Cocktail Lounge at The Green Rooms Bristol

My small and only grumble was that there wasn’t a ‘cocktail menu’ or all the alcohol / ingredients available to make ones we asked for. The bartender had great knowledge and was able to work around this but I think this does need to be improved!

We'd arranged to set up from 4pm - no one arrived until 4.30pm. I rang the Owner (James) who explained that the barman hadn't finished work in time to be there for 4pm as he'd needed a 12 hour break. The area behind the DJ Booth was a mess and not clean. The PA and one speaker were not working, although we had been told that the equipment was 'plug in and play.' It took my DJs over an hour to resolve the issue with the PA, which put back the set up time for the decoration of this area by a precious hour. By the time I'd got home and changed and returned, I was an hour late to my own party - which I'd desperately been trying to avoid - very disappointing. I was told getting my deposit back was dependent on how much was money was taken at the bar - to start with the bar needed to make £750, then as I'd asked for a late license to run until 2am, this went up to £850-900 as it was explained to me that there would need to be a door staff hired for four hours (minimum hire time) and additional bar staff time, as the event was finishing after midnight. I was fine with this. Nearer the event I was told that the bar would need to take £1000 otherwise I would forfeit the difference from my deposit. When we met the first time to discuss hiring the venue I was told that I would need to return by lunchtime the next day to take down the decor etc. At the event - the bar ran out of straight gin and tequila fairly early on and a number of people were given flavoured gins and in at least one case vodka, without being asked if these alternatives were OK for them. The staff couldn't keep up with glass washing and many people were given plastic disposable cups for their drinks - not great when they are being charged £10 for a cocktail. There was no hand soap in either the women's or men's toilets and they were not very clean. There was no door staff hired (although there was a third person who just sat behind the bar and didn't appear to be do anything - he certainly wasn't helping the bar staff and he wasn't minding the door). The owner had told us that there was never any issue with people gate-crashing, which was not our experience as my partner and several of my male friends had to ask at least three different sets of strangers to leave, as the party was a private event. At the end of the night the barman asked what time I would be back to take down the decor and we arranged to return at 2pm on the Sunday. We duly arrived at 2pm with a number of friends to take down the decor and sort out any remaining food. When we arrived no one was there. I rang the owner, who lives over an hour away, so we had to wait an hour before we could get in. The owner said that they don't open on Sunday which was certainly not made clear to us when we hired the venue, or by the barman before we left at the end of the party. When we did get in to my surprise and disappointment the decor had been taken down and not carefully - as was necessary to minimise the possibility of any damage. The owner accused us of damaging the walls in several places - which was untrue with the exception of one spot. The damage to another could have been avoided if we'd removed the decor ourselves - which I'd believed to be the plan. We were accused damaging the wallpaper along one wall and one place in the ceiling. I have photos from the event which prove that we did not put decor on the wallpaper but does show pre-existing damage to it. I'd specifically asked my helpers not to put decor on the wallpaper. I also have photos which show pre-existing damage the along the bar in the ceiling which I guess houses an RSJ. I'd noticed the existing damage to the walls and wallpaper when we arrived to set up and wish I'd taken photos as this would have saved any argument. As there is no onsite catering and it wasn't clear that the Pizza Restaurant across the road would be able to provide Pizzas I ordered £150 of food from the venue owner's nearby Greek Takeaway. I was asked to pay for this at The Green Rooms venue during the event by the barman, although they are separate businesses. I have kept the receipt for this. The owner said that the repair to the walls (which we were not responsible for with the exception of one small spot) would need to be repaired by Tuesday for another event and intimated that this would be extremely expensive. He was going to check the CCTV footage to verify the accusations that he'd made regarding the damage - he has not been in contact at all since the event. When we were packing the decor and clearing up the food it became clear that our large glitter ball and motor were missing - as were several other decor items which we did not find. My partner found the glitter ball hidden in a cupboard - not with the rest of our decor. All of this has very badly marred what should have been a joyous event for us. I'm still waiting to hear from James as I'd like to resolve this amicably if at all possible.

Nothing, we had no problems.