'Fuming' couple criticise Northampton hotel for cancelling their wedding day

A couple from Northampton are “absolutely disgusted” after their £5,000 wedding venue was cancelled following a mysterious eight-month block booking by another party.

Danny George and his wife Karen, from Kingsthorpe, have criticised Westone Manor Hotel, in Weston Favell for cancelling their big day on March 31 next year.

The couple say they picked the venue in September and had planned the seating and bar arrangements with the hotel's manager, and had also booked a registrar. It was now just a matter of signing contracts, they say.

However, on Tuesday (October 25), Danny and Karen were told their wedding had been cancelled because one party had booked the venue for eight consecutive months.

Danny, 61, said: "We had everything set with the hotel and were just waiting to sign contracts and then this last week they stopped responding to emails.

"When you ring them up you're on the phone for 20 minutes then you get cut off, so you can't actually ring them.

"We went and called in on Tuesday, the car park was empty and there were security men on the door. We asked to see the manager, who said 'we're ever so sorry but we've had to cancel everything from now for the next eight months'. I stormed out. I was absolutely fuming. You don't do this.

"All the events they've got on leading up to Christmas, cancelled.

"This sort of thing doesn't happen overnight either, they've known about this for a while. If they've treated everybody else they have us, well, it's disgusting. It's absolutely disgusting. It's very unprofessional."

Asked how Karen is feeling, Danny said she is "very upset” and has been “in tears”.

The hotel's website says there is no availability until October 19, 2023 and all of their upcoming events have been listed as 'sold out'.

The Chronicle and Echo tried to call Westone Manor Hotel on Thursday (October 27) but was left on hold for 10 minutes. The hotel did not respond to this newspaper's email either. Chronicle and Echo went to Westone Manor Hotel on Friday morning (October 28) and were told by the manager that Danny and Karen's plans were just “enquiries” instead of bookings.

When asked if there were refugees at the hotel the manager did not comment.

In response, Danny said: "We had several meetings with him and we’d gone through seating arrangements, what facilities we wanted. We were just waiting for him to send out the contracts. That's quite advanced in the planning stage."

A Home Office spokesman said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.

“The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day.

“This is a short-term solution and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation.”

The couple have since found another wedding venue they are “very happy” with – Northampton Golf Club.