Hotel closure leaves brides-to-be devastated

Both have lost sizeable booking fees for their big days at the hotel, which ceased trading on October 16, and they are now desperately trying to find somewhere else to get married.

One of the women, who declined to be named, had been looking forward to her wedding day at Stapleford Park Hotel next month.

She told the Melton Times: “We paid thousands and thousands of pounds and we also booked rooms for everybody for two nights, which is a couple of hundred pounds each per night. But it has all gone.

"I have a house full of stuff. Obviously the dress, suits, everything. People are flying in and I have no venue now. I’ve been ringing round frantically but everywhere is booked or they are Christmas venues.”

Another bride-to-be, who also didn’t want to be named, said they paid a deposit of £1,800 on October 4, less than two weeks before the hotel ceased trading. She is angry their money was taken when the hotel was in a perilous financial situation.

She told us: “We are disheartened and furious at the same time.

“How dare they have taken our money? We are so upset.

“The place was devoid of customers at the time of our initial meeting on October 3 and it looked like they were going through a refurbishment.

“We didn't question anything at the time.”

The couple were due to get married at Stapleford Park Hotel in August next year.

The bride-to-be added: “We have lost a vast amount of money and if the hotel does reopen it’ll no doubt take a while.

"Our wedding was going to be a very small affair also, so the £1,800 represents at least 30 per cent of our budget.”

Specialist insolvency practitioners, Leonard Curtis, have been instructed to assist with placing the company into creditors’ voluntary liquidation.

An email sent to hotel members stated that the closure was due to ‘adverse trading conditions and the financial position of the operating company, Stapleford Park Limited’.

The Melton Times has sought further comment from Leonard Curtis.