Waterside House/ Bracken Court as wedding venues

dmm82

Hi all just wondering has anyone been to either of the above hotels for a wedding/ had their own wedding there? Kinda have our hearts set on somewhere near a beach and has to be near Dublin as we have family travelling from all over. Hoping for somewhere that does an all inclusive deal too. Any info or other suggestions much appreciated

prettygurrly

join groupon/dealrush/living social, Bracken court has had a wedding for 100 for 2000 on offer a couple of times over the last year...haven't been to it but i'm sure someone will reply...

Moonbeam

Both show up on the deal pages regularly and if I got it really cheap then I would go with it but neither hotel would do it for me otherwise.
Saying that I know a few people that got married in the Bracken Court and found the staff and place amazing.
My cousin got married in Laytown and had their photos and some drinks on the beach before going to the Boyne valley hotel in Drogheda,it was lovely.

tatli_lokma

I got married in the Bracken Court, so here is my view on it:
Pro's - recently renovated, the hotel is a very nice looking hotel inside. The food is really really lovely (got amazing compliments about it on the day). It is close to Dublin, Dublin Airport etc and is serviced well by transport links. The rooms rate is reasonable for guests wishing to stay over. The prices are reasonable.

Con's - they never put enough staff on for ANY event. Since my wedding I have attended several events, not just weddings, here and each and every time there were not enough waiting staff. As a result, service for the dinner was slow. At one event which started at 7.30, we finally got our meal at 11pm! :eek: On our wedding day, my evening guests were arriving and we were only being served our main meal. The so called 'wedding co-ordinator' didn't really know how to handle this - she didn't offer them a drink or lead them to the bar or anything. I was the one who had to suggest to her that we skip cutting the cake after dinner and do it at the evening time, rather than leave guests standing outside longer than necessary! Bear in mind we had a small wedding, so I can only imagine the chaos if we had a bigger guest list.

Generally the wedding person was crap - were it not for my family and a friend who works in the hotel industry the day would have been a shambles. They did her job basically. The evening food was late, she left on a CD with both Christmas music and religious music during the meal and my sister had to go and switch it off, despite me asking her twice (it was summer and the groom was non-Christian, so Christmas and religious music was a joke! we were able to laugh at it but some people might have been really angered by this). There were also lots of little attention to detail issues that she was totally unaware of - how she is a wedding coordinator I don't know.

I got ready in the hotel, and when my car came to collect me the hotel owners car was parked in the reserved spot and he had disappeared, so I had to hotfoot it up the square in all my wedding attire to get into my car! I had tea and a sambo in the room that day, and when we returned to the room that night after the wedding the room hadn't been cleared and it stank - despite me asking them to clear the plates and cups - twice.

We didn't have wine at the meal, instead, because it was a small wedding we offered 3 rounds of drinks to people. However I specified on more than one occasion that it was to be itemised. It wasn't. I basically got one huge bar bill that said beverages X amount, open toast X amount. Basic maths indicated that unless each and every person ordered triples then the bill was wrong. And a good few of the guests weren't big drinkers or were driving. I refused to pay the bill and only paid half of it. They threatened to bring me to court! I laughed! No more ever came of it.

So would I recommend a wedding there? not unless you plan on being a super bridezilla and micro manage every aspect of the day. Having said that, our guests didn't notice half of what went on, but this was mainly due to my family and friend sorting the issues before anyone noticed. We still had a wonderful day, but that was mainly because of the guests and the atmosphere. If I didn't have my family on hand and if I were the kind of person to stress out easily I think the things that happened could have almost ruined the reception.

The Waterside!
I have experience of this hotel too - twice at a wedding there, been to a couple of funerals and a 21st there too and I know several staff there (past and present). Personally I think it is an ugly hotel - a total mishmash of styles, half country house, some modern, some random items of decor, and the carpets are filthy. Service - a bit crap also, again not always enough staff on, and the meal can feel a bit frantic and thrown at you. I know the staff there work hard, but often they are very stressed and you can tell it! Room rates are very expensive for what it is. I was also not impressed with the quality of the food at the two weddings I attended there.

Now having said all that negativity, you might be surprised when I say that I enjoyed my wedding immensely, and all the reviews I got from guests were positive. At the end of the day, the reception is where people get fed and watered and you have a party. We had a great party and that is what people remember. Thankfully! because if I were relying on the hotel to get on board with making the day 'magical' I would have been very very disappointed!

If I were doing it all again, I think I would go down the route of hiring a pretty venue and organising catering and waiting staff myself. I have been to two weddings in the last 18 mths that have done this and it worked really well - they had total control over how and when things were done and they both went off without a hitch.

clint_silver

great review of the 2 hotels.

I like the waterside a lot. Always seems to be a good night there. Staff are very nice and I would say not a place that seems to be ever understaffed.


I seen a 5* hotel last week with NO staff on once the meal had been cleared. someone dropped a glass on the dancefloor and it was 20 minutes before a member of staff came to clear it off after was brought to their attention. All tables with drinks glasses stacked. Manager came over to me at 1:40 and said can you finish in 5 minutes and turn the music right down to make sure guests are winding down towards the end of the night! :eek: had to laugh.