My sister and I hosted our parents 50th anniversary party at the Peacock Inn. The venue is beautiful...however, our expectations were not met.
The planning process was a challenge - it took forever to receive a contract, prices were not explained completely, and we had to contact the event coordinator several times via email and telephone to answer questions and schedule a time to pay our deposit (it was a month before they deposited our check). These "red flags" should have been a clue...however, we thought they were simply busy and they continued to tell us they had everything under control and how wonderful the evening would be.
We made several trips to meet with the event coordinator regarding the design of the room, the evening's schedule, and to deliver personal items for the event. A special trip was made to deliver three cases of non-alcoholic sparkling cider - so they could chill the cider two days before the event. When we arrived two hours prior to the beginning of our event - the event coordinator was nowhere to be seen - only one server...who did not have a clue regarding the event coordinator's whereabouts. Below is a list of the things that were promised but were not ready so we could begin taking family pictures an hour prior to our event:
*The table setting was incomplete - no candles, no napkins, place cards, menus, etc.
*The sparkling cider was still sitting on the bar where we left it two days earlier - not chilled
*The patio tables were not cleaned, no candles on the tables as promised, and the umbrellas for the tables were lying in the hallway on the way to the restrooms (the umbrellas were never put up and no candles were placed on the patio tables...the doors leading to the patio were locked - guests had to bang on the door to gain access to the dining room.
*The bar area where the buffet was going to be set up was a mess!
*When the event coordinator FINALLY showed up along with additoinal servers...their attitudes were surly and seemed angry when we asked for things to be done. We were told it was our florist's fault they were behind - which was total BS.
*We had to light candles, jump behind the bar to serve our guests, put out cocktail napkins (which were delivered two days prior), and continually ask when the appetizers were going to be ready...the event started at 6pm - and the appetizers were not ready until 6:15. It was only fruit and chesse - however, they managed to screw that up by not slicing the cheese, no serving untensils, no plates, putting crackers out at the last minute, etc. A true CF.
*The staff was not professionally dressed - I mean all STAFF from the severs to the person we paid $100 to drive our guests from the parking lot to the event space...the "chef" had on a t-shirt, blue jeans, and backwards baseball cap...no chef coat AND during cocktail hour we had to hunt for the staff who were all smoking outside.
*They said they had great food - which was mediocre at best. We requested specific vegetables and received what looked like frozen vegetables from Sam's Club or Costco.
*We were told the chef was a graduate of Johnson and Wales - hard to believe!
*Once a few guests started to leave - they quickly began to "break down" the tables, blow out the candles (no picture opportunity AGAIN), and clean up 30-45 minutes before the event was supposed to end.
We were so dissapointed...luckily our guests and our parents were not fully aware of the chaos behind the scenes. We specifically paid for these things to be done so we could enjoy the evening with our parents, family, and friends. Instead, we were stressed and ruinning around like chickens with their heads cut off!!!!!
Although the venue is beautiful and has the potential for hosting amazing events...the staff is unprofessional and inconsistent! We would not recommend this venue for any event. read more