I had my wedding celebrations at Asknäs gård on the 13th August 2016 and we had a lovely day and it…read morewas a really idyllic location but unfortunately I can not say the same about the owner of the place.
I have thankfully never meet a person so disorganized and incompetent in renting out a venue before and I organize a several large events a year in my profession.
Firstly, we were promised 25 beds with sheets and towels, then it changed to 22 without towels and then back to 25. I think as an organizer if you know you have difficulty remembering things you need to always confirm in writing as soon as you can after making promises. I admit that perhaps I should have taken this initiative but since the host was not the most responsive on emails I doubt it would have made any difference.
In the end of May we visited the venue and I asked when we would get access on the Friday and we agreed at 9am. This is important as the contract says 12 noon but since I asked and it was agreed I expected the venue to be ready at this time. It was great that they agreed to let us in earlier but not great that everything wasn't ready when we arrived. (We also got access on Thursday afternoon to leave things at the venue which was very nice and accommodating)
In the contract it says that we would receive an inventory list that we needed to sign when we came to set up and when we arrived the inventory was still being taken and after they finished nothing was given to us to sign. I really wish we would have insisted because we ended up paying for 150 SEK for 3 broken glasses that we did not break. We admittedly broke one. The owner also wanted to charge us for a door handle that had come loose even if it was lying in the sofa when we arrived and he had not noticed until we checked out when it was on the floor. What make the situation worse is that he had the audacity to stand in the yard in front of all our guests that paid to stay at the venue and argue with my parents that rented the place. It's worth pointing out that there's no mention in the contract about a charge of 50 SEK for each broken glass.
The owner also has a problem with people using the dishwasher, he says that it's difficult to operate and that it should only be operated by professionals but it's not mentioned in the contract. It is however said that the owner will organize the cleaning. However, as we where setting up on the Friday he said he would charge us if the glasses where not clean so me and my new husband stayed up until 4am on our wedding day cleaning the glasses. It has later been mentioned that we didn't do a good job but I checked them all and to be honest using a professional dishwasher is not rocket since, it's something I had to do all through school as we took turn to do the dishes and also later in life when I've been waitressing.
There was also an issue with toilet paper. We had guest that paid to stay at the venue, most for 2 nights and we rented the venue for the whole weekend and the owner wanted to provide only 3 toilet rolls for each of the 7 toilets. He does claim that he left more in the cupboard and that we could have asked if we needed more since he stayed nearby, I don't think I should have to worry about toilet paper at my wedding day and I think he should have showed us when he checked us into the venue. He also said it's not his responsibility to pay for toilet paper.
When we visited in May I also specifically asked when the party had to end and the owner said that the contract says 2am but that since we rented all the houses too, there wasn't really anyone we could disturb so I was under the impression that it wasn't a problem if it ran later. However, at 4am he came in, turned the music of and waited until we left the building. Since this was the building we where using the toilet in, since the room we rented didn't have any facilities I think this is really unacceptable. He did point out that everything looked to be in order and that it was very tidy but I really got a funny feeling about having the owner standing guard over me as I was clearing up in a venue we rented for the weekend after the music was turned off.
Lots of little things before, during and after the stay has been less than ideal but the worst is that my parents paid a deposit that was supposed to be return by the 23rd August. After our party my dad repeatedly tried to contact the owner to arrange for the return and give their bank details but he heard nothing. As such he phoned "Konsument Stockholm" who said that the only think that my parents could do if they didn't hear was to file a complaint with "ARN". My dad subsequently wrote Asknäs yet another email saying that we need to have the money back within 2 days or he would have to contact "ARN" as he had been recommended but that he didn't want to do so. The owner then responded saying lost of things that where untrue even claiming that me and my new husband had agreed to some things that we clearly
