New Jersey - South

XP: Flanders Hotel Review

I went to a wedding there this weekend, and here is my review...

The wedding was on the beach, which was very nice.. but also very distracting. ATVs kept driving by, and I think the lifeguards were doing it on purpose b/c they would laugh each time. Very rude. Tons of onlookers, including a girl (about 10 yrs old) who literally walked up and stood next to bride and groom at the alter. wedding coordinator had to ask her to move away, where were the parents? Also, as there are rides right there on the boardwalk every few minutes there would be people screaming.

Cocktail hour was very odd. Not much in terms of choice, the passed hors d'oeurves were good but still limited. Nothing like we have up in North Jersey. There was not enough seating so we were trying to balance our plates and drinks, spilling a few times. Also, they were not good at replenishing anything. The hot buffet (3 items) were empty for about 20 minutes, and once the plates and forks were gone they were never replenished. Service was not very good.

The setup for the wedding was not very convenient. Dining tables were in one area, dance floor was in another room. Also, the way it was designed you had to have a head table. Since the tables were in a separate room, no one danced between first dances and dinner being served, a good 45 minutes of just waiting and talking. By the time dinner was done, it was 10:30, so only 1.5 hours of dancing. The food was terrible. The salad was just not good- it was greens with feta and roasted peppers and balsamic. The balsamic made my stomach hurt it was so acidic. For entree, I got the chicken with crab meat and it was horrible. I love both of those items, and I couldn't eat it- I switched with DH (he got the filet) which was only a bit better, but edible. We also heard the food from the rehearsal dinner (tilapia) was horrible. The service was mediocre, except for the bars, which I was told was an outside company. Also, because of restrictions of alcohol in Ocean City, they only had one bar open at a time, which caused some delays.

The venue itself was pretty, but it ended at that. I spoke with the others we went to the wedding with, and they also found the food bad and the layout very odd, I was hoping it was just me, but apparently not. Hope this helps someone...
*~allie~*

Re: XP: Flanders Hotel Review

  • NJbride827NJbride827 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I could totally cry right now! This is where my wedding is going to be next summer! Any advice on how I can avoid these problems?
  • edited December 2011
    Oh don't cry! There are remedies... Layout I know you can't change- but I would probably have the DJ announce that dancing can begin after the salads are done. We all just kind of waited for people to get up, or for an announcement and there was none- so everyone just sat waiting for dinner to be served. Also, do a food tasting and don't do the chicken and crab. It seemed that people enjoyed the filet a whole lot more than the chicken (there were only 2 choices). This way you know what you are serving. As far as cocktail hour food, not sure if she just chose the specific stations, but the italian one didn't seem to go over well, neither did the one where there were cold dips. But, don't know that those were pre-picked or not. I would also mention to your sales manager that you heard from someone that attended a wedding there that the cocktail hour food and plates/utensils were pooly managed and that you don't want that to be an issue with yours. Having empty dishes for 20 minutes is just not right, and was probably the serving staff's fault.

    Are you having your ceremony there? I doubt the bride and groom even noticed the outside distractions, but the guests did. The wedding coordinator did what she could, but the lifeguards were simply rude and disrespectful.
    *~allie~*

  • edited December 2011
    I'm sorry, but I think you should expect some intrusion on the ceremony when you're having it in a busy public place.  OCNJ, on the beach, in August... of course there will be people gawking, talking, screaming.  I'm sure the lifeguards were being jerks on purpose.

    I went to a wedding in CMNJ and they had the same issue.  Kids playing/laughing in the pool, onlookers standing around.  It is what it is.

    Sorry to be a downer.
  • NJbride827NJbride827 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    I expect some noisiness on the beach. That's fine. I was more upset about what was actually being said about the Flanders.

    However I feel much better about the advice given and all of the positive reviews I found online. This was the 1st negative I have seen.

  • edited December 2011
    I was married at the Flanders Hotel on June 27th. I have nothing but wonderful things to say and my guests felt the same way. I did also get married on the beach but I also got married at 10:30 am on a Sunday. The wedding coordinator and her staff were fabulous. They did have police escorts to stop traffic on the boardwalk so we could cross and of course being 10:30 am not too many people on the beach. We had a brunch reception in the smaller room, Crystal Ballroom I believe. I had 85 guests.  The food was great. Omelette station, bacon, sausage, potatoes, waffles, fruit, yogurt. We chose to have ham and prime rib for the carvery. Seafood newberg was awesome and still have guests talking about it. Chicken franciase. Pasta. The alcohol was a limited menu and we had Di Orios's take care of that for us. The total for that was very inexspensive.     
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