About this vendor
Located in the heart of downtown Hartford, CT, The Goodwin Hotel is a modern, elegant, and welcoming wedding venue that radiates with character and warmth. The building is a short distance from notable landmarks such as the Connecticut State Capitol, the Museum of Connecticut History, and the lush Bushnell Park with its classic carousel. The Goodwin Hotel exudes charm and style, combining original architecture with contemporary design to create an unforgettable setting for your once-in-a-lifetime celebration. When you choose to host your momentous occasion at Goodwin Hotel, you are choosing a building that boasts timeless New England 19th-century grandeur and sophistication, offering the finest modern amenities.
The 124-room Goodwin Hotel welcomes events with between 25 and 250 guests, making it ideal for intimate get-togethers and grander extravaganzas. The Capitol Ballroom is a 1,192-square-foot room with spectacular overhead ring pendant chandeliers and large windows that allow the space to bathe in glorious natural light and give you stunning cityscape vistas. The Atrium is an open floor space measuring 4,500 square feet, with towering ceilings, massive pillars, and an expansive layout that is perfect for more significant events, allowing you to celebrate your special day in grand and glorious style. Three meeting rooms, Twain, Stowe, and Hepburn, are also available, each totaling 600 square feet of adaptable space and overlooking the magnificent Atrium. This trio of spaces can be booked individually or semi-adjoined, perfect for pre-dinner mingling. Should you wish, you can also book a block of contemporary and comfortable rooms for you and your guests to ensure peace of mind for the overnight stay.
The Goodwin Hotel provides the very best services possible to ensure your wedding is the memorable event it deserves to be. The experienced, dedicated staff specializes in event planning to oversee the finer details and catering and aims to create unique guest experiences, making your marriage as magical as possible. The hotel features state-of-the-art A/V technology, parking and valeting, setup, and cleaning, in addition to delicious and eye-catching on-site culinary and bar options provided by Max at The Goodwin.
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Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
On-Site Accommodations
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
Liability Insurance
Outdoor Event Space
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Settings
- Historic Venue
- Hotel
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Bar Rental
- Food & Catering
- Rentals & Equipment
- Service Staff
Reviews
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4.2
out of 5.06 reviews
My husband and I just got married here this past Friday September 26th, 2025. I cannot say enough about how much we enjoyed our wedding. The staff through Max Downtown who catered ...
our wedding, were nothing short of perfect. They were kind and polite to each and everyone of my guests. The food was amazing and the bartenders were fast and always had a smile on their face. The only issue we had was the front desk staff. They came off a little rude at times, however our wedding was still perfect. Amy our coordinator through Max Downtown was so helpful and took my vision and made it come to life. I would highly recommend this venue for your ceremony and/or reception. I would note that this place was affordable compared to other hotels we inquired about.
Our wedding room block at The Goodwin Hotel was meant to be a cherished milestone, but it became a logistical and emotional catastrophe due to the hotel’s unprofessional operations...
, predatory pricing, and critical failures. The hotel’s focus on exploitative fees, rather than delivering the top-tier service it advertises, left us heartbroken and out nearly $2,000. I strongly advise against choosing this venue for a wedding or any significant event, as the stress and embarrassment we endured far outweighed the appeal of the hotel’s aesthetically pleasing rooms.
We reserved 56 rooms for our 125 wedding guests, securing nearly the entire hotel, which led us to expect prioritized service and seamless coordination. Instead, we encountered a pattern of excessive charges that showed the hotel cared more about profit than guest experience. They charged an outrageous $30 per welcome bag to deliver them to guests’ rooms. We declined this fee and were assured by staff that the bags would be distributed at check-in at no cost. This promise was not kept: out of approximately 60 welcome bags, each costing us about $100 to assemble, only 41 were distributed. This left 19 bags undelivered, resulting in a financial loss of roughly $1,900 and the embarrassment of nearly one-third of our guests missing their carefully prepared gifts. This level of disorganization is unacceptable for a hotel claiming to be Hartford’s premier venue.
Additionally, despite booking 56 rooms, we were charged $500 to use an unoccupied room for three hours for hair and makeup. This room was not in use by other guests, making the fee feel like a blatant money grab. These charges underscored the hotel’s priority to maximize revenue over providing the exceptional service expected of a top-tier establishment.
The hotel’s infrastructure and staffing issues further highlighted their lack of commitment to guest satisfaction. With only two elevators for guest use and no dedicated service elevator, staff and guests competed for access, leading to wait times of nearly 10 minutes during peak periods. This was especially inconvenient for guests managing wedding attire and luggage. The hotel also had just three luggage carts for the entire property—an inadequate number for a venue hosting a large event with 125 guests. The bellman often didn’t know where the carts were, as many guests kept them in their rooms due to the shortage. New arrivals were forced to carry bags up one by one in the overcrowded elevators, causing significant delays and inconvenience. For a hotel claiming to be Hartford’s best, this setup is shockingly subpar and more akin to a three-star establishment.
The most devastating failure was the hotel’s inability to manage guest check-ins, which directly impacted our wedding ceremony. Due to one housekeeper falling ill, room turnover was severely delayed, leaving about 25% of our guests (roughly 31 out of 125) stuck in the lobby, unable to check in until close to 5:00 PM. To accommodate these guests, we delayed our ceremony by 45 minutes, hoping everyone could attend. Despite this effort, about 31 guests still missed the ceremony entirely due to the hotel’s mismanagement. This delay also cost us nearly an hour of our reception time, an irreplaceable loss that diminished our celebration. The hotel’s failure to have contingency plans for such a foreseeable staffing issue was inexcusable and left us devastated by the absence of so many loved ones during our ceremony.
After raising these concerns with management, they reimbursed us for the three rooms I personally paid for—a minor gesture given the magnitude of the issues. They also claimed to have discounted some guests’ rooms, but I cannot verify this, and it does little to offset the financial and emotional toll. While the rooms are visually appealing, the hotel’s operations are marked by poor planning, inadequate resources, and a clear prioritization of profit over guest experience.
The Goodwin Hotel’s mismanagement—from the mishandling of our welcome bags to the elevator and luggage cart shortages to the check-in disaster caused by a single housekeeper’s absence—resulted in nearly $2,000 in losses and profound heartache. Couples deserve a venue that treats their special day with the professionalism and care it merits, and The Goodwin, with its focus on nickel-and-diming rather than delivering top-tier service, falls woefully short. Avoid this hotel to spare yourself the frustration, financial loss, and devastation we experienced.
We used the Goodwin Hotel for our room block and post-wedding brunch. The actual weekend events were phenomenal- the location is fantastic (we were able to select amazing restauran...
ts for the bridal luncheon and rehearsal dinner within easy walking distance), the brunch was divine, and the hotel was very accommodating (in particular I wanted to be able to watch Father of the Bride with my bridesmaids while getting ready, so they made sure to have a DVD player available).
The only reason I take away one star is because we did have some issues with the room block (people being told the room block was full when it wasn’t, booking the wrong number of nights for multiple guests, and not correctly tying some reservations to our room block). The Goodwin was very responsive to fix the issues, but did require some oversight. So my only recommendation is you really review your room block about a week before it expires, so you have an opportunity to address things if necessary.
We had our hotel block at the Goodwin and hosted the wedding party and used it as our getting ready venue. They were nothing short of amazing. They were always super flexible with ...
my requests and always what more could they do to help us. It really meant a lot! We were also able to coordinate a super yummy breakfast of breakfast sandwiches and fun donuts delivered to our bridal suite the morning of so we were all happily fed without anyone needing to do anything. I highly recommend them for anything hotel related ever! Thank you for everything!
We worked with the Goodwin Hotel for our wedding guest room block, after-party, and post-wedding breakfast. They were wonderful to work with throughout - very organized and respon...
sive, and helped think through all the details. Our out-of-town guests raved about the hotel, and the after-party and day-after breakfast were phenomenal - they even let us store the flowers from the wedding the night before and then put them out on the tables for breakfast. Wonderful hotel, great staff - we strongly recommend them!
After visits to multiple dozens of venues over a 3 year period, we were a bit discouraged and frustrated. All it took to wipe that away was one visit to The Goodwin Hotel. With a s...
taff that is eager to please, a facility that is perfect for our smaller-sized group and an Events and Catering Sales Director who is clearly doing what she is born to do, our initial impressions of the Goodwin started out high, and then skyrocketed from there.
Driving up to The Goodwin Hotel sets high expectations. The beautiful, historic building stands out from the backdrop of the modern city, clearly setting itself apart as one of the most interesting buildings Hartford has to offer. Go inside and it doesn’t disappoint. Completely renovated and impeccably maintained, everything from the lobby, to the hallways, to the Porron & Pina restaurant, to the guestrooms, left us eager, and in fact proud, to invite our family and friends to stay there.
Working with Events at The Goodwin with Porron & Pina was a joy. Heather, the aforementioned Events and Catering Sales Director, is completely on top of her game. She is personable and confident. She knows what will work and what won’t and has the enviable ability to leave you feeling good even when things you want fall into the “won’t work” category. She listened intently to our wants and concerns and responded with action – always getting the job done. On top of that, she is just a pleasure to know. Funny, energetic and genuine, we knew we were in good hands with Heather from our very first conversation with her. We grew to like and trust her so much we would have preferred she attended our wedding as a guest rather than working it as an event, but we’re so very grateful she was on the job because it was perfect! The planning, coordination, staffing . . . all of it turned out just as she promised it would. The staff was courteous, friendly and completely professional. Every detail was covered, every box was checked, and all we needed to do was enjoy our wedding. Which we certainly did.
The meal that Chef Tyler Anderson of Porron & Pina provided was outstanding! Perhaps the best compliment we can give is that there was nothing “weddingish” about it. Each hors d oeuvre that was passed was more delicious than the one prior. Every salad, the sides, the salmon, the steak, the chicken . . . all of it was just awesome. And the mac’n cheese. OMG the mac‘n cheese was to die for! Our guests raved about the level of service and the quality of the food. Many made mention of how much they overate, which is a first for us at any wedding we’ve been to. We’re thrilled it happened at ours.
Planning a wedding is inherently stressful but the whole experience of getting married at The Goodwin - from the planning to the end of the reception - was also completely enjoyable and deeply satisfying. There are nothing but good memories here. We’re very grateful to everyone at The Goodwin Hotel for giving us such a magically special day.
Awilda and Michael
August 11, 2018
Contact
1 Haynes St, Hartford, CT
The Goodwin Hotel