The Crystal Ballroom Tampa

hments I have ever worked with. The day of the wedding It seems there was miscommunication with wedding coordinator and the bar staff the entire night. I PAID for an additional bartender and received an “apprentice”. When I asked why the additional bartender I paid for is not pouring drinks the response I received was , “The apprentice was told not to pour any drinks” her job was to “take orders” and the other bartender would serve. This resulted in longer wait times for my guest to receive their drinks( which is what we wanted to avoid by hiring an additional bartender). The main bartender ( short and bald man) was BEYOND rude to guests and me( the BRIDE). He acted like it was his alcohol he was serving and had an ego larger than his height. The bartender became upset at the confrontation and stormed outside. When I confronted him to express my frustrations he straight up said he “did not give a fu*k about my wedding” this resulted in me in tears and pissed off family members at the bartender. The wedding coordinator was there the WHOLE time the bartender was being disrespectful. Luckily my husband and I were able to salvage the night and maintain a happy face for our guest but it really put a damper on my “fairytale wedding”. At the end of the night the wedding coordinator verbally told my husband and I we would get our deposit back and I received email a week later stating we would not get it back. I am beyond disgusted and disappointed on how we were treated and that bartender needs to be fired ASAP because he lacks customer service skills. At this point CB can keep our deposit because it seems their business needs it more than us. The only positive I will say is the place beautifully decorated but the decorations were not worth the headache. **Word to the wise ,DO NOT BOOK HERE!**

e you're hosting a wedding. The space is stunning in simplicity and elegance. Jess was our point of contact from day one all the way through to being our Day-Of Coordinator (yes we paid extra for this and she did a phenomenal job) and she did a phenomenal job! I will say that people looking into this venue must realize that what you are agreeing to in the contract IS what the venue holds you to. They were very clear in the contract about what is included in your event and the expectations they have for you as a client. Regardless, it was nothing that deterred us from booking them. We had a blast! The staff was very professional and personable. The space was kept clean and orderly. The decor was fantastic. We can't speak highly enough of the Crystal Ballroom North Tampa and their staff.

he copious amount of follow-up it required, and lack of proper staffing and staff procedures day of. Communication: I found myself constantly having to follow up with CB. Their response rate was variable but always on the slower side. I ended up always having to call back after a few days of no reply. I also found it odd to receive critical change information conveyed via text instead of phone call or email. Contract: The contract went through 3 iterations as they were updating their system. CB told us we just needed to electronically sign again. However upon reading the new contacts I notice additional clauses added. Event Summary: The CB policy is to hold a final meeting a few days before the event we arrived early as suggested (4:10pm for a 4:30pm meeting) however the doors were locked and no one answered the doorbell or the phone number you are supposed to call when you arrive for a meeting. Staff did not arrive to let us in until 4:50pm. Upon looking into the windows of the venue you could see a staff member was inside and did not respond to over 6 phone calls, repeated knocks, and doorbell rings. Coffee and Cake Service: CB stated that coffee and cake service was included, just provide the cake and coffee supplies. However it is misleading as it was sold as CB staff cutting and serving cake to our guests and brewing and serving coffee to our guests. What actually occurs is SELF-service. However no announcement was made to indicate you need to get up and get your cake and no effort was made to hand out the cake. This is evidenced by the fact that we brought home the majority of the 3 tier cake. We found out coffee service was actually a station set up on the bar, no announcement was made and I did not see any guests with coffee. In addition, we provided flavored syrups to be served with coffee which I did not see put out nor did we receive it back. Bar and Bartenders: CB told us they provide a bartender as part of the staff, all glassware, ice, and bar tools. Our role was to just provide the actual beverages and alcohol and drop it off at the event summary. We paid an additional $300 to have a 2nd bartender. CB talked about how all glassware was provided yet not even half way through the event I noticed most of my guests were receiving drinks in plastic cups instead. The claim of bartender was again misleading as it appeared only one of them was adequately trained to make mixed drinks. If we had known the skill level of the bar we would have planned the menu differently. We feel they were overwhelmed by the variety and did not advertise it accordingly causing the guest experience to suffer. At the end of the night, during the walk-through they did NOT take us behind the bar nor did we see anything poured down the drain which we were told was policy. I do not think we got all of our bar stuff back as the amount we brought versus the amount that came home with us was substantially different. According to guests the bar service was lackluster and drinks were not readily available. Beautiful venue with lots of drapery, chandeliers, and up-lighting.

Tampa was extremely professional they as well make sure my family and guest were taken care of.

broom’s suites are well kept and well decorated. Also, the valet parking is a plus. However, be aware that the room attendants are only to serve water and keep tables clean. They don’t serve food, alcoholic drinks, coffee or cake to the tables. If you want this service you have to contract it through another vendor.

sweet and caring and made sure your day was perfect. The venue is beautiful and the chandeliers add a very nice touch. Everything was kept clean and their extra staff who helped with making sure everything went smooth sailing were great. We worked with the CBR for a good 11 months preparing our wedding and we felt everything was well until we got close to the wedding. We hired Jes to be our day of coordinator the day of the wedding which was $850. A bit pricey but we wanted it as no one could come in the day of to help with any last min details( petals, book signing, memorable table etc). They do send you your contract and our contract issued our day of coordinator but doesn’t state much about details. Two weeks before our wedding we got an email saying the $850 we paid for our coordinator was just a “fee” and a tip of 30% of more would be recommended . This was not on our contract. We paid a good $10k just for our venue including 160 guest so pricing went up on some things . We got that and we knew about it from the beginning, but they never mention the $850 was just a “fee”. When I called about the email and how they never mention it was a fee, their response was “sorry love”. The day of rehearsal we were noted that only one bottle of a certain liquor would be open at a time . Luckily for some of our grooms men paying attention, the night of the wedding, they saw the bar tender using 2 at the same time. Now this wouldn’t be an issue if they have not told us we could not take back open bottles back. A worker walked up to the bar tender and whisper something to his ear, and he put one of our vodkas on the floor half empty. Not sure why. Of course we couldn’t take it back so our groomsmen furiously told them to dump it out in front on him and he did... Now at the end of the night we did our walk to make sure everything was in good condition to get our $400 deposit back . Everything was fine and we sat down to sing everything . The owner then goes to the men’s bathroom and said one of the stalls were clogged . My husband check it and it was. This happens but they were trying to charge us for the stall being clogged . My husband himself unclogged it! My experience with CBR was decent but you have to keep your eyes and ears open with them . I felt them try to be slick plenty of times and kinda seem money hungry. The workers kept bringing up giving Jes(DOC) a gratuity (30% fee from $850) after already paying $850!!!!! Also advising it’s her “day off” but we paid $850 to have her there all day ? Not to mention she came in 2 hours before our wedding started (DAY of coordinator?). So if we had any issues it would have either been on pause til she got there or resolved from someone else. Not bad people or place but it’s our experience with them. Make sure you talk s out any fees before booking and read your contract!!!