Ocean Place in Long Branch or others in LB?

Heather6483

Has anyone had experience with Ocean Place in Long Branch or any venue on the beach there?  How is the pricing? 

JoBell123

We checked out Ocean Place.  It seemed nice, but was a bit higher than we wanted to spend (I forget the amount, sorry).  Plus the hotel rooms were over $200 for the discounted rate.

If we were having a daytime wedding we'd have looked at McCloone's.  We love their food and my dad went to a wedding there and said it was very well done.  I'm not sure of their pricing, though.

USER876

Last I heard they were bankrupt

maddie7

Very Expensive.

cutiepie12702

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_ocean-place-long-branch-others-lb?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:7410e1ce-4aa4-4b74-a71f-8b7ff420d87dPost:962e7fd5-70e7-4d6d-9ce6-f31ec442e042">Re: Ocean Place in Long Branch or others in LB?</a>:
[QUOTE]Last I heard they were bankrupt
Posted by USER876[/QUOTE]

This. Although I know people are still getting married there, that would make me not want to book there. I'd be afraid they'd close up shop the week before my wedding or something...I don't care what they tell me.

cindyn9178

I went to a wedding at Avenue in Long Branch last August. It was FI's best friend's wedding.. he said that it was very expensive.. and it was a cocktail style reception. We barely got any food, and left hungry. (sorry I don't remember exactly how much he paid), but he said afterwards that he was disappointed, and he basically paid for the view/atmosphere (it was BEAUTIFUL on the roof). We stayed at a hotel nearby, at a "special discounted rate" and I think it was still $200 for the night.

agu101

My mom's co-worker got married at Ocean Place, and said she basically had to do EVERYTHING herself- set up favors, escort cards, etc.  I second PP about Avenue.  I had looked there as well, but aside from the view I was not looking to have a cocktail party for 4 hours with no tables for people to sit at (it's a lounge).  Definitely check out McCloone's Pier House.  If you go a little north up from Long Branch, there's Channel Club in Monmouth Beach and Windows on the Water in Sea Bright.  Windows just had a brand new renovation, and you won't get any closer to the beach than there.  I'd also suggest checking out Berkley Hotel and McCloone's Supper Club in Asbury.

cindyn9178

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_ocean-place-long-branch-others-lb?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:7410e1ce-4aa4-4b74-a71f-8b7ff420d87dPost:03eeb9dd-c071-4f4c-9e32-d3589b976b89">Re: Ocean Place in Long Branch or others in LB?</a>:
[QUOTE]My mom's co-worker got married at Ocean Place, and said she basically had to do EVERYTHING herself- set up favors, escort cards, etc.  I second PP about Avenue.  I had looked there as well, but aside from the view I<strong> was not looking to have a cocktail party for 4 hours with no tables for people to sit at (it's a lounge). </strong> Definitely check out McCloone's Pier House.  If you go a little north up from Long Branch, there's Channel Club in Monmouth Beach and Windows on the Water in Sea Bright.  Windows just had a brand new renovation, and you won't get any closer to the beach than there.  I'd also suggest checking out Berkley Hotel and McCloone's Supper Club in Asbury.
Posted by agu101[/QUOTE]
It was definitely a cool atmosphere/different, and it got people mingling and dancing more.. but it is definitely not for a wedding where you might have a lot of elderly guests.

After the wedding, a bunch of us stayed when it turned into a "club", and we got "admission" for free. The groom had reserved a table for us to hang out at but we had to buy our own bottles. After he spent all of that money on his wedding there, the Avenue couldn't even give him a free bottle of alcohol for the table. He was super annoyed (and rightfully so).

Heather6483

OMG!    Scratched off the list!!!   Thank you Ladies!!!

USER876

= not a lady! 

colmckenn

We are getting married at Windows on the Water. They are having an open house on May 22 from 1-4. This will be the last time for discounted prices before they jack them up on May 23.  The prices will be at the 200$pp after May 23.  We booked in Oct. 2009 so not only did we get 2009 price (135$pp) but we get the 2011 renovations! 

Good luck.

Erica0409

We got married at the Ocean Place last June. The outdoor ceremony (on their patio) was amazing and there's no place else in Long Branch that can equal it.  The food was incredible. They did all our setup and our Maitre D for the evening was worth his weight in gold. However, dealing with their catering dept and their hotel staff was horrible, and for that reason, can't recommend them.  This is the first I'm hearing about a bankruptcy.

My bridal shower was at The Avenue, but I wouldn't recommend them for a formal wedding.

We had our rehearsal dinner at McLoone's. Food is just okay...service was spotty, at best. The big problem with using them for a wedding is that the cocktail hour and reception are all in the same room. And if you're planning on having the ceremony there as well, and it rains, the ceremony is in the same room as the cocktail hour and reception. Private parties are held in the room upstairs, and it's oddly laid out.

akmackay

We had our room block at Ocean Place, and without going into details, I would never ever have a wedding there given the customer service my guests received, including my brother.

While not on the beach, Channel Club, Oyster Point and Molly Pitcher are all on the water and great alternatives with wonderful customer service and food, etc.

USER876

Yeah there is a reason why the hilton made them drop the name a few yrs back.  It used to be called the ocean place hilton

mrbiggles16

I got married at McLoone's 2 weeks ago. We had looked at booking room blocks at Ocean Place but the group rate they quoted my mom was something like $225 - crazy! We ended up with the Holiday Inn Express and Sheraton and were happy with both.

I was also worried about McLoone's cocktail hour and reception being in the same room, but it was no problem at all - the one side of the room is so long that they have all the tables set up beforehand and just block it off with screens during the cocktail hour. I can't speak for having the ceremony there because we lucked out with a nice day.

I really have only good things to say about them - I worked with Katie during the planning and Nelson was the maitre'd. Katie always answered emails quickly and on the day of, *everybody* was so helpful. The waitstaff was constantly asking us if we needed anything. Plus, our DJ was nasty to me and had me really upset - Nelson came over and literally gave me a hug. I'm not sure whether he actually went up to talk to the DJ or not, but I just remember him going out of his way to try to cheer me up. Way above and beyond what I would have expected. The gratuity was included, but we gave him some extra as a thank you at the end of the night.

The food was good (and they gave me a Caesar salad instead of the regular salad, because I got outvoted by our families at the tasting ). We ended up with less people than the minimum thanks to people dropping out, and Katie let us add a cookie/chocolate covered strawberry plate for each table to make up the cost difference.

Oh, and we had their "Caribbean Package" which was $99 PP + tax & gratuity. Hope this helps.

mwiederhold

Waters Edge in Sea Bright, a few miles north of Long Branch.  oceanfront and very good food, also very reasonably priced!  I'm having my wedding there September 3, 2011.