Our church hosted a family retreat at Gathering Oaks earlier this month and everyone involved had a…read morereally great time. My husband and I were part of the kitchen/meal crew and stayed in the Gathering House. The kitchen was quite well-stocked and the extra fridge around the corner + extra storage space was much needed. We did have to bring some of our own equipment but we were thoroughly prepared to do so because Gathering Oaks provided all the information about what was available at the retreat center ahead of time. The sound proofing isn't the greatest in the main house for those staying in the ground floor rooms, but that didn't really end up mattering too much since I'm a pretty deep sleeper. Those who wake up more easily from loud noises may not have as easy a time staying in one of the bedrooms in the Gathering House. The facilities are all very well kept and the kids had a great time with the outdoor activities and the fire pit at night. Would definitely consider Gathering Oaks in the future for smaller retreats (about 40-60 people max).

They were all booked up at Gathering Oaks Resort Main Property, no problem, 2 montgs out! but they…read morehad 'farmhouse" accommodations available. But we wouldn't be allowed to enter the pool or tennis courts or the main prooerty at all. They kindly referred me to another venue that will probably work out.

Fantastic experience. The guys were super helpful and made us feel very comfortable. It felt good…read moreto get out the rage, definitely will be back and bring another rage filled friend. Highly recommend going!

My kiddo Jay says we need to try the Waco Rage Room so I took Valarie and my boys!…read more#BreakStuff #SmashStuff #HulkSmash Everyone had a blast, the service was great, they even gave us a Bluetooth speaker to borrow incase we wanted to jam our own music!

I've always had a wonderful experience with Rio Brazos! They can cater to any budget and make it…read moreas fancy or casual as you like. -Lacy- owner of Gathering Oaks Retreat

I hired Rio Brazos Cuisine from Waco to cater my client appreciation day at the Moon River Ranch…read more We had informed them there were going to be about 42 people the first day and 135 people to serve the second day. They were to provide meals for Friday night dinner, Saturday lunch, and Saturday evening dinner. Here is how it went. Due to weather storms our attendance was reduced significantly, Friday evening we only had 13 in one area and 29 in the other. They did not provide enough food to feed the group and was short with the amount provided. When I spoke to the staff they immediately called the owner and yes they later show up with more food. By then it was too late, most people had left the dining area and went away hungry... Saturday for lunch they were to feed 135 people. due to weather we had a total of 82 people at the event. We provided our own Taco bar and had we not done this we would have ran out of food about half way into service. Our taco bar never ran out of food, however Rio did run out of some of the food during the service. Saturday evening there were only about 75 people to serve, again we planned on 120, they ran out of food half way into service. I did not get to eat nor did my wife due to NO FOOD. So a large number of people did not even get to eat due to once again not enough food. Today when I spoke to the owner "Ms. Jonya Williams, to let her know I was disappointed with the amount of food she provided. She informed me that we did not tell her that there were going to be adult men at the event and that there should have been food left over. I informed her that we paid for 120 people and she did not even provide enough food for the 75. How do you underestimate that much. I have been in food service in the past and had never ran out of food when catering an event. You always over plan so you don't run out of food. I feel for $4,000 plus, yes I said $4,000 plus we were ripped off and while speaking to Ms. Jonya Williams, the owner she never once provided suggestion to make things right. All she would say is was the amount of time she has been in business and that everything was our fault. My suggestion is that if you want a company to feed your people and have everyone actually get to eat I WOULD NOT SUGGEST Rio Brazos Catering from Waco, TX. P.S. her excuse for charging so much is they claim to make everything from scratch. The pasta was store bought, the finger food may have been hand made. I always thought I would get what I paid for. Not in this case I got nothing that I expected for what I paid for. I expected everyone to be fed and not be hungry in the end. Her staff was great and did an awesome job and we were happy with them.

Blanek's Custom Catering was a wonderful part of our daughter's wedding day earlier this month. I…read morehave had many positive comments about how good the food was. Melodye and the on site team were wonderful to work with. From the unique pricing schedule for the offerings (so much better than the other two caterers I looked at), to the friendly, efficient service, to the thorough clean up before the team left, I just can't say enough about our experience. I can very highly recommend them.

Blanek's is absolutely the best caterer in town. Their food is always delicious and their customer…read moreservice is top notch. They catered a local charity event I was in charge of for many years. We had on average 500 guests at the event each year. Blanek's was consistently excellent in communication, setting the menu, delivery, food quality, price and clean up. They are professional and simply a delight to work with. I've been to other events they have catered and the service and food is consistently excellent. They strive to listen to their customers and go beyond expectations in delivery every time. They take the stress out of planning the catering portion of any event. They seem to think of every last detail so nothing is left undone. My daughter is getting married next year and we've already booked them to cater her wedding!

All sports fanatics! This is a self-paced experience. Very informative about the legends who made…read moreheadway. Covers everything from football, tennis, and boxing in pro, college & everything in between. The South West Conference exhibits were really good. The Tom Landry Theater was nice. Great Visit.

We visited the Texas Sports Hall of Fame today and had a fantastic time! William, who was working…read moreduring our visit, was incredibly warm and welcoming, which made us feel right at home from the start. My family enjoyed exploring all of the exhibits, starting with the fun showcase of college fight songs that got everyone in the spirit. We wrapped up our visit at the Southwest Conference (SWC) display, which has something for fans of every university. The sports simulators were a big hit with our whole family -- especially trying to throw amazing pitches in the baseball game and shooting baskets into the space station-themed basketball hoop. It was the perfect blend of history, hands-on fun, and Texas sports pride. Highly recommend for families, sports fans, and anyone looking for something unique to do in Waco!

This review is based solely on the deer processing that ERS offers. I have had several items that…read morethey have prepared over the past few years. From Hot Links (my personal favorite) to link sausage with and without cheese & jalapeños, summer sausage, and snack sticks, it has all been really good. You can bring them a deer quartered or already boned-out. If you want them to "muscle-out" your steaks, make sure you tell them. If you are clear in what you want, they will meet your needs. As any deer hunter knows, you don't just randomly choose who processes your deer meat. Having a taste of what someone else has had made is always the best option. Word of mouth is the second best option. Consider this review your word of mouth - Eddie Ray's does excellent work. I highly recommend them. Bottom line - Excellent deer processing with great tasting results. You can't go wrong with Eddie Ray's. Bon appétit, y'all.

Any Ray smokehouse did a fantastic job on catering my daughters wedding in West Texas. The fried…read morechicken sauerkraut sausage were fantastic everybody absolutely love the mashed potatoes. I know it sounds strange to have fried chicken at your wedding but it was a huge hit. Sausage was absolutely fantastic. But the most talked about item was there mashed potatoes. I would definitely recommend this group for catering in the central Texas area.

Makensie met with us twice to prepare for "day of" coordination. We enjoyed her bubbly personality…read moreand she helped us to think of things we hadn't and to be prepared for the big day. She helped considerably on the wedding day and having her allowed us to enjoy the wedding more completely. Unfortunately there were some things that could have been better. There were small details missed that we had to instruct her of during the day. Some we didn't notice until it was too late. (Ie: one being the $200 bottle of champagne was not on ice with the cake, so our pictures of the cake have an empty punch bowl next to it. Bridal party table plates were left in a box so they were unsure where to sit.) I'm sure there were not many people that noticed. She was very helpful in packing up, but in the rush she packed some things on top of our leftover cake. In the end we really counted on her and she handled most of it. We were just a little disappointed in those missed details. Hopefully she will learn from this and make improvements in the future, as details in a wedding matter greatly.

Pivovar Hotel is a luxury Czech-style boutique hotel in downtown Waco right next to the Magnolia…read morecompound. It's located in an historic building and it boasts a restaurant/brew pub (fully operational brewery), a beer spa, and a beer garden. Yelp has a separate page for the brewery/pub. This review is for the hotel itself. The rooms are a combination of industrial and traditional decor with luxury linens, copper soaking tubs, copper sinks, and comfortable beds. The copper tubs are perfect for a relaxing bath after a day of fun in Waco. If you're a craft beer lover as I am, then you know a stay here is a dream come true. I've yet to do the beer spa and plan to on a future visit. The hotel is clean and well-maintained and the staff are very professional and helpful. Free, onsite parking. Who knew you could experience an old world, European, brewery stay just an hour or so from Austin?