Set in 175 acres of mature parkland on the edge of Redditch, the Abbey Hotel, Golf & Spa feels a good deal further from town than it actually is. The drive in runs past the championship golf course, and by the time you reach the front door the roads of north Worcestershire have given way to fairways, old trees and a long green horizon — which is exactly what you want behind you in the photographs.
It works as a wedding venue partly because it does so much under one roof. There’s a spa and health club with a pool for the morning before, a restaurant, Bramblings, for the night before, and bedrooms enough to keep the whole party on site, from classic doubles up to the Royal Suite and the penthouses at the top of the house. Guests who arrive early can play a round or book a treatment rather than hovering in the car park, and the four-star polish means nobody has to worry about whether the coffee will be any good.
Ceremonies and wedding breakfasts are held for up to 120 guests, with the evening opening out to 220 once the buffet appears and the rest of your friends arrive. The Henley in Arden Suite is the main room — it has its own bar and wide views over the grounds — while the Norton Adderley suite handles smaller gatherings and the happy business of getting married. A coordinator stays with you from the first show-round to the last dance, which takes a surprising amount of weight off the day itself.
Where the band plays
The Henley in Arden Suite is the room to picture for the evening: a proper function space with a dancefloor, a bar of its own so nobody has to trek off down a corridor, and enough width across the top end for a full line-up rather than a squeezed trio. Live music and DJs are both welcome here, and because the hotel runs events all year the staff are used to bands arriving mid-afternoon needing a door to unload through and somewhere to leave flight cases. Parking is extensive and close to the building, which is less romantic than the parkland but makes the load-in quick.
How the evening runs
With 220 in the room by nine o’clock, this is a venue that suits a band with some brass in it and a singer who can work a crowd rather than anything too delicate. Evenings here run to around midnight, so a band playing two sets across the second half of the night will finish while the floor is still busy and leave the last stretch to a DJ or a playlist. It is worth confirming your exact finish time and any sound arrangements when you book, simply because hotels with bedrooms above the function rooms sometimes ask for the volume to come down a little before the licence does.
Bands available in Worcestershire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Worcestershire.
- Worcestershire Wedding Bands
- Worcestershire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in Worcestershire
- Wedding DJs in Worcestershire
- Corporate Entertainment in Worcestershire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.