Hengrave Hall

Enchanting house and location (for the wedding we attended in Q2 2013) for sure, but the venue is a mix of private residences and public venue this is the only explanation I can possibly imagine for the bar shutting at 11.30 and the venue itself being forcibly emptied by security staff by midnight. What I cannot explain is the appalling attitude of the staff every single one of them was rude and unhelpful and everything was too much trouble. We stayed in a barn/​house on the grounds with four other couples spending £150 for each room (£750 in total for our house alone). The house itself was well appointed and smart, but the large lounge and kitchen were, in no uncertain terms, off limits. I was told bluntly that we lock the lounges up for weddings and check out was 9.15am on a Sunday morning after a wedding. Given more than 20 of us were unceremoniously dumped out into the grounds at midnight, with nowhere to go except sit on the stairs of our barns (where alcohol is banned by the way) we were at least able to get an early night and get up on time to comply with the demands to check out (including removing our cars!) by 9.15am to attend a cold cooked breakfast delivered by unsmiling staff. We did try to ask to have our lounge opened up, but there is no reception/​night staff and the hotel only provides a Vodafone delivered answering service! The bridal breakfast was even disturbed by a member of staff demanding to know where my friends room key was he left it in his room instead of on the appointed hook outside the room!
The hall is beautiful, the fittings and set up is top quality but they have no idea who the customer is, and this has to be the most unwelcoming place we have ever stayed. When I read reviews as bad as this, my immediate thought is that the author must have been unruly, demanding and unpleasant to create such responses from the staff none of us were. In the main the bridal party ranges mid-​30s to mid-​40s so we were certainly not hooligans out to wreck their lovely property, but we were made to feel so unwelcome it was unbelievable. If you want a magical day/​night that you and your friends will remember, choose somewhere else.

Elegant. Enchanting. Timeless. Hengrave Hall will transport you to another world. This exquisitely beautiful Tudor mansion, located just north of Bury St Edmunds and in the heart of the picturesque village of Hengrave, boasts almost fifty acres of sweeping lawns and meadows, a majestic lake, and its own idyllic chapel.
Hengrave Hall is where we got married & wouldn’t change a thing. David & Mary have taken great pride (and time) in bringing Hengrave back to life. The rooms are beautiful and everything has been well thought out.