Top of the Bob Grand Rapids

alikamp

We are pretty close to booking the Top of the Bob (3rd floor) for our wedding reception. We will probably end up having between 225-250 guests. Does anyone who has had their reception at The Bob or attended a reception have any advice or suggestions? Any insight from the size of the room, to the dance floor, to the food, to parking would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Deleted User]

I went to one there 2 weekends ago! 

My thoughts on it:
*The Food was AMAZING - chicken and prime rib buffet
*The dance floor is small, but there is enough room around it that once the head table was broken down (didn't like that being done right in the middle of everything by the way...) there was room on the outskirts of the dance floor.
*They had a SERIOUS problem with wedding crashers, people kept walking in from other areas of the Bob to get free drinks from the open bar... the groomsmen were constantly on the look out for anyone they didn't recognize because the staff didn't seem to be fully handling it.
*Having to go all the way downstairs for a smoke was a trip, obnoxious bachelorette parties, bouncers, etc.
*Parking wasn't a problem for us because we spent the night at the Marriot across the street, but I'm not sure what other guests did.
*Another plus was in the back of the room there was a small room (I assume staff offices or storage) but mothers were sneaking back there to feed their kids and quiet them down away from the craziness which was a nice plus for them.

Overall I was impressed, last year I went to another wedding at the Trillium (which is also the Gilmore Collection's Catering in Spring Lake) and they had a pig roast and it was TERRIBLE, so I wasn't expecting much from this reception and was pleasantly suprised.

poopoo2829

I was at a wedding reception there a few weeks ago. Also had a buffet meal and it was ok at best. The meatloaf was cold, not just room temp, but actually cold, like they had just taken it out of the fridge. Had it been hot, it would have been pretty good. The chicken Florentine was ok, the veggies were undercooked, cold and not much taste. The room accommodated the group size pretty well. I think the guest count came in about 160 or so. Lots of room, but my thought is 200+ would max it out and not be nearly as comfortable. The staff was friendly and did a good job. The manager on duty was very accommodating. As the "mistress of ceremonies" I had figured when I got there I would have a lot to do, but they already had the brides’ centerpieces on the table and had set up the chalkboards etc for me. That was nice! We parked across the street in a lot and paid $7 for about 7 hours of parking, not a problem for us. I did not notice any wedding crashers but it was a smaller more subdued group and perhaps crashers figured they wouldn’t be able to pull it off.  Overall I loved the room, the staff did their job, being downtown is nice, but the food really wasn’t up to snuff. My sister gave the food a 1 out of 10 rating. I’m a little less critical and would give them a 4 or 5. Ok, but nothing to write home about. That seems to be the problem with Gilmore Collection venues; good food and bad service or bad food and good service; they don’t seem to be able to figure out how to do both well. Hope that helps.