Syrencot

I attended a wedding at Syrencot House last week. I thought it would also be a good excuse to test the venue for our planned wedding without the effort of a separate trip. It’s safe to say that Syrencot is off our list. Firstly, the weather was terrible. This is a risk with any wedding in March, and of course, the venue cannot be held accountable for it. However, how they allow the weather to impact the comfort of their guests is most definitely within their control. And there’s no excuse for the comedy of errors that I experienced as a plus-one guest. Upon arrival the rain was lashing down and the ground was soaking. The gravel car park had a giant lake in the middle of it, and these puddles were repeated all the way to the venue itself. Ladies in high heels were noticeably uncomfortable as it was simply not possible to avoid all the puddles. Having arrived, soaked, we were dismayed to find that ‘the barn’ was freezing. The fire wasn’t lit, the heating wasn’t on. What’s worse is that the heating was never turned on, and the fire in the bar area was only lit after five PM and kept very small. This stingy attitude towards a few quid on the heating bill was a warning of what was to follow. The bar drinks were extortionate (£4.50 for a small bottle of Coors 0%) and served by a teenage ‘barman’ who didn’t know the difference between light and dark rum. Thank God nobody ordered any cocktails (that I saw at least). No cash accepted, cards only. After a few drinks and a single canape each it was off to ‘the glasshouse’, where, yet again, the heating wasn’t turned on. Thankfully the ceremony was a short one, and we duly formed a line and threw the confetti before being led around to the front of Syrencot House for the photos. Here the puddles caused yet more discomfort, as the party had to walk through one to get to the front of the house! The management must see these puddles every time it rains, there is simply no excuse for them. After an abortive photo session, the rain got the better of us and we were ushered to ‘the veranda’ for the photos. Imagine that you have paid for an expensive day at a posh country house. How do you feel about your main wedding photo looking like it was taken at the entrance to the food court at Marwell Zoo? Yup, that’s about the sum of it. And so it was back inside with lunch scheduled for 15:00. Calamity ensued as there were insufficient places set at our table, and our names despite being on the main table plan in bar area were not replicated at the table. We waited off to one side for twenty five minutes whilst the staff sorted out space (just) at another table. The didn’t sort out the champagne though, so we were left raising an empty glass for toasts- thankfully I wasn’t drinking anyway. Speeches ensued whilst the rain lashed down. At the end of the grooms speech, with perfect timing, the lights cut out. I waited with baited breath for something. But no, it was just a power cut. Now, powercuts can happen. But the lack of a backup generator is inexcusable. A power cut at a wedding venue has the potential to absolutely ruin a couples big day. The first few cuts lasted for a few minutes each, and presumably threw the kitchen into disarray as lunch wasn’t served until gone five. The last, much longer power cut was during the DJ set, and totally killed the vibe. All could (should?) have been prevented by the presence of a backup generator, at a dedicated wedding venue. Lunch finally arrived- very, very slowly. Syrencot presumably advertise ‘silver service’. Well if you’re going to do silver service, do it right. Having a bunch of clueless teenagers led by one long suffering old hand is a recipe for disaster. Lunch would have been a much better experience if they’d just use both hands and got stuff out before it got cold. They were terribly trained, and I felt so sorry from them. They knew they had to serve from one side and take from the other, they just didn’t know which! They were clearly terrified of making a mistake, and their every move was jumpy. The starter soup was reasonable- however the part-baked bread hadn’t been baked properly. The main was just awful- a solitary tough chicken leg on top of some lukewarm mash, and the smallest portion sizes you’ve ever seen, with barely cooked vegetables. The kids meals even worse- the kids burger was a quarter of an inch thick, on a plain roll with nothing else bar some chips and carrot sticks. They’d have got a better meal at a council daycare facility. But that’s not all. Oh no. The bride had ordered a burger. Someone saw fit to send out a kids meal, via silver service, to the bride at the top table on her wedding day. You couldn’t make it up. And when a replacement adults meal was sent out to her instead, it was cold. Let that sink in. They couldn’t even serve the bride a decent meal on her wedding day. Dessert was nice- but it was the bride’s wedding cake, and apparently Syrencot wanted to charge her extra for doing that. They could at least have served it well- my slice was literally half the size of my neighbours. Even the kids on my table got a larger portion! Every single bit of my experience at Syrencot felt as if the management ethos is ‘Who gives a crap? it’s a wedding- just treble the price’ The service and quality of food would be terrible at a village pub- for a wedding venue it’s just insulting.

I’ll start by saying we got married 6 months ago and still feel frustrated enough by the whole thing to leave a review now. When we first viewed the venue, we were sold the dream; a stunning dog friendly venue that prides itself on the best service. Sadly all bar the stunning venue, we found the rest to be a lie. The issues started after we had our planning meeting with our coordinator. We were told that we would need to sign a dog policy, write to the land owner referencing our dogs’ behaviour for permission (this turned out to not be the case), sign a ridiculous form which includes confirming our female dog won’t urinate on any grass and that in fact they are only allowed in the ceremony room and walled gardens on leads and when not there they have to be crated(!). I don’t see how with these strict rules they can honestly call themselves dog friendly. I know another bride who booked the venue specifically to have her dog there but could make the logistics worked and ended up in tears on her wedding day over it. This was just the beginning, we have a 1 year old. At first we were told a cot would be available during our stay. Then two months before, we were told that the cot is not longer available for health and safety concerns. I spoke to them after this and mentioned that it was a little disappointing, they then replied to say that on this occasion they would honour it and allow use- despite being witheld for health and safety reasons- needless to say, we politely declined the offer not wanting to put our baby in a death trap! The planning continued to be a headache. They require OTT risk assessments and insurance docs for every single supplier to be sent to them in advance which caused unnecessary wedmin for couples before their big day. Be warned, some suppliers won’t work with them because they are renowned for being the most difficult wedding supplier in the area and won’t be wedding market picking up, suppliers can choose to be a little picky if they don’t need the headache. They also tried to overcharge us for the stay at Syrencot House quite significantly which involved a lot of more unnecessary stress. To date, their invoice still doesn’t add up! The venue give you an arrival time of 9am which my suppliers were worried about. Knowing another (unhappy) bride who got married there, she advised we ask to arrive at 8am (as she did). The unhelpful wedding coordinator outright said no. However, speaking to someone else they said it wouldn’t be a problem! The morning itself was lovely until our event coordinator turned up for her shift. She came in the the bridal suit and you could tell she was moody. After a quick forced hello, she left and returned about an hour later. When she returned she told us we had an hour to pack up the bridal suite. Fine. She then came back 30 minutes later and snapped at us all, “you know you’ve only got 30 minutes, you need to get all this stuff out”. She made everyone stressed and also there was no offer of help. Her attitude was disgusting. Even our suppliers commented on her awful approach. Once we cleared the room, we made our way to the honeymoon suite. Around 45 minutes before the ceremony she came up with no prior warning and said the registrar is ready for you. My baby had just woken up and was crying, I asked if I could settle him and sooth him. She looked at her watch, said we don’t have time, we’re running late and forced me to leave my upset baby. Turns out after I’d met with them I was waiting around for ages in a guest room (as I wasn’t allowed back in the honeymoon suite for whatever reason) and we were actually early for the ceremony. She rushed us so much unnecessarily that I didn’t have time to put my earrings on and my baby was so stressed before and during the ceremony, all of which could have been prevented if she showed a little compassion and consideration (and didn’t lie about the time pressures)! The service didn’t get any better. I was expecting (as we paid and it was our day) to be regularly looked after for drinks and canapés but we had one drink immediately after. We were having photos and no one came to top us up, didn’t have another drink until the wedding breakfast. They really should have asked if they could get us anything in that 4 hours, is it too much to ask after you’ve paid them Circe £25k?! We resorted to getting waters from the hotel rooms. The wedding breakfast wasn’t any better, I (the bride) was served the wrong starter and we were very much neglected. The service wasn’t what we expected, a thorough disappointment. The food was good though. Going in to the evening we didn’t even get any pizza we ordered, again, poor front on the service side. I’ve been to so many weddings in less service focussed venues and at all the bride and groom are so excellently looked after. We were left to our own. The following morning when we went to collect our items from the farm shed we noticed all the leftover wedding favours we missing (biscuits with guests names on). There were about 20 left over and somehow they all disappeared after guests left the room ready for the transition to the evening event. We hired Syrencot House for exclusive access, unfortunately that proved not to be the case as they decided to show people around the venue and even enter the breakfast room where most of us were at the time. My advice to any future bride would be to find another venue, as stunning as it is, the service and stress simply wasn’t worth it. Frankly, you don’t get what you pay for.

Syrencot is an absolutely stunning venue and having our wedding here was the best decision that we made! The venue provided the perfect backdrop for our photos, the food was complimented by all of the guests and the accommodation is modern and comfortable. I would recommend this venue to anyone!

I recently attended a family wedding at Syrencot. The setting is lovely, the food could not be faulted and the staff were both professional and friendly; a credit to the business. The whole day was lovely.

I recently attended a family wedding at Syrencot. The setting is lovely, the food could not be faulted and the staff were both professional and friendly; a credit to the business. The whole day was lovely.

As a wedding photographer I see so many venues and Syrencot is incredible, it's one of my absolute favourites. It ticks all the boxes and has everything you could wish for in a venue. The buildings & interiors are beautiful, with a fabulous mix of both classic and contemporary styles. The food & service are absolutely brilliant, both delicious and beautifully presented. The on site accommodation is wonderful, and the bridal prep room is one of the best I've seen in any venue. As well as all this they give you the option to have your ceremony on site either in doors or outside. It's a perfect venue in all weathers.