Storyteller Bar & Private Venue Hire — Restaurant in Cheltenham

BEWARE!!!!!!

My wife called this venue to enquire about making a booking for my daughter's 18th birthday. Although she was advised that we could not view the venue until 21 November, she was pressured in to making a booking and paying a deposit on the basis the date required 20 December was during the busy Christmas period and would soon be booked.

We paided a deposit on 17 November. Upon veiwing the venue on 21 November, it quickly became apparent that it was nothing like it appeared on the venue's website. It was dark, cold, stank and generally just very scruffy.

My daughter was very dissapointed and asked us to cancel the booking. When we did so on 22 November, we were advised that only 50% of the deposit would be refunded. When we queried this we were advised that the venue had already booked a chef. Would they not have another booking on 20 December, their busy Christmas period?

When we complained we were sent links to various websites on the legalities of paying a deposit to a hospitality venue. It quickly became obvious that this venue was well versed in tactics designed to fleece people out of the deposits they had paid.

They have sinced advised us that because we complained, they will now keep 100% of the deposit we paid.

No doubt the deposit con is a nice little side line for them.

I was unable to leave this review without giving 1 star, which they do...

I'm not sure it's humanly possible to accurately articulate how magical this venue is, and how beautiful the staff are... My husband and I had our wedding reception here on Saturday and it was better than we could ever have imagined, we genuinely couldn't even have dreamt that it would go that well - our expectations were enormously exceeded. Ivan and his team ensured everything ran so smoothly the entire day and the food was absolutely impeccable, I feel truly sorry for anyone who never gets to try one of the enchiladas. The staff are also genuinely the kindest, friendliest, most smiley people, they all deserve the world 🌍 We also utilised the guest house - which was excellent and the rooms were fabulous, it was really helpful to have rooms on-site so I'd definitely recommend booking 'Regency Rooms' if you're hosting any event here. If you're looking for a venue for any occasion, I urge you to book Storyteller - there is something truly special about what Ivan has created, it's such a soulful place where the walls do speak of all the love and happiness they've witnessed before. There really is nowhere quite like...

Not as busy as it used to be, or so it seemed. Food not bad, but not sparkling. Venison starter tasted OK but was as tough as a dog's head. Service friendly but kind of slow. There's a big, adjacent car park. 4 hours will cost you £4.50 at any time of day. You have to type in your entire reg. number first. The drive in from out of town is a bit of a pain in the neck, even with sat nav, because of confusing, specific-time buses and taxis only roads en-route. Still, a nice environment without loud music and with an air of sophistication.

Extra information. Adjacent car park NOT recommended. We bought a ticket and left before it expired but got stung by an incomprehensible £60 parking fine. They didn't relent even when we sent them a ticket image and didn't explain why in any clear way. Probably cheaper overall...