Old Angler's Inn

My husband and I planned to host a small luncheon (32 people) following our wedding ceremony. Because the attendee count was under 40, we thought the best/easiest course of action would be to rent a private room in a nice restaurant. When we learned Old Anglers Inn hosted events, we decided it would be the perfect spot for our reception. WRONG! I’m from MD but currently live in Denver, so my parents acted as “boots on the ground.” They offered to meet with Hasina, the Events Manager, and tour the available private rooms. After submitting the event request form on May 5th, Hasina and I set up a phone call for the following week to discuss details. When she didn’t call me at the scheduled time, I called her. No one answered and I left a voicemail. When no one called back, I sent an email letting Hasina know that my parents would be coming to OAI for lunch the next day. When my parents got to the restaurant, they were told that Hasina was “in Greece but should be back within the next 2 weeks.” After explaining why they were there, someone else, John Reges, offered to give them a tour and answer questions. While John was polite, he didn’t know anything about OAI’s event policy or private rooms and couldn’t answer any questions. Ten days after missing our call, Hasina replied to my email saying she had been out of the country (no apology) but she heard John Reges was able to help my parents. I told her that John couldn’t answer any questions and requested we set up another call. She didn’t reply. At that point I should have looked for another venue, but my parents liked the food and location, so I submitted another event request form. Hasina reached out, pretending that our previous interactions didn’t happen. When we spoke, I felt better about the situation. Hasina explained that the room I wanted was available on July 12th and emailed me with the different menu options. That was my only productive conversation with her. In the following weeks we exchanged emails about the menu, service, and room setup. I would submit a list of questions, and if Hasina replied she would only answer half of them. In one email I said we wanted to do a champagne toast but asked if they had a sparkling cider available for the guests not drinking alcohol. Hasina replied saying, “Yes, we have Angry Orchard.” If I called, she wouldn’t answer or call back. I tried calling the restaurant, thinking that because I want to give them money and business they would help. Wrong. The manager I spoke to said, “you have to talk to Hasina. No one else can help.” Two weeks before our big day, I repeatedly asked Hasina to send me a contract. She never asked for a deposit, so I didn’t have any signed/official documentation confirming our event. Five days before the luncheon she emailed the contract and event details. The menu selections were wrong, the anticipated attendee count was wrong, and there were fees that she never previously mentioned. That was the final straw. We lucked out because the restaurant hosting our rehearsal dinner was available for the luncheon. With four days to spare, we switched venues. When I didn’t sign Hasina’s contract, she was suddenly very available to call and email me. I took a page out of her playbook and waited until the day before our wedding to inform her we would not be hosting our event at Old Anglers Inn. Moral of the story: Regardless of the size, DO NOT use Old Anglers Inn to host your event.