Sean D

Shocking !!!

Extremely dissatisfied We had planned to have our WEDDING at this venue in June. Unfortunately, due to the Corona outbreak we needed to cancel the occasion, which in itself is highly disappointing. Sadly, the drama has continued since. We cancelled the function in writing to River Meadow Manor prior to the set date. Both myself and my fiancé are in separate businesses which are highly service orientated, and one of the reasons we generally book corporate and various other occasions with venues such as this, is peace of mind. Sadly, after two months of going back and forth, we have anything but that. Eventually a call from the owner today, in which he explains he has found all other bookings affected by Covid have satisfactorily been handled with a postponement, and that he will offer us the same with no additional fees.. I expressed my confusion regarding how in a time like this, with something no one could have foreseen, he could even consider charging us for a postponement!!! Thereafter much of his conversation centred around it being the industry norm, and that “at this point in his career it’s actually embarrassing for him to be discussing R10 000, as that's not a lot of money to him”... When I eventually raised my voice out of pure frustration saying, "then just refund us". I was told I'm threatening and bullying him to get my way. (This being over two months down the line). Furthermore I felt insulted by being told "I am selfish, only thinking of myself in all of this". I was finally told "he does not have to have this conversation with me, and he would find someone to call me before the end of the day”. Needless to say, the promise has again been broken, and no one could be bothered to call us. The fact that he so nonchalantly expects us to enjoy the venue now, is a clear indication of how oblivious he is to our disappointment.. All we've asked on a number of occasions is for them to refund us the deposit which we paid in good faith, to a venue we believed we could trust. We would certainly urge any future patrons considering this venue to very strongly reconsider doing business with River Meadow Manor to avoid potential disappointment. Possibly, the consequence may be more in the owners "financial bracket".