Bellwether Beach Resort

My fiancé and I were working with this venue since 2018. Two months before our spring 2021 wedding we found out our wedding was being canceled. No one told us. I happened to go on 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.

I struggled with choosing a star rating because while my experience was a “zero” out of five, the women that helped me initially deserved five. I signed a contract, paid a deposit, 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.

The Grand Plaza staff did a simply amazing job to make our special day perfect! No hiccups, no issues! Thank you so much for everything as everything and everyone was perfect and pleasant.

We had our wedding ceremony and reception here on 10/2/2020 and absolutely loved it. We held our ceremony on the “south beach” site, followed by an intimate reception in the Palm Room. 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!!

My husband and I got married at the Grand Plaza 12.07.19! After I looked and visited many places on the beach, I knew instantly Grand Plaza was the perfect place for an elegant beach 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 :)

Wonderful place to have a ceremony and reception. Our wedding was perfect. Krystn is a rockstar!!!!! She nailed it with our walk-through of the property off the whim on a busy Saturday 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!!!!!!

Everything was beautiful. Krystn was great to work with. Downfall is the elevator is so slow and crowded to get on. When we went outside to take sunset pictures I had to wait for 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!

We had our wedding in the Presidential Room on May 2, 2019 and it was absolutely perfect! Krystn Simmons was our coordinator and she couldn't have done a better job!!!! My hubby 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!!!

Our day was perfect! Where do I start... We got married January 26, 2019 at Grand Plaza in the Imperial Ballroom (we would have done the Presidential Ballroom, but we had too may guests... 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!

Jacqueline is the best! We had such a positive experience with the Grand Plaza. The rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, and the reception went off perfectly. Jacqueline 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.

Absolutely terrible! I had my wedding here 10/13/18 and my review is too long to post. However, you can find it on yelp or wedding wire. DO NOT waste your money or stress out more than you already are about wedding planning. They want your money and that is it!!! They do not care about you or your wedding

This venue was beautiful. The staff is very professional and attentive. They do a lot of weddings so sometimes you feel a little rushed. Be sure to clearly read the terms of the F&B minimum. Other than a couple of things the people and venue were great! Thank you Grand Plaza!!

Our wedding here was amazing and so beautiful. Victoria was the best coordinator you ever want to have. Everything was perfect!

I am so pleased we chose Grand Plaza for our venue. We have many memories here and the wedding was amazing. Victoria was the best, she was helpful and made my party feel reassured. 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.

We cannot stop thinking about our wedding here. Everything was so lovely! This hotel is completely amazing.. I recommend to anyone to stay here

Our wedding happened on the North beach with the reception in the Presidential Ballroom! As you can see from the pictures, this space and its surroundings are absolutely beautiful 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.

I can't recommend the Grand Plaza enough! From the communication to the event space to the delicious food, A+! We worked with Victoria, and she was absolutely amazing! She answered 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!

Booked the Presidential Ballroom and the most expensive grand buffet. Just had our tasting. I think the food was leftover from yesterday even though we didn’t get served until an hour 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.

Wonderful! We had such an amazing day thanks to Grand Plaza's awesome staff and absolute best wedding team. Victoria Creekmore was our coordinator and I can not say enough great things 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

The Grand Plaza is an amazing place for a destination wedding! They make planning easy and are great at answering questions and ensuring things run smoothly! Amanda helped me all along 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!

The Grand Plaza seriously helped us rock our wedding! Before we got married on 4/22/18 there was a lot of talk about how brides were having a hard time with the venue due to coordinator 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!

We chose this place because my sister in law was married here and she enjoyed her experience. Our first coordinator was absolutely amazing, but then she ended up leaving the Grand 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.

You can't beat the views from the presidential ballroom. Krystyn was great to work with. We had a few last minute changes that they were more than willing to accommodate. Requested a special meal not on the menu for the rehearsal and they were happy to accommodate. Would definitely book again.

We were married here and had one hell of an interesting experience. The actual wedding day was perfect, great food and the coordinator we had on the day of was amazing! We also loved 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.

Don’t give this venue your credit card information!!!! They will make up invoices months after your wedding and try to charge you! My wedding was beautiful and the best day of my 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.

My husband and I are extremely pleased with our experience at Grand Plaza. Amazing Service and Staff Our ceremony was highly organized and well orchestrated from start to finish. 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!

I had my wedding about a month ago here, and let me start off by saying: ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! I started my search for a venue at the Grand Plaza, but of course looked at a couple 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!!!

I recently cancelled my wedding here 6 months before my date due to our unpleasant coordinator. Our original coordinator left after we left the deposit and visited the property. This 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!

Fantastic. Beautiful location- delicious food, and Tatyana was just amazing as our coordinator! Just perfect!

I wish I could give negative stars on this place. I had my wedding there in the imperial, starting with a great coordinator, and I was so excited. Than 2 months before my wedding it 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!

The venue itself is beautiful, which was the main reason why I chose this place. However, my experience with the venue coordinator was awful. I started out with a great venue coordinator 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.

The wedding turned out wonderful! At first the beer was warm, but after we said something it was fixed. The only complaint I have, is that my wedding coordinator had a family emergency 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.

I absolutely loved this venue from the look until I contacted them to have my wedding. I first contacted through the knot the next day someone contacted me. I then emailed the person 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.

My husband and I just got married here on May 5, 2017, and it was everything we could have dreamed for! Our coordinator, Tatyana, was AMAZING!! I emailed her probably at least once 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.

Amanda was a pleasure to work with. I truly had my dream wedding at Grand Plaza and Amanda made planning it a breeze! The venue is beautiful, the food was great and my guests loves the location. I would highly recommend!!

We loved the hotel, the staff, the Imperial ballroom, and the south beach ceremony location. Couldn't have asked for a more perfect venue. Kate was our wedding planner and is AMAZING. Jeremy works at the front desk and was also smiling and greeting the guests. They had such great attitudes and provided exceptional customer service.

Excellent service and food! Tatyana Adams ,our coordinator , was awesome and very professional. Our wedding was beyond perfect!

I attended a wedding here. At the reception, there was no one to help the guests. There was a table missing. Three guests were wandering around, and there was no one to help them. 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.

My husband and I had the Grand Plaza Beachfront Resort as our wedding venue in May and we couldn't be happier with how our wedding day turned out at this venue! Our Beachfront wedding 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!

AMAZING! If you want a fairytale beach wedding this is your place! I felt like royalty here! And Kate (my coordinator at the Grand Plaza) was AMAZING!!!! I got married in the Presidential Ballroom & The room with view of the Beach is BREATHTAKING!!!

Wow!! Simply the best people to ever work with.! We had our destination wedding at the grand plaza in st. Petersburg and it was simply amazing.! Tori is a great person to work with 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!

We chose to use the Plaza Beach Hotel for our wedding guests and ourselves the weekend of our wedding. It was a close location to our venue and it was right on the beach. Our out of 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

We had our wedding at the Grand Plaza on 04/15/16 and everything was absolutely perfect and exceeded our expectations. We booked the venue because we fell in love with the view from 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.

We had the best experience ever at the Grand Plaza. Everything from the initial visit to the "I do" was absolutely perfect. Tori Elkington was our wedding planner, and we couldn'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.

We got married on the beach at The Grand Plaza. Tatyana Adams was our wedding coordinator. I could not have asked for a more perfect day. If your getting married, I highly suggest 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

AMAZING!!! Vendors, venue and TORI were absolutely amazing. Minus the wind, this was a perfect day for us. We came from out of town and were blown away by the customer service that we had gotten. Recommend this to anyone!

I wanted the Grand Plaza for the amazing view in the Presidential Ballroom. It is a beautiful view, and the ballroom is pretty. It did look a bit small once we filled up to close to max capacity though, but regardless of that, the hotel did do a great job in setting it up. You and your guest will love the view. My initial wedding coordinator was great, communication was remarkable. I was moving out of the country, so I planned my wedding via emails and Skype. Even when there was a change in coordinator, things still went smoothly. I made 2 room reservations months in advance, which I confirmed few days before wedding. By the time we arrived on day prior to wedding, the hotel had lost our reservations. The front desk did get us what we originally requested, but it was time consuming, it involved a lot of confusion, and though the staff was nice, in my opinion, they lacked professionalism in the situation. My day of coordinator was nice, but I don't feel she was as experienced or detailed as one needs for such occasion. She didn't go over anything but ceremony, so my bridal party was so lost once we arrived at reception. On day of, there was another wedding happening one hour after mine. The coordinator rushed our ready time, I wasn't even allowed an extra 5 minutes to breathe before ceremony because of next event. The hotel tells you that they don't book 2 events at the same time, but that is a lie. When you are a bride, with a processional of 15 people, and you need just 5 extra minutes, and the coordinator says we can't... an hour between events will feel as if the hotel has booked 2 events at the same time. Be prepared for that fact. Wish I had. Even my hair and make up girls confirmed that they do not like that venue for their double bookings. Once my groom and I got to reception, it all looked great. I had to ask the staff when the buffet was starting. They apparently were waiting for us to tell them. I had no idea of that. We also were not told of what time bar was ending, or even our closing time. I had to ask for all that info, while also being a bride on my day. It felt like the coordinator did not do her job completely. She needed to tell me or discuss this with me. I would have appointed someone for all this. I felt lost, and it took some of my joy away. Maybe she was't a full blown planner, but she still had a duty to fulfill with me prior to releasing me of her duties. She is supposed to make your day great, and even if she isn't there the entire night, she should prepare you for the event! Food was actually great. Staff in the reception where nice and professional. Rooms are just ok, actually they could be a lot better for price you pay. Overall, I was disappointed because I had higher expectations. The Presidential ballroom view is amazing, and the ceremony site is pretty.

Amy was our initial planner, and then when she moved back home, we worked with Tori. Amy was fabulous, and Tori picked up right where she left off - very responsive to my emails and my mother's phone calls, helpful in answering questions, etc. The whole process was very easy and straight forward. The Grand Plaza does a ton of weddings, so everything was like clockwork, but they still managed to make us feel special. Our guests loved how everything was on time, the staff was friendly, and the setting was beautiful. If you want to get married right in the sand and have a beautiful reception, and want to have the process run smoothly and as stress free as possible, consider the Grand Plaza!

I recently got married at the Grand Plaza Beachfront Resort on St. Pete Beach, FL and Amy Hinman, and then later Tori Elkington, are the catering sales managers that we had the privilege of working with for planning our ceremony and reception. Both Amy and Tori were nothing short of outstanding -- they were both very professional and prompt to reply during the entire planning phase, which, when planning a wedding, is quite elaborate with many fine details. They were very organized, knowledgeable, and good listeners when it came to ironing out ceremony and reception details. The Grand Plaza also has some really amazing vendors on their preferred vendors list -- I used Joe Lorenzo at Expert Productions, Neil Patel at Neil Shannon Photography, Bonnie Schaefer at Cakes by Carolynn, Heather Bay at Rose Garden Flowers & Gifts, and Michele Renee The Studio. I consider all of the vendors used to be the best in the wedding industry! They are all extremely professional, fun, and well-priced for their exceptional services! The Grand Plaza is definitely worth their price tag. I got married in the Presidential Ballroom and it was absolutely breath-taking. Thank you to Amy, Tori, and Gloria (manager) for making our special day so memorable!

I used the Imperial Ballroom for the reception (the ceremony was on the beach). It was so beautiful and they decorated it exactly how I wanted. The food was great (don't let the tastings fool you... the quality at the tastings is NOT the same as at the actual event). The service was very friendly and adaptable. I had the cash bar outside, but when it was extremely hot, they quickly moved it inside while keeping a low profile.

I cannot say enough great things about our wedding planner, Gloria Zak!! She is simply amazing and most definitely an expert at what she does! From the very moment my fiance and I met with her, we knew the Grand Plaza was the place for our beach wedding and the main reason was because of Gloria. She always provided me with prompt answers to my hundreds of questions and always had a solution for any issues or concerns that arose. The wedding day was perfect and magical and everything that my fiance and I wanted it to be. The food was delicious and the banquet room was breath taking. Our reception was held in the Presidential Banquet Hall which is on the 10th floor with beautiful views of the water and the beach. Every single thing about the day was perfect and there is nothing that we would have wanted to change. It was the fairy tale wedding that every girl dreams of having and Gloria flawlessly orchestrated it all. She is nothing short of amazing at her job not to mention a genuinely sweet, thoughtful and caring person. I can promise that you will not be disappointed with having your wedding at this picture perfect venue!

Overall, the Grand Plaza was great! Tatyana was my wedding coordinator and she was fantastic. She always was quick to respond to emails with questions and never told us no when we wanted to do something! When it got close to the wedding, she was even willing to set up all of our decorations and table settings and all of the outside signs and stuff that we brought as well! I have nothing but good things to say about Tatyana. The ceremony site was beautiful as was the cocktail hour location and the Imperial ballroom. We had over 100 guests and everyone fit in the ballroom with no problem and there was plenty of room for the dance floor! I have two minor negative things to say about my experience with the Grand Plaza. The first thing is that they advertise themselves as an all inclusive wedding venue where you don't have to pay for minor details like linens and stuff for the tables. Having to pay for each chair on the beach and each chair in the reception when we spent so much on everything else just got a little annoying. Also, $200 to rent their bamboo arch is just outrageous and they wouldn't let us bring our own. Overall, I still believe it was a good value but including those two things (even if it meant increasing the per person on the food/beverage price by a couple dollars) would have left me with a more positive feeling. The other negative thing is the hotel itself. The wedding side of the hotel was fantastic but I had numerous issues with the hotel staff. First, there was an issue with me checking in early--they tried to tell me I'd have to sit around and wait all day on the day of the rehearsal until a room was cleaned because they couldn't tell me in advance when it was going to be ready. One person called a week ahead asking to check in at 3 instead of 4 since the rehearsal began at 4 and they told her oh sorry you should have booked for Thursday also if you wanted to get in early. Then they refused to clean our room during the wedding because it was past the time they normally clean! Not a reason not to have your wedding there, but something to talk to your coordinator about before the week of the wedding to avoid stress and to warn your guests!!

Overall we loved having our wedding at the Grand Plaza. The venue on the beach for the ceremony was AMAZING! The Presidential ballroom for our reception and the "Glamour Room"(bridal suite) was well worth the money to book. I would recommend the Grand Plaza but only if you are looking to coordinate and do all of your directions yourself, for me that wasn't a problem as I would rather be hands on but for some that may be a deal breaker.

We had the most wonderful wedding at the Grand Plaza! Everything was perfect and we are so happy we chose the Grand Plaza for our special day. Working with Amy Hinman was an absolute pleasure and took a lot of anxiety out of planning our wedding from out of country. She helped us along the way to achieve our dream wedding, gave us great input from all her experience and was very responsive. She replied to emails quickly and called me when I asked her to. She also recommended vendors and provided answers to each and every question I had. The view from the Presidential ballroom was breathtaking and the whole setup was beautiful. The staff treated us like royalty and made sure we were having the best day of our lives. Their service level was outstanding, all our guests loved the experience and the food was amazing. Many of our guests are still raving about the amazing venue, food, staff, location and overall experience today. We could not have asked for more! Highly recommend Grand Plaza for a beautiful beach wedding.

We used the Grand Plaza as our venue for our destination and the entire experience was AMAZING. From start to finish we had nothing but friendly people help us. Amy was such a joy to work with and made planning a wedding from thousands of miles away a breeze. Everyone commented on how beautiful it was. Overall it was an amazing day and a perfect experience and fit for my husband and I.