Manor on Elizabeth

We hired Manor on Elizabeth for my brother's wedding reception. We had to find a venue in a very limited time frame very soon after lockdown ended so it was very hard to find a venue we were happy with within budget at such short notice. Luckily, Manor was available and were able to offer us the... price we asked for. At the time we were very excited and happy as the venue looked amazing, was in a good location, all on one level and with ample parking. Unfortunately we had some disappointing experiences with the management. We are blessed with a large family and have been involved with countless weddings so we are very experienced about what the normal process is. We have seen how things can become contentious when not agreed upon in writing. When we received the contract there was a lot of information about what we were expected to do but barely anything about what the venue would provide for us. For comparison we also had the package quoted to us by the Grand Paradiso in Fairfield who were going to charge $7000 extra. The Grand Paradiso was very meticulous in detail about all the services they were going to provide. So I requested a meeting with management to clarify all the details. Verbally they agreed to providing black tablecloths, space at the back for congregational prayer, and a few other things that I then added to their contract and sent back to them for verification. They completely ignored this amended document. In fact it seemed a deliberate policy to not commit to anything in writing. Many things they confidently agreed to over the phone or in person were not honoured or were not transparently explained with regards to extra costs.
They agreed to letting us come in to decorate the hall at 11am which was a reasonable time given the fact that our function was to start at 6pm. However closer to the day they said we could come at 2:30. This made everything ridiculously hectic as we were decorating the hall ourselves. I can't imagine that even if we had hired a decorator that they would have been able to do everything in such a short amount of time. So we finished decorating at 5 (without having done everything we had planned due to the time constraints), had to race home and get ready and arrived at our own event late at 6:25. The bride and groom arrived at the time we all agreed to be there which was 5:30 but if course no one else was there as we were getting ready in a hurry. So the bride and groom waited in the bridal room. This room was small, not air conditioned, had no bathroom facilities and was accessed through the kitchens. For this privilege, we were charged $750 extra. We assumed that as our function was starting at 6, the bridal party arriving at 5:30 would not be unreasonable. Why on Earth would the bride and groom require the bridal room during the function as opposed to before?
As so many of our friends and family were concerned about COVID because the situation was getting worse and our guest numbers were dwindling, we requested that each table have 8 settings. In fact we requested 8 seats per table right at the beginning as 10 per table looked very congested. They agreed and never mentioned anything about extra costs. However when the final weeks of planning came, they said they would charge extra to seat 8 per table (even though our initial agreement was for 400 guests and we ended up with 300 or so). They sent a seating plan with 35 tables at 10 per table even though we had told them we wanted 8 per table from day one verbally. When we requested 40 tables with 8 per table suddenly there was supposedly extra charge due to the 5 extra tables and extra jugs of soft drink they would need. (Never mind that there were 100 less plates needed due to our reduced guest numbers). After we expressed our displeasure, they decided not to charge us for this, but this is when they tried to get extra money from us in other ways.
First of all, when we got to the hall and saw random tables set up at the back with no seating, taking up the room we requested be kept free for congregational prayers, management claimed that they couldn't move those tables and people could just pray in the aisles. This was despite our previously discussed agreement. One of the staff members was very kind and helped us move these superfluous tables and chairs to make room and was very apologetic. The other thing we noticed when we walked in to decorate was the white tablecloths despite agreeing to black. Management claimed they didn't remember. No apologies. Of course it was too late to change. Then they approached us with the information that the caterer had forgotten to bring serving platters for the entrees so that Manor could provide it instead. However they didn't mention there would be extra charge for this. (This is a recurring theme... lack of transparency. They didn't clarify exactly what the external caterer needed to provide). I can't imagine that the use of some extra plates which would all be put in the dishwasher anyway would have needed to be charged extra. The caterer was quite shocked at this mean spirited itemisation, especially since he was kind enough to give the wait staff some food. In every aspect they appear to be cost cutting and expecting the clients to pay extra for a complete lack of service. The napkins provided were disposable when most reception halls provide cloth napkins. Only one glass was provided per person whereas most reception halls give 2, one for water and one for the drinks. The cutlery was removed after entrees and not replaced. We had requested spoons to also be provided at the buffet tables for the mains as not everyone manages with just a knife and fork, especially kids. We never expected that this would mean that they would ONLY provide spoons. Mains therefore were only eaten with spoons, which was very difficult. They operated as if they were a budget amateur service, rather than the professional reception venue they claimed they were.
Manor requested a bond in case of damage to the property so we were very good with removing all our decorations and rubbish. We were told we had to remove the candles from the candelabra that they provided and we did so. Then we were told that the food that some of the kids had spilled on the floor was “excessive" so then we had to get down on our hands and knees with sweepers and clean it up. Even some of the wait staff were aghast at this and expressed their shock at everything that management was directing us to do. There were some feathers strewn on the floor from props that kids were playing with from our photo booth and we had to pick up each feather, again on our hands and knees at the end of a long night, dressed in our ethnic finery. Our elderly parents, on their hands and knees, picking up things that a vacuum could easily pick up. The bride and groom ended their night cleaning. It would not have cost them anything extra to clean any of this as a vacuum cleaner could have removed all of this easily and they would have to vacuum anyway, but clearly, management were seeking to avoid paying penalty rates to staff to do a standard venue reset the following day, a public holiday. Then we were told we had to take all the kitchen waste bins with us or again be charged extra. To be fair, this was mentioned in their extensive contract, but seems absolutely ridiculous for a fancy reception hall to be demanding of its clients. Even when we hire a community hall, they allow us to use their skip bins etc to dispose of rubbish. Instead, we had to load leaking trash bags of kitchen waste into our cars, with kids cranky as it was so late, sitting next to bags of unsanitary garbage. Apparently, this was because it would cost them $350 to go to the tip. However, they had skip bins on site which we were apparently not allowed to use. Surely they would not have to go to the tip every single time there is an event but when the skip bins are full, so this cost shouldn't be heaped onto every single customer. A large venue should factor this cost into their price.
We hired Manor on Elizabeth thinking that we would have less headache compared to hiring a community hall and remembering previous experiences with other reception halls. Other halls provide so much less hassle for similar price or even less. One of the positives were the wait staff. They were very helpful throughout setup and the entire event, and so apologetic about the things management failed to do and made us do. Another positive was the lovely courtyard and the large kitchen. However the whole experience left a very sour taste in our mouth. Maybe they provide better service when they are used for a full service including catering. Maybe they reserve their appalling service as punishment for clients who negotiate more budget-friendly rates. However they cannot claim to be a professional high end reception venue with this shoddy service and sleazy salesman attitude as well as their blatant cost-cutting and hidden, arbitrary extra charges. Places like these are hired for a pleasant hassle free experience. Instead we are left feeling angry and definitely not likely to recommend Manor on Elizabeth to anyone. read more