The Palencia Club

ave us an experience that was amazing! I saw so many amazing touches and I observed how all of the banquet manager and team took care of our guests. They treated them with such amazing care as if they were family. They were very attentive and so very kind. The room we had was beautiful and spotless and the views were gorgeous. The food was spectacular and that is the truth. I have never been wowed by food at weddings or showers until this event at the Palencia Club. Everything was delicious. The mimosa bar and appetizer display were so impressive. Even the dressing for the salads tasted freshly made. The buffet was plentiful and all of the guests raved over the food and was stuffed but when the saw the dessert bar, no one could refuse! I am so grateful to the Palencia Club for making the wedding shower truly a magical experience for everyone!

hour, and reception. Misty was easy to communicate with, kept us on the timeline of what needed to be done, offered decorations and props that were already at Palencia so that we could save money, and she offered tips and ideas to make our day perfect. We had to make a quick adjustment to the wedding, as it was supposed to be outdoors for the ceremony and cocktail hour, and it was rainy on the day before and day of the wedding, so we had to quickly move it indoors. But, everything worked out, and we had a perfect day. Misty made sure that everything was packed up by the end of the night, and we did not have to worry about bringing anything with us in the getaway car. We had plenty of leftovers from Chef Kevin, who made our dinner amazing and delicious! We loved working with everyone one, the staff was great, and it was the perfect day for us.

ot be so uncomfortable. Management blamed our band for “blowing a fuse”. After speaking with other Palencia club members I found out this wasn’t the first time the A/C quit. Following the wedding, their management (Tom Underwood) did nothing to communicate their apologies to us. The only way we could get their attention was to stop payment on our final check. Management staff were consistently rude, and their legal staff (Kamli) threatened to take legal action for “defamation” if we posted a negative review on social media. Hello! That’s what reviews are for— to share our experiences with the public! Legal also told us that the A/C failure was “not within their control and was not a breach of contract”, so that meant that they “do not owe us any compensation.” My photos of the night portray a different story. Everyone is covered in sweat and half of the guests either left the club or paid for drinks out of pocket in the downstairs bar. We have given them plenty of opportunities to reconcile but they consistently shrug us off. With a price tag of nearly $15,000 for just the room rental, food, and drinks, I would have expected better customer service. I’ll note the positives about this venue, although they were overshadowed by the overall experience and A/C debacle. The food and catering staff were great. Sara Martinson, the event coordinator, was good too; but she was not able to offer anything to reconcile the issues. I do wish their management and Corporate would take a cue from their staff and work on improving their customer service skills... especially for someone’s wedding! The air conditioning should not be an issue at an establishment like this. It’s too bad that we will always remember our wedding day with the stigma of an overheated, muggy reception and a nasty management team. BEWARE of this establishment!

s absolutely delicious! As a bride that is not a local, I have to say, Sara's patience and over all great demeanor really helped make this day so perfect. I probably sent her hundreds of emails and not once did I ever feel like I was bothering her. I wish I could relive that day again, I wouldn't change a thing about it. This is the most beautiful venue to get married at, the vines on the walls, it is so romantic. Not your cookie cutter venue, classy, rustic, just stunning!

changes were made. The location is just beautiful. We held the event outside on the Wedding Green and inside/outside of The Bistro. This was perfect as we had to reschedule the entire event due to the pandemic and wanted to be outside. Sara and Palencia Club worked with us to make sure our date was available for the reschedule, they handled everything from setting up the event to the end. The food was amazing, and the chef was able to accommodate all our guests’ dietary concerns. The servers were very professional and friendly. The outside area of The Bistro is magical as the sun goes down. They have string lights overhead. We brought candles for the tables, and the dj brought uplighting. It really looked like something out of a movie. The bride and groom loved the location. I cannot express my gratitude enough to Sara and The Palencia Club for making this event so special for my daughter and her husband. Some things we considered when booking: There was no minimum number of guests required. Backup plan inside in case of rain. Pricing was reasonable. I highly recommend hosting your event at The Palencia Club.

Discounts and flexibility for military couples. Very affordable venue. Has a large, beautiful bridal suite and a stylish locker room for the groom and groomsmen. And, the wedding coordinator is such a sweetheart! Cons: Outdoor ceremony was decorated later than the guests arrived. Concrete floor needed to be pressure washed.

my questions, no matter how inconsequential. We hired her for her day of coordinator services as well, and she went above and beyond. Her help extended way past just a day of coordinator. She contacted vendors for me to make sure that they knew where to be and when. She put together the ceremony and reception areas to the way that I envisioned. And she ensured that the day ran as smoothly as possible. We were very grateful for her help! The venue was very flexible and willing to help in whatever way to make our day special. The food was amazing, and all of our guests were very complimentary about it. We even had a few guests with very strict dietary restrictions that they were able to accommodate and still make the food taste good. The venue itself was beautiful, and we are looking forward to seeing it captured in our pictures. Overall, we would highly recommend the Palencia Club to anyone looking for a beautiful place in St. Augustine to get married.

e into contact, she was incredible. With every stress filled email that I sent, she answered in record time and helped calm my nerves time and time again. Every step of the way, she was supportive, professional, and genuinely a joy to work with. On the day of, we had a bit of a crisis with heavy downpours and a tornado warning. I was an absolute mess! But Sara went out of her way to come up with several solutions for me, and generally gave me her full support. She truly made the entire experience easy. I look back and I only think about how happy and stress free I was once the ceremony began, all thanks to her help! I will recommend the Palencia Club to everyone I know, specifically for Sara!!! Thank you, Palencia, and most importantly, Sara!!

nothing I had to be concerned about the whole day other than the weather ! I am glad I chose to have my wedding here and I don’t even live in Florida. :)

w our wedding vows at The Palencia Club after checking out all other choices in the Jacksonville area. Sara, the young lady in charge of special events, was the nicest, most caring, responsible, informed person, and a joy to work with. The food was beyond delicious and service from the food staff a #10. We have booked a lot of places for parties and weddings in several states, all were good, but Palencia beat even the best we had had by a mile. Everyone who attended could not stop with the complements. We had guests from 3yrs old to 96 and all had a great time. Thank you Sara and the entire staff for making our very special day even more special.

different. In visiting other venues, many had their own ideas for the wedding instead of listening to my daughter’s vision. The wedding coordinator, Sara Martinson, embraced every small detail we discussed and brought it to fruition! I don’t believe we ever heard the words “No” or “We can’t” from the beginning of our planning process to the very end of the wedding evening. That means so much during an event that can be very stressful at times. The facilities at The Palencia Club are absolutely gorgeous, both inside and out. The bridal party started their day early for photos and Sara and her very accommodating staff went above and beyond to make the day enjoyable. The elegant library was turned into a dressing area for the bride and her attendants. The groom and his groomsmen utilized the handsome men’s locker area to prepare. The club’s chef prepared and delivered food and drinks to both areas throughout the very long day. The facilities also proved to be perfect for the ceremony and reception. We utilized their palm courtyard, with its beautiful fountain, for the wedding and moved to a patio for the cocktail hour. During that one hour, the staff completely flipped the courtyard space into a beautiful dining area with two long, parallel tables and seating for approximately one hundred guests. When I saw the finished reception area, I was amazed that the staff could do that so quickly! It was absolutely stunning with attention given to every detail. Many of our guests commented on the beautiful venue, and I agree! The perfectly manicured grounds on the water were an excellent choice for this wedding. The weather was gorgeous, but Sara had put together a perfect backup plan in the event of adverse conditions. The Palencia Club has a beautiful and elegant dining area that would have also been lovely had we needed to use it. All of the food prepared by the club’s chef, Anson, was absolutely delicious. The passed hors d’oeuvres and dinner were both amazing. Anson met with my daughter and her fiancé a month before the wedding to make sure the food was perfect, providing an extensive tasting to make the correct selections for the menu. When one of our guests had a food allergy, the chef worked closely with us to make sure that she had an equally delicious meal that would accommodate her needs. Following the wedding, we received numerous compliments on the wonderful, delicious quality of all of the food. In addition, every vendor that was recommended by Sara proved to be excellent. Since this was a destination wedding, it was wonderful to be able to trust and rely on someone familiar with the available local resources. I cannot say enough wonderful things about The Palencia Club, their facilities, their gifted wedding coordinator Sara, and her lovely staff. This place has all of the best qualities rolled into one location. I would highly recommend this venue to make your wedding day perfect, just as they did for my daughter and her husband.

ot be so uncomfortable. Management blamed our band for “blowing a fuse”. After speaking with other Palencia club members I️ found out this wasn’t the first time the A/C quit. Following the wedding, their management did nothing to communicate their apologies to us. The only way we could get their attention was stop payment on our final check. Management was consistently rude and their legal staff threatened to take legal action for “defamation” if we posted a negative review on social media. Legal also told us that the A/C failure was “not within their control and was not a breach of contract”, so that meant that they “don’t owe us any compensation.” My photos of the night portray a different story. Everyone is covered in sweat and half of the guest either left the club or paid for drinks out of pocket in their downstairs bar. We have given them plenty of opportunities to reconcile but they consistently shrug us off. With a price tag of nearly $15,000 for just the food, room rental, and drinks, I️ would have expected better customer service. I will note that there were some positives about this venue: the food and catering staff were great. Sara Martinson, the event coordinator, was good too. I️ only wish their management and Corporate Employees would take a cue from their staff and work on improving their customer service skills... especially for someone’s wedding!

xtension of home. The venue was picture for both the ceremony and reception. The food was phenomenal- everything we requested and desired was served with excellence and care!

of our guests complemented on the delicious food and how nice everyone was. We honestly couldn't have asked for a better experience. The stress was minimal and it was always a pleasure to go sit and meet with Sara.