A 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.