Black Pearl on The Columbia

Black Peral is a nice facility but book it only if you are OK with unwarranted stress just before the event and ready to shell out extra and unplanned thousands of dollars after the event. 1. We booked the upper floor and they agreed months in advance to let us use outside patio during the event for friends get together. Just a day before the event, they told us that they can’t let us use the patio unless we book the main floor as well. They asked us to make alternate arrangements otherwise. They did it on purpose knowing that we have no other choice at the last moment to find another place. 2. Their contract is totally one-sided, and they are ABSOLUTELY INFLEXIBLE. They will use every clause to make extra money from you. We booked the venue from 8am till midnight. We had to assign one person as a day of the coordinator. They charged us $750 just because this person left the venue for a coffee break. It didn’t matter that he had his back up onsite while he was away. By the way their form doesn’t allow you to assign more than one “day of the coordinator” for the whole 16-hour duration. 3. We vacated the venue before mid-night, but they charged us $2,500 for staying beyond midnight. According to them their video recording shows that we didn’t vacate the venue on time. I challenged them and cited many proofs that we handed over the venue before time. I sent them several emails, but they always came back with the same reply using video recording as the evidence. I requested them to either show me the recoding or watch with me, as I was 100% sure we left the venue before time. They never agreed to share or let me watch the recording. 4. The contract states that even of you are late by 1 minute you will forfeit 100% of your $2,500 deposit, which is totally one-sided and legally not valid. However, you would need a lawyer to have it reversed. They will try their best to misuse this clause to forfeit your deposit. I would strongly advise you to seriously think before booking this venue. They will be nice and responsive until a day before the event. They will show their true self and rudeness when you have no option to back out. Their management is very unprofessional. They care least about your happy moments or your guest experience. They are out there to extract every penny that they can.