I celebrated my 60th Birthday at Offley Place on 21st December. I have been there several times before for a wedding reception and dinner and because of that I decided to celebrate my birthday there and must say it was the perfect venue!
It is a beautiful hotel situated in gorgeous grounds.I was delighted with the evening, everything went so well, the location, the food, accommodation and the staff. It was the perfect evening and I will never forgot it.
The staff are so helpful and friendly and couldn't do enough for us.
Breakfast the next day was excellent and in very relaxed surroundings.
22 of us stayed overnight and everyone commented on how good everything was.
I would highly recommend Offley Place for a special occasion or just for an evening meal.

I loved the location, but the food was inedible and the service was on par with the food.

I have had better food and service on a Ryanair flight!!!!

It was the setting for a wedding, and wasn't cheap... So you expect to get what you pay for. They were catering for 30/40 heads.

The starter looked and tasted like it had come out of a freezer pack, filo prawns with no taste or texture.

The main course came out at different times, across the room so people had finished before others had even started.

The main consisted of a bland chicken breast with a poor attempt of a sauce drizzled over it with steamed veg and a whole peeled potato. Hardly a fine dining experience to start with...
The fact that the steamed carrots were the most tasteful thing on the plate explains a lot.

The Potato wasn't even cooked properly - not just on my plate but as I looked across the room, not one person had made a sizable dent into their starchy tuber.

---------------------A chef that can't cook a potato, really shouldn't be a chef --------------------------------

(I don't think many hung around for the dessert and you could find the party at the bar - drinking away the terrible tastes in our mouths)

In the morning, we decided to give the kitchen another chance, maybe it was an off night etc etc.
But to our amazement the breakfast was just like the dinner. A full English that was cooked poorly, and with no love or passion from the kitchen.

When a member of family asked for theirs to come without eggs - the response and tone was incredible!!! "You get what's on the plate, if you don't like eggs you can just leave them"

WOW - really???

For a hotel and wedding venue that costs circa £150 per room per night you would certainly not expect that.

(considering we had booked out the entire hotel that evening, plus a lot more guests who came for the evening reception)

It really was a poor display on their part.

We have written to them, to let them know our displeasure directly, expecting an apology, perhaps even a good-will gesture on their part (as we didn't get what we paid for)

We heard nothing back...... Say's it all really!

If you are looking for a couple of nights away, or need a hotel locally - I would recommend the Hilton Garden Inn, 10 mins down the road.. (granted the location isn't quite the same) But at a third of the price, the food is decent and the staff bend over backwards to ensure you have a great stay - there is no comparison!

I stayed for two nights on the 27th December as my friend was getting married at Offley Place on the 28th December. The house is beautiful with a nice driveway and views across the countryside.

The entrance hall is beautiful and you can see the sweeping staircase as you enter. The reception desk is located on the left hand side, and there is a lounge on the right hand side. Through the arch way is a nice cosy bar and the restaurant located in front of you. We had dinner in the restaurant on the Friday night and the wood was fabulous! The service was extremely friendly and professional.

I stayed the first night in the Bridal suite which is very large and has a fantastic and very comfortable four poster bed. The bathroom had a separate bath and shower. On the second night, I stayed in a standard room which was slightly smaller but was still very comfortable. There was a double bed and a pull out bed tucked away in a cupboard. The bathroom had a large bath and a shower overhead. All rooms have tea and coffee making facilities and flat screen TV's.

The wedding was fabulous and we had use of the whole house. The staff took care of everything and didn't mind how noisy we got! The setting was perfect and the tables were laid out beautifully in the conservatory (which was turned into the dance floor a bit later).

Breakfast was fantastic (and much needed with the hangovers we had). A choice of continental and whatever you would like cooked!!! I can highly recommend Offley Place for a nice relaxing break or if you are planning a wedding!!