Looking for a wedding venue in the North East? (Tall Trees Country Club (Cleveland))

Member Name: Rook252

Product:	Tall Trees Country Club (Cleveland)
Date:	25/09/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great service, wedding coordinator

Disadvantages: Poor for photgraphs, next to a club.

My review comes from a very different angle, as I have never been to the club which is attached to Tall Trees Hotel and Country Club, and never intend to. However we have gone and had a thorough look around recently with consideration to booking it as a wedding reception venue.

~Location~

Tall Trees is located to the south of Yarm, in open countryside. Getting through Yarm between 8.30and 10am, and to a greater extent 3.30pm and 6pm is generally a nightmare, so something to bare in mind for guests arriving from the north between these hours. On the same site as the Hotel and Country Club is Club M@Tall Trees, which these are about 300m apart the car park is shared and the hotel does run closer to the club at some points.

~First impressions~

The approach to the hotel is utilitarian. While it is set behind nice walls on a curved drive, the metal fence on top of the walls is badly in need of painting, and there is a large car park to the front of the hotel. On the plus side this means my guests wouldn't lack for parking, on the downside it is not an attractive approach on your wedding day.

The hotel itself is massive. A poorly extended sprawl going off in all directions. The hotel seems to have begun in the 1960s or 1970s, but its quite hard to date it as there is no discernable style. The buildings are two or three storey throughout. The front of the hotel has a Grecian appearance, with huge 3 storey high white columns, but to me this just seemed a bit fur coat and no knickers, there is no hidding its a standard hotel not a mansion.

There are no green spaces to the front of the hotel, although there is some grass to the side, although no flowers, trees or general shrubbery.

~Inside~

Inside the hotel the Grecian theme continues, although does seem a bit confused between Greek temple and Roman baths. There is a central staircase, and all the floors and stairs are tiled. Surrounding and underneath the staircase is a large fish pond. Large art stone feature panels are all over the walls. There is a clear reception desk with a friendly girl to greet you.

Up the stairs is a bar, as well as a large seating area and a piano. This is where your drinks on arrival would be served at a wedding. We were also taken through to the White Room, which is used as both a restaurant and Wedding Breakfast area. This is modern but smart and contemporary.

The function room for weddings is nice, although nothing amazing. It also appears to have a tiny dance floor. The seating area next to it is also made available for a quieter area, and this is where the buffet is served.

~Outside~

Outside the front of the hotel is the afore mentioned car park. To the rear is a small lawned area with a concrete fountain, and then a steep slope leading to a wood and apparently a river. There are some nice photos in the wedding books in reception, although we could not work out where these had been taken.

~The Wedding Coordinator~

This guy is wasted on this hotel! An absolute hidden gem. He was enthusiastic and made it clear to us that the wedding would be entirely what we wanted, we were given options such as the time of day, types of music, outside entertainment, decorations, how formal it would be, right down to the type of cake stand we'd want! He also assured us he only did one wedding a day, so we'd be his sole priority. This is also the only venue we have seen where you can have two menu options for people, as well as the usual vegetarian and special dietary options.

He makes himself available day or night for his couples, and I believe he would make the wedding a lot smoother, and take a lot of the stress away from us compared to other venues in the area.

~Availability and Booking~

We are looking for a Saturday in September 2010. Many venues are already full for then by now. However they had two Saturdays still available, and a provissional booking can be made at no extra cost, and the date is held until you choose to confirm, or someone else wants the date at which point it is released.

~Wedding Package~

The Wedding Package contains all the standards, cake stand, red carpet etc, but also throws in some less common extras such as a free full bridal suite for the night of the wedding, and a champagne breakfast the morning after for example. They also do not require you to cater for the full number of evening guests, as often food will be wasted, and advise catering for 75% of the guests.

~Price~

We have been told to expect between £5000 - £5500 depending on menu choices, which is on par or a little above other venues in the area.

~Overall~

Overall I was very impressed with the place, although this was probably hugely swayed by the wedding coordinator. The venue itself was nice, however the lack of photo oppertunities does cause me some concerns.

Summary: It's definitely on the short list.