Holiday Inn-Cherry Hill, Westin, Wyandam, Doubletree -Mt. Laurel for reception

ReginaChalmers

I live in the Boston, MA area but am trying to plan a South Jersey Wedding. Since half of the wedding guests will be from out of town, we will likely go with a hotel ball room for our reception.

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations or reviews of the following reception veunue possibilities?

Holiday Inn Cherry Hill
Westin -Mt. Laurel
Wyandam Hotel - Mt. Laurel 
Doubletree Mt. Laurel

Thank you!!!

mariantheb

Hi! I am having my reception at the Merion but reserving a hotel block at the Westin which is really really nice. A friend of mine went to  a wedding there and said it was awesome!

2010Bride2be

I have an appointment with The Westin on Friday for a tour. I've heard great things about them, but I've never seen the site itself.

shortee426

Please let me know what you think about the Westin.  I just contacted both them and Wyndam and after speaking with Melanie at the Westin it seems like it could be a match!  So thank you! :-)

pearljammers

I had my reception at The Westin in November of 2009 and it was amazing!  The venue itself is gorgeous, it is a new hotel, not quite 2 years old.  The decor is a very sleek, modern, classy look with a touch of a 1940's retro feel mostly because of the amazing crystal chandeliers in the lobby and Regency Ballroom (which is where my recep was).  Our food and cocktail hour were awesome!  We heard from countless wedding guests how impressed they were w/ the cocktail hour and dinner at our wedding (oh, and I highly recommend Isgro as the bakery to make your cake - they ROCK).  And the service.  Awesome!  My husband and I wrote a complimentary letter to The Westin management because we were truly overwhelmed with how amazing the service was there.  I loved working with Melanie she was great to plan with and very accessible via email.  Our Maitre D and entire wait staff the night of the reception were awesome.  They actually knew what my FIL's favorite drink was!  We love, love, loved The Westin.  I had a perfect wedding and if I did it all over, I would have my reception there again.  I hope that every bride-to-be reading this loves their reception as much as I did.
Ok...so now that you know I liked The Westin, Ican also let you know that I looked at The Wyndham and although their prices are very close, The Westin blows The Wyndham out of the water (IMO).  The Wyndham is perfectly fine but The Westin is just so much prettier (IMO).  And, one prob I had w/ the Wyndham was that the area where the cocktail hr would be had a little bit of a chlorine smell to it because of their indoor pool.
I planned to look at The Doubletree but after my mother and I saw The Westin we decided to stop looking because we both loved it.  I didn't look at The Doubletree but I have eaten in their hotel restaurant GiGi's (I think) and it is very good.
The Holiday Inn in Cherry Hill...I think that may be a little run down.  I have gone in the past to professional conferences there and I believe it was looking a little tired there.  Although, they may have renovated since then so I am not sure.
Where ever you decide to have your reception, I hope you have a truly amazing day.  Happy planning!  Enjoy it, I actually miss wedding planning now that I am not doing it anymore.

shortee426

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_south-new-jersey_holiday-inn-cherry-hill-westin-wyandam-doubletree-reception-sites?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:128Discussion:7f014a14-2e16-490a-9860-5537574290e0Post:b24e03f4-1263-41e6-8d13-8aae473410fb">Re: Holiday Inn-Cherry Hill, Westin, Wyandam, Doubletree -Mt. Laurel for reception</a>:
[QUOTE]I had my reception at The Westin in November of 2009 and it was amazing!  The venue itself is gorgeous, it is a new hotel, not quite 2 years old.  The decor is a very sleek, modern, classy look with a touch of a 1940's retro feel mostly because of the amazing crystal chandeliers in the lobby and Regency Ballroom (which is where my recep was).  Our food and cocktail hour were awesome!  We heard from countless wedding guests how impressed they were w/ the cocktail hour and dinner at our wedding (oh, and I highly recommend Isgro as the bakery to make your cake - they ROCK).  And the service.  Awesome!  My husband and I wrote a complimentary letter to The Westin management because we were truly overwhelmed with how amazing the service was there.  I loved working with Melanie she was great to plan with and very accessible via email.  Our Maitre D and entire wait staff the night of the reception were awesome.  They actually knew what my FIL's favorite drink was!  We love, love, loved The Westin.  I had a perfect wedding and if I did it all over, I would have my reception there again.  I hope that every bride-to-be reading this loves their reception as much as I did. Ok...so now that you know I liked The Westin, :) Ican also let you know that I looked at The Wyndham and although their prices are very close, The Westin blows The Wyndham out of the water (IMO).  The Wyndham is perfectly fine but The Westin is just so much prettier (IMO).  And, one prob I had w/ the Wyndham was that the area where the cocktail hr would be had a little bit of a chlorine smell to it because of their indoor pool. I planned to look at The Doubletree but after my mother and I saw The Westin we decided to stop looking because we both loved it.  I didn't look at The Doubletree but I have eaten in their hotel restaurant GiGi's (I think) and it is very good. The Holiday Inn in Cherry Hill...I think that may be a little run down.  I have gone in the past to professional conferences there and I believe it was looking a little tired there.  Although, they may have renovated since then so I am not sure. Where ever you decide to have your reception, I hope you have a truly amazing day.  Happy planning!  Enjoy it, I actually miss wedding planning now that I am not doing it anymore.
Posted by pearljammers[/QUOTE]

Thank you for such a rave review!  I spoke to Melanie and we hit it off right away.  She sent me a menu and pictures of the venue very quickly and she even offered to help me find a temple and/or Rabbi in the area!  I don't live in NJ (but used to, which is why we are getting married there...family is still there) but I am visiting at the end of the month to check out venues and I am not even more excited to check out the Westin!!!!
I certainly did not get the same vibe from Patti at the Wyndham.  She just didn't seem as excited to speak with me as Melanie did.   I asked her to send me some pics of the venue...I explained that since I do not live there and don't have time to see every venue I would like to see some pics ahead of time so I can figure out if I want to spend my limited time visiting the venue in person.  Anyway, she sent me only 2 pics, 1 of which was a close up of a center piece...I want to see the room, not a CP!!!!!

SunRun11

Oh yay!  My reception is at the Westin this November and I am so glad to read these rave reviews!  I too fell in love with the space as soon at I saw it.  I didn't look at any of the other places in the subject line, just the Merion and a few country clubs.

Melanie has been great to work with so far and I'm hoping things fall into place easily as we move towards the big day.  Pearljammers, if you have any additional Westin advice for me offline, please pm me!

ReginaChalmers

Thank you for all of the feedback!  I've been having the same experience with Patti at the Wyandam (not enthusiastic at all) vs. Melanie at the Westin (who seems great).

I will likely visit them all next month, but have a feeling i'm going to love the Westin ...of course that is the most expensive one, but it sounds like it might be worth it.

achang531

I was thinking about blocking off rooms at the Westin for my wedding as well...Do you know how much it is?