Peckforton Castle

Didn’t actually get as far as staying - booked for one night in October via Secret Escapes; offer included a 7 course tasting menu. I emailed the hotel a few days later to advise them that one of us is vegetarian; no response so after a few more days I emailed again - still no response. So I decided to ring this morning and confirm that they had received my email; I spoke to a lady on reception who told me that the menu could not be changed - I could hardly believe my ears - so she said she would check and ring me back which she did within minutes. No - the menu could not altered (so if you have a food allergy I’m not sure what happens)? I have not been to a restaurant in the last 40 years which could not offer a vegetarian option. We have now cancelled our trip. I spoke to a very helpful lady at Secret Escapes as I wanted to make them aware of the reason for our cancellation - she also could not believe it and did offer to call the hotel - but as I explained the trip was for my birthday and we would simply rather go elsewhere. Having read other reviews I am glad we have decided to cancel.

We attended a wedding yesterday at Peckforton Castle, it was a truly magical experience. Peckforton Castle is the ideal place for a wedding, there’s so much space. Although I didn’t stay overnight I had a look at one of the rooms, lovely interior with a high ceiling and chandelier and I thought rather majestically medieval, as was the whole venue. It was a fabulous day and the food (wedding breakfast) was magnificent and absolutely delicious. The evening food, a ‘hog roast’, wasn’t quite as well executed, it was nice but not quite as it sounded it was rather measly; the hog itself was fairly tasty, but the only other options were some slightly sloppy stuffing, some herby potatoes, pesto pasta that quickly ran out, some corn on the cob and a bap, and there was only one person serving which caused a long queue. There was one more thing I wasn’t very enamoured with, the toilets we were allocated weren’t kept stocked with enough loo rolls and the supply very soon ran out and wasn’t replenished until the end of the evening which was a little too late. All it would have taken was a member of the staff (and there were quite a number of them milling around) to keep their eye on that side of things. Oh and one last thing - drive carefully up the drive/road approaching the castle as there are ‘speed bumps’ and if you drive over them too quickly, they’re lethal.

The castle it's self is lovely, Reception were helpful, kind and welcoming Our room was okay, dusty around the edges and the anniversary chocolates / card were a nice touch. The biggest issues was when we went for our evening meal in the brasserie The hotel automatically book you a dinner reservation, ours was 5.30 I'd seen this in the small print so amended it to 7.30 both by email and a follow up call as we had response to our Email. When we turned up for our evening meal the waitress snapped at us your 2 hours late and we are full! Eventually we were seated in the semi full restaurant but now I was upset. We ordered steak, that came with no chips, had to order extra chips, no steak knife and when requested no mustard! Breakfast was also very disappointing. Shame really.

The 1851 Restaurant has been recently refurbished and they are currently promoting a 7-course fine dining experience for £75 per head plus a wine flight for an additional £50 per head. To complete the experience we booked an overnight Bed and Breakfast stay in one of the rooms in the castle. The 1851 Restaurant has been tastefully refurbished. Gone are the tacky led table lamps and the tired furnishings. The dining experience exceeded expectations. The menu was presented in a wooden box together with hor d’oeuvres. The menu is fixed with no options, but each course was delicious. The food was nicely presented and served professionally. Of particular note were the tartlets that were served on a tray bathed in a dry ice bed. Our server were Charlotte and Daniel, both were friendly and did an excellent job. The Chef, Brian took time to visit the guests and answer questions, which I thought was a very nice touch. The dining experience took about 3-hours. I’ll return with friends to enjoy the experience again soon.

Attended today for an afternoon tea which was a buy-a-gift present. I chose this venue as I’d wanted to go for a long time so this was a perfect opportunity. The castle and grounds are stunning. The staff were very friendly and the service excellent. I’d advised when booking that I was dairy intolerant and this was checked with me when we sat down. My partner and I were advised that it would take a little longer to prepare mine which was fine. The afternoon tea arrived and mine was slightly different to my partners. I’m used to this as some things are substituted for non dairy. I had 4 small sandwiches, 2 which were the same with just tomoto and mustard. My partner had an egg mayonnaise open roll included with his, but I didn’t. The sandwiches were very disappointing. The cakes were uninspiring and dry, not fluffy and light like you’d expect. Both of my 2 scones were very dry and hard and came with just jam and no cream whereas my partner had cream with his. My scones were plain whereas my partners had currents in. Not sure why mine needed to be plain. In this day and age I’d have thought that a popular hotel like this venue would be able to cater more adequately for dairy free options given there are now suitable alternatives for most things and have provided a dairy free cream. I have been for quite a few afternoon teas over the years and this one was the worst I’ve had. I feel let down by the standard and this has put me off considering a stay at the hotel, something I’d previously liked to have done at some point.

A night away in an enchanting place, a photo opportunity around every corner, up every stone staircase, through every doorway. Good service, and good food. I’ve come to expect nothing less from this hotel group, but this is a fairytale destination, through the woods to castle gates and beyond.