We planned our wedding during what turned out to be an unfortunate time. We had been working with a planner at the Hilton Netherland Plaza for about a year. Roughly four months b...efore the wedding, Hilton had a shakeup in the events planning department and we lost the person we had been working with the previous 12 months. A few weeks before the wedding, we also lost the person who replaced our initial contact person and, at that point, things became a bit stressful. Things we had discussed with previous contacts were lost in the shuffles and we were certain nothing would go as planned. Weeks before the wedding, I was already crafting a terrible review; however…
We used the Continental Room for our reception and it is tough to find a more elegant or more photogenic venue. Roughly 80% of our guests were from out of town and they were completely blown away with both the Continental Room and the accommodations. So, Hilton gained a point just for having a stunningly beautiful hotel. Then…
Literally every employee we encountered not only made sure we received excellent service, but went out of their way to make us feel welcome and special. The bartenders and employees who were serving both the pre-dinner cocktail/hors d’oeuvres and the sit-down meal made a point of telling us how happy they were for us. I don’t think we encountered one person who did not go out of their way to make us or our guests feel welcome for the entire stay.
What would you expect from Chef Todd Kelly? Excellence. Everything, including the displays, the appetizers, the main courses, desserts, and late-night snacks were perfectly prepared works of art. We even included beef tenderloin on the menu and feared it would be overcooked or, if cooked perfectly, served cold. No such worry; it was perfect and served warm. There were no long waits and the precision of the service was an extraordinary thing to see.
Now onto room setup and design. Basically, we ran an experimental design because the room had to be setup to host the ceremony, the meal, and dancing with no breaks in between the three. Initially the staff at the Netherland was skeptical, but they pulled it off using creativity and logic. The entire night flowed beautifully. The staff who set up the room was efficient and delightful to work with. The event managers kept everything moving at breakneck speed without raising a sweat. Everything the adult and children gifts we wanted placed on each table were placed to complement the flowers and place settings.
Overall service and price. I can only give Hilton Netherland Plaza 4 stars because of the stress caused with staff changes taking place so close to the wedding. Had we kept our original staff from start to finish I would find a way to squeeze a 6th star into a 5-star rating scale because everything else delivered WAY over what I would have expected for 5-star service. As I said before, our guests were totally blown away by every single aspect of the weekend from the accommodations, the brilliant service, elegant surroundings, phenomenal food, to the open and well-stocked bar. Considering what we would have paid at other venues and the quality of food we would have had using outside caterers, the price we paid was a bargain.
I would recommend Hilton Netherland Plaza for any event, but, if you want a spot to impress and amaze on one of the most important days of your life, I would tell you to go nowhere else.