Ettington Park Hotel

In late November I carried out my last wedding for 2024 at Ettington Park Hotel in Stratford Upon Avon. Beth and Ben had asked me to be a dog chaperone for their Labrador Ziggy. It’s certainly a spectacular looking venue that I’m sure is popular with wedding couples. The fact that it is also a dog friendly wedding venue hopefully means that I will get the chance to visit it again soon.

Ettington Park Hotel History

Ettington Park has a long and varied history. It was owned by the Shirleys for many years, a Warwickshire family with over a thousand years of history. The current 19th century building is actually smaller than the old manor house that existed for much of the Shirley family ownership. In 1935 it became a nursing home and during the 2nd World War it was used to house prisoners. A fire in 1979 caused a great deal of damage but it was purchased by the Isis Hotel Company in 1983 who spent millions restoring the property. The hotel is now managed and operated by Hand Picked Hotels Ltd. Apparently the Shirley family still visit the hotel and they actually still own the land and much of the surrounding area.

Interestingly the hotel is said to be haunted. Some guests report seeing an old woman in Victorian clothing while others say they have seen a man and his dog wandering the library!

Luxury Wedding Venue

Ettington Park certainly feels like a special venue, even from the moment you arrive and drive through the estate towards the car park and main house. It’s not uncommon to see deer in these grounds and that was also the case on the day of the wedding.

The wedding ceromony itself can take place in the grounds during warmer months but also inside which was the case for this November wedding. In terms of size, Ettington Park Hotel can cater to weddings of about 100 guests. There are a number of bedrooms within the hotel. I’m not sure how many of the bedrooms are dog friendly but some are. I was actually looking after Ziggy in one of the bedrooms until 11pm when one of the bridesmaids came to take over. The interior is quite grand with very tall windows and lots of period features. The outside grounds contain lots of places that are ideal for wedding photos. These include the Orangery and a very old church that is a listed building. You can’t get married inside this church because I understand it’s not safe but you can certainly get some images from outside.

If you don’t book sole use of the hotel you will find there could be some other guests staying during your wedding. This was the case for Beth & Ben’s wedding and I actually chatted to a couple of hotel guests in the grounds of Ettington Park Hotel. Apparently they had recently got married themselves in another part of the the country and were touring part of the UK on their honeymoon, staying here for a night.

Ettington Park Hotel Reviews

My first impression of Ettington Park was positive but I thought I would look at some of their reviews on Google to see what others think. Many of the reviews were from people who were merely overnight hotel guests, tourists visiting nearby Stratford upon Avon or those who had visited as part of a business function. I did find a number of reviews however from wedding couples and others in the wedding industry like a wedding photographer. In all cases the reviews were very positive which seems to concur with my own first experience. As previously mentioned, hopefully I will get the chance to visit Ettington Park Hotel again during the 2025 wedding season!