Oatlands Park Hotel

Please avoid this hotel’s restaurant for food. We went home deflated and sad that Christmas Day had been ruined by bad food and service. It dominated the conversation, and our family was split up by queuing for food, bathroom trips, and not all being able to sit together. Some relatives managed a small portion, three of us sent our food back, and two of us had upset stomachs while we were still at the restaurant. We’d paid £775 in full at the start of 2025 for Christmas dinner with my family, and they’d required all the money upfront with no deposit option. At £150 per person, the meal was unacceptable. The buffet had one server, and we queued about 20 minutes. 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 beef that was actually cooked, they microwaved it through. Desserts were cold too, and a family member had to ask for theirs to be warmed in a microwave. The service was terrible, with no check-backs. There were lots of families complaining on the day, but the manager was rude and dismissive, telling us to email a complaint. My daughter did, and after several emails the manager still dismissed us and said they felt they had met their standards. There was no reply to her last email. It seemed like they expected the problem to go away. I’ll take this further through Resolver, Google reviews, legal advice, and possibly court action if advised. Avoid.

The bar was very noisy. We stayed one night on 20/02/26 and had a three-course dinner. Dessert was good, but the rest was disappointing. The leek and potato soup was watery and bland. The chicken breast looked unappealing and wasn’t very warm, as were the single glazed carrot and the plate of potatoes Anna. A yellow liquid, which I presume was butter, covered the plate. The potatoes looked so bad I couldn’t eat them.

It’s a lovely building with beautiful decor and an excellent location. The staff were friendly and welcoming, and I’d return. The food was very good, though the menu was a bit limited and stayed the same each day. Breakfast was also very good, with a wide range of choices at the buffet.

For my wedding preparations and bridal photoshoot, I booked this hotel expecting a comfortable, professional stay. Instead, the experience caused a lot of distress on a very important day. One room smelled strongly and unpleasantly when we arrived, so reception moved us, disrupting an already time-sensitive day. Later, 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. Around 4:00am, all six of us had to squeeze into one room just to stay warm. Properly working central heating would have made the heaters and repeated moves unnecessary. We’d paid over £800 for the stay, which made it particularly upsetting. There was also confusion over permission for wedding photography, despite prior written agreement with hotel staff. Being stopped partway through the photoshoot added stress at an already emotional time. Afterwards I made a formal complaint and asked for a refund. It was refused, and my account of what happened has repeatedly been dismissed despite written emails confirming the photography permission and the events overnight. Nothing could truly make up for the damage to what should have been the most special day of my life, and the distress and disruption will stay with me. I’d welcome a public explanation from hotel management about how this happened. Edited 02/02/2026: Thanks for replying, but this is still unresolved. Despite extensive correspondence and written evidence about the heating failure and photography permission, my request for a fair resolution was refused and my experience dismissed. I’m still open to settling this directly and would welcome meaningful engagement rather than a generic response. Given the importance of this booking, I hope management will reconsider.