Oyster Bay Boutique Hotel

Part 2 5. Wedding Day! On what is supposed to the happiest day of my life I had to constantly appease and apologize and negotiate with the property manager. She arrived around 9 in the morning and sat in the kitchen and monitored my bridal party like a hawk. She was constantly muttering under her breath, making deep sighs, and at one point she pulled her hair and made an exasperated sound and ran outside. It seems that her initial issue was the hair and make up team set up in the dining room. I had a large bridal party and we weren’t going to be able to fit in a suite upstairs and still be able to hang out. For some reason this was upsetting to her, maybe because it meant that my bridal party naturally congregated in the dining area, kitchen, and living room due to proximity. These girls were all paying hotel guests, so I did not think there would be an issue with them being in a common area- I was wrong. She was clearly very bothered. 6. One bridesmaid started steaming my veil in the living room. She became so upset and was muttering under her breathe. I asked her why she was upset and what could I do to fix it. She said “SERIOUSLY! WHY IS THIS GOING ON IN HERE!” So, I asked the bridesmaid to move, and she then went up to her and said rude words that made my sweet friend tear up. 7. She went in my Grandmother’s room and told her she was not allowed to have snacks. Here is the kicker- each hotel room is equipped with a snack bar and wine available for purchase. 8. We opened champagne around 1030 and began having mimosas in the kitchen. This was clearly another big issue for her. It almost did her in when a bridesmaid spilled champagne on the tile floor in the kitchen. When the young man on the night shift came to take over at around 3pm (thank God he did because he was so friendly and pleasant) she began giving him report very loudly so we all could hear. She talked about us in a disgusting tone and began telling him all the things she viewed we had done wrong. She even said, “they have been drinking all day I’m shocked they can even stand up!” As I looked around the Kitchen at my 30-year-old friends whose professions range from doctors, to nurses, to teachers and business professionals, I was saddened that we were all made to feel so belittled and uncomfortable on what was supposed to be the best day of my life. 9. My fiancé and I paid to stay Sunday night, but when we woke up Sunday morning we left. I was leaving no matter what we paid because I felt so uncomfortable and unwelcomed. 10. Moral of the story a. Bad business- they will change the contract to their terms (once you have paid in full because they know you are stuck) without offering any monetary resolutions b. Not friendly, not personable, not professional c. Better suited as a museum than as venue space d. My wedding day was still amazing because all our other vendors were absolutely amazing and such a joy to work with!

Part 1:I hate to write a negative review, but as a bride who planned everything remotely based on reviews, I feel I need to warn potential brides about this venue. All these reviews are old and are based on when the venue was called the Lee House. It is now under new ownership, so I would like to give an up-to-date perspective. I will start with the positive- the venue and the hotel rooms are gorgeous! The new owners have done an amazing job with the décor, but your guests will never see it because they lock all guests out and confine them to the outside space and just the dining room area. The décor is all white, so they do not want anyone in the living room area with food or drinks so that square footage (which is a large portion of the space) will not be accessible for your event. 1. I booked a meeting with the property manager in September. We had email correspondence and set a date. I flew in to meet with her and she was not there. When a staff member called her to tell her I was there, she arrived 20 minutes later and began blaming me for her missing the meeting. She said she emailed the day of and I did not respond, so she assumed I was not coming. Against my better instincts, I let her strange behavior go and we then moved forward with booking the venue. 2. The property manager asked for everyone’s credit card number multiple times and confused a lot of the guests staying in the hotel. I understand they are working with a new system, but it happened repeatedly, and she just seemed confused. But again, not really that big of a deal. 3. About a month from our wedding date, we received an email from the property manager. The email stated that no guest would be allowed in the living room with food or drink (which no guests were allowed in at all because they were locked out- only hotel patrons were allowed). When we signed our contract, it stated we would have access to the entire premises, so this breeched their original agreement. They also let me know that the front yard would be “under construction” for our event and would not be available. The front yard is the only view of the bay and where we were planning on having our cocktail hour. Again, another breech in the original contract. I moved forward with a positive attitude and did not complain because there was nothing that could be done at that point- we were locked in and the hotel knew that. 4. We arrived at the venue on the Thursday before the wedding. The front yard was a literal mud pit. I was mortified that I was having people fly across the country to see this disaster (picture attached at bottom). They also had a large dumpster next to the only entry way that guests could enter (they ultimately moved it before our reception). Again, I did not say anything to staff or the manager because I wanted to enjoy my wedding weekend, so I let it go. Part 2 of review to follow

My husband and I were blown away with the personal touches and professional of Stephanie & Mariah at the Lee House. From our first meeting we both felt so comfortable expressing our vision for our wedding, and even better we both felt heard throughout the entire process. No request was too big or too silly. We had our reception in the courtyard and our immediate families stay at the Lee House, and everyone was so impressed with the “authentic Pensacola feeling” the Lee House had. We are very pleased our experience and we hope you can share you big day with them too! You won’t regret it!

We chose the The Lee House for our wedding weekend and I cannot say enough about it. My family was blown away by how sweet everyone at The Lee House was. It was so nice to have our families all stay together in such a perfect boutique hotel. It is also walking distance to many of my favorite restaurants so everyone staying there had a great opportunity to explore downtown Pensacola. We hosted our Rehearsal Dinner in the courtyard the night before our wedding and it was just amazing. Our dinner was able to feel intimate even though we hosted close to 75 people. We also had our wedding ceremony in the courtyard! It was so special (the pictures are gorgeous) and we could not have asked for anything better. I cannot recommend it enough!