Venue 2 - The Small Hotel

This was a boutique hotel in a beautiful village. It’s a typical Cotswolds village (similar to Bourton on the Water or Broadway) and very picturesque. Think Cotswold stone, winding lanes, doorways with roses growing around them and a small river running through the centre with stone bridges crisscrossing it. It was a sunny day in July so there was quite a lot of tourist traffic, a coach full of Japanese tourists was arriving as we got there.

This had been our third choice venue, neither of us had been there before but we liked the look of it on the website and people had told us it was nice, however we really didn’t have any preconceptions and were completely blown away by the beauty of the village and the hotel from the outside. It was an old hotel on the side of the river, built in Cotswold stone and covered in ivy. As we drove into the village and it came in to view we both went quiet and I think I might have whispered something like ‘oooh it’s pretty’.

The hotel was decorated nicely inside, quite dark blues and greens and with fireplaces, eclectic furniture and overstuffed armchairs etc (Think stereotypical English countryside hotel). The function room was being redecorated, but would eventually be dark blue walls with white panelling on the bottom half, and a blue and green tartan style carpet. The carpet wasn’t laid yet but it was throughout the hotel in other rooms, and one wall was painted, so we could get a vague idea of what it would look like. The blue was a pretty overpowering colour to be honest it wouldn’t leave much choice of colour scheme. They would have been happy to hold a date for us until the work was completed a few weeks later and we could look around again before making any financial commitment.

We would have had use of the main function room and also the adjoining library exclusively and then could also use the bar and communal areas of the hotel. The restaurant and bar had a nice terrace area and were decorated in a modern but comfortable theme. The bedrooms were nice, although expensive, and all had gorgeous big bathrooms and huge beds.  However, the ‘Bridal Suite’ was really just a standard room with a few added extras, and while most rooms had nice views over the village it looked out into the back of the hotel. It had a 4 poster bed and a nice bathroom but in reality it was the same as the other (expensive) rooms and would have cost even more. 

The real reason we liked this place so much was the village it was in and the garden of the hotel, it was on the other side of the road from the hotel and not massive (about the size of 2 tennis courts maybe). There were 2 streams/rivers running the length of the garden on either side and the landscaping was well done, with paths, trellis (trellis’? trelli?), nice garden furniture and deck chairs, level grassy areas and flowers and shrubs in beds at either end. You could have the ceremony outside, and although the village does get busy the hotel gardens are for guests only, and we had them to ourselves that morning. The hotel and gardens were on the main road through the village though, literally right on it there wasn’t even a pavement, so they weren’t actually that quiet or secluded and I would maybe feel a little on show having the ceremony outside.

The events planner also said that the village hosts a yearly duck race, and a popular thing to do is to have a mini duck race in the river running through the garden. We thought this was such a lovely idea, you could give the rubber ducks as favours and let people decorate them  then have the race after the meal while the room is being changed around for the evening. The river ran through a paved channel in the garden and ended at a grate on the wall which would catch the ducks at the end of the race, it was quite shallow and even so would be easy to drop ducks into and everyone could take part.

So, what was right?

• The location. The surrounding area, the village and countryside were gorgeous. The backdrop for photos would have been great.
• The gardens and the duck race, I was so in love with this idea that it really was the main plus point of the venue for me, and we’re trying to think of something similar at the place we actually booked (any ideas please let me know!).
•  The hotel looked very well run and the events co-ordinator was very organised, it felt like the event would be well handled.
• The hotel itself was also pretty as well as the area around it, the inside was nicely decorated and everything felt quite luxurious and well done.
• The menu in the restaurant looked good, and it was the kind of place where we could adapt the menu to fit.
• The bedrooms were nice, spacious and beautifully decorated.

What was wrong?

• In this post I explained that we didn’t want to book somewhere just on the strength of the outside as the British weather may let us down on the day. We were there on a glorious day in the middle of the July heat wave, but we tried to imagine it on a wet day. If we were confined to inside, the hotel actually was not very large so we would be in 2 rooms which although they were nice were just function rooms at the end of the day and would maybe feel a bit cramped.
• The tourists. While we were in the gardens people were all milling around outside and taking photos of the hotel and gardens (and us in the gardens). It kind of spoiled the vibe of a nice country hotel tucked away in a little village having it surrounded by crowds of people. The road was right outside the hotel and it was pretty busy with cars going over the bridge to get in and out of the village. This was midweek, on a sunny Saturday it would be even busier.
• The bedrooms were very expensive although they were the nicest ones out of the 3 venues, but the bridal suite was disappointing.
•  The popularity of the area with tourists also meant that hotel rooms are booked up far in advance, so we would need to reserve a lot of rooms. We would have had the cost of the rooms taken off our final payment, and our guests would just pay for their rooms at reception on check out as normal but it was an initial outlay we wouldn’t have elsewhere.

All in all we loved it, and agreed we would stay there sometime for a nice romantic break. It only just lost out to the other venue that we had seen. Although we really went back and forth for a few days and had to do a list of pros and cons for both before we really were sure. More on the one we booked soon!