I love having a neighborhood wine shop. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable, and approachable. I…read moreknow little about wine other than I like to drink it and I've always found the staff here to be helpful without being pretentious in any way. I also like how they have tasting cards. That way, I can brush up on my wine speak before the dinner party or book group. Also, the prices are reasonable in general, but especially given the size of the shop, location, and level of service.

What a lovely boutique store with an interesting variety of labels and vineyards. Really…read moreappreciated the knowledgeable staff and inspiration to try something entirely new.

The tour of the seaport was a great way to be introduced to several new venues as well as some…read moreinteresting wines. The guide was very knowledgeable and provided some fabulous tips for evaluating wines. I enjoyed the walk between restaurants. Everyone was very friendly and it was pretty casual. Would definitely do it again!

Had a wonderful time with our company Christmas party, we usually rent restaurant space but Joe put…read moretogether a wonderful package, 3 great locations. Wine was incredible. Food pairing was unmatched, the shrimp ceviche at Rosa Mexicano was incredible. Joe was very attentive to our guest needs, catering to allergies. The water front locations is very scenic. Definitely recommend!

The Garden at Elm Bank is awesome -- especially this time of year!…read more Between the lights, to the model train city, to the Food Trucks, to the S'more "kits" and fire pits, this place is AWESOME this time of year.

We went here for the Christmas festival of trees event. My family had a blast and it was the…read moreperfect Christmas activity! We especially loved the model Christmas villages room and the room of unique Christmas trees. The mini Christmas villages were so intricate and detailed and it was a massive collection. The artistic Christmas trees were creative and unique - I especially loved the national parks Christmas tree! Next to the last activity which is the Christmas trees collection, there is a fire pit in which you are given sticks and a s'mores kit. A perfect way to end the day! Highly recommend coming here for the Christmas event and will be sure to come back and see the gardens when it's back in season (no snow). My only critique is that for the last day it closed at 4pm which didn't give us time to see the lights at night decorations.

Everything about this store is fantastic - the easy browsing layout, the careful selection of wines…read moreand craft beers, and the friendly staff who are always quick to ask if you need help finding something or to answer questions. Beyond the loyalty program that gives you perks like $10 off your first $30 purchase, or the latest, $10 off ANY purchase, this Vinodivino hosts a ton of free events. For the past three Saturdays they've held themed tastings of bold reds, sparkling wines, and cab sauv complete with cheese and crackers and fruit. I consider myself extremely lucky to live close to such a great community gathering place and resource. Whenever I need to keep the house stocked with great wine or find something fun to bring to a party, this will always be my go-to.

Great location and super friendly staff but the wine selection is mostly unknown or non brand-name…read more The store is spacious and the atmosphere is very welcoming.

Lorraine Whittemore is the most outstanding travel professional I have worked with. Once you…read moreexplain your vision for your next adventure to her, you can relax and let her do the planning. She is meticulous in attending to all the details to make this the vacation of your dreams. She has planned many trips for me and I have not been disappointed. I recently went to Scotland for the first time and had the bucket list trip of a lifetime. Let her work some magic for you!

We used Lorraine for a family vacation to Arizona. We started in Phoenix, while there went to the…read moreApache Trail and Scottsdale. We then went to Sedona, the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff. It was a one of the best trips we ever took. The hotels were excellent. All of her suggestions for sight seeing were excellent. I highly recommend Cruise Planners and would use them again for future trips.

In interest of full disclosure I don't play golf, and I didn't play golf here…read more In fact I didn't even see this place in full daylight. I was there at night for dinner for an interview. I had no idea that this place was some fancy place until people started talking about it. First off those that claim it's the oldest country club in America are flat out wrong. There are country clubs that outdate it by nearly a century. 1882 isn't even that old considering it's Boston. My buddy lives in a building older than that right now. Anyway this review isn't about how old or first or not first this was as a country club and golf course. It's more of a plea that just because you are a member here, it's not a good idea to host an interview dinner here. The reason is because it's a bad venue to hold an event like that. The facilities are old and decrepit feeling. It smells old too, and not in a good way. The waiters look like they are part time kids from high school (actually they better be, or they are definitely breaking some child labor laws). The food had small portions and it was not good (probably because it was prepared by the fore-mentioned children). I think it primary reason why people host events here is because they are trying to impress others by showing off that their are part of this exclusive club. However those attempts will likely backfire if you have to explain what a big deal this place is to people that don't care in the first place. You are far better off booking a nice restaurant instead.

Visiting The Country Club to compete in the GNCC Men's Club Curling National Playdowns was…read moreintimidating both on the competition front and the fact that it was held at a country club. Not exactly the environment that I'm used to but in the end they were hospitable and the tournament went relatively smoothly. Despite the relative stuffiness of the club, all of the hosts left us to our games and did not interfere. The bar system was a bit convoluted since we had to purchase tickets and then buy drinks with those instead of just buying straight up. I understand that is a regulation since we weren't members but it was still a bit annoying. The other main aspect that was under the club's control was the curling facility. On a positive side, the ice and the facility were very clean and well maintained. The warm room was well appointed and comfortable both on ice level and in the viewing room above. The Country Club had fantastic cameras and screens on both sides of every sheet giving a clear view of the other side of the ice to the people on the ice and watching the games in the warm room. The ice team did a pretty good job overall but on a couple occasions the pebbling fell apart more than usual toward the end of our games. They were 10 end games with a 9 minute practice session but you expect a little better quality. Thursday night the ice fell off after the 5th end and was completely different than in the earlier part of the game which was confusing to both teams. Overall it was a great experience and I would be happy to play at The Country Club again.

I attended my first class with the Paint Bar yesterday and couldn't be more delighted. I'm…read moreimpressed how they were able to quickly bring the program online in light of the unexpected challenges of the virus. They even offered to deliver the supplies until shipping was available so people could participate. The teacher broke the steps down to simplify a complex painting, and carefully demonstrated each of the techniques. They even broke the class out into breakout rooms so friends could work together from home. Overall, it was a terrific experience.

The Paint Bar is a lot of fun, and no matter how little talent you have (I can't draw a circle…read morewithout Powerpoint), you can indeed create a masterpiece (ok, maybe it will only sell for $2 at your garage sale in 10 years, but your very small children will be impressed). I suggest arriving 30 minutes early, so that you don't get stuck in the line waiting for paints and can focus on importing things like buying a glass of wine. It also helps to be seated near the small stage in front so that you can easily see the example completed painting on the wall. They rotate through a selection of different ones, which are specified on the website when you buy your tickets, so don't pick a class that will paint a lame one like the happy dolphin! Also, you need to see the instructor, who will demonstrate painting an additional example on the stage. The instructor was quite funny, and fairly clear in explaining the individual steps one by one, although she went pretty quickly. The full 2 hours are necessary to complete the painting, and if you fall behind, you will miss some of the tricks or paint combinations. If you bring a date, be sure to praise how much better his or her piece is than yours, over and over again. Artists are sensitive, and who knows, you might get lucky later. If you have talent, maybe your painting will end up in Somerville's Museum of Bad Art, and not in a garage sale!

I have been to all the Needham liquor stores. They're all good, really. But for me, Bin Ends is the…read morebest of the lot. All the stores have a great selection of wines, and all of them do a great job selling high end wines. Want an $80 bottle of wine? no problem at any of them. What I love about Bin Ends is they regularly offer the best deals on cases of wine of great low prices. While I love a good bottle that is higher priced, I often am just fine with a good quality low cost wine. Bin Ends meets all my needs. On top of that, they are super friendly, great service, and will go out of their way to get you what you want if they dont already carry it. Bin Ends is the only store I go to now. You should make it your only store too.

Great and interesting selection of wines, very well-priced. No complaints there, but the customer…read moreservice is -very- hit or miss. For example, I was in a couple months ago and had a great time talking to the gentleman (older, clean-shaven) working. He pointed me in the direction of a couple neat bottles I wouldn't normally have thought about, and his recommendations clearly came from knowledge and understanding what I was interested in. I went back tonight (Friday November 7), though, and despite two employees (a heavier man with a goatee and a woman with bangs and glasses, both middle-aged) working, I was in the store for ten minutes looking around without either of them saying a word to me, despite both of them coming within five feet of me. Not a "how are you?" "can I help you find anything?" "I'll be right with you". Literally nothing. There was only one other customer in the store in that time -- I put my bottles back and walked out. If the owners/managers read this, definitely worth talking to these two -- I've spent plenty here in the past, and customer service this poor was a big turn-off tonight.