Bride claims wedding venue ruined her big day by series of problems including 113 missing cheesecakes, a fire alarm going off and the stench of sewage – but they hit back saying guests were ‘aggressive’ and put staff ‘at risk’
- Samantha and Kevin Carlin were married at Fenwick Hotel in Kilmarnock
- Bride has taken to social media to claim it was a ‘wedding from hell’
- But hotel has hit back, saying it acted professionally and in accordance with wedding parties’ wishes
A row has broken out between a newlywed bride left devastated by her ‘disaster’ wedding she alleged was ruined by a stench of sewage and 113 missing cheesecakes – and the venue which claimed guests were ‘aggressive’ and put staff ‘at risk’.
Samantha and Kevin Carlin were married on July 23 in a ceremony worth over £7,400 at Fenwick Hotel in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire.
The couple claimed they were charged £250 for a cleaning fee they did not think they should have to pay – and were compensated only £180 for failings on the day.
But hotel bosses said discussions with the group to resolve the issues ‘broke down recently due to the aggressive nature of one of the party, putting our staff at risk’.
Mrs Carlin said issues began after one of the two bridal suites she claims to have booked were not available – with the hotel claiming only one was on their system.
The bride also claimed they were served a ‘chilled drinks package’ warm, and that the suites had a lingering stench of sewage caused by issues with the hotel drains.
When it finally came to the wedding meal, the couple were allegedly hit with further issues as dinner service ran slow – and 113 cheesecakes were unaccounted for.
Mrs Carlin also claimed that a fire alarm was set off, with many guests leaving in confusion while others were allegedly blamed by staff for smoking – despite being non-smokers.
Samantha and Kevin Carlin with their children at their wedding at Fenwick Hotel in Kilmarnock
The couple claimed that despite having meetings with the hotel, they had only received £180 in compensation for the unserved cheesecakes.
Despite attending an in-person meeting with the hotel to discuss their complaints, Mrs Carlin claims they got nowhere thanks to an ‘unprofessional’ manager who attempted to ‘antagonise’ the pair.
But a spokesman for Fenwick Hotel said there were ‘stark differences in the customer’s details and the truth’.
They added that, ‘having successfully delivered many thousand weddings over two decades, we are adamant that we acted professionally and in accordance with the clients’ actions, their guest and the impossible situation they were placed’.
However, the hotel added that it could not comment on details at this stage, because there is still a ‘live discussion with the customer’.
It comes after Mrs Carlin took to social media on Saturday to share her grievances, writing: ‘It is with regret and complete sadness I share this post.
Samantha and Kevin Carlin were married on July 23 in a ceremony worth over £7,400
‘However, my wedding day is one day in my life I will never get back, nor will it be repeated or replaced. What I can do is share my experience at the Fenwick Hotel which is part of the Fitsimmons Group.
‘I did give the Fenwick Hotel the opportunity to respond to my complaint and we met in person to discuss yesterday, unfortunately not the outcome I was expecting, nor do I believe a satisfactory conclusion has been reached.
‘Three members of staff conducted the meeting, one of which being the general manager who was not even employed at the time of my wedding.
‘She only commenced employment a couple of weeks ago, although had plenty to say.
‘The Fenwick Hotel only accepts responsibility for the cheesecakes and refunded £180, which I find massively insulting, considering I paid the venue £7,432.
‘They are not willing to refund or offer compensation as they claim they had to clean up sickness from the dance floor (which I agree), claiming it cost the hotel a £250 cleaning fee.
Fenwick Hotel in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, claimed guests were ‘aggressive’ and put staff ‘at risk’
‘No evidence of this cost provided, and the sickness was cleaned on the night with a mop and bucket as witnessed by numerous guests.
‘The hotel also claims my guests caused damage in the toilets such as broken handles and sickness, which was delaying service and came as an additional cost to the hotel.
‘There is no evidence of this whatsoever, I don’t believe any of my guests would conduct themselves in this manner – causing physical damage to the venue and, as the toilets are shared with the restaurant, staff and the rest of the hotel.
‘It is ridiculous to assume this was any of my guests without providing evidence as I completely believe this to be untrue as it was news to my ears at the meeting last night and the wedding was almost four weeks ago.’
Her post received more than 260 likes and 300 comments from social media users.
Speaking today, Mrs Carlin said: ‘At the meeting when discussing the complaint in regards to the fire alarm, this triggered extremely traumatic times in my partner’s life as his dad died in a house fire.
Samantha Carlin and husband Kevin claimed they were charged £250 for a cleaning fee
‘He did get quite upset about this and was expressing this to the three managers in attendance.
‘He wasn’t buying their excuses for not acknowledging the fire alarm and failure to evacuate the building as they were claiming an elderly guest with extremely poor mobility was sitting inside the building under a fire alarm smoking and was unable to go outside due to mobility issues.
‘This description baffled us completely as none of my elderly guests even smoked and there was only one guest at our wedding with mobility issues and poor health and she doesn’t smoke either, and was sitting at the dinner table in front of the top table at the time of the fire alarm.
‘The hotel failed to even announce a false alarm to my guests and it was starting to cause panic amongst my guests as staff were nowhere to be seen.
‘Kevin got very upset at the meeting, expressed how he was feeling and announced to the table he was removing himself from the situation as he couldn’t listen to any more lies or excuses.’
A spokesman for Fenwick Hotel said today: ‘Having now reviewed the event, and the complaint, I must advise you there are stark differences in the customer’s details, and the truth.
Samantha Carlin took to social media to share her grievances over her wedding to Kevin
‘Most importantly, omitting some important detail that if you were aware, would understand why things occurred in the way they did.
‘As this is a live discussion with the customer, it would be inappropriate to comment on these goings on, needless to say they are quick shocking and, having successfully delivered many thousand weddings over two decades, we are adamant that we acted professionally and in accordance with the clients’ actions, their guest and the impossible situation they were placed. Again, we cannot comment on details at this point.
‘Discussions with the party to resolve broke down recently due to the aggressive nature of one of the party, putting our staff at risk.
‘As I am sure you agree, staff welfare is at the highest of our priorities and during the wedding and subsequent interactions we have had to priorities the physical and mental safety of our staff.’
Mrs Carlin also responded to the statement, adding: ‘I would be interested to know what the stark differences are as well as the important detail that is missing.
‘I can also provide witness statements for situations that arose throughout the day as the account provided is a true reflection of what happened.
‘As for aggressive behaviour putting staff at risk, that is completely untrue – my partner was getting upset due to the nature of conversation and personally excused himself from the meeting.
‘If anybody put the situation at risk it was the manager by adding her additional comments which could have easily provoked quite a different situation, however my partner left quietly and never returned to the meeting.
‘I should also add that this is not a live conversation as it was concluded with a refund for the cheesecakes of £180 and everything else, they take on board to improve future practice but £180 was all they were willing to offer given that their staff had to clean up bodily fluids.’
Source: Read Full Article