Hens with Pens Reviews 1.772

I've booked with this company for two separate hen dos and had a great experience on both occasions.

The company were able to arrange a really central Oxford location which was great!

Good communication before the event. And Georgii and John provided a fun session on the day - some art tips and lots of laughs.

After being let down by another company and scrambling to get our life drawing event organised one week before the hen, Hens with Pens came to the rescue and we couldn’t be happier with the service we received! The booking process was fast and Andrew and Amanda were super friendly and helpful. We were a little apprehensive about what to expect from the life drawing but Laurence was absolutely fantastic and made it a really fun session which was absolutely perfect for the hen! We’re so glad we went with Hens with Pens for our event, and even more thrilled to have been assigned such a lovely, friendly model and tutor who made the experience even better than expected! Thanks to the fantastic team for getting this arranged so smoothly, and at a really decent price.

Used Hens with Pens to book a burlesque class for hen do celebrations and absolutely loved the experience Clare gave us!!
She was fun, had a laugh with us and made us feel empowered and sexy (even though we dance with two left feet).
Something really different but absolutely loved it. Thank you so much Clare!

Andrew was brilliant. We were all made to feel at ease and he was very entertaining- wasn’t afraid of the crazy hen!!

The men were friendly and good fun

Everything about Hens with Pens was brilliant! Communication was super clear throughout, they accommodated us when we needed to make last minute changes, and the booking process was simple, easy and pain-free.

A special mention to our art tutor, Malcolm. He was extremely friendly and I got a genuine sense that he wanted give us the best experience possible. He provided helpful tips and pointers in a lovely manner - extremely encouraging and positive. He made the afternoon!

We absolutely loved it and will definitely recommend!

We had Ginger Michael for our hen party and he brought laughter and fun to our afternoon activity - thank you Hens with Pens for a seamless process!

So I thought he was confident around all of us girls but he managed the session making it fun and artistic. An enjoyable session given. Would recommend 😁
Good variety of activities 👍 which made it fun and fresh 😀.
I thought it was fab 👍 not what I was expecting but much better 👍 he made it fun and was lovely 🥰 x x
The short rounds and different drawing games made it fun and not boring.
Thoroughly enjoyable artistic experience. He came across with confidence and was able to keep the session flowing and entertaining and he commanded it all with such a great well pitched sense of humour. The range and pace of the activities did make you feel like you had done a lot in the time we had with him. Without a doubt, the entire group of us immensely enjoyed our Hens with Pens experience.

Thank you so much to hens with pens and a particular mention to Kirsten, our fabulous instructor who brought not only her dance skills but her fun and warm personality to our friends hen do. We had an absolute blast learning some line dancing routines, everyone commented on how fun it was and it certainly added a bit of sparkle to the weekend. Amanda and the team were super easy to book with, very responsive to any queries I had and kept me posted along the way. All in all a very positive experience and i’d recommend hens with pens to anyone looking to add a dance class to their party.

Great fun! John our model was so good at making the group feel at ease. The hen party loved every minute of it!

Rita was amazing so funny and made our session all the more fun. Would highly recommend

We booked with Hens with Pens for our hen party and honestly couldn’t recommend them more!

From the very start, Amanda and Andrew were absolutely fantastic with the booking process. They were super patient and so understanding with all of my (many!) questions, which made organising everything completely stress-free.

On the day itself, it was such a great experience. Our model was incredibly polite, professional, and really interactive, which made everyone feel comfortable straight away. The girls had such a good laugh – it was the perfect mix of fun and relaxed.

Thank you so much for making it such a memorable part of our weekend! 💛

We had a sip and paint session with Clare at a hen do this weekend! Clare was absolutely brilliant and the class was great!

She was very welcoming, informative and made the class so fun! She helped guide us through it whilst also giving everyone the space to be creativity! The full group absolutely loved it, I couldn’t recommend the activity and Clare more!

I recently attended my hen party event with Hens for Pens, and unfortunately, the experience did not meet expectations.

Upon arrival, I entered a room where two hosts were standing at a table with no music playing and no evident atmosphere. The initial impression felt uncomfortable and lacked the lively energy that had been anticipated for such a celebratory occasion. As this event had been organised as a surprise by my bridesmaids, I was particularly surprised by the setup given as they know me well and intended for this to be a special experience.
The tone throughout the EARLY part of the event felt strained rather than engaging, and there was an absence of the light-hearted, “cheeky” banter that had been advertised. Thankfully, my friends and family brought their own energy and enthusiasm, which ensured that I was still able to enjoy my celebration despite the circumstances.

To clarify, this is not intended as personal criticism of Bruce (our butler). He appeared somewhat uncomfortable at the beginning; however, after approximately an hour he seemed to relax and become more at ease. As a group, we made a conscious effort to encourage and support him, which helped him become more interactive. That said, had we not actively engaged and worked to lift the atmosphere ourselves, the overall experience may have been very different.

Concerns were raised almost immediately. Within the first 15 minutes, my bridesmaids contacted Andrew in an attempt to address the issues. When the situation did not improve, my Maid of Honour also spoke with him directly. After an extremity rude phone call conducted shockingly by Andrew he then offered to pay for 3 bottles of Prosecco. Following the comment on my bridesmaids first review stating that alcohol is not included and shouldn’t be expected at a cost of £348 in total is ridiculous. Each individual paid £35 for paper bingo, bingo dabber and a bingo game that will be used for multiple events. I understand staff need paid but that does not equate to that amount of money. Gary (our bingo caller) overall lacked the level of engagement expected for a group of 17 people at a hen party. This was intended to be a fun, celebratory event rather than a formal or subdued gathering. Despite this, Andrew said that Gary described us as ‘rowdy and difficult to manage’, which is ridiculous. A hen party is, by nature, lively and energetic. We were there for a laugh, not an overly serious or rigid game. It felt like a board meeting on initial entrance. I personally (as the bride) attempted to support Gary during the bingo by repeating numbers to help maintain momentum.

Regarding punctuality, only four members of our group arrived slightly late, and we made it clear that the event could begin without them. At no point did we request that staff delay proceedings, so there was no inconvenience caused so that is inaccurate information used within their reply to the review. Additionally, when my Maid of Honour indicated that it was time for us to conclude the event, Gary suggested that we continue with additional activities such as painting which was bizarre as it was not included within the agreed package so why was it brought?

What I find most concerning is the conduct of Andrew following the event. Both of my bridesmaids clearly stated that they no longer wished to be contacted, yet communication attempts have continued. Andrew has again tried to contact my Maid of Honour at 19:55pm on a Sunday evening after she stated earlier in the day that she no longer wished to be contacted. This behaviour is unacceptable and feels highly inappropriate. Once individuals have made it clear that they do not wish to engage further, that boundary should be respected.

UPDATE: After Andrew’s attempt to contact my Maid of Honour she then asked Amanda to contact the mother of my maid of honour as my maid of honour no longer wanted contact with Andrew. Amanda was professional and empathetic which lead me to believe that if it was Amanda that had dealt with our concerns yesterday this would have been a different experience. Andrew and his shocking attitude has massively let down the company.

To be clear, we are not seeking any refund or financial compensation. Our intention in sharing this review is simply to ensure that other bridal parties can make fully informed decisions. In our view, the advertising and expectations set did not align with the service delivered, which we feel is misleading. At this moment I would not recommended this service.

We really enjoyed our life drawing session. The artist and model were so lovely and made the session fun and silly and fit the comfort levels of everyone who attended! Would definitely recommend 😌

We had a great time at our bare bones party this weekend! Friendly and prompt responses and customer service from start to finish. Fun games, giggles and some hidden talents were unveiled. (Maybe not ready for our exhibition yet though!) Highly recommend if you're looking for a girls weekend activity!

Further to the below review written on the 22nd of February. I would like to raise my own review as the booker of the event. The below response states that I have not been in contact or responded to their messages since the hen do yesterday. The reason for this is the response given by Andrew over the phone on the day. He was extremely rude to me when I phoned to raise our concern about the drinks inclusion. We had 6 bottles of Prosecco opened on the table under the pretense that we were to experience our ‘90 minute drinks service’ as quoted on the website. Multiple of the other events listed on the website specifically state that no drinks are included. The ‘butler in the buff bingo’ that we booked however does not. Misleading language is used throughout the advertising and communication given before the event. To access the T&Cs they have quoted it is linked in 1 small sentence of all the documentation sent over and is then one of the last things stated on a long scroll of information about their multitude of events. The advert is wildly misleading and the communication about a very large factor of the day was clearly skirted around intentionally. How you can advertise so blatantly for a ‘drinks service’ and a butler with no clear statement of no drinks included is beyond me. Myself and my other bridesmaid missed half of the 90 minute event due to having to be outside the room to deal with highly rude phone calls from Andrew who had no interest in the matter and the effect it had on our day. Our ‘bingo caller’ had no cheeky banter and had never actually delivered such an event before. He was an artist that done life model classes and had been repurposed for hen with pens money making scheme. The service provided was no where near as advertised and the after care has been nothing short of abysmal. Not to mention the videos taken and shared of us without our consent and both names mentioned in the below anonymous review. If it was not for the Corinthian club extending the kind gesture of bottles being covered by themselves and being empathetic to the clear distress this company had caused after we expressed the group had paid £635 to this. Our group would have had to cut our day short to cover the unexpected expense by this unclear and uncaring scam. Avoid this company at all cost.

We booked through Hens with Pens for a Butler in the Buff bingo which cost £635. Through advertisement of using the wording “ this price includes a 90-minutes drinks service” and “ the Butler will pour your drinks and make sure your Prosecco goes with a pop!” we assumed this meant there were some bottles provided. This was not the case. We went and the two individuals who should have been running it were awkwardly stood in the room with no enthusiasm. There was no banter and if it wasn’t for our group having a laugh it would have been a boring game of bingo. We contacted Andrew - who is part of hen with pens management- during the party to highlight our concerns with the cost of the function for what was basically a game of bingo and a man stood with an apron on. Andrew was rude, condescending and extremely unhelpful in seeing our point of view and the upset it had caused. Andrew did say they would cover the cost of 3 Prosecco’s however I still don’t believe it equates to what we spent. With the bingo, there was no prizes and no enthusiasm.

The next day, I messaged Andrew to explain my concerns again who phoned back to discuss it further. This led to an argument where again he used a condescending manner. He then informed me that the two men had taken videos and photos of us and sent them to Andrew of us having a “good time.” I explained that the people I was with could have a good time in an empty room and had absolutely nothing to do with the two men stood in the room. He then told me one of the men running the bingo struggled with us as “we were a loud and rowdy bunch”. I’m confused what they expected from a hen do and once again was only loud and rowdy as we had to make our own fun with it. I was not asked if these videos or photos could be taken let alone sent to an individual I did not know and be used against us the next day for making the best out of a terrible situation. I would strongly recommend not using this company as it was an extremely disappointing start to our day.

Currently waiting for contact from higher management however do not feel anything could rectify the upset and disappointment it caused at the start of what was meant to be a really fun and exciting experience and ruined our hens afternoon. Couldn’t give a worse review for Andrew.

In response to the reply below, the threatening behaviour in question was me stating I was going to give a negative review, nothing else!

This does not clear up why you have photos and videos of us on your phone that you are watching you have stated below you’ve done. I believe this break rules of GDPR as no one gave permission for these to be taken, filmed and shared.

This is a terrible response for the horrific experience and as stated before would avoid this company at all cost!

Great afternoon with Ginger Michael! Would highly recommend for any group, creative, fun a great ice breaker. Michael was fab, no issues with organising and communicating, made everyone feel at ease.

Our life model, Josef, was very friendly, professional and a great laugh! We had a wonderful time and our bride was very happy. Thank you Josef!