As father of the groom this is a…
As father of the groom this is a personal comment. It is the detail which makes for happy memories. We had 70 guests for a February wedding. It was cold, I don’t mean just chilly, it was near freezing. There was very little in the way of heating in the venue, (called the Fairway suite) so sitting for the meal, most of us were cold, some uncomfortably so, particularly the ladies in their dresses. The evening was better as people were able to go to their rooms and change and being able to dance, helped. What was good was a play area for the children. In the evening, about 8 pm we had what was called a hog roast. Basically some pulled pork in a bun with a choice of new potatoes, some stuffing and coleslaw. Maybe it is just me but I would have expected to be able to have a coffee or tea afterwards but this was not available. Instead I had to go outside and into the other bar where there was a Starbucks machine. I got there just in time before 9pm as the machine was about to be turned off for cleaning. The barman was a pleasant chap as were the rest of the staff, not so the manager’s attitude.
We had paid for a late checkout by 1pm the next day, so as to enable us to use the facilities. My daughter, (the groom’s sister) was booked into a room and did not change the name on the booking, but literally on the day of the wedding, due to unforeseen circumstances, she knew she had to go home in the evening and come back the following morning. So another wedding guest booked into her room instead. My daughter came back around 11am the next day, with her year old daughter all ready to go to the pool where a few of us were, but she was refused entry even though she offered to pay extra and was one of the wedding party. I spoke to the manager but he would not budge. Any excuse he may have made about the number of people in the pool was rubbish. I came out from the side of the pool and I know there was about 4 of us sitting on the side with 2 or 3 people actually in the pool. Also, I understand rules are rules but given my daughter is the groom’s sister and was part of the wedding party, the manager could have made an exception. It is not as though a big party was trying to get into the pool. So be aware you will need a room number. Also, Bryn Meadows is not exactly the cheapest, so check your details. As I said it is the detail which makes for happy memories and this episode certainly took the gloss off.