Testimonials

Article - Guardian Travel:

"No ordinary B&B – no wonder its gone straight into Alistair Sawday’s guidebook.

Garth Vincent is no ordinary B&B owner. Turning part of his Jacobean manor house into a bed and breakfast is a new venture for this one-time English teacher turned dealer in antique arms and armour. No wonder, then, that Allington Manor, on the edge of the village of Allington (church, pub, bus stop, village stores and on a clear day reputedly views to Belvoir Castle), is no ordinary B&B. No wonder its gone straight into Alistair Sawday’s guidebook.

The heavy oak front door swings open and there you are, in the dining hall, suits of armour and a pikemans uniform flanking the fireplaces and a dark Cromwellian helmet adorning the table. On the oxide-red landing upstairs there is more: helmets, a wall of maces, Scottish Targes. No sign of Blackadder in any of the bedrooms, but plenty of flamboyance: two have roll-top baths plumped decadently in the middle of the room, one a bateau lit, and all three heavy drapes swept aside with giant tassels, proper china and jug kettles, flat-screen TVs and digital Roberts radios. Mine, the Garden Room, is simply gorgeous with its blue-and-white-toile de Jouy patterns and porcelain. But its dinner time and there’s a pub to visit in nearby Strathern. "

"We have never stayed anywhere like it.

You have created a real bit of England, especially taking tea in the garden. We have never stayed anywhere like it."

"This place was an absolute dream"

We stayed at Allington Manor on our wedding night. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. The whole place was exceptional as was the service. I have never felt so special in my life. The Lords room was amazing and there were plenty of little extras and personal touches that finished the stay off. The whole house is breathtaking and I dare anyone not to be marveled by the historical artifacts that add to the Houses' attraction. The home cooked farmhouse breakfast was excellent, we did not sample the evening meal but if the breakfast is anything to go by I have no doubt that this would be excellent as well. I would recommend anyone wishing an intimate, luxurious stay in splendid settings to make this your first stop. We will not be waiting for our anniversary to revisit for a stay."

"The most amazing place! Everything was just perfect.

A wonderful country Manor house with beautiful rooms, peaceful gardens, delicious food and outstanding service. Having celebrated a special birthday in a marquee on the lawn I have very happy memories and will definitely be returning. "

"A fantastic evening - in a beautiful house with attentive staff.

We had a private party dining in the hall at a large oak table surrounded by suits of armour and antiques. The lit fires added to the charm as did relaxing and chatting in the drawing room before and after the meal with drinks, nibbles and coffee - perfect."

"I felt like royalty, all the staff were wonderful. We wholeheartedly recommend Allington Manor.

We were fortunate enough to have our wedding at Allington Manor on Valentines Day and I would like tell you a little about our day and how special the owner Mr Garth Vincent and his staff made it for us.

The Manor itself is stunning, as soon as you walk in the wonderful atmosphere oozes out at you. History and nostalgia is in every room giving it an altogether special magic, a happy and homely feel mixed with elegance and perfection. The bedrooms are stunning to say the very least, every last detail is there just for you.

As a bride to be I chose the Lady’s Room and felt like royalty amongst the lovely regal furniture, beautiful bedding and a special view where you can see the guests arriving as you prepare.

All the staff were wonderful, making sure we had everything we needed throughout the day. You could see it in their faces that they truly enjoyed making the whole event as special and memorable as possible for everyone concerned. Our guests had traveled from all over the UK and commented on how beautiful the manor and its location truly is. Some were saying they’d even like to come back and stay they found it so peaceful and enchanting. Being so close to the A1 you’d be forgiven to think there would be noise but there isn’t. Just birdsong and beautiful scenery, with no hint of a motorway in sight.

We would wholeheartedly recommend Allington Manor not just for weddings but for any special event as you will get so much more than you expect. You will be enchanted as soon as you walk through its door."

" I would like to thank you all for your involvement in the two weekends spent celebrating my 40th Birthday.

When I first saw Allington Manor web site some years ago I said to my husband that it looked like the perfect place to celebrate my milestone birthday. I wanted something different to the traditional party - I wanted an intimate evening with family and friends, gorgeous settings, great food and nice wine. I had high expectations and these were certainly met.

By booking Allington Manor I got the perfect setting - everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday were so impressed with Allington Manor - the wonderful setting, the sumptuous rooms and the friendly service. I was very lucky to stay two nights at Allington Manor and so spent one night in the Lord's Room and one in the Ladies Room as I don't think I could have chosen between them, they must be the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in. The room where we had the private dinner has such a wonderful atmosphere; with the two roaring fires and being surrounded by suits of armour and pikes you feel a sense of awe at the history you are surrounded by.  The next day we enjoyed a filling well cooked traditional breakfast with home made bread - all served by friendly Katie and Kirsty which nicely finished off the previous nights celebrations so people could slowly drag themselves out of the Manor House and travel home.

I would certainly recommend Allington Manor to anyone as the perfect place to spoil yourself by staying over night in one of the gorgeous rooms or by doing as I did and have a private dinner as well. I wouldn't even wait until I had something to celebrate before visiting Allington Manor again."

"The ultimate wedding venue for Quality, Style, Comfort and Service."

Allington Manor is full of history, character, warmth and comfort; perfect for our intimate spring wedding. Garth, Sam & Katie couldn't do enough to accommodate all our requirements as well as offering us help and advice to achieve the most memorable day. They provided a professional, attentive and friendly service throughout, which we cannot thank them enough for. My mum & I stayed over the night before which was a lovely way to start a truly fantastic weekend. My mum was delighted with the garden room she stayed in and I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping and getting ready in the Lord's room - although my bridesmaid and I had great fun flitting from room to room watching everyone arrive !

All our guests were amazed we'd found such a great place on our doorstep and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day including the superlative food provided by White's catering.

Our photographers were in their element so we now have the difficult job of deciding which of the amazing photos to include in our album. It was fantastic to have this Jacobean Manor exclusively to ourselves which meant that the evening worked out just as we'd wanted - a relaxed but fun occasion.

Guests stayed over in the Manor and in the village (all arranged by Sam) then we all met for a wonderful cooked breakfast at the Manor in the morning. Call us biased but it's the best wedding venue we've ever been too; we've been recommending it to everyone ever since for weddings or B&B. We had a perfect day which we will remember forever and are thoroughly  looking forward to returning in the future to see the Manor and the people again."

Fantasic!!!!!!!

From our first meeting with Sam and Garth in the February 2007 to the day itself 1st September 2007 they could'nt of done enough for us. We always knew we would marry in Allington church as it was the village I had spent much of my childhood and where my father still resided but at the time had no idea that the Manor House had started to do fuctions. From the very start our dreams had been realised and nothing was too much trouble for Sam or Garth. The house and its grounds were fabulous! Sam gave so much advice and made some great suggestions even to the point of trawling the internet and making trips to Nottingham for me for tea lights etc. The caterers which were found for us by Sam were fantastic. Everyone has told us what a wonderful day it was for them and for John and I it really was the best day of our lives. Allington Manor holds wonderful memories for us and we would not hesitate in highly recommending it to anyone.

Perfect venue, perfect day!

We first visited Allington in November 2007 knowing we wanted our wedding in January 2008. We immediately had confidence in Sam to make it happen in that short time scale and she did! Allington was the perfect venue for our intimate candlelit wedding. It was fabulous having the venue to ourselves from Friday to Sunday, we were made to feel very welcome and Sam couldn't have been a better host. Nothing was too much trouble, Sam's willingness to accommodate our ideas combined with her experience resulted in our day being every bit as special as we had hoped and our guests loved it too! We can't recommend Allington Manor highly enough.