As a disclaimer, I will state that I did not purchase services from Oatlands House - but this review will tell you why. As such, I can not comment on the quality of their services, but I will be commenting on their level of customer service, which I think is one of the biggest things a business has to get right.
In January of this year I started looking for venues to hold my wedding. After a rather unpleasant experience with Curzon Hall (also owned by Navarra Venues) I explored the possibility of having my wedding at Oatlands House. I emailed them in late January and received their stock-standard template email response a few days later. I arranged to visit Oatlands House in early February.
I should note that my wedding was always going to be a small one - around 60 guests. When looking for venues I determined that Oatlands may have a room for me (they had one for 35-50 and one for 50-80 guests). I had outlined this, as well as the rooms I wanted to see, in my enquiry emails.
When my fiance and I arrived at the venue, we were greeted warmly by the staff and offered champagne while we waited for our salesperson. We were seated in a beautifully furnished waiting area and given some albums to flick through for some wedding inspiration. After a short wait, our salesperson arrived and he took us to see Rebecca Room (50-80 guests). I then had to ask to see the Elizabeth Suite (35-50 pax room), because the salesperson had decided for me that it would not be suitable (because I don't know what I want for my own wedding, it would seem).
We were then told that there was another room that we should see called the Rose Suite, which I would later learn was for 80+ guests, which I had no possibility of reaching financially or socially. However, the room was currently in use and we were not able to see it.
We were shown the three garden areas. Only one of these garden areas was guaranteed for use with the rooms we were looking at. The Rose Garden, our dedicated garden, lacks roses at our time of wedding (August) and is otherwise rather unspectacular. The Oatlands Chateau is located at the front of the property and if one of the rooms near it is in use at the time of our ceremony we are unable to use it to avoid cross-over of the guests. The same problem occurs for the Enchanted Garden at the rear of the property (which is by far the most stunning of all) as it connects to a room that seats up to 500 guests. They are obviously not going to guarantee a room that can draw that much revenue to a party of significantly less financial benefits.
The seed of doubt had been placed into my mind and I wanted to see the room that was unavailable at our time of visit. Our salesperson advised it would be available later that day and I had arranged to revisit before the day was over. The salesperson generously waited after closing for us to return. We spent a few minutes there to check out the room and we were pleasantly surprised. It was the most suitable room for our requirements, albeit financially out of reach.
Although leaving on a positive note and giving the salesperson the confirmation that the Rose Suite was a contender in our venue selection, we were given no further follow-up on our decision. To this date we have not heard back from Oatlands House with regard to if we were going ahead with them, or what venue we ended up choosing. With competition for venues being high, and the sheer volume of Brides-to-Be out there, and the fact that Oatlands House have salespeople dedicated to selling their rooms, I would have thought they would have tried harder to win our business.
As mentioned, I had also visited Curzon Hall in my search for a wedding venue, and had a terrible experience with them (see my other reviews). I don't think I'm a difficult bride at all - I want something small, simple and cheap. I'm not after diamond encrusted table settings and dove releases and the ultimate extravagances. I considered my wedding a quick and easy one to book, especially from the venue's perspective. So I don't think I'm being too bold in asking for a venue to give me good customer service. But it seems that Navarra Venues doesn't prioritise customer service. And they do regard upselling the customer as a high priority. Buyer beware I guess.
I can't say I wouldn't refer others on to Oatlands House. They have a beautiful venue, their rooms and neat, clean and modern and their prices are average for what Sydney Wedding venues are charging these days. Their gardens leave a little to be desired but thankfully their gardens aren't the only place to hold your ceremony. I can't comment on food or the way they conduct their services but I'm sure there are plenty of other reviews for that side of things. All in all, their customer service wasn't terrible, but could always be better. read more
