Accommodation - Booking in Onetangi

27th May 2011
Based in London our parents-in-law identified The Estate as an ideal, no hassle, upmarket venue for our wedding. We were so confident in the website write up and initial engagement. Once we paid our deposit we soon realised we had a problem. Communicaiton with the owners was abrupt, rude and dismissive. Initial costings were soon being blown out of the water and it was quite obvious this was not going to be the one-stop shop they had marketed themselves as. Within two weeks I cancelled and started looking for another venue ...loosing our desposit in full. A small price to pay. We landed up at Mudbrick. Only saw the venue the night before my wedding and whilst I appreciate its very much a 'wedding factory' as Julian from The Estate referred to it ...I can assure you that I was made to feel very unique, very individual and very special on my day. The price for the entire event came well within budget and we had zero hassles dealing with them remotely. We have since relocated to New Zealand and I have been so dissapointed to hear that a number of people have had similar experiences. At the time there were no websites offering reviews of the venue but another disgruntled person I encountered today prompted me to make a little effort. I've submitted The Estate for entry to Tripadvisor in the hope that I can deter other happy couples away. Your wedding is the most important day of your life and the start of your marriage. Don't start at The Estate.