Ruben E. Sent on 01/04/2024
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Quality of the service
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Response time
3.0 out of 5 rating
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Professionalism
3.0 out of 5 rating
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Value for money
1.0 out of 5 rating
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Flexibility
3.0 out of 5 rating
Simply terrible, there's no other word for it.
I attended a wedding at Syrencot House last week. I thought it would also be a good excuse to test the venue for our planned wedding without the effort of a separate trip. It’s safe to say that Syrencot is off our list.
Firstly, the weather was terrible. This is a risk with any wedding in March, and of course, the venue cannot be held accountable for it. However, how they allow the weather to impact the comfort of their guests is most definitely within their control. And there’s no excuse for the comedy of errors that I experienced as a plus-one guest.
Upon arrival the rain was lashing down and the ground was soaking. The gravel car park had a giant lake in the middle of it, and these puddles were repeated all the way to the venue itself. Ladies in high heels were noticeably uncomfortable as it was simply not possible to avoid all the puddles.
Having arrived, soaked, we were dismayed to find that ‘the barn’ was freezing. The fire wasn’t lit, the heating wasn’t on. What’s worse is that the heating was never turned on, and the fire in the bar area was only lit after five PM and kept very small. This stingy attitude towards a few quid on the heating bill was a warning of what was to follow.
The bar drinks were extortionate (£4.50 for a small bottle of Coors 0%) and served by a teenage ‘barman’ who didn’t know the difference between light and dark rum. Thank God nobody ordered any cocktails (that I saw at least). No cash accepted, cards only.
After a few drinks and a single canape each it was off to ‘the glasshouse’, where, yet again, the heating wasn’t turned on. Thankfully the ceremony was a short one, and we duly formed a line and threw the confetti before being led around to the front of Syrencot House for the photos. Here the puddles caused yet more discomfort, as the party had to walk through one to get to the front of the house! The management must see these puddles every time it rains, there is simply no excuse for them. After an abortive photo session, the rain got the better of us and we were ushered to ‘the veranda’ for the photos. Imagine that you have paid for an expensive day at a posh country house. How do you feel about your main wedding photo looking like it was taken at the entrance to the food court at Marwell Zoo? Yup, that’s about the sum of it.
And so it was back inside with lunch scheduled for 15:00. Calamity ensued as there were insufficient places set at our table, and our names despite being on the main table plan in bar area were not replicated at the table. We waited off to one side for twenty five minutes whilst the staff sorted out space (just) at another table. The didn’t sort out the champagne though, so we were left raising an empty glass for toasts- thankfully I wasn’t drinking anyway.
Speeches ensued whilst the rain lashed down. At the end of the grooms speech, with perfect timing, the lights cut out. I waited with baited breath for something. But no, it was just a power cut. Now, powercuts can happen. But the lack of a backup generator is inexcusable. A power cut at a wedding venue has the potential to absolutely ruin a couples big day. The first few cuts lasted for a few minutes each, and presumably threw the kitchen into disarray as lunch wasn’t served until gone five. The last, much longer power cut was during the DJ set, and totally killed the vibe. All could (should?) have been prevented by the presence of a backup generator, at a dedicated wedding venue.
Lunch finally arrived- very, very slowly. Syrencot presumably advertise ‘silver service’. Well if you’re going to do silver service, do it right. Having a bunch of clueless teenagers led by one long suffering old hand is a recipe for disaster. Lunch would have been a much better experience if they’d just use both hands and got stuff out before it got cold. They were terribly trained, and I felt so sorry from them. They knew they had to serve from one side and take from the other, they just didn’t know which! They were clearly terrified of making a mistake, and their every move was jumpy.
The starter soup was reasonable- however the part-baked bread hadn’t been baked properly. The main was just awful- a solitary tough chicken leg on top of some lukewarm mash, and the smallest portion sizes you’ve ever seen, with barely cooked vegetables. The kids meals even worse- the kids burger was a quarter of an inch thick, on a plain roll with nothing else bar some chips and carrot sticks. They’d have got a better meal at a council daycare facility. But that’s not all. Oh no. The bride had ordered a burger. Someone saw fit to send out a kids meal, via silver service, to the bride at the top table on her wedding day. You couldn’t make it up. And when a replacement adults meal was sent out to her instead, it was cold. Let that sink in. They couldn’t even serve the bride a decent meal on her wedding day.
Dessert was nice- but it was the bride’s wedding cake, and apparently Syrencot wanted to charge her extra for doing that. They could at least have served it well- my slice was literally half the size of my neighbours. Even the kids on my table got a larger portion!
Every single bit of my experience at Syrencot felt as if the management ethos is ‘Who gives a crap? it’s a wedding- just treble the price’ The service and quality of food would be terrible at a village pub- for a wedding venue it’s just insulting.
I attended a wedding at Syrencot House last week. I thought it would also be a good excuse to test the venue for our planned wedding without the effort of a separate trip. It’s safe to say that Syrencot is off our list.
Firstly, the weather was terrible. This is a risk with any wedding in March, and of course, the venue cannot be held accountable for it. However, how they allow the weather to impact the comfort of their guests is most definitely within their control. And there’s no excuse for the comedy of errors that I experienced as a plus-one guest.
Upon arrival the rain was lashing down and the ground was soaking. The gravel car park had a giant lake in the middle of it, and these puddles were repeated all the way to the venue itself. Ladies in high heels were noticeably uncomfortable as it was simply not possible to avoid all the puddles.
Having arrived, soaked, we were dismayed to find that ‘the barn’ was freezing. The fire wasn’t lit, the heating wasn’t on. What’s worse is that the heating was never turned on, and the fire in the bar area was only lit after five PM and kept very small. This stingy attitude towards a few quid on the heating bill was a warning of what was to follow.
The bar drinks were extortionate (£4.50 for a small bottle of Coors 0%) and served by a teenage ‘barman’ who didn’t know the difference between light and dark rum. Thank God nobody ordered any cocktails (that I saw at least). No cash accepted, cards only.
After a few drinks and a single canape each it was off to ‘the glasshouse’, where, yet again, the heating wasn’t turned on. Thankfully the ceremony was a short one, and we duly formed a line and threw the confetti before being led around to the front of Syrencot House for the photos. Here the puddles caused yet more discomfort, as the party had to walk through one to get to the front of the house! The management must see these puddles every time it rains, there is simply no excuse for them. After an abortive photo session, the rain got the better of us and we were ushered to ‘the veranda’ for the photos. Imagine that you have paid for an expensive day at a posh country house. How do you feel about your main wedding photo looking like it was taken at the entrance to the food court at Marwell Zoo? Yup, that’s about the sum of it.
And so it was back inside with lunch scheduled for 15:00. Calamity ensued as there were insufficient places set at our table, and our names despite being on the main table plan in bar area were not replicated at the table. We waited off to one side for twenty five minutes whilst the staff sorted out space (just) at another table. The didn’t sort out the champagne though, so we were left raising an empty glass for toasts- thankfully I wasn’t drinking anyway.
Speeches ensued whilst the rain lashed down. At the end of the grooms speech, with perfect timing, the lights cut out. I waited with baited breath for something. But no, it was just a power cut. Now, powercuts can happen. But the lack of a backup generator is inexcusable. A power cut at a wedding venue has the potential to absolutely ruin a couples big day. The first few cuts lasted for a few minutes each, and presumably threw the kitchen into disarray as lunch wasn’t served until gone five. The last, much longer power cut was during the DJ set, and totally killed the vibe. All could (should?) have been prevented by the presence of a backup generator, at a dedicated wedding venue.
Lunch finally arrived- very, very slowly. Syrencot presumably advertise ‘silver service’. Well if you’re going to do silver service, do it right. Having a bunch of clueless teenagers led by one long suffering old hand is a recipe for disaster. Lunch would have been a much better experience if they’d just use both hands and got stuff out before it got cold. They were terribly trained, and I felt so sorry from them. They knew they had to serve from one side and take from the other, they just didn’t know which! They were clearly terrified of making a mistake, and their every move was jumpy.
The starter soup was reasonable- however the part-baked bread hadn’t been baked properly. The main was just awful- a solitary tough chicken leg on top of some lukewarm mash, and the smallest portion sizes you’ve ever seen, with barely cooked vegetables. The kids meals even worse- the kids burger was a quarter of an inch thick, on a plain roll with nothing else bar some chips and carrot sticks. They’d have got a better meal at a council daycare facility. But that’s not all. Oh no. The bride had ordered a burger. Someone saw fit to send out a kids meal, via silver service, to the bride at the top table on her wedding day. You couldn’t make it up. And when a replacement adults meal was sent out to her instead, it was cold. Let that sink in. They couldn’t even serve the bride a decent meal on her wedding day.
Dessert was nice- but it was the bride’s wedding cake, and apparently Syrencot wanted to charge her extra for doing that. They could at least have served it well- my slice was literally half the size of my neighbours. Even the kids on my table got a larger portion!
Every single bit of my experience at Syrencot felt as if the management ethos is ‘Who gives a crap? it’s a wedding- just treble the price’ The service and quality of food would be terrible at a village pub- for a wedding venue it’s just insulting.
Syrencot's reply:
Hi Ruben,
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with us. We are very sorry to hear that your experience with us did not meet your expectations. We value your feedback and are committed to addressing these issues to prevent similar situations in the future.
If you'd be willing, we would like to discuss the specifics of your experience in more detail to better understand and rectify the concerns you've raised. Please feel free to contact us at reviews@syrencot.co.uk, and we'll be more than happy to assist you further.
Best wishes, The Syrencot Team
