L'Auberge de Sedona

decorated space. The food was absolutely amazing and the staff was perfect. They even decorated our cottage with roses and candles. It made our wedding a complete fairytale.

absolutely beautiful for a reception and gives more of a private feel. We worked with Katie who made everything we asked for happen (special German beer, etc). Our guest raved about the location and the food. Really I have no complaints!

emories

t. We were promised an earlier check in and since we were traveling from out of town, we scheduled plans and drive time according to our check in time. They were THREE HOURS behind schedule, running into my rehearsal time. They were not apologetic and did not offer to remedy the situation in any way. I was promised by the general manager that I would have an early check in time. Other general communication was lacking. The event manager in charge of my wedding for the day always seemed like I was stepping on her toes prior to the day of. Emails were answered as if I was inconveniencing her and I just felt belittled. The day of she stayed out of my way and set up just as I had asked. If I wasn't as detailed as I was and had everything ready beforehand, I don't feel confident that it would have been done correctly by her. We rented the creek house for the event, which had five bedrooms in it. Apparently, they were doing some renovations which had been going on for months prior. We found out the day of check in that one of the rooms was unavailable and we had to use the cottage next door. It ended up working out fine, but it would have been nice to know prior to the day of check in, especially since they had known for months. The renovation was sloppy as well. There were three doors leading into the bridal suite, and one door was painted shut, one was missing, and the lock on the third one was broken. The back doors were also painted shut and when we opened it we broke the frame a little bit. We weren't charged, but it was just annoying. For such a high class place, the renovations were done really poorly. The bar was supposed to be outside and I didn't find out until the day before the wedding that the bar would be inside. It was just frustrating dealing with the lack of communication. Like I said, I am very detailed and a lot was left out. I reviewed their work on the banquet order at least twenty times and there were changes each time. I don't know how they were overlooked or why there were errors because I told them exactly what needed to be happening. Overall, we did get compensated monetarily, but it was really unfortunate that there were so many hiccups for such a classy joint. None of my guests knew, but I knew and I was disappointed.

t married to that backdrop. The food is also really good, not something you always get with wedding food. They were also very responsive and easy to work with leading up to the wedding. There were some disappointments on the actual day though. It seemed a bit disorganized. They didn't seem ready for us at cocktail hour and there wasn't much food. Dinner service took an hour and a half despite our pre-arranged schedule. Luckily our photographer and DJ were very familiar with the location and were excellent at keeping things moving. They also left our gifts and cards outside unattended all night, even though the contract states they were to be brought to our room. Overall I would definitely recommend L'Auberge. Everyone had a great time and it was gorgeous. These issues were disappointing because you are paying top dollar, so your expectations are pretty high. I would just be sure to nail down EVERYTHING ahead of time, especially right before the day.

ptions the resort provides. We were also looking for a resort that offered some wedding planning assistance since we were coordinating the wedding from out of state. We were able to tour the resort ahead of time so we knew exactly what each of the locations for the ceremony and reception would look like for our special day. While we were reviewing everything with our coordinator, we were told that the resort would be undergoing some renovations/updates during the spring/summer but since our wedding was in the fall, everything was expected to be completed prior to our wedding date. It wasn’t. For our wedding weekend, both the lobby and the hotel restaurant were still being renovated so upon arrival at the resort, we, along with our guests, were greeted with a construction zone instead of the beautiful resort we thought we’d be getting. Not only that, but our reception location was being used as a holding area for various construction supplies and was completely torn apart. You can imagine my shock when I viewed the reception location with no warning ahead of time that the area was not only not ready, but that we’d have to make alternate arrangements at the last minute somewhere else on the property that would accommodate the size of our wedding party, in competition with the other weddings also taking place at the resort that weekend. While everyone knows that renovations take longer than expected, it was absolutely unforgivable that we were not told in advance that the renovations were not complete and that we would need to move the reception. To wait until AFTER the bride and groom check in to the resort to address the various logistical problems is unprofessional in the extreme. I simply can not believe that L’Auberge chose to handle our wedding with this cavalier attitude. L’Auberge’s reputation is that they are a world class resort providing top notch service so it is shocking to have them deliberately choose to not tell us BEFORE the wedding that we would have to move our reception location. There was no note of apology from management for the condition of the resort, and certainly no financial compensation or credit made to our account, for not living up to the standard that was set when we contracted with them for our wedding. Interestingly, we were told by some of the vendors that supported our wedding that several other wedding parties experienced the exact same thing we did at L’Auberge. Wow…I still can’t believe it when I think about it. In the end, we were very lucky because we were able to have our reception closer to the creek, which was absolutely beautiful. My hat’s off to the chef/kitchen staff and my wedding coordinator who all had to do their best given the situation, which they all did. So, even though everything worked out, the deliberate lack of communication is not acceptable for a resort of this caliber. While I can forgive a resort for having construction issues beyond their control, I can not forgive the lack of consideration given us, which is definitely a “choice” L’Auberge made and speaks volumes about the way they conduct business.

e to 90). The other venue we considered was Enchantment, but upon visiting later, I felt Enchantment was too corporate and lacked intimacy. 2) L'Auberge is closer to town. We had guests with varying levels of physical ability and interest - not everyone could put on their boots and hike. Being close to town provided our guests had easy access to shopping and town culture. 3) we liked the feel of L'Auberge from the pics and reviews. Planning our wedding from our home outside New York City, pics and reviews were what we had to go on. 4) Kara Cristman, the sales woman we worked with at L'Auberge was AWESOME! She was responsive and worked with us to accommodate our budget. 5) Their sister property, Orchards Inn, is right next door, very nice, and totally affordable which gave flexibility to our guests. Below are the things you can't know until you go through it and why you should DEFINITELY go with L'Auberge. The staff at L'Auberge is awesome and the process is very well organized. Kara helped us develop our vision. We had a loose idea of what we wanted, and Kara patiently worked with us as we played with all the logistics. She provided us with a list of recommended vendors around Sedona, which simplified the planning process. Kara was gracious, kind and enthusiastic as she offered up helpful suggestions and accommodations. Once our contract was finalized, Kara handed the execution of our events to Teagan Tudor. To put it simply, Teagan rocks at what she does and has won awards for her master ability. Not to mention, she is kind and genuine. We loved working with her. The catering/event team has depth that includes Josh Ahern and Reid Peterson. They were also in charge of execution. I don't know how to describe things any better than to say, everything went off without a hitch. We never wanted for anything, questioned anything, worried about anything. It was seamless. L'Auberge is awesome. It is nestled peacefully away from the hustle of Sedona. Oak Creek produces a spa-like ambience with running water and natural beauty. Cute pathways meander through the hotel, connecting cottages and hotel services in an intimate way. Valet will park your car, so there are no metal monstrosities souring the atmosphere. (I found that to be a big downside of Enchantment). A wedding ceremony along the creek or up on Spirit Song Terrace can be nothing short of stunning. The food at L'Auberge is top notch. We LOVED our tasting simply because we got to eat so much of their delicious offerings. The rooms are cozy and upscale, the beds comfortable, and service top notch. It's a 5-star establishment. 22% gratuity...? Yes. There is a 22% gratuity tacked on to your bottom line. You may wince a bit at the number. We did. But, I will tell you that several other places budgeted in the same thing. And, once you are at L'Auberge, they will accept no tips (except at the restaurant and spa). I guess it makes sense because you've already paid gratuity, but they do such an amazing job that you want to make sure they know how much they are appreciated. You can remind yourself that you already did that in advance. It's actually a nice set up. So that's what I've got for you, and I hope you find it helpful. We loved our experience.

d Roni

few" years later, there I was planning my destination wedding. With the help from Stephanie at L'Aberge and my planner Sandy, it was beautiful. It exceeded my expectations. We had a wonderful "welcome" dinner the previous night at their Taos Cantina on the hill. All our guests had great Mexican food on their patio, and we were all taken by vans provided by L'Aberge. The entire staff at L'Aberge were exceptional. Friendly,courteous, and couldn't do enoughh to make our guests happy. It was the wedding I pictured having back as a teenager. Absolutely increditable!!

planned the entire event remotely from the Boston area, and the folks at L'Auberge (especially Meghan Rudolph) were absolutely amazing- responsive, accommodating, friendly, detailed. Food was wonderful, service was spot-on, and everyone felt right at home. We can't wait to go back for an anniversary trip!!

ned a wedding coordinator from the resort who met with us periodically leading up to our event to ensure every detail was considered and finalized. In addition to our wedding, we actually spent the entire weekend there with our family and arranged for Garden cottages for everyone. The venue, the service, the food, the rooms... everything was impeccable.

to have 5 hotel rooms and a great room for the weekend. We had our ceremony on the lawn and our reception on the flagstone patio. The coordinators are L'Auberge were professional and efficient! They were accomodating and friendly. We really have only positive things to say. It is a pricer choice as far as venues go, but well worth the expense in our opinion.

Sedona's red rocks. Meghan at L'Auberge made our wedding day absolutely perfect. She responded quickly to all our questions, worked hard to fulfill our requests, and never tried to push us beyond our budget. The rest of the staff at L'Auberge was equally wonderful to work with and Chef prepared an absolutely wonderful dinner for our guests. We had a wide variety of pallets and there was nothing but rave reviews from our guests. If you are looking to have your wedding in Sedona, L'Auberge should definitely be on your list to check out. You will not be disappointed.

reat to work with and took care of everything I needed. If there were any problems, they were resolved quickly and easily.

the Bridesmaid luncheon was held on the outdoor terrace at the onsite restaurant. All four venues were breathtaking and the food was amazing! The entire staff, and especially Meghan, were accommodating and easy to work with. We had an amazing time!

ely changed. Nobody notified us of the changes, and wouldn't have even told us until we went exploring on our own the day before. The previously grass filled hillside was filled in with concrete and a large metal fence that blocked most of the beautiful view. Needless to say we were extremely upset over this. The wedding planner Megan wasn't helpful at all with the situation. When we spoke with her about the changes her reply was "Didn't you get the email? We were supposed to send it out to everyone." We were then forced to change the location of the ceremony. While the location and reception service at this hotel were absolutely wonderful I was very disappointed with the service from our wedding planner. She was well aware that my family was staying at a different hotel and would need a ride to and from the wedding. Apparently this detail was over looked and my family was forced to walk in the 100 degree Arizona weather to make it to my wedding. We were also disappointed with the fact that she acted annoyed instead of empathetic when we needed to change to location of the ceremony. The least we expected was an apology but we didn't even get that.

. It truly made our wedding weekend - amazing!