The Old Church Restaurant Testimonials and Reviews

Well here I sit an old married man, or at least 6 weeks old that is, and as one ages it is time to reflect and let one’s mind drift to times past. Am I prematurely aged by the wedding business and all its attendant stresses? No….far from it, and why you ask would that be? Well the choice of the Old Church Meeanee, Hawke’s Bay was has a lot to do with it.

It all started with a dinner out, walking into the Old Church you are immediately struck by the baroque furnishings, red velvet sofas and grand chandelier, add fantastic food, excellent service and vineyard surrounds with the Ruahine and Kaweka ranges in the distance and you have all you need for a truly special lunch/dinner treat. Finding that the Old Church also did weddings it was a no brainer to choose it as our venue

Their dedicated events planner Georgie was available at all times and incredibly helpful with everything required, easing the stress of the planning stage and the professional way in which all was accomplished did much to appease the prospective brides worries.

The restaurant was cleared and set up with chairs for the service, being a deconsecrated mission a “churchy” atmosphere was easy to create, the prepared music all came at the right time at the right volume and the service went without a hitch.

Whilst our guests enjoyed drinks and truly delicious canapes in the conservatory overlooking the above mountains the staff rapidly transformed the church into a reception venue.

The detail on the tables and opulence of the decorations means that no extra embellishments were required. Often I am disappointed with the food and service at weddings but not in this case the service was exceptional with truly delicious food and 3 choices for our guests all prepared with the love and care that goes into their lunch/dinner time service. Wine glasses were kept topped up and no table was allowed to run dry.

Unbeknown to us our MC had prepared a whole media show and this ran without a hitch, the venue already set up with PA speaker system and large screen.

To be honest the rest of the night is a bit of a blur, but all I know is that the bar service could not be faulted and our guests were all full of praise for what is a truly exceptional venue, I truly believe that there can be few better places in the world to tie the knot.

All was not over as we stayed in the villa which was the old presbitary, villa it may be but once you are inside a better description might be the Russian Princes dacha. Baroque velvet opulence mirrors the décor of the restaurant with wonderful four poster beds ladened with deep furnishings and cushions, antiques abound around the villa and huge Victorian baths allowed us to wallow and reflect. The Kitchen was pre-stocked with breakfast supplies, wine (in a dedicated wine fridge) and unlimited coffee from the espresso machine complete with a warmed cup tray. We used the villa for an open house for guests the day after the wedding, again catered by the old church, the staff were invisible as trays arrived and went and no request was too much. Everyone was blown away by the villa and I have to say that as a fairly seasoned traveller it really is the most amazing place I have stayed.

Everyone loves their wedding day (at least I hope that is the case) but I have to say that ours was that little bit more special and a big part of that is due to the Old Church and its staff…….thanks guys.

Tania and Mark

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Saturday night was the big one. We had heard from several people how fantastic the Old Church restaurant in Napier was. Upon arrival, it was clear we were in for a real treat. The service was spectacular, the steak magnificent, the Lamb Rack a delicacy and the caramelised dessert complete opulence. Coupled with some of the finest wines in New Zealand, asking for more would be rude.

2008 Foodshow "Win a Weekend" Winner, David Kay and his family from Auckland.

Read David's full review

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October 26,2009

Good evening Karen

We have just had the opportunity to stay at the old villa in Napier this weekend and wanted to congratulate you on the exquisite design and supreme indulgence of this unique accomodation. From the service of your excellent staff to the beautiful gardens and food, it was a very relaxing place to stay and I will be highly recommending this to my friends.

Kindest regards

Annette Kirk

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A new vote has been placed on corporateeventsguide.co.nz for The Old Church Restaurant & Bar by roscoleo@xnet.co.nz

Message:
What a great venue, great hosts & staff & FANTASTIC FOOD

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Hi Paul,

Just a note to say a very big thank you to all the team at the Old Church for the Registered Master Builders Federation function there this week.

The venue was stunning, the food simply outstanding, and all the team there an absolute pleasure to work with.

I have been organising the RMBF Conference for the last 11 years, and the general opinion from attendees this year is that the Old Church was the very best Welcome Function ever.

Please pass on my sincere thanks to everyone there, and I look forward to working with you all again in the future.

Kind Regards,

Tony Laker

Owner/Operator

House of Travel Laker Ltd. .______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13 April 2010

Reference: The Old Church Restaurant

In my capacity as the organiser of the 2010 Registered Master Builders Federation Conference, I selected the Old Church Restaurant to host the event’s opening ‘Welcome Function’. This informal evening function for 300 guests consisted of a series of gourmet food stations throughout the venue, as well as bar stations, and entertainment.

I have organised the previous eleven annual conferences for the Registered Master Builders Federation, and the general consensus from the attendees on the night was that it was the best Welcome Function to date.

The venue was simply stunning, the food absolutely exceptional, and the friendly and accommodating service from Paul and this team on the night couldn’t be faltered.

I would totally recommend the Old Church Restaurant to anyone looking for a beautiful and unique venue that will definitely exceed all expectations.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly if you have any further queries.

Kind Regards

Tony Laker

Director

House of Travel Laker

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“Awesome!”

The Old Church

TMThompson 1 contribution

London

24 Jun 2010

We had our wedding at The Old Church and we can not say how impressed we were with the whole experience. The wedding planner who helped co-ordinate everything was extremely efficient and we felt we were in professional hands. The food was perfect and we received a number of comments on how yummy the food was from our guests. The staff were efficient and went out of there way to make our guests and my niece was looked after. We forgot that one of our friends was vegetarian and we hadn't catered for her on our menu, so they made up a special meal just for her. The atmosphere is magical and I absolutely loved the decorations. We were also lucky enough to stay in the Villa next door which I definitely recommend. Overall, without a doubt I would recommend this place for a special meal or a special event. This place is definitely memorable and it blew our guests away.

For a restaurant that states its five stars you expect quality and professionalism with excellent service. I think you get all of this at The Old Church!

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From: BJ Pies
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 4:31 PM
To: 'Paul Lappchen - The Old Church '
Subject: RE: The Old Church

Thank you Paul

Yes we did have a wonderful night and apart from 4 of us the rest had never been before. It was funny watching their faces when the waiter put their napkin on their laps and their comments of “this is awesome, we have never had an experience like this before at a restaurant”. Everyone enjoyed their meals and the only complaint was they ate too much. They are all keen to come back and have boasted to the rest of the staff what they missed out on so next time we may have a bigger turnout but perhaps we will give them more warning.

Thank you again for a wonderful night and please let our waiter know (his name has escaped me) that his service was unfaultable and great to see a humorous side coming out also, a great combination especially for our group.

Best regards

Karen

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Paul, i can not thank you enough for all you did to make the Anchor Franchise Conference Welcome event such a success. The venue was idyllic, the food surperb and the wine excellent. We received so many positive comments from boths the franchisees and from the new management at Fonterra so than you!!

I will definitely be recommending The Old Church to others and hopefully it will not be too long before i can convince another client to conference in the Hawkes Bay!

Again many sincere thanks

Catherine

For more information you can download the following documents:

lakerhotletterhead2.testimonial_1_.doc (684.54 Kb)
nzweddingmagazinestory.pdf (206.30 Kb)
carolinejohntatereweddingtestimonial.pdf (109.04 Kb)
sarahdanielweddingtestimony.pdf (190.91 Kb)