The Otesaga Resort Hotel

our family and friends! Our planner, Amanda, as well as our day of coordinators, were also amazing to work with. They were very thorough throughout the entire wedding planning process and were instrumental in making sure everything went smoothly on our big day. In they end, they really did make our dream wedding come true!

e. Every single member of the staff was so helpful and genuine, they went above and beyond to make the whole experience special. (The Otesaga is a perfect wedding venue for so many reasons, including a few I didn’t expect going into planning our wedding: 1 – it has a seamless indoor Rain Plan that we came VERY close to using, and 2 – nice, accessible bathrooms with plenty of stalls) Our wedding was on 10/14/22 with around 150 guests. We held our Ceremony on the Lawn overlooking the lake, Cocktail hour on the veranda, Reception in the Grand Ballroom, After party at the Hawkeye Grill. We also held our Welcome Gathering in the Kingfisher Tower Room on 10/13. We stayed at the Otesaga with our family and wedding party, it was amazing to be able to have the whole weekend of events in one place. Guests in our room block had the hotel breakfast buffet included in their room rate. We arranged a shuttle from the Holiday Inn Express in Cooperstown to the wedding to accommodate more guests. Megan Chase is the Otesaga’s event manager who gave us the royal treatment from our initial tour of the venue through the wedding day. She was always so responsive along the way, and made sure all of our details were attended to. Kayla also helped coordinate the Day Of, both ladies are fantastic to work with. The food at the Otesaga exceeded expectations. We had a Yakitori station at the Welcome Gathering, and Megan helped us curate a menu that worked for that special event, based on the banquet catering menu. On our wedding day we had passed hors d'oeuvres and a Mediterranean station for the cocktail hour, plus 2 signature cocktails: Dirty Martinis and French 75s. We had Filet Mignon, Chicken Scallopini and Mushroom Ravioli for the entrees. Everything was cooked perfectly and the guests all gave rave reviews. Our wedding cake was made by the Otesaga’s pastry chef, who also agreed to make Beignets to serve for dessert along with chocolate-covered strawberries. Notes: - The Otesaga hotel rooms book very far in advance, as do many other area hotels - We had a 50-person shuttle, it was too large to drop guests at the lobby of the Otesaga. I’d advise to ask questions around these logistics when booking so you can ensure a seamless experience for your guests and on your wedding day.

ing the rehearsal dinner, welcome party, ceremony, reception, and even an after party! You really do not have to leave the venue at all which is amazing! We got married at the Otesaga on 9/3/22 after two years of planning due to the pandemic and had the pleasure of working with several coordinators – Amanda, Brooke and Felicia. Each of the coordinators were so easy to work with, responded quickly to emails, and really took care of everything on the day of the wedding for us. Even from the moment we arrived at the venue for our wedding weekend, the staff here really catered to us and made our wedding weekend feel so special. We were lucky enough to be able to check in early and the bell hops outside were able to help us unpack our car quickly and even brought all our wedding stuff to a closet to be stored for the day of the wedding. They really made the weekend as stress free as possible! As the bride, I can honestly say that I got to sit back and relax on the day of the wedding. The coordinators took care of everything for me and were constantly checking in to see if I needed anything at all. It was truly amazing and everything ran so smoothly without any hiccups. We had the rehearsal dinner at the Otesaga outside on the veranda of the leatherstocking golf pro shop. The food and service was great! The coordinators even worked with the chef to come up with a buffet menu that our guests and us really enjoyed. We also had the welcome party located outside the Hawkeye Bar, where half the fire bar was reserved for our guests. It ended up being a colder night than expected and dipped into the low 40s, but the coordinators were nice enough to bring out blankets for our guests to keep warm without us even asking! Even the after party in the Hawkeye Bar after the wedding reception was amazing. The venue hired a DJ for the night who was amazing and our guests loved and the party continued until the bar shut down. We also asked our guests for feedback about the wedding weekend and they could not say enough good things about the staff and service provided here, it is really top notch! Our guests said that the staff came up to the tables frequently during the reception and dinner and asked guests if they could get them any drinks from the open bar as well. Lastly our vendors for our wedding included DJ Vinney Vin (Non Stop Music); florist: Jackie Hull (A Rose is a Rose); Hair/Makeup: Timeless Salon; Photobooth: T&T Photobooth; officiant: Bishop Christopher Richard; photographer: Erin Camp Photography; Videography: Nostalgic Innovations; and Transportation: Leatherstocking Trolley. All these vendors did an amazing job and we also cannot thank them enough for making our dream wedding come true!

ils would go unanswered for weeks, and we weren’t ever told that our event coordinator had quit (we eventually discovered it from an email auto-reply). We could forgive the planning mistakes if the Otesaga had nailed the actual wedding weekend, but the wedding weekend was also full of mistakes. First, the Otesaga set up our reception incorrectly. They didn’t use the chairs we paid extra for, but the hotel’s own brown conference chairs. My husband and I noticed this mistake 45 minutes before our reception started and told the events team. They said they couldn’t switch the chairs without permission from our event coordinator, who was nowhere to be found. 45 minutes later, our guests were ushered into the ballroom before our coordinator was found and before the chairs were changed. I still get annoyed every time I see a picture of those chairs! Second, we reserved the Otesaga’s porch for our wedding breakfast. When we woke up and looked out the window, we saw that no tables were set up. Again we tried to contact our event coordinator, to no avail. And when we went down to the ballroom and asked the events team to relocate our tables, we were told it was impossible as there was not enough staff on hand. Our wedding breakfast ended up taking place alongside the buffet breakfast for hotel guests. Third, many of our guests reported problems with the Otesaga’s reservations team such as getting yelled at by staff and getting quoted wrong room rates. For example, the sister of the groom was told (with an attitude that has no place in the hospitality industry) that she had to pay for two rooms (the Otesaga cited a double booking) until she pointed out she had only ever received one confirmation email and the Otesaga admitted their mistake. On the morning after the wedding we were asked to spend an hour detailing these errors to our event coordinator, who had finally appeared. To their credit, they were apologetic and promised us a $1,500 refund as an apology for their mistakes. We never received that money. The Otesaga is beautiful, the rooms are lovely, and food was delicious. But long story short, the event coordinators (Gordon, Erica, Latoya, Felicia) were not on site for our wedding and details outlined explicitly in our contract were not delivered. The events team did not provide the service we’d expect for the amount of money we paid. While the Otesaga remains a beautiful place to get married, based on our experience, we can’t recommend that future couples rely solely on the events team. Get an outside planner that can keep them in check!

professional coordinator to bring it all together. We chose to have an intimate rehearsal dinner followed by a "Welcome Reception" open to all guests the night before as well. Having all of our wedding events on site at The Otesaga made it easy for guests to stay and enjoy their time! It also allowed my husband and I to really get to talk to everyone who had traveled in for our wedding. Everyone had an awesome time and complimented us on the uniqueness and historical feel of the hotel and quality of service. We would recommend to anyone!

bsolute best. I knew I didn't have to worry because Gordon and the team at Otesaga knew exactly what to do. The decorations were set up perfectly. The memory table was beautiful. It rained but we pushed forward with Gordon's encouragement and I'm so glad we did. The ring bearer didn't have the rings and Gordon quickly pivoted and got the rings to the altar without anyone noticing the mix up. We would get married at Otesaga every year if we could. It was the best wedding and weekend we could have imagined. Look no further, Otesaga really is the perfect venue.

ing for July of 2020. During our planning, the Otesaga and our event coordinator, Megan, did everything they could to ensure we had the best day ever. They were always kind, responsive, and fun to work with. Then COVID-19 hit... I was devastated. But with the help of Megan and the Otesaga Resort, we were able to stay in constant communication about the protocol and reserve a new date for July of 2021. We finally had our amazing day last month and honestly, the resort, the staff, and Megan exceeded our expectations. They were always there when we needed them. I really feel I was able to create amazing connections with Megan and the staff. It should also be noted that every single staff member at the Otesaga was nothing but incredibly kind and accomodating. I felt so lucky to be able to have a wedding here. The wedding day was the best and most fun day of my life and that wouldn't have happened without this amazing hotel and its staff. I couldn't give a higher recommendation for a wedding venue. Everyone at the wedding had nothing but amazing things to say about the view, the beauty of the resort, the staff and the amazing time we had dancing and eating the delicious food. So if you are on here looking for a venue to have your wedding, you have found it. I promise you will not be disappointed

this venue 100x over again.

st of rescheduling our October wedding due to COVID. I still wanted to get married on our original date, but with a smaller ceremony and private dinner with immediate family and friends, so I reached out to The Otesaga to inquire about availability and pricing. I heard back from Megan, who was fantastic! She and Ksenia were so responsive and professional throughout the process and answered my hundreds of questions. We visited a month before the wedding to see the room we would be using for our private dinner and to work out final details with Megan. She was so accommodating! When we arrived for our wedding weekend, I was amazed by the service presented to us. We were offered full-day use of a room near our private dinner room which came in really handy for getting ready before the ceremony and to freshen up before dinner. The price was reasonable too and for the weekend, we kind of felt like royalty! It was such a nice place to gather with our close family and friends and of course, we were able to take advantage of the stunning lake views for wedding photos. 100% recommend! I wish I could get married there again! :)

re beautiful than the venue is the unbelievable team that works there. Working with Megan Chase, the Event Manager at the Otesaga, was such an amazing experience. She was the definition of “calm, cool, and collected” no matter what, and made even the most stressful moments of wedding planning feel like a piece of cake. From beginning to end she was helpful, caring, communicative, hard-working, and an absolute pleasure to coordinate with. The food, the staff, and the venue itself are all exceptional and exceeded every expectation — they truly allowed us to have the wedding of our dreams. I could not recommend the Otesaga more!

me. We worked with Amanda to create our dream brunch wedding. She was incredibly responsive and accommodating throughout the process. When large events were limited throughout NY, and we decided to postpone our wedding, the Otesaga offered to return our entire deposit. We decided to cater a small 4th of July party instead of holding our wedding, and Amanda helped us put our deposit towards the catering and a two night stay at the hotel. This is an establishment that truly puts the patron first and prioritizes hospitality.

breakfast at the Otesaga, and we could not be happier with how amazing everything was! We had a true fairytale weekend. The staff were incredible, the service was impeccable, and the views were breathtaking. Brooke was wonderful to work with and made our wedding vision come true. The decision to have our wedding at the Otesaga was the best decision we could have made and we could not recommend it more highly to other couples. Look no further for your wedding venue, as the Otesaga is the perfect place to have your dream wedding! My husband and I look forward to celebrating our anniversary at the Otesaga in years to come!

best be described by the bride and groom as the magical perfect wedding!! They said it was exactly the type of winter wedding they wanted and it was spectacular in every way!! Gordon Clarkson was a joy to work with! He made the planning very easy and the end result was wonderful!! The staff was cordial and friendly as well as efficient! All of our guests commented that it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to! From the delicious food to the winter wonderland setting, it was fabulous! Many thanks to everyone, especially Gordon!

made the experience seamless and truly the best day ever. We worked with Brooke, and she came onto our account two months before our wedding due to some personnel changes and she was a rockstar! She handled all questions and issues and especially during the wedding day she directed our families and wedding party to come to her with any questions which was such a relief for us! We love The Otesaga and can't wait to go back to celebrate our anniversaries!

d on 12/1/18, and had dreamed of having our wedding there since my husband grew up just a few minutes outside of town, and we had visited for other occasions many times before. From my first phone call with Megan, to our tour of the venue, to the tasting, and finally the wedding day (and all the emails and phone calls in between), the Otesaga staff (especially Megan!) was professional, quick to respond and so helpful. I did not have a wedding planner so Megan helped with a lot of the decision making and was the day-of coordinator... she made my life so easy. For example, we had a minor issue with transportation for the rehearsal dinner and Megan snapped into action and came up with a solution for us, which was much appreciated. Our wedding took place when the hotel was closed, which I was a little unsure about, but it was PERFECT. Highly recommend. We had full run of the place and it felt like our own home away from home for the weekend! We were able to use both ballrooms (ceremony in one, reception in the other) as well as the main lobby for our cocktail hour. Our wedding of ~170 guests fit perfectly in the space, with room to spread out. We also used the Hawkeye Bar and Grill as our after-party space. The food at the Otesaga is to die for... seriously, wedding food isn't always great and this was GREAT. All of our guests were raving about it. The service was impeccable (the bellmen, front desk employees, waiters, bartenders.. Hawkeye staff.. everyone was wonderful!). And the venue itself is truly beautiful.. we had a picture perfect December day with just the right amount of snow on the ground.. as one of my guests said.. it felt like a Hallmark movie! Not to mention the hotel rooms themselves are beautiful and large... we had over 70 rooms in our block and all of our guests were extremely pleased with the accommodations (shout out to Jennifer in reservations - thank you for being so helpful!). If I could relive our wedding day over and over again I would, as long as that meant I could keep coming back to The Otesaga. I highly recommend this venue for your next special event.

ful, professional, calm and kind through the entire planning process as well as during the event itself. Every step along the way, from the flurry of nervous emails coming from me in the weeks leading up to the wedding weekend, to the beautiful onsite dressing rooms for the bridal party to get ready in, to the cuing us along during the ceremony, to the fantastic food and fun reception, there was always some one there to make sure everything was going exactly as we wanted. Add all of that amazing service to the incredible scenery of the gorgeous lake and the breathtaking venue itself, and we could not have asked for a more perfect wedding! We are forever grateful to the lovely Otesaga and could not more highly recommend it to all engaged couples that are making their wedding plans. We are looking forward to returning to The Otesaga to celebrate our wedding anniversary and will cherish our memories there for years to come!

emony. Beyond the setting however, we can not say enough good things about the experience and service at the Otesaga from the planning process through the entire wedding weekend. Brooke was our point person, and she was wonderful to work with. We had a fun and delicious tasting with her during our planning. She seamlessly managed all the details the day of, putting my husband and me completely at ease that everything was taken care of. The food was outstanding. The staff took excellent care of our guests, who all raved about the venue. The Otesaga truly does everything flawlessly. We can’t wait to return to such an amazing place for future anniversaries.

s outside on the east lawn. Our cocktail hour was held on the east veranda, and our reception was in the main ballroom. There were other weddings at the hotel that day, but you couldn't even tell. It still felt very intimate. The flow of the entire day was perfect, all thanks to our coordinator Brooke. She was SO amazing to work with throughout the entire year. She had such great ideas, helped us through all stages of planning, and even ironed out details with our vendors as our wedding got closer. Our officiant was a first timer, so Brooke even helped us plan our ceremony details. She went above and beyond in so many ways and was there to help until the end of the reception. We cannot thank her enough. Our vendors were also incredible and we would recommend all of them. We went with A Rose is a Rose Florist -- Jackie is the BEST and the absolute sweetest. Her flowers lasted 3 weeks! Our DJ was Vinny from Non Stop Music. We are STILL getting compliments about the music, so definitely check him out. He also works with Outside the Booth Photobooth, which our guests loved. Our photographer was Katie from Clark + Walker Studio. She's super familiar with The Otesaga and had awesome ideas for places to shoot. Some of our guests stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, so we used Oneonta Bus Lines as our shuttle service. We highly recommend them as well. Long winded review, but we honestly had such a perfect wedding day and we owe it all to Brooke, The Otesaga, and our vendors.

he was wonderful and incredibly helpful! I didn't have a worry in the world on our big day and wasn't even stressed leading up to it because I knew that we were in such good hands. The food, the service, everything was just the best. April was the server assigned to take care of us during the reception and she really made our evening. By the time we knew we needed a drink/food/anything, she already had it ready for us! We continue to get compliments about how perfect the venue was. We did an afterglow downstairs in The Templeton Lounge and I can't express how awesome it was to have the option to continue the party downstairs with the amazing DJ provided by the hotel. I would encourage anyone to strongly consider The Otesaga for their big day.

e weather because if it rained there was still a gorgeous room inside where we would of had the reception and that was just as nice. Gordon was AMAZING! He took care of literally everything and the food.....THE FOOD! Best food I have ever had. Gordon was very accommodating to whatever my plans were and even though I e-mailed him 1,000 times he never made me feel like I was nagging him. The service was perfection and I keep getting compliments about how great and beautiful the venue is. A breathtaking venue for a wedding! Thank you Gordon and the Otesaga staff!

ams! Our guests can’t stop talking about what an unbelievable weekend they had celebrating with us!

Generally speaking, I had to reach out to the event planner to get each step done and the communication was lacking, not just with me but between the different departments within the hotel. I was told one thing in regards to hotel room availability from events, then another from sales, then another from reservations. Then, I found out that all the rooms were completely booked up in the hotel from one of my guests shortly after sending my invites. I received no warning from the Otesaga that space was limited that night. This all seemed very shocking to me considering the high quality of this venue, but it all finally made sense on my wedding day when I realized that I was one of THREE weddings happening that day. In fact, I had the opportunity to witness one during my cocktail hour as we had our music turned down and my guests hushed as the ceremony happened just below us on the lawn. Future brides, you may certainly have a beautiful wedding here with excellent food and views, but be warned that you will have to chase down the event planner and will not be made to feel special at all during this process. Personally, I would go to another venue where it may be less extravagant but they have a more bride-focused experience. Considering the price I paid, I’m fairly disappointed.

n overlooking the water, the appetizers on the veranda at sunset, and the absolutely stunning ballroom, our guests had a wonderful time. Megan was amazing. She helped us with a tasting to narrow down the menu. She was always there to help with our unending stream of questions. And her staff executed everything exactly as I had envisioned it…better actually.

capacity on our day). That didn't matter one bit-our wedding was just as amazing as if it was the only one. We worked with Brooke-She is the definition of professional. We threw so many random requests at her to make our big day unique and I was blown away when I got the wedding BEO form & all these requests were included. She didn't miss a thing! As a luxury resort, you may guess weddings would be pretentious But completely opposite-warm & accommodating. The day of our wedding we were treated like royalty with a room for the girls to get ready complete with steamer, mirrors, tables & water. Our ceremony was on the lawn overlooking the lake & the hotel even setup the chairs in a circular fashion with no objections bc I wanted a more intimate seating arrangement! Picturesque Cocktail hour on the veranda: Guests raved about the crudités & passed apps. The groom & I even had our own personal platter along with cocktails when we were taking photos so we didn't miss cocktail hour completely! During the reception we had our own personal server. Amazing food: Guests even received new plates when staff noticed the filet was not cooked to perfection! We live in Pittsburgh w/ the tradition of the cookie table. The hotel gave us a stunning cookie room with all of our desserts on display resembling a dessert boutique! For decor, I had all different centerpieces and the staff made the ballroom the most beautiful venue I've seen with only direction from me: "put things where they look nice." I could go on, but all you need to know is that this venue is so high class w/o being obnoxious or fussy. Our guests thanked us for having our wedding in one of NYs most beautiful locations. We can't stop taking about our perfect wedding and thank Brooke & the entire staff at the Otesaga for making that happen!

e even had guests thanking US for having our wedding here, haha!) and I think honestly we are still in shock as to how perfect and FUN everything was! Gordon Clarkson is a true professional and an absolute joy to work with. He made everything that we wanted happen to turn our wedding into the perfect, personalized, and elegant weekend. From delivering welcome bags from the Fly Creek Cider Mill to the rooms we had blocked out for guests, renting boats and reserving golf tee times the Friday before, to the actual wedding day that included a kid's party for those 13 and under during the reception, lawn games and s'mores at the fire pit late at night, to the giant brunch on the veranda Sunday morning, everything was stunning and perfect! It's how every girl dreams of her wedding to be. The staff is amazing and so attentive throughout the entire hotel, and my husband and I even had our own personal waitress at the reception who got our food out for us first and kept the drinks coming! The food cannot be beat here (the tasting over the winter was definitely our favorite part of planning!!) and the selection is also to die fore. Overall, A+ staff and service; I would recommend having your wedding here to anyone, you will not be disappointed one bit!

ch I've heard is a fabulous meal! The Otesaga is undoubtedly a beautiful venue and many successful weddings have taken place there. I chose this venue for it's beauty and the rave reviews from other brides and guests at other weddings. They have the expertise and experience that we are looking for since we are planning our wedding from Nashville TN. The reason I only give it 4 stars is the fact that the sales team for reserving rooms doesn't have it together and they will tell you different things on the phone. I talked to a different person than my mother and they said COMPLETELY different things about the room blocking process. The one woman was very rude to one of my bridesmaids that was inquiring about booking as well. Since our wedding is taking place during peak little league time in the summer we have had trouble with hotel rooms in the area (beware Cooperstown brides in the summer) and trying to find places to block rooms. The Otesaga will make you pay a lot of money for the rooms to be blocked and they are very expensive. If no one books them then you are stuck picking up that tab. No thanks (unless you are super rich but we're not)! We get a complimentary stay there on our wedding night but our families will not be able to book there for that reason.

sa. I would recommend this place to anyone!!! I can't wait to go back to celebrate our anniversary.

guests also loved that they could make our wedding weekend a vacation for themselves and loved the excuse to explore Cooperstown. One word of caution, though, if you're thinking of doing the same thing, area guest accommodations in the summer can be pricey!) From the beginning, Melissa was a complete professional and so easy to work with. She was attentive to detail and responsive throughout all the planning. Twenty minutes before our ceremony, Melissa alerted us that there was a small chance of showers and that she had a backup ceremony location already being set up just in case we didn't want to risk getting wet. The only snag to the day came in our reception starting an hour late for some reason, although I'm not sure whose job it was to flag us down to come in from pictures... I wasn't wearing a watch so I had no idea! Receptions end at 10 pm in the hotel, so losing an hour was a major blow for us. Anyway, the food and service were AMAZING and our requests to the chef to accommodate dietary needs and personal tastes were carried out perfectly. I can't recommend this place enough as a wedding venue- quality that stands up to any big city venue, but charm and service that can only come from a warm and friendly town like Cooperstown.

ur ceremony, cocktail hour and reception and it was surprisingly affordable. Also, the food was AMAZING! Only hiccup was some changes made via email and by face that were not carried out, so get everything you want in writing first!

lanner (Brooke Tallman) went above and beyond to find answers for us and keep us generally happy. The location was perfect, the staff friendly, it was a perfect wedding!

at they are doing. I never felt pressured or stressed about anything. Our coordinator was straight forward with us and went above and beyond with making sure we got exactly what we wanted. The staff in the days leading up to and on the day of the day were amazingly friendly and accommodating. I didn't hear one guest complain about anything. We didn't have to handle our decorations, our gifts, our extras, everything was set up and taken down by the staff. They were especially attentive to the bridal party and even rescued my husband and I with an umbrella when we got caught under an awning trying to get our pictures. I would recommend this venue to anyone.

ace for everyone to come to with a small-town feel.