My husband Bryan Luna, parents and I couldn't be more thankful to have had the chance to meet and work with Janet Lobo as we planned our 320 person wedding reception at Esplanade Lakes. We met Janet upon touring the venue in a July 2018. We immediately clicked and felt we could trust her. From that point on, were in constant communication up until the big day on September 7, 2019. We met several times and she was willing to text/email/call at any point throughout the 14+ months. Janet really understood the emotion and stress that can be brought on by planning a large event. She made us feel so comfortable each and every step of the way! Janet is such a warm-hearted person. Her vast knowledge and wisdom were so helpful in deciding each and every detail ranging from the menu, decor, timing/coordination, etc. She was respectful of any personal requests/preferences and able to answer thousands of questions and/or provide her opinion and resources/recommendations. She communicated and worked with all of the other vendors, which made the final month of coordination a breeze. We are so thankful for the incredible wedding we had at Esplanade Lakes and we owe it all to Janet Lobo and her staff! The food was delicious (filet minion, stuffed chicken breast, vegetable wellington), the event ran smoothly from 5:30 - 12:00am. Everything was absolutely perfect and beautiful!! read more

Esplanade Lakes by Doubletree - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Downers Grove, Illinois

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Plain dry wedding food and unprofessional staff. The rep did not set up our set up on Friday of the hall. We were not let in. Called Ella the rep and she never called back or emailed back Friday or Saturday morning when we were not let in. Late to the rehearsal because we were not allowed in with 24 centerpieces and other decor we had. Ella the hilton rep never even called or checked on the situation. Unprofessional and nothing done to rectify the situation. read more

My hubby and I were at a wedding reception held here and it was GREAT! It was a little erie initially. We were the first to arrive and no one was around - it seemed like a ghost event center - especially with doors opening automatically and the silence. But everything was so eerily beautiful even with the silence, (it had rained, so it was grey outside and a slight chill in the air...). However, soon there was a guard that appeared, who gave a bit of history on the building, which actually is an office building that has this lovely venue for dining. The staff were very kind, personable and yet professional. The facility was very clean, open, and safe, (there were security guards). The food was unbelievable. The arrangement of the tables were rather noteworthy as well - you could see just about everyone from where you sat. This was a spectacular event/reception center. Every detail was taken care of - Beautiful! ....And we were just guest! read more

SUCH a nice reception ball room. They had really pretty decor and lighting. Not to mention it's on a small man-made lake with swans. Very romantic. There's also a wrap around balcony of the reception area that looks out onto the lake. The food was solid. The only reason why I'm not giving them 5 stars is because their staff was very rude to some wedding goers... including myself...when I showed them my ID WITH MY PICTURE believe it or not, they yelled at me saying it wasn't me, what the hell? Overall great experience read more

Esplanade Lakes by Doubletree - Great decor options for wedding receptions!!! So fun!! - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Downers Grove, Illinois

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We had an incredible experience at Esplanade Lakes for our wedding and reception! It has been a very uncertain year and plans and restrictions were changing in almost a daily basis. Janet worked with us to get everything we were looking for despite all the COVID restrictions. She and esplanade were so flexible and accommodating! Our event was perfect and went off without a hitch. We are so grateful we were able to get married at this beautiful venue and have such a supportive team. Highly recommended! read more

Great venue, attended a cousins wedding and had a great time. Food was delicious, servers were profession and courteous while maintaining professionalism. Very pretty setting and use of rooms was very cool. They made a special signature drink which was well received and the bartenders were also good with other drinks. read more

So thankful for Janet's assistance and guidance through our planning and prep! We our our Fundraising Gala in the Esplanade Ballroom and all our guests could talk about was how amazing the venue and set-up was. We will definitely be back to host here again next year! read more

Buyer beware: We used this venue for a wedding, and while the location was beautiful- the staff and management were disorganized, incompetent and rude to not only the bride and groom, but also the guests! The miscommunication, lack of decorum and basic problem solving skills put us all at a loss for words. I've attended and been part of several weddings in the Chicagoland area and this was the worst experience I've ever had with a venue. I recommend the Oakbrook Marriot for others looking for a venue in this area. read more

The Esplande Lakes ballroom is an incredible gem - we were so happy to use the space for our wedding. Our guests are still raving at how beautiful the venue was. The ballroom is unique with its circular shape (making every guest feel like they had a great seat) and walls of windows overlooking the spectacular outdoor space. We got married in the fall and did all of our wedding portraits along the garden path - the wall of hanging vines, the pond (with swans!) and forest made every shot special. On top of this, our coordinator from the venue, Sinisa, was absolutely splendid. He is incredibly professional with a warm and calming presence that instills confidence in every step and he has the executional prowess to back it up. We had a number of vendors and family that helped us put on our wedding day and Sinisa and team flawlessly ensured that everyone had what they needed when they needed it. In addition to this we also got the catering and alcohol through the venue. We had a Greek and Italian wedding so food was super important - and the Esplanade team really did an amazing job. The food was high quality and they managed to achieve a staggering level of consistency - we heard from numerous guests how great their meal was. The entire team at the Esplande and Doubletree were so kind, accommodating and professional and we could not be more thankful that they were a part of our wedding day. I would highly recommend this venue, the hotel, the restaurant, Sinisa and his team! read more

It was raining when I arrived here but it looked really pretty anyway. It's kinda a long walk from the entrance to the banquet rooms. The room is really pretty nice size room on a curve. I was impressed with the fact that my banquet meal arrived hot. I had chicken with this mushroom stuff stuffed inside of it. It was ok the chicken was moist and the mushrooms were good. The accompanying potatoes were excellent and the greens beans were good. We had unsweetened tea or water to drink. There was a bar but I didnt have a drink there. Short shuttle ride from the hotel nice space. read more

This venue is a beautiful place with a stunning lake but dealing with the staff was a nightmare. My sin had his wedding On May 30,2021 and they messed up almost everything. They gave us a wrong appetizer, we never picked the coconut shrimp we picked the lobster tail but they just gave us the shrimp instead. We picked a stuffed chicken with red roasted pepper sauce and we had it printed on the menu yet we received a different stuffed chicken with some green sauce that we didn't even pick. They forgot to bring out our late night snacks so we were rushing to give people a sandwich as they were leaving the venue. The wedding cake was never brought out, I had to yell and go back to the kitchen several times to have them bring it out for the bride and groom to cut. Working with Janet in the beginning seemed ok but then she just wanted to do whatever she wanted not what we wanted from placement of the tables and high boys to where the harpist needed to go. It was as though it was her wedding not my sons. I also was made to pay cash for plate chargers instead of credit card or check. Later I found out from my wedding designer that she let Janet borrow 150 gold plate chargers for free yet I paid Janet cash for them! I called today to get my money back and Im waiting on a call back. The venue is stunning but in my opinion all of the staff running it need to be fired and new staff need to manage this venue. read more

It may sound cliche, but our wedding was honestly the PERFECT day! We could not have asked for a more beautiful venue than the Esplanade Lakes! It is definitely a suburban hidden gem! The food was delicious and everyone working was SO accommodating and friendly! I honestly don't know how the day would have come together without our fantastic wedding coordinator, Janet Lobo! Janet left no small detail overlooked! She was responsive, so positive, and worked incredibly hard to make our special day unforgettable. We can't thank you enough, Janet, for all your effort, kindness, thoughtfulness, and hard work!!!! You truly went above and beyond for us! Janet is the BEST!! :) read more

I can't even begin to describe how amazing my wedding experience was at Esplanade Lakes. If i could do it all over again, I would. This greatness was highly in part of Janet. Her care and assistance was out of this world. She made me feel as though I was the only bride she was catering too. Every detail, every call, everything was perfect with Janet. There wasn't a time i called her and she didnt pick up! Any bride knows how much this means! I unfortunately had a vendor that did not perform under the terms of our contract and Janet and her team were able to SAVE THE DAY! If not for them, i wouldn't of had a wedding at all. I am so thankful and grateful to the team at Doubletree for saving my wedding and making the process with them so easy. Thank you Janet and the team at Esplande for providing the best wedding services and location for my husband's and I's special day. read more

My experience here was as a guest of my friend's wedding a year ago. The location is kind of weird -- instead of being right near the actual hotel, it's off a winding road that goes beyond the hotel past some fields and behind a Sara Lee building (what?!). Yet, it's surrounded by trees and a cute pond with large stones in it for crossing over. The cocktail hour was held in a large hall within the building before we were ushered into the large banquet hall for the reception. The banquet hall was HUGE, with one curved wall of giant windows overlooking the lake. It was almost too big as it accommodated dozens of tables, two large bridal party tables, a large dance floor, two sweets tables, and a couple bars. Guests were also allowed to step outside on the patio that wrapped around the building, over the lake. Lovely! The place itself was not my style, but it's a good unique spot for a large, traditional wedding reception in the Chicago 'burbs. read more

If you choose to book your wedding at Esplanade Lakes, you need to hire an experienced, professional wedding coordinator! I had my wedding in the ballroom in January of 2017. We first booked our mid-January date in March 2017 and felt extremely happy and confident about the type of quality of our wedding. Signed the contract and everything in March 2017. There was a corporate take-over in July 2017, and the initial site coordinator quit. I then waited 2 months with no information as to who was my next site coordinator; I called, emailed, etc. I finally discovered it was one person, had the tasting with her and everything in late August 2017. I then email Coordinator 2 a week later, asking for the information she said she'd send over. I received no reply, sent another email 1 week later, then started calling. I was told she no longer worked there, they didn't know who Coordinator 3 would be, and they couldn't answer my question about hotel blocks. I then drove to the hotel to speak to someone face to face, spoke only to the desk attendant who called back at the Sales Department repeatedly for someone to meet with me. No one came; I waited over an hour before I had to go to work. I left a hand-written note with my number. No one called me; I called during a break, finally spoke to someone, who then put me on hold. I hung up to return to work. Finally I get connected to Coordinator 3. I met with her and her boss, who is based out of Tampa, FL. They both profusely apologized and saidthat my experience was awful, but there has been such turnover since the corporate takeover. They both gave me their personal numbers and assured me it would be smooth sailing from here. However, there was minimal paperwork saved from the tasting, so I had to re-inform them of EVERYTHING discussed at the tasting, including entrees, side dishes, and dessert selection. Literally three weeks later, I call again to ask a question. Guess what? Coordinator 3 no longer worked there! And of course, they had no idea who my coordinator was. I called Coordinator 3's boss, who never picked up, emailed me, or returned my calls. At this, I emailed the corporate office responsible for the company (which I had in the email announcing the corporate takeover back in July) to tell them that this is the 3rd coordinator, . The VPs of Sales and Customer Satisfaction get me on a conference call the next day to assure me that it was awful, and they were extremely sorry. I'm was starting to think were going to work out, that maybe they just had a rough transition. I met with Coordinator 4, who I had to again inform her of the ceremony details, the tasting notes, and other nuances. Coordinator 4 does manage to secure a "retribution" of floral credit, free ice cream with dessert, and a few other things, totaling about $4,500. However, two weeks prior to the wedding, I am informed that they don't have my contract. I email over a copy of the contract, signed initially by Coordinator 1. Coorindator 4 emails me an estimate of charges $12,000 more than what it should have been-- since it was a winter wedding, my contract stated a 20% decrease in all food, and the room rental was charged twice. My floral credit is not on the bill; I call Coordinator 4 to ask for an updated bill reflective of the signed contract. She responds, "It's like no matter what I do, I can't make you happy!" This lack of professionalism and attention to detail continued through to the wedding rehearsal (Coordinator 4 showed up 15 minutes late) and the wedding day, on which the shuttle from the hotel to the venue was not provided for my bridal party, several boxes of ceremony decorations were misplaced (found only 1 hour before the ceremony began!), the stairs that she had promised to cover before the ceremony were never covered, and my 4 bridesmaids and their dates had to stay in the ceremony room during the cocktail hour because for the "flip," neither Coorindator 4 nor her staff were labelling the tables correctly or setting the appropriate flowers on them. All 4 bridesmaids told me Coordinator 4 came up them, handed them a sheet of paper, and said, "You gotta do this," then left. They didn't see her again for that entire hour. While it was a beautiful wedding and my guests had a great time, the stress invoked from this venue was not worth it. Honestly. That pains me to say so, but both my husband and I are upset at the amount of stress this venue cost us, the additional, last-minute work that was placed on our loved ones, and the lack of professionalism Esplanade Lakes' staff had in the booking of the event. read more

I am quite shocked and disgusted at the lack of professionalism at this venue. I called this venue multiple times - about 11 times - over the course of 1-2 months and left specific messages about the pre-wedding event I was interested in holding in there and the number at which I could be reached. I left messages with multiple people in the sales department, which is the department to which I was always directed by the reception desk, and no one ever called me back. Although I don't want to think this is the case, I started to suspect that the sales department and/or management is racist because I had explained in my message what type of ethnic wedding I am having. I really can't think of any justification for this blatant lack of response, and I will be advising my friends who are also getting married soon to avoid this venue. read more

We had a wedding booked and put the required $2500 secutiry deposit down for our wedding. 8 months prior to our wedding I lost my job and unfortunaltey had to cancel our special day we were so looking forward to. To add insult to injury, THEY WOULD NOT REFUND OUR DEPOSIT again with 8 months notice!!!! Ouch. read more

My husband and I had our reception at Esplande Lakes on 11/14/15. I seriously do not even know where to begin. From our 1st appointment to see the venue, I knew that this was the one. The planning started quickly and my wedding coordinator, Shantella, was absolutely amazing! I don't think could've planned our wedding without her. Shantella, is organzied, creative, kind and funny. She put all of our worries and concerns at the top of her list and made sure at the end of each meeting, we no longer has those worries. The whole staff at the Doubletree and the venue were awesome. The room looked stunning, the food was great and the drinks were even better!! I am still getting compliments on the venue. I will be forever grateful to Shantella and everyone who took part of helping out and working our wedding day. read more

While the venue is beautiful, the service and food were not. The food looked pretty, but it was too salty and prepared well ahead of time. The rice in the chicken and rice soup was a glob at the bottom of the soup bowl. Aldo the acoustics in the building were awful. While the wedding toasts were going on, all you could hear was "so, blah, blah, blah, so. . . " read more

We had our wedding reception here in October 2014 and it was amazing! It's a gorgeous venue that was matched by the fantastic coordinator, Barbara, and wonderful staff/service. The coordinator made everything seem to flow smoothly even though we used vendors that weren't on their list of recommendations. Pictures were great because you don't have to worry about any outsiders in the background or looking in because of it's location - also don't have to worry about wedding crashers. We utilized the outside area/balcony, which was great because we were lucky enough to have good weather for mid-october and the security doubled nicely to watch the cardbox/gift table. The food was good, they PERFECTED our signature cocktail and the bars kept drinks flowing! Shuttle service from the hotel worked wonderfully. We had the late night snack back at the hotel afterwards which was fantastic! It's convenient location near the highways made it easy for our guests who travelled back to the city at the end of the night as they were able to get UBER or some other form of taxi back to the city fairly easy and at relatively low cost. From a bride's perspective, I definitely recommend this for those looking in the Chicago/Chicagoland area. read more