Cork Factory Hotel at Urban Place — Hotel in Lancaster

TLDR: I was hopeful for this hotel. Unfortunately our first room had massive cleaning issues, and the suite upgrade we got instead oddly had many large roaches/waterbugs. Thank you to the staff, though, for so promptly and efficiently addressing concerns the best they could at the time. Please do change cleaning protocols/staff, and I hope at least the 1st floor suite we received will have pest control measures taken.

I’m in a bit of disbelief about my experience, as it was a first and quite odd considering the good reviews. Our initial room seemed to have some mild cleaning issues at first, which I don’t mind in general. I cleaned up some hair I found, wiped down surfaces, etc. However, I started to see more and more hair, then opened the shower and saw soil and hay pieces in it. That was a first. The curtain had brown stains all over it. At that point, I figured this was too much considering the price per night I paid during a popular weekend. The staff promptly came up to help us, saw the cleaning issues, and quickly gave us a new room. They even upgraded us to a suite! We truly appreciated that.

The suite seemed like a great redemption to that initial experience. It was spacious and seemed a lot cleaner. However, upon coming back from dinner, I saw a large roach/water bug in the living room. I don’t mind a small bug here and there, but this bug was massive. That was a bit scary and disappointing, but I killed it with my shoe somehow after moving the couch. I tried to rest telling myself it was a one time thing (I live in NYC, I get it). Later I saw a smaller of the same bug in the bathroom - that didn’t seem a great sign to me, but I killed that, too, and tried to forget about it. After I showered, though, I saw another massive roach/water bug running by the bed and into the bathroom. I was pretty scared then because I knew then there was likely a bigger problem. I trapped that one under a trash can somehow. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sleep after that and stayed up in bed with my phone flashlight in the dark, looking out for more roaches (my mom was asleep, not aware of these issues, hence the light off). I told myself if I didn’t see any for 10-15 min, I’ll try to sleep, too. A few min in, though, lo and behold, I see another hefty roach in the distance, by the bedroom door near our shoes. I quickly killed that one with the shoe it (thankfully) crawled under.

I felt awful and wanted to leave right then, but it was past midnight and I didn’t know where to go. Part of the reason I booked Cork was because every other chain hotel was booked (there may have been a conference that weekend). I resolved to stay the night but to check out in the morning a day early, regardless of a refund. In the early morning, I called the front desk thanking them for the suite upgrade but that we had a roach/waterbug infestation in the suite. The staff wanted to help rectify this, but we told them we would rather leave a day early for our safety. They handled this respectfully and honored our request for a refund. We checked out on time and they processed the refund for us.

We appreciate the staff for so kindly and promptly handling the issues we had, giving us one less thing to worry about. However, I still do not recommend staying in the rooms/suites right now because of cleaning issues and large roach/waterbug infestation. Hopefully, if the management/cleaning staff changes and the roach/waterbug infestation is resolved, it will be a promising hotel.

I am attaching pics of the few (of many) roaches/waterbugs I killed. I placed cups over the dead ones, and a written sign over the live one I caught under the trash can, to let the staff know. The other pic is a closeup of one of the bugs (after I killed it - it looked even larger...

TLDR: Wouldn’t have changed a thing

My husband and I were married at The Cork Factory in October and had an incredible experience with our coordinator Mary and the staff. We arrived on Friday before the wedding where Mary led our Ceremony Rehearsal before our Rehearsal Dinner which took place in The Baker’s Table. The Rehearsal was quick and informative and I felt so confident in our practice that we were done within minutes. During our Rehearsal Dinner we had the Crab Cakes & Rosemary Chicken and booked a two hour open bar. Having the dinner onsite made it so convenient for our family and friends because after checking into their hotel room, all they had to do was walk across the parking lot! The service was so great and we loved having a special place for our pre-wedding event.

Saturday morning, our bridal party and family members met us in the Bridal Suite and Groom’s Suite. The Bridal Suite has a huge counter with a large mirror and the best selfie lighting. We fit 10 of us in the suite easily with all of our stuff and food. Looking back on our photos from the day, the suite was a perfect location for my getting ready photos as well! The Groom’s Suite had a pool table, comfy couches, and a TV. We had at least 14 people in and out of the suite while getting ready and there was plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the morning. We were blessed with rain on our wedding day and we were able to use the awning attached to the building for our First Look and Bridal Party photos.

The ceremony and reception were so well done that I can’t even think of a hiccup to write about. Mary and the team were so accommodating with our decor and non-traditional requests. The food was delicious and we had the London Broil and Tuscan Chicken. Also our guests that chose the Vegan Meatloaf were raving about its flavor. We were able to add a second bar to the terrace for Beer and Wine to help guests enjoy the evening and we think that was a great addition. For dessert, we had the incredible cake by TCF (chocolate/vanilla & raspberry/lemon layers) and the buffet of chocolate chip cookies, whoopie pies, and oatmeal cream pies. To say these were a hit would be an understatement, the trays were completely clear by the end of the night and I still have family asking if we have extra for them.

At the end of the event, Mary and the staff packed all of our decor into one concise pile and we were able to load it into our car Sunday morning.

TCF works so well with other vendors (specifically 3West and Petals by Style) that our dance floor was full before dinner was done and centerpieces looked so elegant.

In regards to planning, I was completely impressed with the information we received from the team. We were able to attend the original tour, an open house with our family, and the Tasting Event where we got to enjoy the feeling of our wedding by sitting at the reception tables, listening to music, and trying all the food. It was the most well designed tasting experience I’ve seen. Mary had multiple Zoom calls with us to ensure all our questions were answered and that we were aware of the decisions we needed to make (est guest count, food selection, cake design etc). I know that our guests had an incredible time and I wouldn’t change a single thing from the event. If you are looking for a high quality, and efficiently run business, don’t hesitate with The Cork Factory because they will...

It took me a long time to finish writing this review because I had so many high points of my experience with Cork Factory Hotel. First, when looking at different venues, Cork Factory Hotel stands out from the crowd. Kerri was a fantastic tour guide for the gorgeous venue and the photos speak for themselves. The wedding guides they provide make it really easy to run comparisons and figure out your estimated cost/budget right from the start, with clear prices per head and all taxes and fees included in those prices. We loved how beautiful the whole place was, and how everyone could stay right on-site in lovely rooms that were reasonably priced- with a free parking lot on site making that part a breeze for guests staying overnight and guests coming only for the wedding. Fast forward to booking and planning the remainder of the wedding. I was assigned Jennifer Noel as my coordinator and she could not have been nicer or more helpful through the whole process. With about year and a half to plan from the time I booked the venue, I sent emails to Jenn the whole time (usually when thoughts ran through my head on Friday nights- sorry about that Jenn), and I have no idea how she kept up with all the weddings happening that week and month and then mine that was far off in the distance but she maintained incredible files, answered all my questions, and knew exactly what was going on with my wedding all along. Cork Factory Hotel was really accommodating for everything we wanted to do and every idea we had. We held a meeting maybe 6 months pre-wedding where Jenn got a lot of information from us and let us know exactly what decisions were left to be made, and she very kindly accepted our decisions on a pretty rolling basis as we got our plans together. We loved the whole place so much that we held our rehearsal there too and Jenn was there to make sure everyone knew what to do for that night and for the wedding and keep it all running smoothly. For the day of the rehearsal and wedding, it made what would have otherwise been a lot of stress for me to gather all of our decorations and everything so easy. Jenn got the welcome bags from my mom and a huge box (maybe several) with all my decorations for the rehearsal and wedding, and I just needed to show up to the rehearsal and see everything looking incredible. Same for the wedding- Jenn and Cork Factory Hotel kept some flowers in vases from my rehearsal and had them all ready to go with the rest of my decor for the wedding. The morning after, it was all in boxes ready for me to just carry it out. That was all so appreciated. The wedding day itself—could not have run more smoothly. Jenn and everyone at Cork Factory Hotel had us running exactly on time and I never had to worry. We took so many pictures during cocktail hour but returned to find Jenn there waiting for us with a huge plate of our hors d'oeuvres for the two of us to get a couple of each one. She had all the answers all the way through so we could relax and enjoy as much as you can during the rush of a wedding day! Honestly could not recommend Cork Factory Hotel and Jenn more.. it is a stunning place with absolute professionals who have everything under control, treat you so kindly and like you matter, and pull off the most beautiful and fun events. Thanks again Jenn, Kerri, and the rest of Cork Factory Hotel. Hope you pick this place – you will...