Barnett Hill Hotel

Pros Coordinator – our wedding coordinator was brilliant from the start; Liz was great in communicating, understanding our needs and providing flexibility and attention to detail to planning. Liz made sure we were consulted every step of the way, was quick at getting back to us, made us feel like everything was in hand and taken care of. The final details were handled well and Liz ensured the team was fully briefed for the big day. Team - the staff did a fantastic job setting up the venue. We provided certain decorations ourselves and the staff did a great job decorating to exact requirements. The operations manager, Lajos, was our coordinator on the day. We were very impressed with him. Lajos was at the venue late the night before and present for the entire wedding day. He checked in on us at every step, without overwhelming us and really made the day flow smoothly and stress free. Everyone knew their roles, the day was well orchestrated and if there were issues on the day, we didn’t know about it. Very happy with Lajos and the team. Hotel – the rooms were beautifully made, especially the honeymoon suite that overlooks the rear of the hotel and the gardens. It made the day even more special. The hotel grounds were immaculate and every guest commended on how beautiful the grounds were. Food – the taster menu was arranged 6-8 weeks prior to the wedding. We made suggestions to the menu and were happy with how the food came out on the wedding day. The canapés, wedding breakfast and evening buffet were delicious, beautifully presented, and the breakfast the following day was superb. Cons Dance Floor - the room allocated to evening dancing, is required to have a proper dance floor, roughly £600. No other venue we visited required a dance floor. Overall, we were given the best possible wedding day.

We had the misfortune of hosting our wedding at Barnett Hill, part of the Alexander Hotel Collection, and it was an experience riddled with incompetence, unprofessionalism, and outright negligence. Despite lofty promises of a stress-free, seamless wedding experience, what we received was a series of miscommunications, breaches of contract, and poor service that turned what should have been a joyous occasion into a frustrating ordeal. 1. Incompetent Wedding Coordination The wedding coordinator assigned to us, Tori, demonstrated a shocking lack of professionalism and competence. Despite initial promises to guide us through the planning process, Tori disappeared for months at a time, leaving us scrambling to fill in the gaps ourselves. Her attitude during the final meeting was dismissive and unprofessional—she came unprepared, repeatedly asked questions she already had answers to, and failed to acknowledge the work we had done to compensate for her earlier absences. It was clear she did not take her role seriously, and her lack of involvement caused unnecessary stress and confusion. 2. Breach of Contract: Incorrect Menu and Wine We experienced multiple breaches of contract that ruined key aspects of our event: - Menu Failures: Despite providing confirmed vegetarian options for our guests (and printing bespoke menu cards at our own expense), Barnett Hill served a completely different dish without prior notice. This not only embarrassed us in front of our guests but also rendered our meticulously designed menu cards useless. It was an avoidable mistake that highlighted their lack of attention to detail. - Wine Debacle: The agreed-upon wine, which we had carefully chosen during a tasting months in advance, was not served at the event. Instead, we were forced to accept subpar substitutes on the day of our wedding. To make matters worse, the hotel misrepresented the available options and used leftover wine they had mistakenly over-ordered. This dishonest practice was deeply disappointing, especially as we had paid for premium wine. The lack of transparency and accountability left us feeling deceived. 3. Negligence Regarding Allergies One of our guests has a life-threatening allergy, which we communicated clearly to the hotel well in advance. Despite this, the hotel failed to accommodate their dietary needs, putting their health and safety at serious risk. This level of negligence is unacceptable and reflects poorly on the hotel's hiring and training practices. 4. Unresolved Refund Issues The hotel's refund process has been a nightmare. Despite agreeing to refund certain costs due to their numerous failures, they repeatedly revised the amount without justification and ultimately refunded a fraction of what was promised. Their accounts team cited "internal administrative errors" as the reason for the discrepancies, but this excuse fails to address the root issue: the hotel’s inability to honor agreements and resolve issues efficiently. It has taken m

Hotel is on lovely grounds but the room was small open planned shower which fogged out the entire room and mirrors. Had to close blinds because everyone walking past could see in. Shower also sprayed into room so had to move shower head and put 2/3 towels on floor as no door. Bed had dog hairs all over it floor was dirty. Walked around grounds and found many a dog poo and mess from a wedding the day before everywhere. Don’t buy Prosecco £60 a bottle. Didn’t eat there so cannot comment. For £161 per night this was far from boutique shame as beautiful surroundings. Staff were lovely though

Christmas Eve 2024. Unfortunately, we experienced a flat tire on our rental at Stonehenge. UK has a similar service like “ AAA”. Luckily, we were tolled to our hotel. We were so famished, haven’t eaten and tired and simply wanted some little bites (not a full meal). The night receptionist desk gal said there was absolutely no food they could service. Now, they did have booked dinner service for Christmas Eve, BUT like I said, we did not want a full meal. This establishment could not even serve a basket of bread!!! ***. We finally went to the bar ordered some drinks and decided to order Ubereats. Given it was very late, we were lucky to have food sent to the lobby. I swear to god this was surreal for a place like this. Inexcusable for paying a full price hotel room, they call this service??? The night receptionist treated us like we inconvenienced her simply by trying to get something to eat even after we explained to her we did not have a functioning car to go anywhere. Again, all we asked for was some bread.

I suppose review writers are as varied in their opinions as there are stars in the sky but there are facts and there are opinions. So opinions first:- we had a split level room which was cleaned to my highest standards especially the bathroom. The bed was softer that I`m used to but tolerable. The staff including the do it all manager were exceptional doing all they could to assist. The lamb and the beef choices at dinner were tougher than they should have been whether by cut or cooking. Now some facts:- there were four of us in two rooms staying a total of three mights. We arrived at around 2.30pm to be informed that our room was ready. The others had arrived the day previously. Drinks prices were very high but I suppose to be expected at a venue which the AA gives 4*. What was unexpected and a fact was that on the account for our stays all extras were shown with additional service charges. So on top of the dinner costs was added 10% service. On top of the drinks prices was a similar service charge, the afternoon tea also had brasserie food service charge added but what was the most heinous addition was an "early entry" room charge addition of £50.00 as the book in time was 3.00pm. None of these supposed "service" charges had been previously advised. To his credit when the above mentioned manager was confronted with this traveller telling him that these charges were totally unacceptable especially the last mentioned he removed them without too much fuss. Considering the total for our stay was close to £1,000 the arithmetic on reduction is easily calcuable. So BEWARE. This abhorrant underhand sneaky practice might be common but I was truly shocked as having never encountered it anywhere. Then perhaps I don`t get out enough.

Thank you all for a fantastic two night stay. All staff were welcoming and a special thanks to Bronwyn who couldn't do enough for us. We stumbled across the hotel by accident and were pleasantly surprised. If they were to add a Spa/wellness space that would be the icing on the cake!