Healds Hall Hotel

Booking online might help avoid the mix-up we had over our reservation time, which caused some confusion at the start. The food was tasty and well prepared, easily the best part of the evening, but service fell short. There seemed to be plenty of staff, yet we had to call someone over just to order drinks and struggled to get attention through the night. The music even stopped during dinner and stayed off until I asked a staff member to switch it back on, which interrupted the atmosphere. The dishes were good, but below-average service took away from the experience.

The venue looked amazing with its decorations, and the food was absolutely outstanding. We were grateful that everything went off without a hitch. Matt was there throughout the planning to offer advice, then was just as amazing on the day. Every member of staff was fantastic, and none could have done more for us. Several guests have since said it was one of the best weddings they’ve attended, if not the best. I can’t recommend Healds Hall enough.

The meal itself was really poor, especially compared with the many family meals we’ve had at Healds Hall before, which were all 5 out of 5. I doubt we’ll be back. The soup looked bland and had no flavour. The beef was meant to be medium, but was so rare it seemed like a defibrillator might bring it back to life. The pork also seemed undercooked and was very fatty. We got only two small roasties each, and the other vegetables were in short supply too. By the time everyone had been served, the food was cold. The sweets were fine, though hard to get wrong. We were a family group of 20 celebrating together. The room and table looked well presented, though it was a little chilly, not uncomfortably so. Staff were polite but seemed disorganised bringing out the food and drinks.

The staff are brilliant and the food is very nice. My room, though, was really cold, and the hot water took 10 minutes to come through for a shower. It’s a shame there isn’t a lounge area away from the restaurant where you can sit and enjoy an evening drink or a coffee after breakfast.