Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre, Greater Manchester

Having been shown around Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre in Manchester just more than a year before our wedding, we advised the Wedding Co-ordinator that we would like to book it as our wedding reception in July 2006. She explained that a contract would be typed up and sent to us for us to return. However, after having not received anything from her after about 4 weeks and having booked the church and considering florists etc., I phoned her to check the delay. There had obviously been some confusion, as she told me that because I hadn't phoned to confirm the booking, they had let the date go to another couple. We weren't aware that this had been a requirement of us, on top of telling her in person. In the end we were able to change the dates and re-book the church, but it did little to install faith in the service that Chancellors was providing. Having received the contract and sending it back, it was a further 3 months before Chancellors signed their copy and returned it to us.

Having said this, we were extremely impressed with the professionalism of the venue. Chancellors put great importance on meeting our individual requirements, and they allowed us 2 trial tasters of food (which was of absolutely fantastic quality), with drinks, free of charge. We were made to feel extremely valued as clients. The venue is stunning, and the staff were amazingly courteous. It was an ideal venue for friends to be able to stay over in the evening, and we had so many excellent compliments on the food, with several guests saying it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding.

The drinks package that we chose contained a glass of champagne on arrival, 3 glasses of wine during the meal and a glass of champagne for the toasts. The day following our wedding, and a guest of ours informed us that the sparkling wine we had received wasn't champagne, and during our honeymoon we began to reflect on the shortage of wine that there appeared to be during the reception meal. On our return from honeymoon, we asked numerous guests what amount/kind of drinks they had received, and it became clear that Chancellors had mistaken the drinks package that we had paid for, for the drinks package below, consisting of sparkling wine and only 2 glasses of wine during the meal. I quickly contacted Chancellors on the issue, and it was clear that we weren't going to be able to resolve the argument. They were sure we had received the correct package and we were sure that we hadn't. After a lengthy phone call from the general manager at Chancellors, we were issued with a £200 cheque as a gesture of goodwill, being made clear that this was not to reimburse us for the wine, as they still believed themselves to be in the right.

Soon after this, we received our wedding video, which clearly shows all of the waiting staff walking out of the kitchens with sparkling wine rather than champagne, and the issue with the drinks package remains unresolved as far as we are concerned. I honestly believe this to have been a genuine mistake on Chancellors part, but one which they aren't able to admit to. It was really important for us that our guests were well fed and watered, and the stories that we have heard from guests relating to the shortage of wine is upsetting.

One other niggling problem is that the check-out time for guests on the following morning is 9am, which seems ridiculous, seeing as Chancellors offer a late license until 1am on the wedding night. One of our guests slept in and was woken by a phone call at 11am advising him that he would then need to pay for 2 nights.

Despite the negative issues that we experienced with Chancellors, I would still recommend this as an excellent venue for a wedding reception. However, any couple considering Chancellors for their wedding, needs to be aware of the disorganisation of the administration that we experienced and the bitter taste that has been left in our mouths.