Peckfortoncastle Reviews 

I'm not sure Peckforton Castle are even trying to improve things based on how far back the poor reviews go - I got as far as 2022 and not a good review for afternoon tea at Peckforton Castle.
Our experience on the day was extremely disappointing with regards to the quality of the food and also the minimal amount considering the amount we paid for it. We frequently enjoy afternoon tea in many varied locations and Peckforton Castle is undoubtedly the worst we have ever had. I emailed several times before I got a reply only to be told that they would pass our complaints over to the relevant staff. Obviously they don't do this because the same complaints keep popping up again and again.
Nobody seems to be listening or caring and this is very poor and bad for the reputation of such a venue.
I sent photos of what we were served and said I didn't expect to have to cut miniscule cakes (5 cakes to share between us). Never have we been served such a poor excuse for afternoon tea. Their reply was that it was marketed as a sharing experience. It wasn't. I checked. I even sent a screenshot of their own material which showed 2 of each cake. They came back with "that photo was from our Christmas afternoon tea which was more expensive". If that is true they shouldn't be using it to advertise afternoon tea generally and feel Peckforton Castle are mis selling and misleading potential customers.
I did ask for my complaint to be sent to the restaurant manager which resulted in me getting a reply from the receptionist.
Very very poor. Save your money and go elsewhere if you want a good afternoon tea. Alvaston Hall do a much better afternoon tea for anyone unsure where to go.
I'm still waiting for a proper reply.

The afternoon tea was disappointing. There were 3 people dining but I had booked separately. I was surprised to find that the staff had put my friends’ drinks on my bill, which caused embarrassment. The food was ok. However, the bread was very dry. There was a long delay before the food arrived and, when it did, we had to prompt the staff to bring the tea. The afternoon tea was supposed to £29, with a further Blue Light card discount. On the day the waitress “knew nothing about” the Blue Light card and a tip was added onto the bill of £40+. We asked to take away the uneaten cakes and had seen another diner being given a nicely presented box. Our cakes were squashed up in a bit of kitchen foil. All in all, not the luxurious dining experience offered on the website. Overpriced. Offhand staff. Bad service.

This was a Groupon for the '7' course tasting menu (it's actually more like 9!)

Peckforton can't order the weather and it was tipping it down! But the castle is warm and cosy despite the rambling architecture. The building is stunning and staff welcoming and attentive...if you get lost in the Labyrinthine twists and turns there will always be someone who will offer to help.

It was a warm welcome from reception, check in and directions to solar suite were accurate and easy to understand (after the first few lefts and turns look for the discrete signs that are effective for signposting)

Be aware that quite a few rooms are not accessible so you must ask about this if you have infirmities.

The solar suite is 101 steps into the middle tower. Great views over the fields but this is a castle so don't expect large panoramic picture windows!

101 steps down for lunch and a drink. We thought prices were a bit steep but when we saw the size and nature of the fish finger sandwich it was appreciated how it was £16! 6 individually battered fish slices (hardly fingers...think more torso!) on a split focaccia about 14" long I had 2 of them to help my wife out!

101 steps back up to rest and digest! Then change for our tasting at 7:00.

Oh my word, this is where value met quality. I said to my wife "they will make their money on the booze" but I had the pairing (5 glasses) for £55 and the choices were good. The pinot and liebfraumilch noteworthy. My wife had 2 cocktails both the same as so delicious - lychee martini with absolute cointrau and lemon

The food was presented so well. Textures and flavours were excellent. All our questions were answered by Tasha and nothing was too much trouble. Kai served us well and Chef visited to serve the lamb.

They farm all veg from the estates fish and meats are sustainably sourced, the hotel is going for it's green listing and I can imagine a Michelin star isn't far away!

We have vowed to return as the VFM is outstanding. The staff are a credit to their recruitment and retention. Sad we had toj

Stayed at Peckforton Castle a week ago and its a beautiful place. The castle is huge and at night its lit up, so its really nice to look at. The food is really good too, excellent quality.
The room was a bit small and basic, so its a star off for that. However I can't fault the staff: the girl who took our order in the evening was very courteous and professional. She was very smartly presented in a waistcoat and took my allegories seriously when I ordered. Also the young man who spoke to us about the tapestries and history, when he was helping us find our room, was polite and charming.
I would recommend this hotel but I think the room needed a bit of TLC and updating. Your staff are your biggest asset, I wish I knew their names so you can thank them for us.

I’m normally a believer in if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything at all but in this case I feel like something needs to be said.

We attended Peckforton for my sister’s wedding at the start of April and here’s a list of everything that we had happen while we were there and after we left.

Reception staff were rude and looked down on us as checking in.

When my parents booked our rooms in person back in October 2025 they requested that my brother have a bath in his room. Not only was this request not made they placed him in one of the worst rooms in the castle and won’t let him change rooms.

When my parents entered their room there was already a man in that room as the staff had given him the wrong room, and when checking out two days later the staff tried charging my parents for early check in to which my mother had to correct them about the room mix up.

My sister was in the Kelsall room her first night and had to use this room to get ready the morning of the wedding. The issues with this was it is too small of a room for the bride, her two bridesmaids, the photographer, the makeup artist and the videographer to fit in. Also there was a footprint on the wall next to the bed and some brown mark on the carpet.

After my sister had messaged the team running the wedding to replace Prosecco with elderflower juice for the children and one of the bridesmaids who is pregnant the staff still gave them Prosecco.

My sister and her husband asked for the wedding cake to be cut up and placed into bags for guests to take which was done and there was still over half of the cake left when we went to bed. The issue was when we asked for the remaining slices in the morning we were told all the cake was gone so it’s either been binned or the staff have helped themselves and the worst part is my sister and her husband didn’t even get to have any of their own wedding cake.

Similar issues to the wedding cake there was a paid for cart of pick and mix sweets for the guests to help themselves to that again was half full when we went to sleep only to find it was all gone in the morning. We were told that the supplier came and took the sweets away but I’m having a hard time believing that someone came out between the hours of 1am - 9am and picked up paid for sweets, so again like the wedding cake where did they go.

None of the staff had a clue where we could find the various items that we brought from home to use in the wedding. Eventually someone found our items dumped in a storage room and the items weren’t even put together my mother had to tell them what was ours.

GB News playing while people are trying to have breakfast, just what I asked for eggs with a side of fascism.

Lastly and the worst thing is you have accused one of the bridesmaids and her husband of burning the carpet in their room with an iron and charging them nearly £800 for repairs. This is frankly sickening considering that apart from putting their bags in the room around 3pm and putting a phone on charge at around 8pm they never even used the room till 1am when they went to sleep and then they were up and out the room by 10.30am without using any appliances apart from a desk fan and phone chargers. You claim that you have evidence that they burnt the carpet but unless you have hidden cameras in the bedrooms I guess your evidence is just the cleaners word but considering that the numerous complaints about the state of the rooms that other people have had to deal with I wouldn’t call that evidence.

I highly recommend that everyone stay far away from this castle and for anyone who has already booked a room there please for you own benefit take photos of any issues you have with your rooms incase they try to charge you for things that you haven’t done.

Not even worth 1 star but unfortunately that’s as low as I can rate this place.

Facilities for anyone with mobility problems were abysmal! There were no toilets on the first floor which is where all the reception rooms and bars are situated. There was a very rickety stairlift, definitely in need of replacement. There was no disabled parking facility for blue badge holders. I had to be dropped off like a parcel at reception whilst my husband had to take the car down a steep hill to a car park and then walk back up a steep hill to the venue.We were there for a wedding, lots of the guests were staying overnight and they had a lot of complaints about their rooms as regards their situation within the castle. There were lots of different floors and long corridors. If anyone is looking for a wedding venue and know that some of their guests will be elderly and have mobility problems I would strongly advise against this venue. Heather Martland, wedding took place 24th April, 2026.

Peckforton Castle is really gorgeous - in a beautiful setting, but once again the customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Some staff have bad attitudes, and fail to return telephone calls. Such a great shame.

Daughter bought me a voucher for Bubbles and Afternoon Tea as a Mother's Day gift. We got around to using the voucher yesterday, 17 December.
Upon arriving my daughter was told that as it is Christmas there would be a surcharge of £10. We were seated and no mention of the bubbly my daughter had paid for. We had to remind them. The sandwiches were a round of bread cut lengthways into 3 with very boring fillings. The scones were rock hard and the cakes so small one mouth bite and they were gone. There was a nice tasting slice of a small sausage roll on the stand as well. I bet one sausage roll fed about 6 people!
Couldn't understand why there was a surcharge as no-one even received a cracker.
Lovely venue but that's about all. Won't be going back.

We visited Peckforton Castle to dine at the 1851 restauarant. We had the 5 course taster menu, which was great value at £50 per person. The service was first class, provided by Holly and her colleagues. Nothing was too much trouble for them and they had great knowledge of the various courses. Definitely, worth a visit for a treat!

Whilst the location is stunning we were left very underwhelmed with the Afternoon Tea and felt it was very poor value. The finger sandwiches were very basic with a distinct lack of chicken in the coronation chicken. The bread was hard and the sandwiches had obviously been made well in advance and not been covered properly.
Although there was a good selection of cakes, they were tiny and you didn’t even get one each. We cut each cake in half but it wasn’t even a full mouthful.
We were given a large pot of tea but the water didn’t reach the tea leaves so the pot was pouring our hot water!
We used a gift voucher between 3 of us so it was a cheap afternoon out but I would’ve been very disappointed if I had paid in full. I’ve been to many places for Afternoon Tea and unfortunately this was not one of the better experiences.

Stayed in the Bentley suit, a delightful stay. We where met with warm tentative staff and had a wonderful culinary experience in the 1851 restaurant. I could not fault the overall experience and it has left a warm impression in our hearts.

We booked afternoon tea for 4, with fizz, using a gift voucher. On arrival as we entered the tearoom we were asked for the voucher and then shown to the table. A waitress asked if we wanted tea or coffee, came back with tea and 2 afternoon tea stands. What a farce. 4 miniscule sandwiches, scones and only 4 cakes on each stand. We weren't approached by a member of staff again. We requested hot water by accosting a lady going by. Later we asked for more tea, and the waitress hesitated before eventually agreeing. The wonderful experience we were looking forward to left us deflated. Peckforton Castle is beautiful and it's surroundings spectacular, but the quality of the food, and customer service completely ruined our afternoon. We didn't get the fizz, and that just about sums up our visit. Very disappointing.

I recently attended a wedding at Peckforton, the wedding started at 1.30 but we were not able to access our overpriced double room until 4pm...surely for the wedding guests that are staying at very expensive weddings should be allowed access to rooms.....as a consequence of queuing to gain key to room we missed the family photo

Given afternoon tea as a gift. My sister and I waited a good 40 mins for a pot of tea, then another wait for food. Sarnies and cakes were average. Scones were good. Asked for more tea (first pot gone before food arrived) and waiter forgot. Eventually arrived. I have had much nicer afternoon teas than this. Nice venue, but let down by poor service and non exciting food. There was a wedding on, which may have slowed things down, but if they don't have the staff they shouldn't take the booking.

I've been to afternoon tea twice now in the past year as my wife was gifted a voucher after a long illness. I've been distinctly unimpressed with the value for money offered and service both times. Staff seem to really struggle with using vouchers to pay and we had issues both times despite having confirmed by phone AND email that we could use a gift voucher to pay for our afternoon tea. First time it happened staff member was bordering on rude and refused to give my wife approximately £80 back that we hadn't used from the £130 voucher. Lucky we'd checked it was ok beforehand as otherwise our afternoon tea would have cost £130 for two people! Even with the email evidence from his own hotel he was not happy and we were made to feel like we were lying to him, which was quite embarrassing in front of a room full of people overhearing it all! We then ended up having to be sent off to the front desk to sort it out. This was all on the first visit. Much as we didn't really want to return we decided yesterday to treat my wife's parents to an afternoon tea using the reminder of the voucher. Once again difficulties with the voucher over the phone and in person. The lady on the phone incorrectly stared that the voucher could only be used for afternoon tea (it was not an afternoon tea voucher it was a cash voucher given as a gift) then the lady on the desk didn't want to take the voucher that my wife had printed on the phone. All very tiresome but clearly an ongoing issue that could be sorted with better staff training. Now onto the service. Took an age to even be greeted at the desk for afternoon tea. Some people who came after us were stood there for about 20 minutes waiting to be seated. There was only one member of staff on duty who seemed to have to do everything and clearly was struggling. She was extremely curt with me when I asked for more tea and coffee, but the place is clearly well understaffed and she was clearly struggling to manage us all. Still, not exactly the service you expect from a place that charges £50 a head for afternoon tea! Think it sells itself on the location and the building as really the rest of the experience is very poor value for the money! It cost us an £80 voucher and another £38 (included over £10 service charge!) for a very mediocre experience. The afternoon tea itself was ok, a few very average sandwiches, some measly portions of cake (not even one each - we had to cut the tiny potions in half so we could at least taste what each one was like!) and a couple of scones with jam and cream. I certainly wouldn't return and I would urge people considering using the place for afternoon tea to go to one of the many other nice restaurants in the area who offer a much better experience and better service

Stunning location , staff very welcoming , a building with a rich history, I don't know why this place gets it's negative reviews the scones were the best ever, plenty of teas and coffee , yes the car park is a walk but for disabled there is a drop of at the door then park up agreement,

It was quite disappointing to go to such a nice place and have terribly poor service. Spoilt the whole experience due to the poor service and customer service.
We were the only British Asian couple in the hotel and we could not help but feel that there was a bias at the service points. As it is a it was being run by a skeleton crew and with very little attention to detail that is expected from a four star rated property.
To make matters worse, It took me a week and £15 to get my special mobile charger returned after multiple un-returned phone calls and false promises.
Very disappointed!

We had a really good relaxing break…good food pleasant staff..lovely room..
Great location..
Would have given 5 stars if car parking was nearer to Castle..to much of a walk for us
Otherwise
All in all a lovely stay..👍

Booked for afternoon tea Saturday 5/4/2025 for my wife’s birthday and I mentioned this when booking, the staff member said we would make a birthday platter which we’ve had on a previous visit( slate with happy birthday writing in chocolate 2/3 chocs and a helium balloon)Firstly they didn’t set this up and I hadn’t mentioned to my wife as this was a surprise very disappointed. Secondly on the two previous visits for afternoon tea we were made to feel special but not this time, just wedged in next to the bar, not good then the sandwiches came and certainly not the freshest scones ok but small carrot cake dry and not tasty. Shame the last 3 times in the week were amazing but this experience felt like very budget conscious and I will not be going again. 😞

We stayed for convenience following a dear friends wedding at the venue, we paid £200 for a four poster room as a treat and after waking up from a late night celebrating the shower was covered in mould! Needless to say I refused to shower as a complete health risk and drove home 6 hours for a well needed shower. It’s a shame I am unable to leave photos, I have added to online forums to warn people. Avoid !