The Founders Inn and Spa

lity is just beautiful. We chose the swan terrace for the reception and it is one of the most unique wedding reception venues I have ever seen! Raquel is a fantastic coordinator!

e received discounts on our hotel accommodations, rehearsal dinner, and spa services. The venue coordinator, Christine, was instrumental in planning and execution of our big day. She was quick to respond to questions in the planning process and very flexible in helping me achieve my wedding day goals. Guests enjoyed their stay and the convenience of not having to leave the property. We were able to host a Friday rehearsal dinner, and cocktail hour, a Saturday wedding ceremony and reception, and a Sunday farewell brunch at the same location. Guests also enjoyed the food, cake, and service staff; no one left hungry! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay for the weekend and plan to return every year to celebrate our anniversary.

e of the stunning decorations the Inn displays and it was the most stunning atmosphere we could have imagined. We worked closely with Anne and she is everything you want in an on-site manager! She never once made us feel like we were a bother, even when we bombarded her with a game of 20 questions without much notice. A review is only helpful if it is honest, so I will break down a couple moments of concern along with their responses to it. Every concern we had was met with immediate correcting. First, this may have been our pickiness but FI comes with a relatively hefty price tag, one of the most expensive venues in the Hampton Roads, we found. So with that, we expected a certain standard that they advertise. We realized that many of the Christmas lights, indoor and outdoor, were broken or off. We raised these concerns and they explained that the outdoor lights are undergoing a Hilton-regulated change, and they are working on finishing them. Totally understood! Inside, they fixed the broken lights that we pointed out by the time we came by the following day. Turns out, I should never have even been concerned about the outdoor lights, as our ceremony was held indoors and guests just did not care! The gardens were still SO stunning. Second, we provided approx. 40 welcome bags to be distributed to our guests at check-in. We triple checked with the front desk that they knew who the bags would be for and were confirmed many times that they were marked for our wedding. We worked several days on making from scratch-homemade Christmas cookies for our guests. The day before my wedding, I got a call saying that about half of the bags were given to incorrect guests. I was upset but I didn’t want to let anything ruin the weekend. Before I could even speak I hear "So this is what we're doing..." and she explained that they were having their pastry chef recreate all of the various cookies and replenished the bags with them as well as the other items we provided. It was so genuine, my thoughts went to immediate gratitude. The last iffy moment was at the start of our reception when it took nearly 20 minutes for the bar to get up and running. We had guests lining up and some even went to another bar in the hotel for a drink. We just felt that this was not planned really well, the bar for cocktail hour and the bar for the reception should not have been the same- so they should have been stocked and ready to go as soon as the reception started. We asked a waitstaff to please get the bar open ASAP and they moved very quickly to do so. It was hard to watch as the couple throwing the wedding but our family and friends insisted that they did not mind the wait. No venue is perfect, and no couple should expect perfection from anyone or anywhere. But having our wedding at Founders was as near perfect as I could ever have wanted. Every concern was addressed and it really felt like we were heard and respected on every level. I would absolutely recommend this venue for your big day!

essional and courteous. The wedding and reception went off seamlessly, would definitely recommend this venue!

t the whole planning time!

We loved having the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all in the same location with the provided catering and cake. The food was amazing as well! It was the perfect combination for an out of state couple. Our biggest issues were with communication, in the beginning we worked with Rachel McEntire, who was super awesome and answered all of our questions. After that getting our coordinator was a bit of an issue and once we did get our coordinator the turn around time was longer than ideal, especially the closer we got to the wedding date. We had received the table diagram a week and a half before the wedding, which had us slightly panicked. It was just added stress that we didn't need. Overall it was still a beautiful day and venue and worth the price!

s! We had some challenges with COVID but in the end the founders inn was accommodating. The power did go out the morning of our wedding... but they had it all straight within the hour! Minus the power outage the day of ran smoothly and Emily (day of coordinator) was extremely friendly and helpful. I asked a TON of questions leading up to the wedding and she always had an answer and in a timely manner. We wouldn’t change anything on our wedding day, it was a magical location with the gardens and fountain. It was also extremely convenient having guests stay there after the reception, we didn’t have to worry about anyone driving home. And I can’t forget about the food... best food! We had a buffet style and guest got to try a selection of food. Our favorite was the cheesecake the chef made as our wedding cake. Let’s just say we weren’t able to save a piece for our first year wedding anniversary. It was just too good! Overall, it was a great experience even though it was all during a stressful time (COVID).

beautiful area that provided natural light. The only thing I didn’t care for is we asked if they could turn on the string lights in the bushes for us to take pics outside that night once the rain stopped but they said there weren’t any lights out there(but you could clearly see that there were lights). Luckily I had fantastic photographers who worked tirelessly to help us get the outdoor nighttime garden shot.

ception. The venue had a range of packages to fit exactly what we were looking for! It was amazing and much less stressful planning a wedding at the Founders Inn because they provided nearly everything we needed: venues for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception (with included rain backup locations that were equally beautiful) food, alcohol, cake, tables, chairs, linens, and more! Brittany Duarte was so friendly and knowledgeable from our first tour and beyond. She was also quick with communication and always answered all our questions thoroughly. When we got closer to our wedding, we met Emily Anuszek who worked closely with us for all the small details. Emily was also an excellent communicator and so professional. She collaborated with us and each of our vendors to make our wedding day perfect! We couldn’t have picked a better venue and we are forever thankful to the entire staff of the Founders Inn for such a memorable wedding day.

lroom. From the moment we met with Brittany to discuss using Founders as our venue and tour the grounds I knew this would be the place. The grounds are amazing. The staff was so great to work with. Everyone that day setting up was filled with smiles and so happy to help. Carol took care of us in the bridal suite while we were getting ready and was a peach!! She made sure that the groom and I ate and didn’t pass out at the ceremony. Emily and Brittany were so thorough in making sure that every detail was taken care of. The food was amazing! Everyone at the reception loved it. I can’t thank them enough for making our day so special.

our, & reception all in the same place. The only downside is the colonial decor - though it’s intentional it feels a bit outdated. BUT if you love the Old English feel you’ll love having your reception here!

ning, LLC was blessed with the opportunity to show off our wedding planning expertise! The staff and everyone associated with the venue made sure that I had everything I needed on my wedding day as well as during my wedding rehearsal. I recommend this venue for any bride looking for an one stop shop for their wedding day.

e cake) was delicious! My husband is a chef, so food quality was definitely important to us! Casey was super helpful, always responded quickly to our questions, and communicated well with all of our vendors. When one vendor backed out last minute, Casey worked with our day-of coordinator to creatively come up with something that resolved the issue at no extra cost to us. The event staff (caterers and bartenders) were friendly, knowledgeable, and polite! We did, however, have just a few issues with the hotel aspect of things. We currently live in Connecticut and stayed at the hotel before and after the wedding. We knew we would have to move rooms the day of the wedding in order to go to the upgraded suite that was included with our wedding package. We were explicitly told that my husband could change rooms earlier in the day as our ceremony was at 4:00. Without going into all the details of it, there was a lot of confusion/lack of communication and my husband had to move to 2 different hotel rooms, one at 2:00 and one at 3:00, just one hour before the wedding. So unnecessarily stressful! Most of our guests also traveled and many chose to take advantage of the room block pricing. The rooms are pretty nice, definitely older. There are a lot of things to do as a guest there; sit in the gardens, walk around the grounds, go to the spa, pool, gym, etc. But for 3 different sets of our wedding guests, their rooms weren't ready and/or clean upon check-in. One guest needed sheets/blankets for the pullout couch, called the front desk and was told they would bring them by, but they never came. On the day of the wedding, we had our own bridal suite to use. It was spacious enough and worked well. However, we needed a chair without a high back for hair styling and it took about 30 to 45 minutes for the chair to arrive. We also requested a bucket for ice for drinks and it took about an hour for that. Seems that overall there are some communication issues/slow response times among the hotel staff. Overall we were so happy with all of the wedding planning parts and had relatively minor problems with the hotel itself.

inks, and cake! It was such a relief to not have a ton of different vendors to have to coordinate and their staff was so accommodating to all of my needs.

w beautiful and flawlessly our wedding and reception went with their staff. The food was great, the ceremony set up and reception layouts were exactly what we hoped for, and we would do it all over again. Thank you for making our dream day a reality!

the scenes. My husband and I, along with our event planner, had met Ann as the wedding coordinator over a year in advance for our event. As we were getting closer to our wedding, we abrupt discovered that Ann no longer worked here. I had to find this out from our event planner rather than the venue itself. Moving on, it was truly slow to hear back from the venue in terms of our final numbers. I did not get an itemized account of what we were paying for after all the guest list changes were done until 4-5 days before our big day. I felt like we had to constantly follow up with the venue to get some answers. I was especially annoyed that they wanted to charge us for a hotel room block that was not used... we ended up getting it sorted out, but the whole process could have definitely been handled better.

y. The food was amazing and the service was impeccable! Definitely recommend this venue!

perfect day at all. Everyone had a terrific time. The staff were so kind-hearted, professional, imaginative, caring, accomodating and anticipated everyone's needs. We had people with food allergies and the staff were very sensitive to making sure to avoid any issues. The spa treatments were so relaxing the day before and day of. Everyone took great care of me (the nervous bride). I would absoutely recommend having your big day here. It is beautiful and I have never been treated so well. We were given the governor's suite for our wedding night complete with champagne, jacuzzi tub, plenty of healthy (and tasty) snacks, fireplace and breakfast on the balcony overlooking the lake. I could not have asked for a better day and night.

not at all helpful when there were NO mirrors in the bridal suite to get ready, and two of the other bridesmaids and myself had to take mirrors from other bridal suites (that were not in use). I think what was the absolute most annoying part of the evening was when we were 5 minutes from walking down the aisle and the wedding coordinator (provided by founder's inn) was nowhere to be found. We had to call down to the front desk for assistance. She showed up and just stood by us as a family friend actually took initiative and directed us. After the ceremony, everyone went off for cocktail hour as we stayed behind and took pictures. The staff was instructed to have the bar as a cash bar (rather than using the capped bar) during cocktail hour and then switch to the limited bar once the reception began. They of course did not do this and had the bar as open (they did remedy the issue and did not take anything away that was used during cocktail hour). To shorten things up, the staff was rude and definitely didn't care to go above and beyond to make this the most special day of someone's life.

e, fountain, etc.). A couple of notes around our experiences: 1) The planning approach was clear and well documented. We did have a transition of staff and that resulted in some missed communications. The only criticism would be around some of the last minute options items – some of that was not clear at the beginning. That said, this was very minor and created no setbacks. 2) During our planning visit (we live over 6 hours away), we explored several options and as a result asked for several changes to the reception room (plants, dividers, 2 larger chairs, etc.). This was readily accommodated, at no charge. 3) Several hours before the wedding, we made a last minute change to the seating location outdoors as the temperatures had risen to 100 degrees. The staff accommodated this with a smile. 4) In the weeks leading up to the wedding, our guests ran into a couple of issues with room reservations and the offered discounts. These were normal issues. I raised each of these with the appointed contact and they were resolved to our guests (and our) complete satisfaction. Excellent service. 5) On the morning of the wedding the selected upgrade chairs were not available in the reception room and the word was they were overbooked. We contacted the staff and they assured us that they would correct the issue, even if they needed to get added chairs form another vendor. They came through. 6) We were a little concerned about how the reception room would come together. As we went our separate ways to get ready, there were still doubts. When we set foot into the room after the ceremony, we were positively stunned at the transformation. What looked more like a conference room setting had been transformed into a great ambiance. 7) We used several of eth recommended vendors (Susan Turner as the officiant, Classy Event Rentals, and Lasting Impressions), and each of them provided excellent personal service and advice to make the experience pleasant and fun. Overall, the experience was good. There were no surprises and the value for the money was great. We definitely recommend this venue.

e very beginning of the wedding planning throughout our wedding day, the Founders Inn provided us with the BEST service. Each staff member that we worked with was beyond competent and professional. They went and above and beyond to make sure that our wedding weekend would be everything that we wanted it to be. We had about 300 guests at the wedding and more than half of those guests stayed at the Founders Inn. They were all treated with great care and many have commented on the incredible service that they received and how beautiful the hotel grounds are. I honestly feel that the staff at the Founders Inn was truly happy to participate in our event and their positivity and genuine sincerity made this entire experience that much more special. From the staff working at the front desk, to the head chef, to the manager to my two wedding coordinators, each of them helped to make our wedding day perfect. Their hard work, expertise and advice helped us along the way and together, we all came up with the perfect day. To be entirely honest, I miss the near daily communication with my two wedding planners and I hope to visit the Founders Inn again very soon!

ills. My family and bridal party were able to take pictures outside in the beautiful garden (we were lucky and had the most perfect weather that day). My cocktail hour followed on the balcony overlooking the atrium (but I didn't get to go to that since I was doing photos!). My reception for 50 people followed in the Benjamin Franklin room and was just perfect. My guests had their choice of three entrees from the buffet and everyone loved the food. The Founders also did my wedding cake, a stunning three tier piece with three delicious flavors. It was very convenient that many of my out of town guests were able to stay at the venue in one of their comfy rooms right there on site. (And my husband and I got a complimentary night there for our wedding as part of our contract. Very nice not having to leave the reception site to get to your wedding night.) The Founders Inn was a beautiful place to have my wedding, and I honestly just wish I could spend more time there, for whatever reason. The Inn and staff were able to accommodate all my requests and make my wedding just perfect. They were very attentive to making sure everything was taken care of and I had everything I needed.

esitation that we have zero regrets about choosing the Founder's Inn. We had our wedding close to home, but essentially our entire wedding was traveling to be with us. Choosing the FI allowed people to stay on property before and after the wedding. No driving home after our awesome evening! I was able to meet several times with the event coordinator (Shout outs to Margaret, Emily, and their whole team.) They were thoughtful, helpful,and honest. They host multiple wedding each weekend, but I always felt like their #1 bride. The ceremony outside was absolutely beautiful. (We were definitely on a budget, but were able to skip decor outside as it is so naturally lovely.) They have an equally gorgeous rain-space, just in case. The service was astounding, the venue was always clean, helpful, and accommodating. (They even helped my mother get around in a wheelchair when she broke her ankle the night before the wedding. Not even kidding!) They have a state of the art spa, indoor/outdoor pool, and fireplaces abound. If you consider a wedding near the holidays- just wait until you see it! It truly felt like a vacation for everyone involved. Finally, we are a month out and everyone is STILL raving about the food! We have enjoyed few meals this delicious- ever- and this was at a wedding. Our guests LOVED the food. We never thought we could afford a place like the Founder's Inn; however, we did almost everything else ourselves, went wholesale on the flowers...we do not regret a single penny we spent at the Inn. Being able to crash after our magical night and enjoy breakfast with the family the next morning was irreplaceable. I hope your experience is as wonderful as ours was!

and reception there, and it was great. The biggest problem I've found with this venue is that during the busy wedding season, they book as many weddings as possible. This means that your setup and breakdown time for the wedding is rushed because they are trying to get the next wedding set up. For example, our wedding was at 4pm outdoors, and our cocktail hour was from 4:30 to 5:30 outside also. We were trying to take pictures outdoors, but the photographer was oftentimes having to ask the workers to get out of the background because they were trying to set up for another wedding at 6pm. Also, with so many weddings go on at not that big of a venue, guests were not sure which ballroom they were supposed to be going into. With that exception though, all in all, everything else was great. If you have the opportunity to work with Margaret Kammer (event coordinator), she's the best. Very professional, organized, accommodating, and friendly.

would highly recommend Founders Inn to anyone planning a wedding or event. The outdoor garden area was gorgeous for our ceremony and the banquet rooms inside look beautiful as well with everything set up. A special shout out goes to Ann Smith who helped us with our initial contract and Emily Andersen who was our planner all the way through - she was amazing to work with! I can't not say anything but great things about Founders - it was absolutely perfect!

. I signed a contract for my wedding with the Founders Inn and Spa over a year in advance. I had a contract for half their ballroom and there were no other events booked the same date. The November before my April wedding, the Founders Inn informed me my wedding had been double booked with a large military ball that required full use of the ballroom. They tried to move my wedding reception to their restaurant, however, I informed them that was not acceptable to me especially since I had a signed contract first. After a few days I was informed that the other event was able to reschedule and that my wedding would not be affected at all. I made sure to ask about it again at my tasting in January. Again, my fiance and I were assured that we were the only event booked and that the conflicting event would not affect our wedding. Well, one month before my wedding the Founders Inn again informed me that there was an 800 person military ball that required use of the entire ballroom on my wedding date. The Sales Director and Hotel GM claimed they had no knowledge of this conflict prior to this time, although I have email correspondence from November stating the catering sales manager and the hotel management was meeting in regards to my wedding conflict. The Founders Inn again tried to move my wedding to their restaurant, but ultimately they could not guarantee me that my wedding wouldn't be affected by an 800 person event right next door. They also offered to move my wedding date, however, that is pretty impossible just one month before a wedding. Vendors had been booked and I had out of town guests with plane tickets booked. To make matters worse, when I declined their offer for their restaurant or to move my date, they hired a lawyer who sent me nasty letters and called me repeatedly, and tried to bully me into making a settlement with them. They seemed more concerned about what I would potentially post on social media than to fixing my wedding. The Founders Inn cancelled all rooms that were booked in connection to my wedding room block. So not only did I have my wedding double booked, they put me through distress and displaced all of my guests. I was able to find another hotel close by that had availability on my date and booked my wedding with them. I know mistakes happen, however, they failed to address my issue when it came up the first time 5 months before my wedding. Claiming they didn't know and pointing fingers at lower employees is unacceptable and unprofessional in this type of business. They handled the situation horribly and repeatedly made actions that kept hurting my wedding. The hotel management has poor business and customer service skills. They pretty much forced me into a corner to get their way, and to take the business of the larger event. In addition, I have heard through various wedding vendors that a few other brides have experienced double-booking issues with Founders Inn. The venue is very lovely, but I would not recommend this place, especially for a once in a lifetime event such as your wedding day. I would not want another couple to go through what the Founders Inn put me and my fiance through, it was a devastating nightmare and so much stress that a couple does not need before getting married. This hotel is bad business.

but they are the most beautiful Inn and Spa you could ever step into. All of our guest were very happy with every aspect of the Founders Inn and we are more than happy to go back when we get the chance!

fantastic to work with and did everything to make our wedding perfect. Our reception food was also amazing and all our guests mentioned how good it was. I highly recommend Founders for both wedding ceremonies and receptions.

emely friendly and took care of everything. She was difficult to get in touch with on occassion, but everything turned out amazing! The 21% service charge on top of the actual cost though is a bit much.... make sure you plan for this when budgeting.

location and had wonderful staff! They did everything they could to make my day perfect! It was very pricey but I would highly recommend!

HING! The staff did it for us! Definitely worth the money!

ts had only wonderful things to say.

aff! We will always remember Founders Inn and how wonderful we were treated!

eautiful and scenic location and it was nice to have all of our wedding events in one location. They upgraded our room to the Governor's Suite on the night of the wedding and left us chocolates and champagne. They were good about paying attention to the little details and accommadting special requests. There were some issues that we ran into. The wedding coordinator was hard to get ahold of. I would call her and email and hear nothing back. Usually it took several (3-4) days to get a response even the week before the wedding, and even then she would have a hard time remembering what was going on with my wedding. She was a very sweet lady but she seemed over worked and like she was not able to handle the workload she had. I don't think this was her fault, but she had too many events and mine didn't feel important. I often felt like just another bride. Our event was the first to be booked on the date for the hotel as we booked more than a year in advance. After our event was booked, they booked a conference that cleaned out the hotel for rooms and we were not able to get rooms for several of our guests. We were disappointed that we lost the opportunity for several guests to stay at the hotel but we did not block any rooms because the policy states that any blocked rooms have to be paid for, regardless of if they are used. The Inn also booked a collegiete robotics competition and put floresent colored bouys in the pond outside and tables in the hallways of the foyer and hotel where our guests had to walk. Our ceremony was outside and the bouys really took away from the view. The tables made the hallway feel crowded and unfinished. It was not the beautiful view that I had seen when we view the property and booked the venue. The worst part about it all was that we didn't know about anything until the night before the wedding and saw the bouys and tables at the rehearsal. It looked like the left over decorations from a little kid's birthday party. We were disappointed in the lack of importance that our wedding seemed to have. On the night of our rehearsal, the weather was looking dark and a storm was about to hit the area. Our backup rehearsal space was "unavailable" even though it was in our contract because they had given it to another event. When we asked to move inside, the coordinator told us that the space was given to another event because of the weather and could we just "speed things up." I felt second string the entire time. I tried very hard to not let anything mess up my day so I was still able to have a great time because in the moment, I just went with it. I would not use the Founder's Inn again because I would worry what else they would book over top of a wedding. Unfortunately, I do not recommend this venue at all, especially if you are someone who gets nervous at last minute changes and switches.

ul customer service. All of our guests loved it and we would recommend it to anyone! If you call in advance, you can set up a special rate for your guests. You don't have to reserve a certain number of rooms, but it does reserve a special pricing for the room. Our wedding was on a holiday weekend, so the already higher-end hotel would have been waaay out of anyone's budget. The Founders Inn staff worked with us to get a fair price for our guests.