Hillwood at Davies Manor

Venue is very pretty. Customer service is horrible. They have refused to give us a refund of our deposit for a wedding we could not have due to corona virus restrictions. We decided that having a wedding during the middle of a pandemic would not be safe for our friends or family, so we decided to cancel our event and elope. We gave the venue plenty of notice and they refunded most of our money but refused to give back the deposit. This is crazy to me because the venue was not even allowed to be open on our wedding date so we couldn’t have had a wedding either way. They gave us plenty of options to reschedule to a Thursday or Friday in the winter, or next year, but we decided to just elope. I would have thought that management would have had a little compassion for a bride that had to cancel her dream wedding and refund the deposit out of curtesy. All of our other vendors gave us full refunds with no questions asked, not because they had to but because they knew it was the right thing to do, but not Hillwood. Keep this in mind when you are considering this venue.

The venue is amazing and being able to use the tables & chairs. Dealing with one of the ladies in charge of renting the venue was a pain dealing with. The man that was in charge of cleaning up the venue and letting us in the venue was amazing. He worked with us with decorating and getting in.

Hillwood at Davies Manor is absolutely beautiful, but that’s about it. Everything must be done in person, and with an appointment. Their schedule is Tuesday-Friday from 10:30-4:30. This was really hard to work with if you have a regular 9-5 job, and she does not make exceptions like staying later or coming earlier. There is also not a drop box so you must adjust in person meetings during business hours. We were also given a lot of information that was constantly changing. There was also a lot of discussion as to which package we had paid for, despite the fact that we had a signed and paid for a wedding contract. The wedding package comes with a 2 hour rehearsal session, but they don’t guarantee the day before your wedding. We were told several times that we had the rehearsal time, but then we didn’t because they had to keep it available for other people to book that day. We finally got a confirmation the week of the wedding only after a month debate over our contract/package. The tables and chairs that come with the venue also aren’t the greatest. Many of the long tables are very worn out and not usable because they are bowing. Also, the chairs are mix match metal folding chairs like you get with a card table. Renting different chairs was cheaper than chair covers but was an unexpected expense since Hillwood states that they provide chairs. It really is beautiful and you can’t beat the atmosphere that the lights provide, but I’m not sure if I’d say the hassle with the coordinator was worth the lights. If I had to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I don’t think that I would have my reception at Hillwood. I will say I didn't have the deposit issue like other people have stated, but my dad went back early morning to clean up anything outside.

Davies Manor Plantation is a beautiful location for a wedding. The possibilities for creating an amazing atmosphere are endless. My husband wanted to be married outside and this location was the most affordable and had a fantastic backup plan for rain. My only complaint is the Hillwood staff. To say they were rude is an understatement. The first few walk throughs and meetings were great. They approved my plans for the historic grounds with no questions and loved what I planned to do. I felt awesome about my event. Cut to the week of my wedding, I received phone calls everyday about issues they had with my vendors. Now, it was my understanding that they had already been in contact with my vendors and worked everything out..... I was wrong. Two days before my wedding I spent hours on the phone working with my rental company and Hillwood to solve a delivery crisis. That had already been worked out and written on my paperwork. Hill wood was now saying they would not honor that agreement. The day of the wedding we arrive to setup and the front porch was covered in hay from the event the evening before, the floors inside were filthy, the drink tubs behind the bar were missing, and the prior events linens and other rentals were still inside. I was guaranteed to have a clean building at 8 am the day of my event. Hillwood failed to make that happen. The property manager cleaned up the mess from the event prior. We had a friend go and purchase drink tubs after spending time on the phone with Hillwood, who said they did not provide tubs for the bar, when I had in it writing. Once the Hillwood staff was away, we had a fantastic wedding and everyone had a blast. I understand that all weddings are stressful, but Hillwood was my only vendor who couldn't seem to get it together. Calling a bride two days prior to her wedding and costing her more money because you refuse to hold up your end of a contract is ridiculous in my book! If you do choose Hillwood, because it is an amazing venue, just be prepared for things to get crazy the week of your wedding.