Oatlands Park Hotel

We went home feeling deflated. The bad food, the poor service and the manager’s dismissive attitude spoiled our Christmas Day and dominated the conversation. Some relatives managed a small portion, three of us sent our meals back, and two of us developed bad stomachs while still at the restaurant. With people queuing for food and others having to use the bathroom, our family couldn’t sit together at any one time. We had booked Christmas dinner there with the family, paying the full £775 upfront at the beginning of 2025. They required all the money in advance and didn’t offer a deposit. It worked out at £150 per person, which made the experience even harder to accept. The buffet queue took 20 minutes, with just one server, and nobody checked back on us. The food was cold and sitting in oil. The turkey was a tough, compressed-looking meat that seemed like it came from Iceland. When I asked for properly cooked beef, they microwaved it to cook it through. Desserts arrived cold too; one family member had to ask for theirs to be heated in a microwave, and the cold desserts were warm. We tried to complain on the day, but the manager was rude and dismissive and told us to email. My daughter did, and after several emails back and forth the manager still said they felt the restaurant had met its standards. Many other families complained that day and were also brushed off. After my daughter’s last email, nobody replied. It feels like they’re hoping the issue will go away. I’ll take this further through Resolver, Google reviews and legal advice, and possibly court action if advised. Please don’t book this restaurant for food. The service was absolutely disgusting. Avoid this hotel.

The sweet was good, but the bar area was very noisy. We stayed one night on 20/02/26 and had a three-course meal in the restaurant. The main course was disappointing. The chicken breast looked pale and wasn’t very warm, and the glazed carrots amounted to one lukewarm carrot. The plate was swimming in yellow liquid, presumably butter. The menu called the potatoes “Anna”, but they looked so awful I couldn’t eat them. The leek and potato soup to start was watery and lacking flavour.

The staff were welcoming and really friendly, and I’d return. The building and decor are beautiful, and the location is excellent. Breakfast was very good, with a great range of choices. The food was good too, though the menu felt a little limited and stayed the same each day.

The heating problems were upsetting on a day that mattered so much, especially after paying over £800 for the stay. Portable heaters and moving rooms again and again shouldn’t have been necessary if the central heating had worked. There’s no monetary amount that can truly make up for the damage to the most special day of my life. The distress and disruption will stay with me forever. I’d welcome a public explanation from hotel management about how this happened. I booked specifically for wedding preparations and a bridal photoshoot, expecting a comfortable, professional stay. Instead, one room had a strong, unpleasant smell and had to be changed straight away. Reception arranged it, but the move disrupted an already important and time-sensitive day. That night both rooms became extremely cold, even though it was around -5°C outside. The night team came several times and brought portable heaters, but they didn’t help. We were moved again in the middle of the night, and the new rooms were no warmer. By about 4:00am, all six of us had to squeeze into one room just to stay warm. There was also confusion over whether we were allowed to take wedding photos, despite prior written agreement with hotel staff. Being stopped in the middle of the photoshoot added stress at an already emotional time. After the stay, I formally raised these issues and asked for a refund. It was refused, and my experience has been repeatedly dismissed, despite written email confirmation about the photoshoot and what happened overnight. Edited 02/02/2026 Thank you for replying. The matter still isn’t resolved. Despite extensive correspondence and written evidence about the heating failure and photography permission, my request for a fair resolution has been refused and my experience dismissed. I’m still open to resolving this directly and would welcome meaningful engagement instead of a generic response. Given how significant this booking was, I hope management will reconsider.