Renaissance Catering

Ok, where to start? I booked my wedding in July 2008. It was a quickly planned wedding because we had a certain date we wanted to be married by.
I was quoted one price when I put my deposit down by Walt who was actually nice at the time, and then when it actually came down to paying for the entire event (like a week or so before the wedding) the price went up for the children. (Yes, they charged me for children for a buffet dinner when the children werent even eatting the same food as the adults!)
The few times I was in the place I used the ladies restrooms in the small room and every time I used the same stall (just happened to be the same one I used). Each and every time I saw the same piece of toilet paper sitting on the floor. This is over the course of a month and they had other events in that room but the rest room stayed the same, which meant no one cleaned it the entire time. I noticed this and on my wedding day I went back into the same stall in the restroom and the same piece of toilet paper was STILL in the same spot I saw it a month before. GROSS.
Now thinking shamed because I paid alot of money for a wedding and the place wasn't even cleaned, I requested that there be paper toilet seat covers in the ladies bathroom. There was an empty box in "my" bridal suite bathroom but not even an empty box in the one for my guests. Walt and Peggy said I can't have them and tried to talk me out of the idea saying that they clog toilets, are bad for septic, that they are doing away with them because they are expensive and no one uses them, etc. I got all the BS excuses and then they walked away.
I was like "wtf?!"
The woman Matre'D was very rude to me and the guests and even before the music went off and the wedding was over they were packing up chairs and tables (that they saw guests were not sitting at.). I just thought that was tacky. They then were rushing us out the door. My limo wasn't even there and she's telling me to leave and come back in the morning to pick up the wedding gifts, extra alchohol that was left over (yes, they do not have a liquor license so you have to order all your own alchohol from Canal's Liquor and you have to take it with you when the party is over because they can get in trouble for having it there.).
I was hesitant about leaving all our stuff there as the staff that was packing up the tables, chairs, etc. Didn't look like a trustworthy group.... I left and came back the next day for the Alchohol (I insisted that they lock it up in the bridal suite because I had no way of getting it back home).. I picked it up and some of it was missing...
Just a bad experience. I called back last week to get the name of the Reverend that married us because I wanted to recommend him to a friend who is getting married and they said the management just switched hands and Walt and Peggy aren't there anymore and they do not have any of the business cards or names of contacts that they recommended out to their previous customers..
What BS.. Spend the extra money and go somewehre else. You get what you pay for!!!

Posted 10/13/09 | Report Abuse

Was this review helpful to you?

We dealt with a shyster named Walt who was the former owner and still running the place. We had an ok event. The real problem was a (sic) bartender named Kelly. She was nasty and whacked out. We learned that Walt charges us an 18% gratuity and then added 7% sales tax which is illegal. We are seeking our money and reporting him.

Posted 09/14/09 | Report Abuse

Was this review helpful to you?

My experience at The Renaissnace was far from wonderful. I have been there twice, once for my daughters wedding in the big room and once for my wife's birthday party in the small room. I only think that there are about three things that i actually enjoyed about my experiences. 1 The food was unbelievable both times and I'm Italian and I am a huge food critic. If I had to rate the food it would get five stars. 2 The servers for the most part were all really friendly. I only have one problem and that was with the maitre'd, he was a tall bald man, he was cocky and I could smell alcohol on his breath.3 The bartender was great! She was the fasts non-club bartender that I have ever met and her drinks were prefect!I did not like the way the room was decorated. The carpet is the most unattractive thing that I've ever seen and the center pieces didn't fit too well. They were about three feet high with ugly roses on the top.

Posted 03/24/08 | Report Abuse

Was this review helpful to you?

I recently had a company party at the renaissance room and i have to say it was one of the worst experiences ever.

PROS: the wait staff were all very nice, except for one older woman, i didnt catch her name though.
The food was amazing.

CONS: the manager walt was very rude. i requested the air to be turned on because it was getting to be very hot in the room with everyone dancing and he said he would. not even ten minutes later i happened to walk past the thermostat and saw that he didnt have the heat or air on. so i went up and asked him again and he said he would turn it on but never did.
the building is very shabby looking and it doesnt seem like they clean it too often and it has a very out of date look to it inside.

in all i would like to say that i would never book at the renaissance again but i dont know what the future will bring.

Posted 02/25/08 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful to you?

All three of my daughters had their receptions at the Renaissance Room and I could never explain how wonderful it was. Everything was amazing, the only thing that did bother me was the maitre d'. Being there three different times i had two different maitre d's and I would highly recomend for the brides that they request the guy. I am not sure of his age, he was younger but handeled everything perfectly. The room is decorated beautifuly and the center pieces are outstanding. I would recommed to have a sit-down verses a buffet it is much more elegant. Also the staff was very friendly and attentive

Posted 07/02/07 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful to you?

I've been to 2 wedding receptions here and they were both beautiful. The banquet room was gorgeous and the dance floor is a very nice size. The employees there were very friendly and eager to help with anything we needed. The food was delicious and presented very elegantly. My only complaint at the time was the amount of smoke in the room. That problem should be fixed however with the new NJ laws.

Posted 06/09/06 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful to you?

I've attended several weddings at the Renaissance Room. The large ballroom is nice and has a good size dance floor. The room is decorated very tastefully and the food is very good. The staff is very attentive and customer service oriented. One thing that I dislike about the room is that the bar is separate so if a lot of people go to the bar at the same time, the room can look empty.

Posted 10/05/05 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful to you?