Just had our event here for my son's 1st birthday. From the moment we saw the venue we fell in love…read morewith the beachfront view, and the fact that it was just so much space inside and outer terrace. (It's not huge but the fact that it's pretty much glass encased, made it feel so much bigger). We knew that our guests would love the options of being inside or outside for the party. I had never been to an event there before, it was recommended by a friend who also never had an event there, but she had heard good things about it. We were looking for a venue by the water because my husband wanted a nautical themed birthday party for our son. Meeting with Sheri the event coordinator was so nice. She's very pleasant, answered all our questions, communicated well and in a timely fashion. She was accommodating with our requests, throughout the whole time leading up until the party. In the last day or two before the party, we had a few cancellations from guests and while I made the changes on my end with table arrangements...I totally forgot to let Sheri know getting swallowed up with life and with the rest of party planning. I know this was totally my fault and any changes that has to happen on the day of is always stressful.
That being said, my friends and I got to the venue two hours before the party to set up decorations (we prepared all the decorations the day before for a quicker decoration time on the day of so we basically stayed up all night) because that was all the time allotted us and as soon as we got there, we were met with some very big attitude from the staff. I sent a floor plan to Sheri that we decided on together that the backdrop would be to the side of the venue to accommodate for more dance floor space. Well, realizing on the day that the corner or the side where we decided the backdrop was gonna be is going to be way too small for the display...my friends and I asked if we could just put it front and center as soon as you walk in, which is the location that makes the most sense. We got so much pushback, and they kept insisting that it was going to be very hot, they were gonna need to open the window that the backdrop will be going in front of, but literally there was nothing we could do because the backdrop was not going to fit in anywhere else, but that space. Eventually, they let us just do it, but the staff were all begrudgingly moving tables and chairs on top of the move that was already done before because of my mistake. They just kept rumbling and talking under their breath LOUD enough so we could hear it (honestly I don't think they cared that we were hearing it) while we were rushing to finish all the decorations. My friends and I pretty much just ignored them and I was literally on the verge of tears from so much stress and not getting sleep the whole night just to finish up these decorations. I really tried to keep my cool and not give attitude back or yell. Sure that is not their fault but they could definitely have been a lot more accommodating and from being in the service industry... you have to be flexible when it comes to events like these. There will always be something that doesn't go according to plan no matter how much planning you think you did. And as the (venue) vendor, you have to ensure that your customer is happy or satisfied with what they are paying for...pretty much just say ok we're not going according to plan but let's move past it and just do what has to get done for the event to happen and how can we help do that. This was not a cheap event and I would have expected a more professional behavior from the staff. The one person I remember particularly is named Lorie? She seemed to be the ring leader of the attitude gang. She only kind of got nicer by the end of all the preparation right before the party started. In any case, everything turned out well, we got started somewhat on time and the rest of the party went smoothly. Our guests enjoyed the party and all were complimenting how beautiful the venue was. The food was really good surprisingly and Sheri did, later on, keep checking up on me to make sure that everything was OK. Only after the party did I hear from my sister in law that the staff were still rude to some of the guests during the party. I guess I was just too busy to notice. Also I was told that all our cake (which we brought) was not finished by the guests, but we weren't offered to take home any so I guess they just threw it in the garbage. In any case... would've loved to have another party here in the future but probably will not, nor recommend someone else to (unless they train their staff better in terms of guest relations).
