Oulton Hall De Vere - AVOID AVOID AVOID! (De Vere Hotels in general)

Member Name: truthonly

Product:	De Vere Hotels in general
Date:	15/11/08 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks pretty

Disadvantages: I couldn't possibly list them all

Very long winded, but worth the read!
Have been a few times now, and I must say I'll avoid going again wherever possible!
My last visit was the last straw! Went for a special evening by invitation only - started off well enough and we were seated without incident, and then the nightmare began! We paid a lot of money for a ticket for a 4 course meal and entertainment, and it was a total waste of money in my opinion. Firstly there was some sort of soup - I have no idea what flavour it was meant to be, as it was that bland I ended up adding every imaginable seasoning just to give it some iota of taste, and then came what I refer to as cat food. Allegedly it was some sort of ham and chicken creation, which actually reminded me of spam. Not what one expects in a hotel of this reputation. The main course then arrived, and followed precisely the same standard as the previous 2 - horrific. This was a roast beef dinner, although I must say I've never experienced one quite like it (are roast potatoes supposed to be hard enough to crack a tooth?!) Anyway, I promptly sent mine back, and the bumbling waiter did not even offer an apology, and returned 20 minutes later with a new plate of cold roast beef and vegetables! Lovely! I declined this meal, and then went to seek solace as the bar (I mean, you can't get Gin and Tonic wrong right?!)
The Gin and Tonic was actually very nice, and a much needed retreat, however it's £6 price tag FOR A SINGLE MEASURE did nothing to calm my nerves. And when I returned to the bar later on for another G&T and a pint of lager, I had less than £1 out of a tenner. A guy next to me was ordering champagne - so I quickly moved away from the bar as he was a hefty chap, and I didn't want him falling on me when he fainted at the price asked of him.
I was actually arranging my wedding at the time of my last trip, and enquired as to the prices for my wedding breakfast and reception etc etc. After experiencing Oulton Hall's finest cuisine I decided to book somewhere else, as they were charging £90-£100 per person for the meal - and I could not stand the thought of feeding my wedding guests cat food/ spam and hard vegetables and paying £100 each for the pleasure. Plus, you can only invite rich guests, or everybody will be on tap water after 2 hours once they have ran out of money for drinks. If you want my advice - if you're booking a wedding and want amazing food at great prices, and drinks that aren't astronomically expensive (and also a round of golf!) get yourself booked in at The Manor Golf Club in Drighlington. The staff are lovely and attentive there too - VERY MUCH unlike Oulton Hall's excuse for customer service.

Summary: Terrible. Waste of hard earned money.