Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton

t above and beyond to make the experience so eventful. From our event coordinator, Katie, to the hotel room block staff, to the restaurants and the spa services, customer service is clearly their 100% focus. The experience was so enjoyable and stress free :)

there were no hiccups. We were very pleased with how our reception turned out. Also, throughout the planning process, the Amway was incredibly easy to work with and always flexible to incorporate my ideas. They made a somewhat stressful time much more manageable.

er our seats during the ceremony while I was performing my services as the wedding officiant. We left the room while the happy couple were taking photos and returned a short while later to find that our things had been STOLEN. When questioned, the staff was cavalier and unhelpful. We were even LIED TO when the employee assigned to help us resolve the matter told us that the room was under video surveillance when it was not. We were patient and understanding while working with them but to date our issue is still unresolved and the management has washed their hands of our concerns. The negligence in leaving personal items is ours, however the way the security team and management was UNWILLING TO HELP and unapologetic about the circumstances is where our frustration lies. Based on extensive review of the events of the night and the personnel with access to the room, we feel without question that our items were STOLEN BY THE STAFF. We have been told that there is nothing more that can be done to help our situation so all we can do now is warn others that this beautiful venue is sadly a harbor to prey on affluent party guests. It is unfortunate that their staff are not held to the high standard that the hotel boasts and that the facility allows THIEVES under their employ to take advantage of their well paying guests. If you value your friends and family (and your belongings) I would encourage you to look elsewhere for your event or risk being preyed upon by event staff.

t the accommodations, the food, and the charm of the hotel. I worked with Katie and Grace, and they were so thoughtful about every detail. You could tell they wanted to make the day perfect for me, and they did! We will never forget it and neither will our guests!

xpect anything, any special touches would obviously be appreciated. They went absolutely above and beyond, upgrading us, with no extra charge, to a tower sweet - one of the best rooms in the house. We ended up with a stunning full view of the city and a huge suite. It made our first night so much more special, and their thoughtfulness meant the world to us! We also ordered dinner and breakfast from roomservice and were blown away by how delicious their food was! Absolutely wonderful experience, providing a perfect ending to a perfect day :)

were pretty affordable.

h, and very clear about how to book rooms in the block. They definitely upgraded our hotel room, which was super nice of them! We had a beautiful corner room in the tower with a view of the river for our wedding night! What a view! They let my family members check in for us so we didn't have to wait in line at midnight (which I HIGHLY recommend you assign someone to do for your wedding night...there were 5 brides waiting to check in when we got there and we were just able to go right up to our room without waiting in line.) It was a WONDERFUL stay!

anner. She's a saint from how bothersome I must have gotten at some points.

full (even though the wedding was over 6 months away), when in fact the hotel was not. I had to exchange countless calls and emails with the wedding coordinators and each time it would take days to find a solution. The experience we had at the hotel the weekend of the wedding was to say the least disappointing. They gave me a room with a children's bed for the night of my wedding (which I did not request, I do not have children). When I went to the front desk, I was told I had specifically requested that room (again, which I did not). So not only was I given a room I didn't request, the front desk staff accused me of lying about it. We were at the front desk for 3 hours checking in and waiting for them to find me a room (even though I had booked it 6 months in advance). Upon arriving at my rehearsal dinner, my guests complained of poor front desk and bell service, musty smelling rooms, dirty bathrooms, and countless other problems. There were numerous other problems that weekend - my room was never cleaned (we even called and requested it-no one showed up until the day we left), the bell staff was of no assistance even though we had 3 carts to bring up, I could keep going...I understand that hotels are busy and that human error happens, but what we experienced that weekend was extremely poor customer service, a major lack of attention to detail, and at times, treating guests disrespectfully. Also, over a month after my wedding, I have contacted the Amway 3 times to discuss my problems that weekend and no one has contacted me back. That shows how much they care about and respect their guests.

day of my life. To say they went above and beyond is an understatement. They genuinely cared about me, my family and my friends and made sure we were happy at all times. We booked the Pantlind Ballroom about a year in advance and from start to finish Katie and Grace were professional, personable, and extremely easy to work with. Amway Grand as a whole is the most accommodating hotel I have ever been to in the southwest Michigan area. From the valet boys and front desk staff, to the waitstaff, bartenders and chefs...everything was nothing but top notch at all times. If you book an event here, know you are in good, professional hands at all times. I will always highly recommend Amway Grand Plaza Hotel....and Katie Dietrich and Grace Hill! Talk about a DREAM TEAM! Absolutely wonderful!!

ts staff. To the good: • The rooms blocked for our guests were to be cheaper than anywhere else during Art Prize. • We were able to book over a year in advance. • When we arrived to our cocktail hour, we were able to part take and were asked if we would like a drink. • Our banquet captain took great care of us throughout the whole evening. • The food was delicious. • The bar went from a full service upstairs to a beer and wine only bar downstairs after cocktail hour. • The bride and groom cake design was very nice and turned out well. • Our tower suite was wonderfully accommodating. To the not so great: • Our block of hotel rooms was not addressed by the main coordinator and caused us much embarrassment when family tried to reserve rooms and called us to say we had no block available. • For our taste testing, we selected dishes from the list in our packet. The day of our tasting, we were given the full menu, after already choosing what we thought our small list of options were. Also, each dinner comes with desert or a credit, something we learned after the fact, again. • We planned our wedding from another state and time zone. Both working a 6:30am-4:00pm job only ever caused email conversations, were there were huge confusions and weekend phone calls meetings. • Emails often were filled with errors in capitalizing or grammar. • In working with our linens, we were under the impression that the Amway would provide floor length linens for the dining. This ended up not being the case but thankfully the head events coordinator was able to step help us get the linens free of charge • I requested a list of rules that the Amway has so I could avoid any more confusion. Such a document did not exist because it would have some many points to make (from the catering manager). I stated that I did expect a place like the Amway to have such a document since my church had a minimum 7 page document with such limitations. • We were told we were late on a payment at the meeting we had two days before the wedding and that we would be charged our full estimated bill (~$4,000). This charge was supposed to be placed on our card that day and we were to get our bill to review and then settle the rest of the cost. After getting back from our honeymoon, our catering manager had not contacted us and there were no charges were on our credit card. We had to seek her out for an answer. She stated we would be credited, but did not say if it would be on the additional payment we were supposed to make or on the 1 ½ times the room cost we had already paid. • Our bride and groom cake was more than half cream cheese filling. We much would have preferred more than half cake. All in all, the main staff at the Amway were so wonderful to work with, as well as the events director. The space itself was great and not paying hourly for the bar was a great decision for our group of ~120. Our catering manager was overpaid for the service provided. From what I have heard from other brides and my vendors (seasoned in the Amway, but none interacting with this coordinator), other coordinators really do make this a great process and celebrate you. I pray that anyone who chooses to live out their childhood dream of an Amway reception gets the experience they are seeking.

ior to our wedding and she took care of us like it was her own wedding. She was responsive, honest, kind, and so easy to work with. She then assigned me to Katie Dietrich as my catering manager, and she was just as wonderful! Fast forward a few months.... From the moment my bridesmaids and I walked into our getting-ready suite, we were blown away. The suites on the tower side of the hotel had just been renovated and they were absolutely stunning. Even the helpful valet attendees and bellmen were such a pleasure to work with and would drop anything to help us with our things. We had our ceremony at our home church in Grand Rapids, but we immediately came back to the hotel for our reception in the Pantlind Ballroom. First and foremost, the room itself emanates an old-world, palace look-and-feel... almost like you are in Versailles, France! The gold-gilded ceilings and mirrored walls just sparkle when the lights are dimmed and you first walk in. The meal was not only hands-down the best wedding dinner I've ever had, but one of the best meals of all time! The food was warm, perfectly seasoned, and super fresh. Our servers were very attentive and handled our every need. Don't even get me started on that cake.. We had the red velvet cake with cream cheese filling AND a dark chocolate cake with peanut butter ganache filling. It was to DIE for and all of our guests were over the moon. The weekend was perfect, and I could not have hoped for a better wedding than the one we had. Thank you to every single person involved. I would recommend them to every Bride I meet for their own special day.

t and room service. It was a beautiful room and view and we had a great time! Would recommend this to any newlyweds.

oked our room for us and also booked our rooms for our guests. We were not from the area so we had to visit Grand Rapids a couple of times prior to the wedding, and Grace took great care of us each time we visited. I never had to book my own room or talk to anyone in the reservation department because Grace had everything set up for us before we arrived. Our guests, my husband, and I were very impressed with the hotel and staff.

y an expert at what he does. He was businesslike, organized, and polite throughout the entire process. I don't live in Grand Rapids, so I wasn't able to meet in person until later in the process, but Darrin was extremely flexible and patient with all of the emails and phone calls leading up to our event, right down to last minute decisions and changes. The event execution went extremely smoothly - the setup crew arranged things nicely, the staff at Amway worked well with the florist and DJ, and the waitstaff and kitchen crew served an excellent meal for a large crowd of people. Our server for the evening was so prompt and kind - I wish I could recall her name! Also, the chef created a delicious, classic cake based on a picture that I had emailed to Darrin. The Amway is clean and well maintained, the rooms and common areas are historic and beautiful. Many of our guests were from out of town, and the Amway provided an excellent first impression of Grand Rapids. The discount room rate was a great value, and after some initial hangups with the booking website, guests had a positive experience. Selecting the Amway as your venue will certainly cost more than other Grand Rapids venues, however, if it is in your budget, or if you are able to adjust other areas of your budget, this historic and beautiful venue is worth the cost. Rather than stressing about details and coordination, you can leave it up to the staff at Amway, and they will pull together a lovely event for you. The Amway will provide a smooth and elegant experience for you and your guests!

tment of nuts, berries, yogurt, and mimosa's!

s loved the food and setting. Darrin was our coordinator and was very attentive. This venue may be one of the more expensive venues in GR, but when you look at the quality of service you get and the ambiance, you can't beat it! The photo ops alone are worth it!

make my wedding more than I ever could have dreamed of, and a day we will never forget. It has been 6 weeks since the event and guests are still talking about the venue and food.

ind Ballroom. The food, service, decor, etc were top notch. We are still getting rave reviews from our guests.

warm experience for our daughter and son in law was exceptional...and the food was excellent! Most of our wedding guests were from out of town and they were impressed by the atmosphere, service, and amenities at the Amway. The location was great and our guests enjoyed being able to access the museums and other venues around town by foot. A wonderful week-end!

e whole night (and they didn't complain that I kicked off my shoes almost immediately). The overall bill ended up being much more expensive than we originally anticipated but our friends and family had a great time! We received so many compliments about our wedding and the Amway is to thank for that.

cake so that my guests could have regular cake. My gluten free portion was amazing, but even better, we had so many compliments from our guests. Everyone said that it was the best cake they had ever had at a wedding. People were even asking for seconds. The cake really matched our style as a couple, and I am so excited that everyone liked the cake.

med and at ease that the day would go smoothly. She did a great job! We held our ceremony in the GRF Presidential Ballroom and the reception in the Pantlind Ballroom; both beautiful , elegant venues. We were very happy with the ease of planning, organization, coordination, table service and bar service. It was a bit on the pricey side (we paid for everything ourselves), but in this case, you get what you pay for - NO STRESS! :) FOOD WAS DELICIOUS!!! The tomato bisque with puff-pastry dome was perfect for our fall wedding. Generous servings CAKE WAS GORGEOUS and yummy! We went with their red velvet and fondant. Very good! Also make a groom's cake for us with a scuba theme; fun and chocolate! One thing that many guests noticed was that, unattended cocktails were very quickly whisked away from the tables. If you took two sips and set your glass down to go dance or mingle ant a neighboring table, you'd have to go back to the bar for a new drink because your previous vanished. We went with the flat bar rate versus the per-drink rate, so I guess that was lucky on our part. Perhaps this is serving policy to keep minors from trying any "funny-business?" Anyhow, it was a beautiful setting and I always felt like everything was under control. I would highly recommend this venue!

which they held for me at the front desk so I could easily retrieve them the next day. Room service was prompt and delicious. It was well worth being treated like royalty for the weekend. Every individual in the hotel remembered who we were when we showed up and left. It felt great!

g, my hair was absolutley amazing. The stylists are so nice there and they can handle quite a large wedding party. The food was amazing and my guests raved about it. They are very proffesional and have amazing event coordinators such as Amy that help with what ever you need.

sonably priced as well.

re too. Logistically perfect and absolutely flawless. The service was efficient, the food was outstanding, the cake was a very specially request and the best I've had. The staff really works hard to please. It's the best deal in the city if you want a formal wedding.

y and elegant. They were flexible with every detail, even when things changed at the last minute. I will call the Amway first for all future events.

requests and always quick to get back to us with an answer. They treated us not only as clients, but as people they genuinely cared about. From catering to booking rooms for our guests, they were always on top of everything and eager to help when they could. The ambiance of the hotel and staff created a wonderful atmosphere for our guests and for us during our wedding weekend. We will definitely be recommending this venue :)

y of creating an experience for your guest not just making great food. I would HIGHLY recommend Amway for any event!

e. They can personalize your menu also, so you're not forced to just choose a package. Did I mention the cake was delicious??!! Grace coordinates their catering and she is AMAZING, truly a gift from God, esp. since we planned our wedding in 6 weeks. Could not have been more perfect :)