I was here at the end of June for a friend's wedding, and while it might not be the most accessible venue for those who don't drive (to get here from London, you'll need to get the train from Waterloo to Basingstoke, then brave the building site that is Basingstoke station and sweet talk a taxi), the place itself is beautiful.
A country house which wedding parties can hire exclusively for 24 hours at a time, the idea is that you can have tailor the celebrations to your heart's desire, using the rooms, grounds, gardens and in-house staff for the sole use of you and your friends and family.
The house and gardens are gorgeous, and although intimate enough to feel like you're playing at owning a millionaire's mansion (as opposed to an enormous multiplex hotel), there's still an assortment of spaces you can use from drawing rooms to the banquet hall and mammoth marquee meaning it's flexible enough for all sorts of shindigs.
I've just seen on the website that it's even got an indoor pool, which I'm devastated I didn't know about at the time! Other than that though, the staff were speedy, the bedrooms beautiful (but be warned, the walls are paper thin), and the food and booze plentiful (although breakfast the following morning was a disappointment). Just be wary of the rollercoaster taxi ride through the country lanes when you're feeling fragile the next day read more
