Extraordinary!!! The James Ward Mansion has CLASS!!…read moreWhen your at the James Ward Mansion you are the STAR! One event at a time. It's all about YOU! Your friends and family will never forget this experience with you!! Truly unreal!

Beautiful Venue, Disappointing Experience While the James…read moreWard Mansion is undeniably a unique and beautiful venue, our overall experience was unfortunately disappointing. Leading up to our wedding, the owners were uncooperative and made the planning process more stressful than it needed to be. Since the venue claims that my concerns are unfounded and an anomaly of their 5-star reviews, here are the specific examples of our less-than-favorable experience: The week before our wedding, during our pre-event walkthrough, we discovered that the owners had made several cosmetic changes to the venue that were not communicated to us in advance. While we were notified of larger renovation changes, some major cosmetic changes were neglected--such as white-washing the exposed brick in the atrium area. This change, while likely done to expand the appeal of the venue, should have been communicated to a bride ahead of time and not discovered a week before the wedding. This lack of transparency was unsettling and frustrating. Adding to this frustration, the day before our wedding, the venue allowed us an hour to set up our chuppa for the ceremony. While my husband and his brothers were there, the owners stood with their arms crossed, watching them put together the chuppa, claiming my husband was damaging the floor (which was not true), asking for ID and proof of insurance, and generally exhibiting intimidating tactics. This added unnecessary tension during an already stressful time. The owners admittedly thought my husband was a vendor, but this does NOT justify nor dismiss their behavior and attempts to intimidate him. This behavior was unprofessional and left a negative impression on us and our families. During setup on the day of our wedding, our florist was placing flowers on the fountain in the atrium. My planner was called by the venue's coordinator and questioned about the flowers. However, at our pre-event walkthrough the week before, the venue had a representative present who knew that we planned to have flowers on the fountain and never mentioned that it wasn't a possibility. Lastly, the morning of the wedding, I paid extra to arrive early to use the bridal suite to get ready. The owners reside in the building next door and there is a hidden door between the two buildings. This access point leads to a catwalk directly outside the bridal suite. As we arrived and were getting ready with hair, makeup, and dressing, the owner came from his next-door residence right onto that catwalk outside the bridal suite. The owners were well aware that we rented the space that morning and should not have accessed the venue while my bridal party and I were in the bridal suite. After how they treated my husband the day before, it is easy to interpret this surprise visit as more intimidation by the owners. Most disappointing was the venue's response after the wedding. I asked my planner to arrange a time for me to directly discuss some of these issues. My planner was told that they refuse to address my concerns and feedback, claiming instead that my issues lie at the feet of her, my planner, and our caterer, and that their plethora of 5-star reviews speak for themselves. I, too, reached out directly to discuss these issues with the venue's coordinator and was met with the same resistance; my text message was ignored. This unprofessionalism and disregard for our concerns were extremely disappointing and added to our overall negative experience. Here is my response to their claims: My specific concerns are with the management of the venue and their treatment of us and our vendors. No venue should rest on their laurels of 5-star reviews and ignore a less-than-favorable experience by a customer.

The venue was cute & compact. The space was adequate for a small number of people. I love that it…read moregives the locals an event space. They have a small parking lot that one must park 5-6 cars deep but regardless, it's still parking. I'm glad that I was late so I didn't get blocked in.

The Forest Lodge staff was top notch for the ceremony and reception…read more In particular Desiree and Sydney were a dynamic duo and the epitome of professionalism and hospitality. I was the officiant of the ceremony and cousin of the bride. Desiree and Sydney anticipated every need. There were more than a few times when I signaled to them from afar and before I opened my mouth they were already solutioning or simply giving me the information I was needing in the moment. I have been an Experience Design and Strategy executive for over two decades working with the likes of The NFL and Kylie Jenner. Desiree and Sydney represent what is right, invigorating, and honorable about servicing others. This was the first time I've been to Forest Lodge and I look forward to coming back because your business's future is in tremendous hands you can trust.

I cannot recommend Forest Lodge enough!! If you are looking for a wedding/party venue, look no…read morefurther!! Anthony and Charlie are the absolute best! They are fun, friendly, enthusiastic, accommodating, and love a good themed party! They will work hard to bring your vision to life! I told Anthony I wanted an 80s/90s themed party for my 40th and that I would be coming in costume as Madonna, and he had several awesome recommendations, including who to reach out to to have disco balls installed on the dance floor and how to decorate the space. I also want to give Sean, the manager who oversaw my event, a special thanks!!! He treated me like royalty, anticipating my every need and was incredibly organized and kept me on schedule. I had three different outfits and he had his eye on the clock, shuttling me back and forth on his golf cart to the bridal suite when it was time for an outfit change. I also performed a solo dance to Madonna's "Like a Prayer," which went really well, thanks to Sean being so on the ball!! He moved the party guests from the bar area to the dance floor and coordinated with the DJ so I could make a surprise entrance from the rear of the building! Prior to the event, Sean was also amazing! He loved to talk party details, was super responsive to my emails and very enthusiastic during the planning process, and did the entire set up the day of my event, arranging the décor beautifully!!! The party was a huge success because of Sean and the rest of the Forest Lodge crew!!! THANK YOU for helping me make my dream of an 80s/90s themed party a reality!!!

Unprofessional and classless owners. The person running this establishment speaks with a rude…read morecondescending tone that would make any client feel unappreciated! It's clear some people simply don't understand how to run a business. You should always try to accommodate your clients needs . In their case , they could care less about anyones needs. I would advise anyone to AVOID this place and seek a more professional establishment! ZERO STARS.

I had my baby shower here and the team was excellent. The space was just right and the outdoor…read morepatio was perfect for the overflow of guest. I appreciated the teams willingness to help my with the seating arrangements and their patiences with my indecisiveness.

Decent dorm hotel on the Cook Douglass Campus of Rutgers New Brunswick. Basic accommodations,…read moreclean, efficient, and very low price compared to hotels in the area. Need a car, nothing to walk to, but if you are visiting your kids they can ride a Rutgers bus to the inn. No food, but delivery services, difficult to find, signage not great. Mini fridge and microwave in room. For extended stays with your kid you can't beat the price.

The cheapest hotel in New Brunswick. Hotel is small and remote, located in the Cook- Douglas campus…read moreat Rutgers University. So there is nothing around for at least a mile. 1 mile walk to downtown New Brunswick. But the room is clean and that is all that matters.

I must say, last minute birthday plans for someone close to you can be a bit overwhelming. Vendee…read moreevents took the weight off my shoulders and allowed me to relax. I was able to enjoy the event as everything was organized and set up to perfection. I look forward to using vendee events for future events.

This place was terrible. Recently attended an event here and they were totally unprepared for the…read morescope of the event. There wasn't enough support available, they ran out of food almost immediately and what they had was not warm and in some cases not exactly cooked properly. They crammed everyone into an area that if, god forbid there was a fire, people would have had to trample over others to get out of. Honestly, how do you have food with zero vegetables and "run out" of salad? I'm never going back to this place again

This is now a catering hall if it wasn't before. The food, drinks and hospitality were all great. A…read morevery nice place to hold any kind of event. Cocktail hour was splendid, soup was delicious, Roast beef was cooked right too.

Amazing venue! We had our office holiday party here in the Grand Ballroom. The room is very clean,…read morenice floors, and gorgeous huge windows. We booked with Carmen. She was a pleasure to work with, answered all of our questions and was easy to contact. The staff is friendly and very helpful. We will definitely be returning next year!