Negative experience with The Riviera at Massapequa

Hello ladies!

I have read some reviews of this venue and they have all been great. HOWEVER, my experience with them has been...let's just say, A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING. I am planning to have my wedding at The Riviera. My fiancé and I have visited, and have gone on tasting...etc. Here are some of our experiences so far:

On the day of the scheduled tour: The banquet coordinator #2 (I do not want mention names) was friendly but did what she was there to do. She went over the pricing, menu...etc. And then she handed us off to a Maitre D (who is a sweetheart) to give us a tour as she attended to the next couple that arrived for a tour. On the way out, she did not acknowledge us and did not say bye to us either.

We called The Riviera for some additional questions regarding their wedding package, this banquet coordinator #2 was really sweet and answered all the questions I had.

On the day of the tasting: The same coordinator took us to the tasting room. Again, did what she is supposed to do, bring us food, utensils/plates, drinks...etc. She explained the different foods on the plate and left us alone. We had to go find her to tell her we're finished and ask whether we can just leave. She had no intention of having a conversation with us or to get our feedback on the food. This time she said bye to us just because we popped our heads into her office.

We then called The Riviera (coordinator #3) to discuss possible modifications to the menu (specifically menu for cocktail hour) just because we felt it was too much food for our taste/liking. This coordinator is nice and felt she is willing to work with us and work with our budget, and she is to obtain approval from the owner. She said she'll call us back in 2 days when the owner is in the office and that if we don't hear from her, we should give them a call. She did not call us back, and we had to call her to get the details.

We were able to get on the phone with the owner, HOWEVER, he is not at all willing to modify the menu for us and the reason being 'we don't like to see empty plates'. We then had a conversation with coordinator #3, voiced our concerns with her, and she said she'll discuss further with the owner and give us a call back within the hour. Not to our surprise, she did not call us back like she said she would.

I apologize for venting on this forum. But I expect my coordinator to be attentive to my needs. Even if they cannot accommodate to our request, they should at least call us back and provide updates. As much as I love this venue, I'm hesitant to book my wedding with them because of the way the coordinators are and imagine trying to plan the wedding the way you have envisioned it to be.

So I'm just wondering if anyone had any experience like this with The Riviera or any other venue? How did you deal with it? Did you end up booking your venue with services like this?

I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

-CT

OK I just have to say that I had the complete opposite experience there. And I know exactly which BMs you are describing. I actually dealt with the one who I think you met first for my whole wedding and she was absolutely fantastic. Yes they just tell it like it is, but I would much rather have someone tell me something can not be done right from the beginning than tell you they might when they know they can't. And you have to remember that they deal with people like us all day long, and I haven't been to any other RH that has been any better. Although I do think they should have called you back, they have always promptly returned my phone calls in the past.

Also, if you have certain things that you have to have on your menu that they don't provide, you might want to look somewhere a little more flexible. Everything I had at my CH was wonderful and people are still raving about our CH, if that helps at all. But if that is a breaking point for you, then you should definitely keep looking around. Your wedding is YOUR day and you should have it somewhere that has everything you want!

I will say though that I also dealt with all 3 BMs, the owner Jimmy, the Maitre D and and bridal attendant and they were all always super friendly, answered all my questions and helped me plan the most beautiful wedding I could have imagined. So maybe they were having an off day or something but in my opinion I think you have nothing to worry about

Nothing your really describing sounds that bad, sounds like they've been pretty good giving you tours and then a private tasting...Look around some more I dont know any RH thats gonna do that for you right away without booking with them.

Your complaint is that there is TOO MUCH food at the cocktail hour for your liking? Hmmm never heard a complaint like that in my life. Sounds like a good deal actually to me.

I say go speak to a few other RH's have them give you and your FH a private tasting, dont give any money, and then start calling BM's trying to change everything around...probably wont work to your liking.

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Posted by DANAnPATRICK

Nothing your really describing sounds that bad, sounds like they've been pretty good giving you tours and then a private tasting...Look around some more I dont know any RH thats gonna do that for you right away without booking with them.

Your complaint is that there is TOO MUCH food at the cocktail hour for your liking? Hmmm never heard a complaint like that in my life. Sounds like a good deal actually to me.

I say go speak to a few other RH's have them give you and your FH a private tasting, dont give any money, and then start calling BM's trying to change everything around...probably wont work to your liking.

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This was the other thing I was thinking. It sounds like you expected them to hold your hand through the whole wedding planning process. Maybe you should look into getting a wedding planner outside of your venue!

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Posted by jilliibabii

Hmmmm.... how did you get a food tasting without booking? My SIL got married there and didn't even get a food tasting.

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FH and I did a CH tasting and dinner tasting 2 different days.

I didn't like doing the tasting when there was a wedding going on. We came out of the room and the b&g were taking pictures in the lobby.. It was quite uncomfortable.

We didn't book with them. I guess it depends on who you're working with?

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Posted by jilliibabii

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Posted by DANAnPATRICK

Nothing your really describing sounds that bad, sounds like they've been pretty good giving you tours and then a private tasting...Look around some more I dont know any RH thats gonna do that for you right away without booking with them.

Your complaint is that there is TOO MUCH food at the cocktail hour for your liking? Hmmm never heard a complaint like that in my life. Sounds like a good deal actually to me.

I say go speak to a few other RH's have them give you and your FH a private tasting, dont give any money, and then start calling BM's trying to change everything around...probably wont work to your liking.

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This was the other thing I was thinking. It sounds like you expected them to hold your hand through the whole wedding planning process. Maybe you should look into getting a wedding planner outside of your venue!

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This exactly!

I had the complete opposite experience when FH and went to see the Riviera. They were friendly and overly accommodating and were willing to negotiate with us and work with our budget.

I've never heard of someone wanting less food than what the RH is willing to offer you for the price, normally it's the opposite where you're trying to negotiate for more. Maybe you should look into an alternative venue if you want less food, because most RH's are going to offer you a cocktail hour menu that is on par with what the Riviera offers.

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Posted by chilly313

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Posted by jilliibabii

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Posted by DANAnPATRICK

Nothing your really describing sounds that bad, sounds like they've been pretty good giving you tours and then a private tasting...Look around some more I dont know any RH thats gonna do that for you right away without booking with them.

Your complaint is that there is TOO MUCH food at the cocktail hour for your liking? Hmmm never heard a complaint like that in my life. Sounds like a good deal actually to me.

I say go speak to a few other RH's have them give you and your FH a private tasting, dont give any money, and then start calling BM's trying to change everything around...probably wont work to your liking.

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This was the other thing I was thinking. It sounds like you expected them to hold your hand through the whole wedding planning process. Maybe you should look into getting a wedding planner outside of your venue!

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This exactly!

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I was thinking the same thing...I'm not sure what is so bad here.

I do understand your concern with too much food at the cocktail hour. You want people to be hungry for the main course and on Long Island, they tend to over sell us by insisting that we buy more than we may want.

Our CH has been very responsive and agreed to move some of the cocktail hour dishes to the end of the night, during the last hour, so people are not just drinking without food. Sliders etc.

If you have not booked this hall, I would move on. You are not comfotable with the staff, they are just not for you. No judgement on the hall, it is just not a good fit for you and your FH.