunication, we were promised the world on our show round to gradually learn more and more of it was untrue, including being told if inflation was over 10% we would have right of refusal to the increase only to have 16% inflationary costs added to our bill and a denial of what we had been told on our show round. We had to go back and forth with Balbirnie a lot negotiating on things which we had previously been told were possible. At check-in the groom, his parents and our best man had all been given sub-standard rooms rather than the rooms agreed in the rooming list, there was no one on hand to help for a few hours (not what a bride and groom want to be sorting the day before their wedding) and it lead to us having to move our guests who had travelled a long way into other rooms once they'd already unpacked. Guests have reported multiple issues, including hefty bar tabs applied to rooms where the drinks weren't ordered, with no recourse by the hotel. Furthermore, I (as the bride) had a dietary requirement which meant my main course was to be different than the rest of the party, I was told I would have a salmon main and this would be no problem, and on the day was brought something completely different, and when I sent it back, it was brought back to me with the guidance that 'there is no salmon in the kitchen'. We had paid £1000 for 'exclusive use' and so were very surprised when in the middle of our photographs being taken at the front steps, 2 dads and their sons who we didn't know, in football kit walked past us and into the hotel, there were cars parked at the front when we had been told everyone would be advised to park around the side, so many small issues which just add up. Finally, I ended the evening and for the next few days with food poisoning, having eaten nowhere other than Balbirnie for the 24hours before it started, I feel fairly justified in assuming it was contracted here - my guess being the bridal brunch, not the way any bride would wish to start their honeymoon. Individually there are some great staff at Balbirnie, but my guess is the hotel has been underinvested and they are operating under poor management. I appreciate the hospitality sector has had a hard time post COVID and Brexit, but honesty and...