Mini review of the Woodlands
Last night my firm had their Christmas/Hannukah party at the Woodlands in Woodbury. I thought I would share for those of you who have not booked yet.
The hall itself was sooo pretty, and it was even prettier all decorated for Christmas. They had white lites outside and on the trees leading up the driveway. There were poinsiettas, wreathes and a Christmas tree all around the hall. It also had a golf course right outside too which would be perfect for photo ops.
The biggest issue everyone had was with the valet people. The party started at 7 and our boss is a stickler for punctuality so of course all 300 of us showed up at the same time. When we pulled up, the whole long driveway was filled with parked cars and we were a little confused. The valet guy comes up to us and says that we have to walk since they have to park all the cars in front of us first. Now its December and freezing and im in my highest heels i own so I was a little annoyed but got over that really quick when they handed everyone coffee once you walked in. They only had two guys parking cars for 300 guests?? I thought that was a little absured. We go in and I start talking to other people and we have a lot of people who are handicapped who are in wheelchairs, using walkers and canes and the valet guy made them all walk up to the front!! One girl told me that her dad dropped her and her friend off and asked the valet if he could cut the line and drop them off since one of them had a walker, and the guy snapped at them and said well if they cant walk, they are just gonna have to wait an hour and a half for us to park all the other cars in front of you! Seriously how rude could you be?? FH went to the bathroom later on and saw the valet guy and he starts telling FH that maybe next year the boss should put on some people's invites to come at 6, others 6:30, or 7 so they wont have this problem again.
The cocktail hour display was very nice. I couldnt get anywhere near the food since we had 300 people crammed into the CH room and I kept on talking to everyone but it looked nice. Oh yea and they also had only one bar opened at first for 300 people!! Im starting to think they didnt know how many people were coming!! Eventually they opened 2 others.
We had a buffet and the food was pretty good. Im a very picky eater and didnt eat too much bc i just dont like things with dressings and sauces usually. I had the three cheese ravioli dry and it was really good. They were saute-ing the ravioli with balsamic dressing which looked impressive but most people didnt care for how it tasted. They also had a carving station and everyone seemed to like the steak and lamb. The garlic mashed potatoes were awesome and didnt taste like the instant stuff that you usually get at those halls. Oh yea during dinner one of the waiters came around looking for extra place settings from each table which I thought was strange. The wait staff was very attentive and took away your dishes right when you were done with them. FH made a joke about how they were washing them right away so that they can use them again since they were running out of place settings. (This was not the case at all since we found out there were two late comers who they had to fit in at someones table).
When we went to leave, we had more issues with the valet. We were probably one of the first ones to get outside bc FH wasnt feeling too well so there were a few people standing on line on the steps getting ready to give their ticket to the valet. No one was taking tickets, so everyone went over to the little valet hut and went to hand in their tickets. The valet guy starts yelling at them that everyone will get their car and they have to wait and slams the door!!! FH and I are just standing over to the side not sure how to get our car, so then one of the valet kids comes over to us and says oh you have to take the ticket over to the valet hut and then we will get your car. FH was like oh the same one where the guy just slammed the door in my face?? Finally we got our car and we were happy to get out of there.
All in all it was really nice. You definately get that 1930s old mansion feel, so if you are looking to do a classic look wedding, this place is excellent. All around the food and service was good so there is nothing to worry about there. The only problem we had was with the valet. If you are having ya big wedding, i suggest that you make sure they can handle it. Our firm has their party there every year so in my opinion they should have been prepared. I mean no one was yelling at the valet people or causing a scene, so I dont know what made that guy snap. Even if someone had called out and they were short handed, that would have been fine but when the valet guy starts yelling at handicapped people and slamming doors in peoples faces, that just ridiculous.
The hall itself was sooo pretty, and it was even prettier all decorated for Christmas. They had white lites outside and on the trees leading up the driveway. There were poinsiettas, wreathes and a Christmas tree all around the hall. It also had a golf course right outside too which would be perfect for photo ops.
The biggest issue everyone had was with the valet people. The party started at 7 and our boss is a stickler for punctuality so of course all 300 of us showed up at the same time. When we pulled up, the whole long driveway was filled with parked cars and we were a little confused. The valet guy comes up to us and says that we have to walk since they have to park all the cars in front of us first. Now its December and freezing and im in my highest heels i own so I was a little annoyed but got over that really quick when they handed everyone coffee once you walked in. They only had two guys parking cars for 300 guests?? I thought that was a little absured. We go in and I start talking to other people and we have a lot of people who are handicapped who are in wheelchairs, using walkers and canes and the valet guy made them all walk up to the front!! One girl told me that her dad dropped her and her friend off and asked the valet if he could cut the line and drop them off since one of them had a walker, and the guy snapped at them and said well if they cant walk, they are just gonna have to wait an hour and a half for us to park all the other cars in front of you! Seriously how rude could you be?? FH went to the bathroom later on and saw the valet guy and he starts telling FH that maybe next year the boss should put on some people's invites to come at 6, others 6:30, or 7 so they wont have this problem again.
The cocktail hour display was very nice. I couldnt get anywhere near the food since we had 300 people crammed into the CH room and I kept on talking to everyone but it looked nice. Oh yea and they also had only one bar opened at first for 300 people!! Im starting to think they didnt know how many people were coming!! Eventually they opened 2 others.
We had a buffet and the food was pretty good. Im a very picky eater and didnt eat too much bc i just dont like things with dressings and sauces usually. I had the three cheese ravioli dry and it was really good. They were saute-ing the ravioli with balsamic dressing which looked impressive but most people didnt care for how it tasted. They also had a carving station and everyone seemed to like the steak and lamb. The garlic mashed potatoes were awesome and didnt taste like the instant stuff that you usually get at those halls. Oh yea during dinner one of the waiters came around looking for extra place settings from each table which I thought was strange. The wait staff was very attentive and took away your dishes right when you were done with them. FH made a joke about how they were washing them right away so that they can use them again since they were running out of place settings. (This was not the case at all since we found out there were two late comers who they had to fit in at someones table).
When we went to leave, we had more issues with the valet. We were probably one of the first ones to get outside bc FH wasnt feeling too well so there were a few people standing on line on the steps getting ready to give their ticket to the valet. No one was taking tickets, so everyone went over to the little valet hut and went to hand in their tickets. The valet guy starts yelling at them that everyone will get their car and they have to wait and slams the door!!! FH and I are just standing over to the side not sure how to get our car, so then one of the valet kids comes over to us and says oh you have to take the ticket over to the valet hut and then we will get your car. FH was like oh the same one where the guy just slammed the door in my face?? Finally we got our car and we were happy to get out of there.
All in all it was really nice. You definately get that 1930s old mansion feel, so if you are looking to do a classic look wedding, this place is excellent. All around the food and service was good so there is nothing to worry about there. The only problem we had was with the valet. If you are having ya big wedding, i suggest that you make sure they can handle it. Our firm has their party there every year so in my opinion they should have been prepared. I mean no one was yelling at the valet people or causing a scene, so I dont know what made that guy snap. Even if someone had called out and they were short handed, that would have been fine but when the valet guy starts yelling at handicapped people and slamming doors in peoples faces, that just ridiculous.
