The Venue At Sandy Cove Reviews
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Claire Sent on 26/05/2026A dream come true!
We had the most incredible wedding at Sandy Cove. From our initial visit, emails and meetings in between to the wedding day the whole team were so professional, kind, helpful and you could see they genuinely loved their job. Our guests had a wonderful day with many saying it was the best wedding food they had ever had. We opted for the BBQ and wow, so much food! The wedding coordinators went out of their way to make sure everything was perfect. Our guests fell in love with the venue just like we did. Thank you again Sandy Cove team!! -
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Susan Sent on 07/09/2026A fabulous setting for your wedding
The Venue is the absolute perfect place for your wedding. We were looked after from the moment we booked the date. The hotel is fabulous, the staff couldn't do enough for us. The food was superb day and evening. A fabulous place with the added views. We will definitely be back!
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![Philip]()
Philip Sent on 01/09/2026An amazing venue and a magical day
From start to finish we were so happy with the service from Sandy Cove Hotel. The venue, with a pool and a private beach were incredible. The staff were so professional and organised. The rooms were clean and had an amazing view.( we booked Deluxe ses view)
Our wedding in August on a monday was just below £6000 whoch for the time of year for this venue is very well priced.
We had about 45 guests and opted for the traditional barbecue choice with canapés and evening food.
All in all the experience was 11/10. Do not hesitate to book. You will not be disappointed -
![Sophie]()
Sophie Sent on 19/08/2026A truly magical venue, but with some improvements needed to make it even better
The view from Sandy Cove is truly magical, and it really is a special place to get married. We were even lucky enough to see dolphins while having our photos taken after the ceremony, which was such a memorable moment.
I want to give a fair and balanced review because I genuinely believe Sandy Cove has the potential to be even better.
I work in the events industry, so I’m probably more observant than most, but so much time, effort and money goes into planning a wedding that naturally, you hope those little details will come together on the day.
There were some really wonderful members of staff who I’d particularly like to thank. Jaycee in the restaurant was brilliant and so lovely on the day, and Lisa (so incredibly lovely) and Phil on reception were amazing. In the lead-up to the wedding, Dawn, Kelly and Sharna were also incredibly helpful. The housekeeping staff whilst we stayed at the hotel were all wonderful too.
I want to be clear that this isn’t intended as criticism of the staff working on the day. If anything, I felt that everyone was working incredibly hard. I think some of the issues came from the sheer volume of weddings being delivered, and I completely appreciate how easy it is for smaller details to get missed when a venue is turning weddings around so frequently. My feeling is simply that there could be a stronger system in place to help prevent this happening.
I’m also mindful that events like this rely on support from multiple people working together behind the scenes. In the lead-up, I did ask whether I should have an on-the-day coordinator, and I was advised that it wasn’t necessary and that the team could manage everything. In hindsight, this wasn’t the case, and my biggest regret is not arranging an external coordinator to oversee the day. I think this would have made a real difference in ensuring those smaller but important details were fully managed.
The table décor was laid out exactly as I had asked and the inside of the venue looked beautiful. My vision really did come to life, which I was so pleased with.
There were, however, a few details that were disappointing, particularly because some of them were things that were really important to us personally.
The biggest one for me was our walk-in song. This was something we had specifically chosen and were really looking forward to, and unfortunately it wasn’t played (in fact, nothing was played) despite being clearly written in our notes and having its own labelled playlist on Spotify. It was such a special moment for us and one that obviously can’t be recreated, so I was genuinely quite upset that it was missed.
We also had a guest phone book with a label on the box reminding staff to turn it on, but I noticed at around 6pm that it still hadn’t been switched on. A minor detail was one of our signs still had the protective plastic on it, which a guest ended up removing, and there were also occasions where music was playing during speeches and our photographer had to remind staff to turn it off.
These things are all relatively small in isolation, but when you’ve spent months planning a wedding, they do matter. This truly is down to the fact they do too many weddings and there isn’t enough time in the morning to set things up and go over everything themselves in enough detail for each bride and groom.
One additional thing I did find quite uncomfortable was that, on the morning of the wedding, I could see other couples being shown around the venue for viewings. From our bedroom, we could see them touring the spaces where our wedding was about to take place. My partner could see them whilst he dropped off our wedding decor in the morning (this is unacceptable). It wasn’t a particularly nice feeling to see this happening on the morning of our own wedding, and it did take away slightly from the sense of exclusivity and calm you hope for on the day.
The cocktail hour, on the other hand, was fantastic. I loved that it could be set up on the terrace and the staff making the cocktails were working incredibly quickly. I was really impressed with how smoothly this part of the day ran.
The food was probably the area where I felt a little disappointed, although I do think this could potentially be solved quite easily. We were told that food tasting wasn’t available, and because the food is described as award-winning, naturally we went into the wedding with quite high expectations.
Unfortunately, we personally didn’t enjoy the chicken and brownie, and a few of our guests made similar comments. That said, friends who had the vegetarian option said theirs was delicious, so this may simply have been specific to the dishes we chose rather than a reflection of the food overall.
I actually think the option of a food tasting would make a huge difference. I would have happily paid extra for one before the wedding. When you’re spending thousands on such an important day, paying an additional couple of hundred pounds to taste the menu and make sure you’re completely happy with your choices feels like a really worthwhile option. I appreciate this may be difficult for Sandy Cove to offer given the number of weddings they host, but I think it would give couples a lot of reassurance and could potentially avoid disappointment on the day.
I also didn’t get to try any of the canapés, and I think it would have been a lovely touch to have some put aside for the bride and groom, as I know this is something some other venues offer.
One final point, which I found particularly disappointing, relates to the spa.
When we viewed Sandy Cove, one of the things we were really sold on was the idea that, with the majority of the hotel occupied by our wedding guests, we would effectively have the spa largely to ourselves. We had around 85% of the hotel rooms booked that weekend, with the remaining rooms also being occupied by guests attending the wedding on the Saturday.
On Saturday, however, the spa receptionist came and told us that we all needed to leave because other people had booked to use the facilities. When I asked who else would be using the spa, I was told that these were members of the public.
I found this particularly disappointing because the spa had been presented to us as one of the key benefits of having so many of our guests staying at the hotel. Between myself and our guests, we had spent over £20,000 staying at the hotel, so it was incredibly frustrating that we weren’t able to enjoy the facility in the way we had understood when booking. It was also very disappointing to be told that members of the public were being prioritised, especially given that spa access cannot be pre-booked until arrival. This feels like a significant issue with the hotel’s policy and something that should be carefully reviewed, as it does not align with the expectations set for wedding parties.
I’m mindful this is separate to the wedding itself but it was part of the wedding experience so feel it’s still important to mention.
I really don’t want individual members of staff to be blamed for the things that were missed. I appreciated how hard everyone was working. I simply think that this is managements responsibility and with the number of weddings being delivered, there needs to be a stronger system and final checklist in place to make sure those important details don’t get lost.
I really do care about the little details which is why I have to be honest about my experience but I cannot deny the view is absolutely stunning and is something all of my guests have commented on. The staff are so kind and lovely and it really is a magical place to get married.
The Venue At Sandy Cove's reply:
Thank you for taking the time to share such a thoughtful and balanced review of your wedding at Sandy Cove. We’re genuinely delighted to hear how much you loved the setting, the atmosphere and, most importantly, the wonderful memories you made here.
There is no doubt that the view from Sandy Cove is something very special, and we love hearing that you were lucky enough to see dolphins while having your photographs taken after the ceremony – what an incredible moment to have captured on your wedding day. 🐬❤️
We’re also so pleased that you’ve highlighted so many members of our team. Jaycee, Lisa, Phil, Dawn, Kelly and Sharna, along with our housekeeping team, will be absolutely thrilled to hear your kind words. Our teams put an enormous amount of care into looking after our couples and their guests, so it is particularly appreciated when that comes through in a review.
It is also lovely to hear that the décor was set up as you had requested and that the venue looked beautiful and reflected the vision you had worked so hard to create. We’re delighted that the cocktail hour was a highlight too, with the terrace, cocktails and service all coming together as you had hoped. We’re sorry that some of the smaller details weren’t quite as seamless as they should have been, and we absolutely understand why those personal touches matter so much on a day that has taken months of planning.
There are, however, two points in the review that we feel may have arisen from a misunderstanding of how our venue operates, and we would like to clarify these for future couples considering Sandy Cove.
Our spa and your wedding weekend
Sandy Cove is not a public spa, and access to our spa facilities is carefully managed because the comfort, relaxation and safety of our hotel guests is extremely important to us.
We do offer Afternoon Tea and selected spa packages to non-residents, but these are offered on a very limited basis and are subject to our maximum capacity. This is important because our spa is deliberately designed to be a peaceful and intimate facility rather than a high-volume public leisure spa.
During your wedding weekend, there were just two non-resident spa guests on the day of check-in, none on the day of the wedding itself, and three on the day of check-out. We therefore hope this gives some useful context around the very limited number of external guests using the facilities.
We completely appreciate that, with the majority of the hotel occupied by your wedding party, there was an expectation that the spa would feel largely exclusive to your guests. We’re sorry if the arrangements were understood differently when you booked, but our spa has never been operated as an exclusively private facility for wedding parties, and access is always subject to capacity and our health and safety requirements.
On one occasion, we understand that the maximum capacity did cause frustration for one of your guests. This is not something we take lightly, but capacity limits are there to protect the experience of everyone using the spa. We would never want the facilities to become overcrowded simply to accommodate additional guests.
We hope this clarification reassures future couples that the spa is certainly not a busy public facility, but rather a carefully managed hotel spa which offers a very limited number of external bookings alongside our resident guests.
Exclusive use and venue viewings
We also understand why seeing prospective couples being shown around the venue on the morning of your wedding did not feel like the experience you were expecting, particularly when you had so many guests staying with us.
Our exclusive-use period begins at 10.30am. Sandy Cove is a destination wedding venue, as are a number of other wedding venues locally, and because of this we do need to show prospective couples around the venue before the exclusive-use period begins. Without doing this, it simply would not be possible for us to continue welcoming and booking future couples.
Importantly, this does not mean that other couples are being allowed into your wedding or that they have access to your exclusive-use event. Viewings take place before exclusive hire begins, and once exclusive use commences, the venue is yours for your celebration.
This arrangement is explained within our terms and conditions and is also covered within the final details documentation provided to couples in advance. However, we are sorry if this wasn't fully understood or if it wasn't sufficiently prominent during your planning journey. We certainly never want a couple to feel that their wedding morning has been intruded upon, and your feedback is useful in helping us make sure this aspect of the exclusive-use arrangements is communicated as clearly as possible.
We would also like to reassure future couples that seeing a prospective couple during the morning does not diminish the exclusivity of their wedding day. Our wedding teams work carefully around the preparations taking place, and once the exclusive-use period begins, the venue is dedicated to the wedding party.
Ultimately, we are incredibly proud of what makes Sandy Cove such a special wedding destination: the dramatic coastal setting, breathtaking views, beautiful spaces, on-site accommodation, spa, terraces, wonderful food and, above all, a team of genuinely caring people.
We’re grateful that, despite the areas you felt could have been better, you still describe Sandy Cove as a “magical place to get married” and that your guests have commented so positively on the view and our staff. Those are exactly the things we hope every couple takes away from their time with us.
Thank you again for your honest feedback. We will always listen, learn and look for ways to improve, while also wanting to ensure that future couples have a clear and accurate understanding of how our exclusive-use and spa arrangements work before choosing us for their special day.
For us, there is nothing quite like seeing a couple exchange vows overlooking the North Devon coast – and we’re so pleased you were able to experience that magic for yourselves. ❤️ -
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