De Vere Latimer Estate — Hotel in Great Britain

I had my wedding at De Vere Latimer Estate and absolutely loved it.

Firstly, we were lucky enough to have the Master Suite for the night before and the night of the wedding, so we could 'move in' the day before, rehearse, celebrate, have afternoon tea and get settled in with our friends and family, which was really wonderful. Latimer also had Spanish-speaking team members there when my guests were arriving (who spoke Spanish and in some cases, little English) which made the Spanish guests feel so welcome.

The Master Suite couldn't be more perfect for a bridal suite. It has a beautiful bathroom, a 'living room' with incredible lighting and huge windows (perfect for make up) and a great sized bedroom with amazing views over the rolling hills and countryside. It has such a good amount of space for everyone to be comfortable - especially bridesmaids - when getting ready for the day.

The event planning team were so helpful, always supporting me with my many questions, planning, preparations and being so kind! We had a wonderful afternoon tea experience during planning too, with so much effort put into ensuring we were all set for our big day. Thanks to Hayley, Jess, Kriti and the other team members for all their kindness throughout the process.

On the day, we had great vendors (maples flowers, nevie pie) who knew Latimer well and worked brilliantly behind the scenes to set up the flowers and cake. Latimer couldn't have done more on the day to accommodate - from finding more chairs for the bridal suite to checking everyone was on schedule, it really was phenomenal and meaningful service.

I'll never forget before walking down the aisle when the Latimer team were organising my dress and making it look beautiful, tidying the bottom of the dress and the veil. That was unbelievable! I was so grateful.

They did an amazing job with the canopes - the guests absolutely loved them! I got so many comments about how the wedding breakfast food was absolutely incredible, amazing, fantastic, and all served in such brilliant time. Wine was flowing, the guests loved it and everything was executed to perfection. There was not one thing that went wrong on the day - the exact number of guests were there, everyone showed up, Latimer did such a brilliant job and nothing went amiss - they even came to announce it was time for pizza later on in the evening! Our emcee and speakers had microphones at the ready too and music was always done on cue (the Latimer team even DJ'd for us when we were all walking down the aisle!) Flawless execution on the day, to the point where the guests had such a joyous time! All our guests ate up our cake like there was no tomorrow, so Latimer were great at making sure enough was out for that too.

After the wedding music ended, we all hung out in the big 'drawing room' for hours, chatting, laughing, finishing the drinks and just winding down from the most incredible experience. Latimer were so kind to let us continue chatting amongst ourselves and having a lovely time into the late hours.

The next morning, our guests were also welcomed for breakfast in Latimer's gorgeous lounge - with lovely trees, lights and plenty of space, along with great food, it was the perfect time to thank our guests again for coming and see them on their way.

The space at this venue is perfect. You have rooms for everything, more than enough space for the guests to spread out and a beautiful, updated estate manor to enjoy. You have stunning views, plenty of picture perfect locations and gorgeous surroundings. It really does have classic elegance through and through. The staff were brilliant - their tenacity and kindness was next to none and really raised the bar in terms of hospitality on the day! The UK had been through a heatwave and drought prior to the day, so we were lucky that the temperature had dropped.

I highly recommend this location and if you're planning to have a wedding here, you've made an excellent choice :)

Thank you so much Latimer for helping us to have such a wonderful experience!!...

There was a lot to appreciate about the property but the overall feeling during and even now, after the stay, resonates as negative.

I had two consecutive bookings at De Vere Latimer Estate. 1 through Holiday Extras for 2 nights, included in an event package I booked. The 2nd reservation, booked direct with De Vere Latimer, for the 2 nights following the package stay.

Prior to arrival, I emailed De Vere directly requesting best practice for early check-in, given we were flying in from overseas and would be arriving on an early morning transatlantic flight. I was told check-in isn't guaranteed until after 3pm but every attempt would be made to accommodate my party upon arrival if possible.

Fast-forward to the day of arrival. When we walked into the Main Reception, we were not greeted. One staff memeber was on the phone, and the other staff member behind the reception desk didn't even maintain eye contact. She, whose name tag I later saw read Gera, seemed preoccupied. So, my party waited patiently until it became apparent we would not be acknowledged. I spoke directly to Gera and asked her about luggage storage. She dismissively pointed at a door across from the desk and went back to whatever important matters she was addressing on her clipboard. After placing our luggage in the closet myself, I walked back over to the reception desk to inquire about early check-in options. But, again, was not acknowledged, and when I spoke to Gera--since the other receptionist was still on the phone assisting someone--there was an apparent tone and air of annoyance from her. (The other person in my party later stated that Gera's demeanor and tone came off like we were a bother to her.)

Gera explained that check-in was at 3pm. I asked her if I left my mobile number, would it be possible to be given a call in the event the room was ready sooner. Gera responded in a very matter-of-fact, indifferent and unaccommodating tone, that check-in is at 3. By the time I asked again, for a 2nd time, if there was any way I could at least be given a call, and she responded with, "Your room won't be ready until 3pm.", I was disappointed that I'd already paid for a consecutive stay at De Vere Latimer for the 2 additional nights I'd booked direct.

And we hadn't even checked in yet.

My issue at that point wasn't that we couldn't check-in but, instead, the attitude and energy Gera exuded as if we were a nuisance simply by showing up, reinforced by her unaccomodating approach, given she works in the hospitality field.

The kicker, though, for me was when a white male walked in as my party was leaving the reception area, and Gera instantly greeted him with a completely different, and welcoming, tone.

We went about our day in London, and returned to Latimer Estate after 3pm. Gera checked us in and did ask for our breakfast reservation time preference but she did not direct us to our room; neither did she explain any of the amenities nor provide any of the helpful details & insights regarding our stay that were mentioned by the receptionist who checked us in during the second part of our stay.

In the room, a quick glance at the bed made it apparent the sheets hadn't been changed. The bed was made. But the overly wrinkled look throughout the entirety of the bedding made me pull back the sheets for inspection. I should have taken pictures but, needless to say, I returned to the Main Reception and requested housekeeping to replace the bedding.

That was the first positive of our stay, as the friendly housekeeping staff promptly came to the room and put new bedding on.

Overall, though, room 1 was small & cozy.

Our 2nd room was larger and the bed was clean when we arrived. However, the robes were not. And, the water pressure in the bathroom was terrible.

The countryside scenery is nice, and a lot of the staff was as well but: "That place made me uncomfortable--the people and lack of cleaniless.", is the way part of my party described the experience at Latimer Estate. And that sentiment sums up my De Vere Latimer...

Staff could do with some training in customer service.

The drive up from the road and through the village was beautiful and the grounds and house looked amazing in the sunshine. Unfortunately, our smiles were soon dimmed by the receptionist. Who at first ignored us, then after having acknowledge us continued to work on her computer? When we were eventually served, we were told in no uncertain terms that we could not check in till 3pm. Of course, we understand that this is the normal policy for many hotels, but this news could have been delivered in a more sympathetic manner, or an acknowledgement that our room wasn’t ready, and they would do their utmost to get it ready a bit earlier. We decide not to leave our luggage in the storeroom and left to drive to Chesham.

On our return, the check in process took more than a 35 min as there was a wedding on at the hotel and a number of guests were checking in. We were lucky to get a different receptionist this time, who was very pleasant and cheerful. It would have been nice to have checked in at the main house instead of at the side reception, like the poor relations…

In the room: no pillowcase on one of the pillows, no hand towel in the bathroom. The shower tap was broken, and the water pressure was non-existent. The bath tap was leaking and the sink tap was loose. There was no fridge in the room, rubbish not taken out and no tea/coffee/milk replenished after the first night. However, the beds were very comfortable and clean.

We didn’t use the pool, the first day there was several small children playing/Having a lesson in the water and the steam room was not in use. We didn’t bother checking the second day.

We had dinner booked for both nights and we cannot fault the dinner service. A small menu choice, food cooked to order, nice choice of wine and attentive staff. All excellent. Same could not be said for breakfast. We got there early, 8.30. Just a few guests in the dining room, It took 3 attempts by the server to get a HOT cup of tea. The food was plentiful but COLD. The fried eggs in particular looked very unappetising as was the tinned mushrooms. The fruit salad was fresh and tasty.

Cocktails in the bar? .. Not if you want a mojito or a expresso martini. No MINT and no mixture. perhaps the very very young bar staff didnt know how to make them because how can you not have any MINT in a hotel bar. We eventually settled for a rum and coke and a rum cocktail from the menu. The usual slice of lemon was missing from the rum and coke and the rum cocktail looked less like a cocktail and more like a glass of squash. No trimming and therefore NOT a cocktail.

The second day breakfast was no better. we delayed it by 30 minutes in the mistaken belief that the food would be hot. We requested a poach egg to avoid the slimy fried ones but when it came it was indelible. This time the tea was hot, reason being there was more guests this time and the flask that they were serving the tea from must have been replenish much faster.

We checked out soon after. Even though there were some issues with the level of service and the attention to detail, we had a nice time, especially sitting on the lawn in the sun and enjoying the lovely view. if you want to totally relax and don’t want to do anything other than walk then this hotel is a good choice. Just note that it’s a good 15 min drive to Amersham the nearest little town and I wouldn’t recommend doing it in the dark.

This hotel needs to recruit more staff and train them in...