Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel
660 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, NY
About This Vendor
A Venue As Unique As You Are
Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel is a landmark hotel and upscale wedding venue located in the Albany, NY Capital Region known for hosting milestone celebrations for almost 50 years. Its seasoned staff are committed to making your event look and feel like a one-in-a-million experience. Here you can comfortably welcome up to 540 of your closest family and friends in a memorable setting. The hotel offers two unique indoor landscaped courtyards to choose from for your ceremony site. Covered from the elements, you can feel confident of a perfect gathering regardless of the weather in a gorgeous indoor garden terrace setting. A large koi pond, brick pathways, atrium skylights, and over 30' high ceilings make for a sentimental backdrop for your “I do’s”. Three enchanting ballrooms of various sizes await for your reception, each of which have a modern and sophisticated ambiance. Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel offers three wedding packages to help you to streamline your planning process and a la carté add-on options to customize your special day. What’s more, you will receive the assistance of a dedicated on-site wedding coordinator for your event. Completely customized menus can also be created if you wish with the assistance of our catering event planners. Accommodations in the hotel can be arranged for guests with a custom wedding block, and complimentary 24-hour shuttle service is available to the Albany Airport for out of town guests. Each wedding includes a private hospitality suite for the couple and wedding party, as well as a complimentary overnight guest room for the newlyweds. Additional events can be hosted including your rehearsal dinner and next-day brunch, keeping your entire celebration under one roof so that your guests never have to travel. Whether it is an intimate space for 40 or a large reception for 300+, Crowne Plaza Albany - The Desmond Hotel is the perfect spot for you.
Amenities + Details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
Ceremony Types
Civil Union, Commitment Ceremony, Elopement, Interfaith Ceremony, Non-Religious Ceremony, Religious Ceremony, Second Wedding , Vow Renewal Ceremony
Guest Capacity
300+
Settings
Ballroom, Garden, Hotel, Restaurant
Venue Service Offerings
Bar & Drinks, Cakes & Desserts, Food & Catering, Planning, Wedding Design, Service Staff, Transportation, Shuttle Service
Pricing for Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel
Browse Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel's pricing PDF for sample services and estimates.
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Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel Reviews
4.7 out of 5.0
17 reviews
5 Star
71%
4 Star
29%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
This venue was the perfect place for us to have our wedding. We ended up having a wedding weekend (rehearsal/wedding/farewell brunch) with most guests arriving from out of state. The convenience of being so close to the airport and having every...
thing onsite made for a virtually stress free weekend. The staff is amazing - the catering team is awesome, and Joanne and Emily (banquet coordinators) were with us every step of the way. The space is gorgeous and all of our family and friends commented on how beautiful it was. If we had to do it all over… we’d pick the same venue!
Our cocktail and wedding reception was at the Desmond. We worked with Jack Roddy and Amanda who were both very detailed, professional and easy to work work. They thought of everything, worked with outside vendors and were very accommodating. Th...
e food was delicious and the atmosphere was beautiful. The feedback from guests who stayed at the hotel was very positive. Highly recommend!
Amanda and all of the Desmond staff made our wedding weekend perfect. From the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner all the way to the day after breakfast was amazing. We did not have to leave the hotel for anything which was perfect for out of town ...
guests. The food at all three events was great and the newly renovated ballroom and guest rooms made getting ready and the ceremony/reception beautiful. I didn’t worry about any of the small details, Amanda and the rest of the staff took care of everything.
Any questions?
The Desmond (& Amanda) were very accomodating to our requests for our wedding day. They were very helpful in setting up all of our decorations, ensuring that everything was in the right place, and that nothing was lost or broken. They did a tre...
mendous job at laying out and designing the reception and cocktail hour -- our 120 guests were not squeezed into corners, and there was enough room for multiple bars in the ballroom. They truly took great care of everything, allowing us to just enjoy the night with our guests with no worries about where to be and when. We couldn’t have asked for a better cocktail hour and reception, everything was absolutely perfect!
We held our wedding at The Desmond Hotel a couple of weeks ago and were completely blown away by the entire experience. It was everything we wanted and more. From our rehearsal, to the wedding to a brunch the day after - they went above and bey...
ond to make sure our special day was everything we dreamed of.
Amanda, our sales coordinator, was terrific - we can't say enough about how helpful she was from the day we booked all the way through to following up the day after to make sure we were happy. She was so thorough, organized and patient - even with my one million questions leading up to the event. She made sure that every detail - down to the accent linens and menu placement were perfectly arranged to the way we had discussed in the months leading up. She made us feel as if our wedding was as important to her as it was to us.
We had many of our guests stay at the hotel and they were treated wonderfully. Notably, we got lots of compliments on the shuttle service to the airport - everyone found it incredibly easy and helpful.
If you're looking for a venue in the Albany region where you can have your guests stay on site and want a terrific experience for all involved, I can't recommend these guys enough!
Response from the Vendor on 09/12/2017
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit a review and share your experience with us! We are happy to hear your great comments about Amanda and the rest of our staff, and we are happy that we were able to be part of your special day from...
start to finish. Thank you for choosing The Desmond, and best wishes!
Our daughter and son-in-law's wedding, rehearsal dinner, and Sunday brunch were all hosted at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, NY in June 2016. We were thrilled with the Desmond experience from our first meeting with Connie to the last guest's dep...
arture. Without reservation, we recommend the Desmond for your special day.
In addition to Connie, whose sage advice to "breathe" was always timely and welcome, we loved working with Patty, one of the waitstaff. Patty served our family at the tasting, the rehearsal dinner, and the reception. At each event, she attended to us with warmth, attentiveness, and friendliness usually reserved for family.
The Desmond's proximity to the Albany airport was very convenient, and the variety of venues within the hotel itself made each event fun. The bride and groom were provided a complimentary bridal suite with circular staircase, which was used for gorgeous pictures and relaxation with small groups of friends. The food at each of the events was delicious and beautifully presented.
Although the Desmond itself is worthy of a great review, it's the people who work at the Desmond that made our daughter and son-in-law's special day exceptional. Connie provided support and guidance throughout the weekend, especially appreciated at the ceremony and reception entrances. She organized our unruly group in a tactful but firm way; she remained calm during a Code Yellow (young flower girl needed a diaper change just prior to her ceremony entrance); and she seemed to be everywhere at once, ensuring that the bride and groom were satisfied and able to enjoy their day.
Enjoy your special event at the Desmond and be sure to ask for Connie and Patty!
The Desmond was a wonderful one-stop shop for our wedding. We had the reception and the next morning brunch. Most of our guests were from out of town and stayed at the Desmond. Everyone enjoyed their stayed and said that the service was grea...
t. The reception went off without a hitch and the brunch was wonderful.
The Desmond staff could not have done more to make our Wedding Day more perfect. Every detail was thought of and looked after. Coming from abroad to have our wedding around my family, made the process stressful, but the Desmond made it easy. Co...
nnie was a dream to work with - attentive, responsive, helpful. The food was amazing from the cocktail hour to the dinner. The waitstaff were always there to pour a drink or bring the food warm and cooked to perfection, but you never felt their presence. It was a dream come true. Despite having a small wedding of only 100 people, the room felt full for the reception. I think that we got an amazing experience for our money. I would tell anyone and everyone to have their wedding or any other event at the Desmond.
I was the bride, and my now husband and I worked with Connie. If you are having an event there at all, I would absolutely recommend you working with Connie. We held the cocktail hour in where the koi pond is, and it turned out AMAZING. Our rece...
ption was held in the Fort Orange Ballroom, and was beautiful. The only problem I really had was that the waiters were very quick to clear your plate, as well as clear your drink. I did not eat much, just because if I got up, my plate was cleared. The steak is cooked to be medium, so people with picky party-goers may want to skip the NY Strip Steak.
Heather and Don were a total pleasure to work with. Everything was absolutely perfect, and they made sure of it. They were prompt with answering questions and took care of everything...going beyond their responsibilities and acting as "weddin...
g planners". They made what could have been an extremely stressful day and absolute pleasure!
The Desmond was fantastic. I thought I was biased thinking it was the best wedding ever but I have heard from all my guest it was the best wedding they have gone too. Heather and Lindsay were amazing. Everyone actually was. The food was fantas...
tic as well. Honestly it was so perfect. More than I could have dreamed for! Highly recommend the Desmond for your wedding.
My husband and I had our reception at the Desmond. It was incredible! The atrium looked absolutely stunning for the cocktail reception and the ballroom was simply gorgeous! Erinne, the wedding coordinator, made sure everything was perfect. She ...
was fantastic to work with and made sure my husband and I were worry-free on our special day. I couldn't have imagined a more beautiful, spectacular reception. It was a dream a come true!
My mother hosted my bridal shower at the Desmond hotel, and it was held in the indoor courtyard. We worked with a wonderful woman there who has since left the company. The food was amazing and it was a great atmosphere. A minor complaint was th...
at we only had 1 server for over 50 people and we were told there would be 2 minimum. But our server was excellent and we didn't feel that we only had one.
The service was great and the wedding went smoothly. The only problems were in the hotel's part of not having rooms ready and handing out too many gift bags per party. Their wedding service was outstanding!
The Desmond provided first class service for our wedding. Their attention to detail was second to none and the staff was attentive and continually went the extra mile to make our day smooth and without a hitch.
The Desmond was one of my top choices for a reception given the location and you can get a lot of pictures, but it was expensive and we wanted a lot of outdoor pictures, so we chose downtown albany instead.
easy to work with beautiful indoor setting food was amazing.
Contact Info for Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel
660 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, NY
Meet the Team
Amanda Stankavich
Manager
Amanda has been with the hotel since 2013 and loves working with couples to create their dream event. Contact her today for a site tour and learn more about our beautiful venue.
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Crowne Plaza Albany – The Desmond Hotel