Bellwether Beach Resort

the website to look at rooms for our guests and they were all blocked off. When I called, I was told I was wrong and they just weren’t booking *new* guests. Two days later the coordinator responded to my email. She said she didn’t know why they would be blocked off and had to look into it. She Emailed me later that day to let me know the wedding was in fact canceled since the renovations (that were *guaranteed* to be done in time) would not, in fact, be completed until summer. Nothing like planning your wedding your second time (1st due to Covid) less than two months before the date. I am lucky to have understanding guests and fantastic vendors. The lack of transparency at this hotel is really an issue, and I think anyone looking into a wedding here needs to be aware. We worked with this venue for 2 1/2 years only to be canceled on, and not even told about it. Brides should be the first to know and not find out while perusing the website. Another huge issue is all staff is working from home and there’s only one number to call where you reach the same disgruntled employee each time. It was near impossible for me (and a couple guests) to reach staff for help and many emails were ignored. Tread lightly.

it, booked and planned my wedding 14 months in advance. Chose my menu, alcohol, cocktail hour apps, etc and chose all my vendors (photographer, florist, cake, etc) based off their preferred vendor list. The woman who handled my contract/event was a sweetheart and the woman who handled the front desk/reservation process was great as well. Our wedding was planned for March... in August I visited the venue to show my parents when they were in town. One of the managers informed us that in November the hotel was undergoing renovations. She informed us that it was “guaranteed” to be done in time. 90 days before my wedding (the week of spring break in a huge destination city in Florida) I recieved a phone call saying that the renovations will not be done and my venue cancelled my event. We were refunded. While shopping around for new venues, I heard that the renovations will take even longer than planned and that the hotel will keep events booked (“just in case”) but cancel events 90 days out for potentially the next 8 months. I could not remain silent and not warn other brides who booked (or are planning to book) this venue. The owner clearly has no regard for people... just money. Why else would they even book these events? I ultimately went with two stars because of the staff (specifically Hannah at the front desk, Merzedes in sales and Katie) who I believe were truly blindsided by this, the beautiful venue itself and the area it is in.

leasant.

oom. The Palm Room is absolutely beautiful for a small crowd, beautiful sunset views. The food was excellent, and the glam room was beautiful! The best service came from Charles Loscocco, who was super responsive throughout the entire planning process and very present the day of. Thank you to the Grand Plaza for a memorable wedding!!

ach wedding! The glamour room was also amazing and my girls and I enjoyed getting ready in it, pictures turned out great! Highly recommend it if its available on your day ! We got married in the imperial room and it was perfect for our size of guests (140) with plenty of room for dancing. We got so many compliments on the food too ! We had a couple different wedding coordinators however they communicated well and ensured nothing was overlooked or missed. Our Wedding day went out without a glitch! We worked with Krystn Simmons most of the year (along with our planner Brittney with Kimberly Hensley wedding events ). Krystn was so prompt at answering my questions and very helpful ! In regards to final details, she made sure we had all the right information/options so we could decide the best one for us :) Gloria Zak with her team ensured our day went on without a glitch ! Justine Bragg was amazing as she lead me from the first look with my dad back to the glamour room before the ceremony (without my groom spying me !:) ) I've heard from others not to expect perfection on my wedding day as things may happen outside your control. I have to say, it surpassed perfection as it was better than I imagined! If you are wanting a beach wedding with class and elegance, I highly Grand Plaza ! Thank you all so much for making our wedding day so beautiful :)

rday afternoon, to taking care of every aspect of our rehearsal, wedding, and reception making sure everything was perfect. Krystn is such a positive ball of high energy. I absolutely love her. the venue it's self is always very busy but they go out of their way to make you seem like you are their only focus, from early check-in, to reservations, and additional accommodations as they arise. The food and service was great. our reception was on the presidential ball room and our guest loved the surprise view of the sunset. make no hesitations, this is the venue for your and Krystn is your coordinator!!!!!!

12 minutes to just get on my elevator to go back to my reception. (People were in-line in front of us and didn’t care that I was in a wedding dress). Other downfall was the way the wedding packages work we were short an hr of open bar. We did the last hour on my credit card so that we didn’t ask guest to pay, well for about 50 guest that last hour cost me over $800. We told the wedding party and family to order their drinks before 10:30 when they were still free so I’m still not sure how we spent that much in an hr! And last issue was my cake topper was lost. Not blaming the venue completely on this one as I’m not sure what happened but i didn’t know we were responsible to clean things at the end of the wedding so we were just rushing to pick everything up and throw it into our room at that point. Other weddings I’ve been in we’ve gone back to the venue the next day to collect our stuff but they told me that night at 11pm I had to take it all then and somehow in that mess we lost our topper. But all in all it was a great experience and everyone keeps talking about how beautiful the views were!

and I lived in St Pete when we met and would "staycation" at the Grand Plaza frequently. We have since moved 8 hours away but knew we wanted to have our wedding in the Tampa Bay area. The Grand Plaza was on our list of places to compare but it wasn't until I first spoke with Krystn that I was sold. Between the two of us we have close to 40 years of experience in the restaurant industry (He's a sushi chef and I'm a banquet manager). Needless to say, food was an important factor to us. Not only were the choices amazing, but the food itself was fantastic! We still have people tell us it was the best wedding they have ever been to and the food was to die for! (not to mention the view!!!) The servers were amazing as well! It's your wedding day, something's bound to go wrong. Even with the last-minute hiccups (I messed up some table numbers and we had an 80% chance of rain) Krystn helped me smooth things over. She was even able to move the wedding back outside 15 minutes before it was supposed to start because the radar cleared up! Bottom line, everyone was great! Our wedding was fantastic thanks to all the staff at the Grand Plaza!!!

uests... lol), but that's not when our perfect experience started. We visited the Grand Plaza about a year prior looking for a wedding venue. We met with Krystn (yes, that's how you spell her name!) and she made us feel at home. We loved everything about the hotel, and by the end of our tour even my now husband had no doubt that this was the place we would become husband and wife. From that day forward Krystn was like my right hand, she was my rock! She helped us the whole way and answered every question we had timely. She was super sweet from the beginning. I honestly felt like I was suppose to be doing something the whole time because of all the horror stories you hear about, but she had everything covered on their end. The packages they provide cover almost everything so we only had a few things to do on our end. Pretty much we had all the fun stuff like food & cake tasting... lol. It was really a stress-free experience. We decided that the day before and the night of our wedding we would stay at the hotel so we would be close and less stress. My husband and the groomsmen stayed in the Beachfront Suite, which was beautiful. Kinda jealous because they had 2 balconies that over looked the water. My bridal party and I stayed in the Penthouse that overlooked the south beach. No balcony but it did have a wall of almost floor to ceiling windows. My views were AMAZING. I could see both the Beach and Bay views. They sun rise and sunsets were the perfect start and end to our days. The wedding itself was exactly what I wanted. Krystn handled all the vendors, so all I had to do was relax in the Penthouse and get ready. I got so many compliments on how beautiful and perfect our wedding was. (And it really was.) If you are looking to be stress-free wedding experience, or for a venue that has almost everything included I would recommend the Grand Plaza Resort. And if you can, ask for Krystn! She was Godsent!

was there with us along the way, answering any questions and checking in with me to make sure I was having fun! I highly recommend. The Grand Plaza knows what they're doing. Everything was beautiful.

than you already are about wedding planning. They want your money and that is it!!! They do not care about you or your wedding

B minimum. Other than a couple of things the people and venue were great! Thank you Grand Plaza!!

We received feedback from most of our guests that they loved the hotel and that it was the most fun they have had at a wedding. Also, our bartender Barbara was exceptional. Everyone was raving about her and how she added to the experience.

and speaks for themselves! Our wedding day could not have been any more beautiful. We did have some major breakdowns in communication leading up to the wedding that really disappointed us....almost to the point of changing the venue a week before the wedding. Luckily our family was able to help out and pull everything together to make for a wonderful day. Make sure you ask about everything! Take nothing for granted! Inspect every line of your pricing sheet.

all of my emails and phone calls promptly, put my mind at ease whenever a concern arose, and did everything with A BIG SMILE. I couldn't have asked for anything more. The ceremony setting is gorgeous, and the food was fantastic. Lots of options! I highly recommend the Grand Plaza and Victoria!

our after our appointment time. Chicken (2 types) was so dry it couldn’t be cut with a regular knife and certainly couldn’t be consumed. Won’t talk about the fish. Tomatoes had brown and black blemishes on the skin. Cold pasta salads were mushy and tasteless. I’m close to tears at the thought of not being able to eat at my own wedding. They’ve promised to fix the issues before the wedding.

ings about her. She went above and beyond her call of duty to make sure our day was perfect. We came from Philly to get married at the Grand Plaza and Victoria was so organized and accommodating to all of our little details. The food was great and all recommended vendors were so good. All of our guest had such a great stay and great time at the wedding. We really couldn't have asked for more. I'm even more excited about visiting the hotel every anniversary! Katie & Jibril 4/20/2018

long the way and made the dinner selection easy and enjoyable. The location is beautiful and the presidential ballroom is perfect for a reception place. Also with the beach, pool, restaurants and bars right on the property, it made it easy to connect with guests throughout the time there. Would recommend this location!

nator turn over that we became a little nervous. Let me just say, although we did have to change coordinators once and I am so glad we did! Victoria Creekmore is the best! She was so quick to email or call me back with answers to all of my questions. She is literally the sweetest and best they have. Not only did Victoria make us feel like we were the only wedding she had but so did the serving staff! The bartenders were always so attentive to us and our guests. Unfortunately, like most brides and grooms, we did not get to eat very much, but all night and the next day our guest were raving about the food! We are so glad to have chose a venue that includes so much and really helped make our dreams come true! The only problem we had was we got the penthouse for the girls to get ready in, but unfortunate they gave us the smallest one. I was able to switch with my now husband for his suite which worked out perfect! It was plenty big and accommodated all the girls!

Plaza unfortunately. But luckily we had set in stone almost all the details of the wedding with her. Our next coordinator didn't know much of anything about us, she kept calling me Courtney and thats not even my name. I was never able to get ahold of her, she didn't take care of any payments that we needed to pay or add in any details that I asked her to take care of. I live on the other side of the country so trying to plan a wedding from there is already hard, even harder when you don't have much help from the other side. Then apparently she didn't work there anymore either, so we had a decent chunk of time where we had no coordinator or anyone to get ahold of for the wedding planning. No one knew who our coordinator was going to be. Then the hurricanes went and destroyed most of Florida and I knew that a hurricane had been in the Tampa area so I wanted to make sure that the venue was still standing and that our wedding was still on because we were getting close to our date. Two weeks after the hurricane we still hadn't heard from anyone, eventually my husband called the front desk and they were able to tell us the venue is fine and that we had ANOTHER coordinator. So over the course of a year we had 3 of them. Some of the people at the Grand Plaza were absolutely amazing and couldnt have been more helpful, others it was like you were bothering them for help even though you're giving them your business. There was a lady at the front desk that on multiple occasions was so rude and I could hardly believe that she would treat a bride and groom so rudely , especially since we were bringing in 20-30k of business, not counting the advertisement from all of our vendors. The concierge was AMAZING. They made sure that our dresses and tuxes made it to the right places after they were pressed and they were so accommodating. The glamour room for getting ready was also amazing and so cute and fun for us girls. We had the wedding on the beach, it was beautiful and we had beautiful weather. Presidential ballroom was also beautiful with a beautiful view. We were able to set up the room the night before so that made me anxiety free knowing that would be complete the night before and we wouldn't have to worry about it in the morning. The waitstaff in the presidential ballroom was great. They brought out everything timely and were so nice to us, the food tasted great as well. I think her name was Barbara, she was even remembering everyones drinks and just a kind person. Overall the day and night was beautiful and we had a million compliments on everything that day. But the events leading up to the wedding day, even the night of the rehearsal I got a little upset but everything ended up working out. Overall we had a beautiful wedding and enjoyed the day.

a special meal not on the menu for the rehearsal and they were happy to accommodate. Would definitely book again.

oved Bongos and the live music every day! 1. We were given 3 different coordinators but weren’t told when the coordinators changed, my flower lady ended up telling me that coordinator number 2 was no longer with the company. 2. We were told that a resort fee would not apply to our group because we booked the wedding prior to the resort fee being implemented. My fiancé stood at the front desk every day and fought with the person on duty as every person checked in because they all “forgot” what they told us. 3. We were charged an extra $1000 at our rehearsal dinner because apparently guests asked them to refill our buffet.... they never confirmed with the people paying for the dinner that we wanted them to refill and that it would cost anything... we didn’t even know about it until 3 hours before the wedding when they told my fiancé about the charge. 4. We were brought room service the morning of the wedding at 7:30am and then got a call saying it was brought to the wrong room. 5. I had guests who had to change rooms because either the staff was too loud at night or because SOMEONE ELSE also had been booked in the same room and they walked in on them. 6. The staff was extremely rude to my guests upon check in. In summary, getting married on the beach and enjoying Bongos there are great, don’t ever book a room there.

life, but 2 months later I was charged for things the incompetent wedding coordinator “forgot” to charge us for. When I challenged this I was told she no longer works there. Shocker! I have never spoken to such rude management before. If I could give this place zero stars I would.

Dani and the staff at Grand Plaza really know what they are doing, no hiccups at all and every need was anticipated and attended to promptly. The ceremony was beautiful, the palm trees already on property really added character and ambiance to the beach ceremony. The concierge was also amazing. One of my bridesmaids had a oil stain on her dress and he took time out to call every dry cleaner in the area to see who could get it taken care of same day. It get's better!!!! we were upgraded to the Penthouse at no additional charge which came as a VERY nice surprise! I would highly recommend The Grand Plaza on St. Pete Beach!

more venues before heading right back to the Grand Plaza- which I fell in love in at first sight!! Tatyana was my coordinator and she could not have been better. From the moment I sat down for the consult until the time my husband and I were getting ready to walk into the hall as the new Mr. and Mrs.- Tatyana was right by our side. Some people say that they are expensive, but honestly, I disagree...they have different packages for your budget. With the package I chose, everything was included from the ceremony site, alcohol, cocktail hour (with hors d'oeuvres), and the wedding cake as well! The Grand Plaza was so accommodating to my guests and went above and beyond what I could ever expect!! Could not have asked for a better wedding coordinator, better venue, and a better night! Wish I could relive it- it was amazing!!!

is new coordinator Kristin was rude, condescending and talked to us like we were children through email and in person on numerous occasions. When I complained to management of the property, I was told sometimes "personalities don't mesh well." Don't believe me? Notice how the reviews have declined over the past 6 months of the property overall. You will be one of the 600 weddings they have a year and she made it known she did not care about mine!

t went down hill fast because she left ( I understand why) and her replacement has extremely low guest service and actually pretty rude. Day before wedding issues - there were a ton of bugs in the ballroom and all over my linens and chargers, I was not able to set up fully since I had a candy bar and was afraid the bugs would invade it. I informed my venue coordinator of how many settings I needed at each table when they were wrong and she was confronted she actually said she was never told. This made me extremely upset since I know she read that email because it contained a payment in it, how I felt about that was she took my money but didn't bother reading the details of the email. The day of issues - I was told by the venue coordinator that I could fill up a dispenser with water at bongos for the ceremony to keep my guest cool. 30 minutes before the ceremony I was told No!! And of course I didn't have ice or 5 gallons of water on me 30 minutes before I walk so yea thanks for nothing. I paid for my personal day of coordinator to receive a vendor meal... she never got it. They told me that the buffet would be replinshed for 2 hours after all the tables went to eat they immediately took the food away some of my guest actually expressed that they were disappointed because they were still hungry and had no choice but cake and candy. My personal coordinator was not able to get to my room and put my personal items in there during cleanup using my key because their room keys are pretty sensitive and can deactivate easily. The overnight front desk agent (an older man) wouldn't get her a key for company policy reasons and I get that she asked him what she could do than to get my stuff to the penthouse. He said that she should take us (my husband and I) to the hospital or to the police station since we had been drinking. Are you serious how EXTREMELY rude and inappropriate!!!! There were a ton more issues that I ran into and was told about after the wedding was over that my family and friends hid from me on the day of so I kept my sanity. It would appear to me that this place once used to be pretty good and due to losing certain people will now be taking a turn for the worst. All that I experienced towards the end of the journey is that this place has Rude people that work there and do not hold up there end of that contract!

inator whom I worked with all year in planning the wedding. However, she left a month before my wedding to take another job that allowed her to spend more time with her new baby. The woman who replaced her as my venue coordinator was very nice but incompetent. She couldn't answer any of my questions without asking someone else, I had to ask her the same question multiple times before she would answer it, she didn't inform me I had the option to change dishes for the buffet until it was too late to make any real changes, she did a horrible job of communicating to me how the day would go, and my husband & I almost saw each before the ceremony due to poor communication amongst her staff. Those aren't even all of the issues I had with her. All in all, she was a major unnecessary stressor in my wedding.

ency which caused her to go on a leave of absence a week before my wedding. I emailed her a couple times prior to our wedding date and received no responses. I wish they would have told me about my wedding coordinator leaving instead of me finding out literally the day before my weddding and an hour before the rehearsal. Then, I accidentally left my extra wedding programs there and a couple other things and have reached out to them a couple different times via email and the phone and have received no response. I have a second reception back home and really would like the extra programs for that. I realize an unfortunate event happened with my wedding coordinator, Kate, but they way they dealt with it was very unprofessional.

son back and 3 days received an email asking if I was still interested because they had been unable to contact me. I emailed back saying I have contacted them with no reply, 2 days later the lady sets up a phone interview for the next day. 11:30 roles around and nothing, still as of now the lady has never called or emailed me to explain something came up. If it's this hard to get information and a meeting I don't even want to know what kind of wedding issues I would have.

a week, for about a year leading up to our big day and she got back to me in great timing. It was the best day of our lives and I couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else.

the location. I would highly recommend!!

NG. Jeremy works at the front desk and was also smiling and greeting the guests. They had such great attitudes and provided exceptional customer service.

m. A couple people asked to have another table set up. They were told "no, the bride wanted it this way." The room had a beautiful ocean view, but at 4 pm, was an oven. There was no window covering. Guests were soaked in sweat. Elderly guests were getting ill. I went to the front desk and told them this, and asked if the fans in the room could be turned on higher, and if the air conditioning could be adjusted. They said they would take care of it. 3 hours later the fans were turned up, after the sun was already down. I don't think the air conditioner was ever adjusted. Maybe wedding couples like this place, but at least half of the guests at this reception wouldn't have stayed for the reception if they could have left without hurting the bridal party's feelings. If you are invited here, send the money you would have spent directly to the bride and groom, and spare yourself.

ing ceremony with a palm tree aisle was absolutely beautiful and the views from the Presidential ballroom were simply breathtaking! The food also tasted delicious and we really enjoyed working with Kate as our wedding coordinator! We definitely recommend using the Grand Plaza Beachfront Resort as your wedding venue! You will not be disappointed!

dential Ballroom & The room with view of the Beach is BREATHTAKING!!!

she was very patient with us and was able to answer EVERY question we threw her way! Her and her team did an amazing job with everything. Other than booking a DJ, florist, and photographer, the grand plaza took care of everything even the center pieces!! And that view from the presidential ball room is just breath taking!

f town guests loved the location with the beach steps away from their rooms. The service was exceptional and the staff was there to help anyway they could! They cleaned our room the night of our wedding and added special touches to ensure we were taken care of. Would highly recommend this hotel for any event or for a vacation spot! Courtney and Jordan Scholl

m the Presidential Ballroom, we knew we wanted a beach ceremony, and because Tatyana had been so helpful and responsive with our initial questions. Tatyana was our wedding coordinator throughout the whole process, and she went above and beyond. She was quick to respond to all of the questions I had, and she was just lovely to work with. I am so grateful for Tatyana as well as the entire hotel staff for making our wedding weekend so wonderful. If you are looking for a venue for your wedding, I highly recommend the Grand Plaza! We had about 60 guests in the Presidential Ballroom, and it was perfect for us.

t have asked for anyone better. She was wonderful and so helpful with every single detail. She made herself available any time we needed her (even on her days off). The wedding turned out absolutely amazing, from the ceremony on the beach to the reception in the Presidential Ballroom. The food was absolutely amazing as well.

having it here, They are so professional. From the beginning process to the end...not one complaint. Tatyana organized everything exactly how I wanted. She returned my e-mails immediately, and was always very polite. The Grand Plaza is the perfect sized hotel...not too big or too small. Parking is close and your right on the beach. The staff is so friendly and polite, everyone says Good Morning or Hello. They open doors or hold elevators for you. The rooms were newly renovated and the oceanfront views are incredible. Three great restaurants....Bongos Beach Bar ...sitting with your toes in the sand ...sipping Margarita's ...eating fish tacos and listening to acoustic tunes the musician plays steps away from the beach. Spinners is the revolving dining room....great food and probably the best view in St Pete. Level 11 is trendy, outdoor, rooftop dining with amazing appetizers, drinks and views. There is also a breakfast buffet in the Palm room overlooking the Beach. Our wedding was on the beach with palm trees lining the aisle. Best venue for a wedding on the beach. The reception was in the Presidential Ballroom. You have to see this rooms view. Ceiling to floor windows overlooking the whole beach. This view is beyond words. Tatyana and the whole staff did an incredible job with the table settings and layout. The food was incredible, the servers and bartenders were professional and catered to everyone. The Grand Plaza knows how to do a wedding without missing a beat. The whole staff knows exactly what to do and when. If your looking for the best location and views in St. Pete Beach, great food with 4 different restaurants on site, 3 different reception rooms, all with incredible views, affordable pricing with so many menu options, and above all a worry free wedding...this is your place. Thanks Tatyana and Staff We had a Great Wedding Anna & Jim