Chaminade Resort & Spa

to communication in the beginning. The resort worked for our needs to have everyone stay together and host a weekend of events, including our rehearsal dinner for 55, wedding ceremony and reception for 85, and goodbye breakfast for 40 so we had a full weekend celebration there and everyone stayed at the hotel. With the amount of investment we were putting in to it we had hoped that the cost of the hotel rooms for our guests would have been lower, but they were still pretty pricey. It wasn’t as smooth leading up to the wedding (I'm a Type A bride so I appreciate lots of communication and organization) and I had to be very proactive in checking in to see where things stood. We were sold on the renovations to the main building and that’s what we signed on for so it was disappointing that 5 months before the wedding no one told us that the renovations wouldn’t be happening anymore. Our Chaminade wedding planner also changed half way through and no one told us, she didn’t even intro us to another event planner to take over, we just got an auto reply that she had left and I had to call and track down a new coordinator which was unsettling for us and leading up to the wedding we had a lot of concerns. Thankfully we landed with Angela and she was our main point of contact and great to work with. When we arrived for the wedding weekend the grounds looked beautiful and well taken care of, the food at our rehearsal dinner, wedding reception and breakfast were all wonderful and we ended up having an amazing wedding! There were some hiccups day of, like the ceremony power outside wasn't delivered to the DJ on time, dinner issues where a couple of folks didn’t get the steak they ordered, food allergies were overlooked from our final headcount sheet, and heating lamps were in a shortage, but my husband and I didn't notice any of it and only learned of it after. There were some nice extras that Angela and her team added, like saving appetizers for us to enjoy during photos, getting a van for us to drive around the lot for photos, having a club sandwich, extra cake and bottle of champagne that was back in our room at the end of the night was an excellent touch and so appreciated! We really loved working with Angela and she bent over backwards to accommodate our requests and needs. Pros to Having your Wedding at Chaminade: - Location is convenient to the Bay Area and everyone can stay at the same place - Beautiful scenery and backdrop - Pricing is reasonable and all included which makes it so much easier on Brides - They worked with us on really any request we had (like eating dinner outside or specialty drinks) and were the most accommodating venue we met with Cons: - They do a lot of weddings so that might be why there was a lack of organization and disconnect - Prices for Guest Rooms are still high with the room block and the food onsite is expensive - The main lobby is pretty outdated, we were so excited for the new look and layout, but that didn't happen - Some parts of the planning process felt rushed and impersonal, again this may be because they have so many weddings but I just had to really stay on top of all of the planning and details

! We could not have been happier with them. I wish I had something else to plan with them!

y wedding last month. 5 stars for the beautiful rooms - the suite they had us as the bride and groom in was modern, super clean, and exceptional. All the hotel staff were kind and graceful, but some major ball drops impacted my review in a big way. First, as the bride and groom we were instructed to book a standard room via a provided link, and their reps would cancel that reservation in order to re-book us at a free upgrade to a suite. This is a nice thing they do when you're booking a room block. However, the sales rep who performed this task made a big mistake - they cancelled our two night reservation in a standard room and replaced it with a one night reservation in the suite. This meant chaos, stress, and a million phone calls the morning they thought I was supposed to check out, during the time allotted for my ceremony rehearsal. So, a small disaster. Next was a bigger problem. They kindly agreed to store a small 1/5 size kombucha keg and our groom's cake in their walk-in refrigerator, which was really helpful and great because our venue didn't have the ability to store those items. However, when the time came for us to collect the groom's cake and kombucha keg, the keg was apparently in a locked walk-in and only one manager had the key. The staff could not locate said manager, and my poor mother and brother in law who were going to bring it to the venue were left freaking out and almost didn't make it to the ceremony on time. Chaminade offered no resolution or plan of action, and my relatives had to leave to make the ceremony. Luckily we were running behind and they didn't miss anything, but it's super disappointing that it took my dad calling Chaminade and getting very firm for them to even offer to bring the keg to us when they could locate the manger. By the time they finally found this missing manager and got the keg to our venue 5 minutes away the ceremony and cocktail hour were over. And hello, cocktail hour is obviously a big part of why I paid for this keg and drove multiple hours out of the city to collect it. So, in closing, 5 stars for the location and the rooms, -5 stars if you need anything additional from these people at all. Ball drops all over the place, no apologies or interest in doing anything to help you out when they create issues and chaos, and overall a super mis-managed operations.

perfect. With us both being Santa Cruz locals, I was really looking for something that had a Santa Cruz vibe and this place really fit the bill. Rebecca was our coordinator and I absolutely adored her! If the view hadn't sold me, she would have sealed the deal. (Almost) everything went off without a hitch from start to finish and the day was so perfect! In mid April, the arbor was in full bloom and it couldn't have been more beautiful. The food was beyond incredible. And to top it off, when I woke up in the middle of the night (already a bit hung over and STARVING) they had delivered a bottle of champagne, my favorite sandwich and a couple slices of the cake (plus a sweet congrats card) to our room. This place was a dream come true!

nto the reception room. Chaminade suggested one of MY guests may have taken them. I was very bothered by this. How would my elegantly dressed guests have time to steal 100+ wet flowers, get them out of the site unseen and store them? All within minutes of the ending of cocktail hour and start of the reception? Not to mention, these are my closest friends and family who have no need to steal these flowers. We never received a genuine feeling of concern, remorse, frustration or disappointment from Chaminade. We were only continuously told to think of how beautiful everything else was. Yes, it was beautiful, but left a very sour taste in our mouths! To go from an amazing day/night, to feeling like no one at the hotel really cared my decor was stolen, is a horrible feeling. It felt as if the money was paid, so the hospitable, genuine and caring attitudes were gone. After returning from my honeymoon, I was updated by my family about the status of our missing flowers and the lack of resolution. They had not bothered to call, send a letter or email my husband or I letting us know anything, that they were truly sorry or had any concern this happened at Chaminade. After sending an email expressing my disappointment in the whole situation and lack of communication provided to my husband and I, we were THEN offered a free night and breakfast; oh yes, but only Sunday thru Thursday.There was no emotional support to the situation again. Chaminade is a beautiful venue, the day of coordination help was appreciated, but the professionalism and feeling of being cared about came and went just as quickly as the day did.

re vows, and behind them was a breathtaking view of Santa Cruz and the ocean beyond. There are also a number of other secluded spots for beautiful sunlit photos. The other reason we were impressed with the Chaminade was the impeccable service. The wedding coordinator seemed to be everywhere at once, and thought of every detail. It was truly a pleasure working with their team. (Tony Fitzgerald photography)

it. Don't get me wrong, the ceremony came out beautiful. I married my husband and that was the most important thing. Let me tell you a little about what went on.... The Chaminade broke my unity sand container that was performed during the ceremony. I had to pay the Chaminade more than 10,000 and they could not even take care of my items. I was suppose to cherish my unity sand for the rest of my life and now I cant. I put all of my trust in this venue and they completely broke it. Our wedding coordinator Angela Edmound was anything but helpful. She basically told me its broken and there is nothing she can do about it. The food and beverage manager told me all of this comes down to business. And now the general manager.....Kevin Herbst. He did not follow through with anything that he said. None of the employees that I worked with came through with what they said. Kevin said he would call me to treat my husband and I to a spa service in Hawaii but that never came through. He claimed it was because he didn't want to harass me yet I told him on multiple voicemails to call me back if he would still like to give us the spa treatment. We argued over the phone mulitple times and sure enough it came down to business. Kevin, Angela, and all the others we worked with are horrible. I cannot even begin to tell you everything else that went on. Just stay away from this venue and get married somewhere else. I pray no other bride and groom has to experience what we went through. You will have to remember what they did to you for the rest of your life. Please rethink getting married here. Your wedding is supposed to be something that is amazing and something so beautiful. My cermeony was beautiful because I married my husband but unfortunately my memories of everything else was ruined because of the carelessness and the horrible disrespect we got from the "general manager" Kevin Herbst and the wedding cordinator Angela Edmound. This is so sad. You would think a wedding venue with views as beautiful as it has, has such a horrible staff and way of managing a wedding. All they care about is the money not about your special day. Thank you Chaminade for the ruined memories I have of my wedding. Please change the way you operate so other bride and grooms can actually have beautiful memories.

arsing the hour before my wedding, the guys had to use our room to get ready beause there was nowhere else for them to do so, during the reception random hotel guests kept poking their heads in and yelling comments, the event coordinator didn't keep anything on schedule, you're supposed to have the inside and out to your party and guests from the hotel kept sitting in our section with their kids running around, the food was under cooked, we mentioned the beef still being cold and over bloody, they took the whole thing back and only brought back a few slices, the bread was hard as a rock. The hotel itself over charged our room for a bar tab of a guest in a different room and charged my husband and brother for the same tab at the bar the night of the wedding. If you are having a huge wedding and plan on spending a ton im sure they're more responsive but I wouldn't recommend having a smaller wedding here.

...OMG to die for! It's been a month since the wedding and people are still asking what kind of cake it was! Amazing!! The service was wonderful, more than I could have asked for and it made our day perfect!! LOVE this Place! Will prob come back for our anniversary!

and highly recommend it to anyone who wants a beachy feel without dealing with that Santa Cruz fog.

she made sure that things were taken care of the day of and she was so responsive whenever I had any questions. There was also a "banquet manager" that on top of all the events that occured during the reception. I didn't have to think about what was next or worry about things not being taken care of. My family and all the guests were pleasantly surprised with the wonderful service.

re so great at helping us make everything easy. From the local vendor help, to the on the day service. They did everything and were our everything to our day. Thank you Chaminade.

y easy for me. I really didn't have to worry about telling my vendors much she took care of everything =). If you are a busy person and want to get married in one of the most beautiful places, I would recomend Chaminade, its poeaceful, has an ocean view and tucked away in the trees.

everage package, make sure the bartenders do not place top shelf booze out on the counter like it is available for free. We had several embarrassing moments during cocktail hour.

r the Thursday night before the wedding on Saturday. They did however cover the cost of the new hotel. Staff could have taken more initiative re: serving each course. Also, staff did not remember to move wedding presents to hotel room and family member noticed and had to take care of that.

e place can be expensive but WELL WORTH IT.