The Town Hall Hotel

We booked our wedding ceremony and drinks reception at the Townhall two years before our wedding date. There were red flags from the start: our contract had another couple’s name on it and listed the wrong fee. In the lead-up to the wedding, there were four different contact changes. While I understand that staff turnover happens, each change felt like starting from scratch. It seemed there were no proper handover notes, and I had to repeatedly explain what we wanted. We were offered a discount code for rooms at the hotel, but it ended up costing us more than if we had just booked online ourselves. The day before the wedding, we arrived and were told that the bar we had booked wasn’t actually available—apparently, it hadn’t been for over a year. This was news to us. I had to deal with someone I’d never spoken to before, even though I had already had planning calls with two other staff members. I was treated as if I had lied about booking the bar and was asked to provide our booking confirmation. The staff had a year and multiple conversations with me to verify this, yet failed to do so. We had been promised a fully stocked bar with dedicated bar staff. Instead, we got a room with one person serving drinks, who disappeared halfway through the event. Our guests had to serve themselves. The room itself had not been set up as requested, despite me providing a floor plan ahead of time at their request. They ignored it. On the morning of the wedding, I received a call asking if we wanted reserved signs put down, something we had already discussed in a call and over email. This should have been organized well before the day of the event! As the ceremony approached, the room still wasn’t ready. Our videographer and groomsmen had to step in and reorganize it because the events team was nowhere to be found. We had also put down a tab for soft drinks, but only two were served, and our guests had to ask for them. After the wedding, we emailed the Townhall to request the remaining balance from the tab. Three emails later, we still haven’t received a response. For a five-star hotel, this level of service is absolutely baffling and rude. I cannot recommend this venue—the only stress I experienced on my wedding day came from them. Despite all my careful planning, they ignored nearly everything. In stark contrast, our evening venue was fantastic. They had far more to organize than the Townhall did, yet everything went smoothly. Their professionalism only highlighted what a shambles the Townhall was. UPDATE: Since this review was left the Townhall hotel have refunded us the charge of the bar and given us a 1 night stay including dinner and breakfast at the hotel as an apology.