Dream wedding Ruined. Dont even book it!!!
Had the misfortune of having our wedding here on Friday 21/02/25 - after many years of hearing good things about this venue and picking this venue for its quality reputation I can’t begin to say how utterly disappointed I am that when it came to my big day to find the place has turned into the Fawlty towers of West Lothian…
Poor (if any) communication,
a management team who genuinely don’t give a toss about the customer being happy- either that or they are even more ambivalent to how atrocious the service they are providing actually is,
inadequately trained incompetent staff (with the rare exception of one or two decent staff who are too good for the place and their good nature taken advantage by the lazy lazy management team),
An “events /wedding coordinator who not only is totally clueless but doesn’t even dress appropriately or respectfully - couldn’t be 100% certain as she wasn’t around that much but looked like tracky bottoms and scruffy shirt (same clothes on the 2 days we saw her) not even tucked in - the 4 brief moments we saw this woman over 2 days - day of wedding and day before wedding she was totally clueless - no clear communications on how day was to run, no walk through or run through of wedding - this woman is clearly uninterested and untrained and looks as if she is making things up as she goes along - 4th co ordinator in 3 months I have no doubt she won’t last long! - nothing followed through and can’t trust or rely on anything said by her or the new general manager,
untrained staff - never ever heard of a trained bar staff not knowing what a glass of white wine was or how to make a fizzy orange, made up prices - identical rounds different prices throughout the night,
we had to move furniture in between wedding breakfast and evening reception ourself,
no signage to show guests where to go … I could go on and on …
This used to be a well respected venue - no longer the case over the last year - since my wedding I’ve heard so many stories from previous brides over the last year who have all had similar experiences!
if you want a dream wedding or party - anything that you care about details and things being done right - steer clear from this venue at least until this incompetent management team have been replaced and if the latest Mr Masters promises you the world (he does come across pretty plausible the first time you meet him ) - take anything he says with a pinch of salt and be prepared to see the nasty side of him if you dare to disagree with him or own your own opinion - that of course if he even bothers picking up his messages or returning correspondence!
not to mention, the linen used for our wedding, not being replaced, but simply turned over for the wedding the next day!! Guests charge £17.49 for 4 shots -- how in the hell does that add up?? £4.37.25 a shot??? Cans of coke being charged between £2.20 and £2.75. Untrained staff behind the bar, gym staff working the bar, constantly hounded to go to reception to pay a bill, that appeared out of no where, itemised bill requested and still not provided, wine that was to be poured only for meal guests being freely handed out and put on tables for the evening guests (deliberately in my opinion simply to make the money on the corkage), that wine when eventually removed from the tables disappeared downstairs (we had no guests downstairs!!), the list goes on and on and on!! No key to lock the bridal room, even although we weren't offered it until wedding planner number 3, no offer of a safe to put cards etc into (been told by an ex member of staff that 2 staff were sacked for stealing money out of wedding cards), no signage to guide guests, so we had guests appearing from all doors left right and centre meaning we could not great them properly, bride in the room ready to make her appearance and the untrained bar staff are still moving stock around (that looked terrible in our wedding videos and very unprofessional), the meals that we got at the sampler were at least twice the size of what was served, and requests to change some things wasnt met at all. 5 wedding planners since October probably tells a story, and the fact we have spoke to past staff as well re what goes on inside the venue, was a real eye opener!! -- 2 staff for a 200 person event, that walked out during it leaving one person to do the full event themselves, dirty glasses the list goes on and on. Any ex staff who wish to send us any other info, please do, or any others who have had a disaster at the venue, please message us as well -- we are going to take it to the media as well as a lawyer. Needless to say 5 days later and we have had no reply from Keith (the new general manager) - but no surprise there as he doesnt answer any emails or voicemails etc sent to him anyway, Martin Smith (group CEO), Derek Adams (Finance Director), John Muir (Owner), William McAllister (operations director).