Topnotch Resort

ch. We were lucky to have Liz as our wedding coordinator. We were very particular and specific about the details within our wedding. Liz was great at managing all our expectations during the planning process. There are so many aspects that go into planning a wedding, and since we had every event at Topnotch we had to work with Liz to plan every part of the weekend. When it came to the wedding weekend she did a wonderful job executing on all off the details we discussed. It ended up raining on our wedding day Every aspect about our wedding weekend was truly beautiful. The wedding tent is gorgeous and is surrounded by such beautiful scenery. Our guests truly appreciated our venue and the details within the wedding. The food at every event was great. Our guests loved our reception entrees which included the skirt steak and the halibut. We were very excited about the after party where we had late night bites…the mini sliders were delicious and huge hit. We were very surprised at how good the brunch spread was. Breakfast in general can be a pretty average meal, so we didn’t have many expectations when we were planning that portion, but we were more than pleased with the breakfast spread. It was a stressful year planning the wedding since we cared so much about how everything would turn out, but it turned out to be the best weekend of our lives. We were lucky to celebrate our marriage with family and friends at the Topnotch Resort.

, we felt instantly comfortable with the staff and everyone made sure to let us know that they were there to make us happy! We felt welcomed and like family. The resort itself is absolutely stunning and we knew it was where we wanted to get married. Our coordinator was Liz and she was so great at staying in communication with us through the whole process. She was very responsive with emails and also set up phone calls to go over more information. We had a little trouble at the beginning with some mix ups on our room blocks for the wedding but Westin and the reservation team made sure everything was in order before the wedding day. Adam, the chef at the resort, did an AMAZING tasting for us to choose our menu. I have a bunch of food allergies and Adam made sure that everything for our wedding was gluten free and even had our cake made in a dedicated gluten free facility. Not to mention, all of the food at our wedding was delicious! Our guests are still talking about the dinner! The best thing about having our wedding at Topnotch is the care and love that every member of the team put into our wedding. I felt like they genuinely wanted to make sure we had the best day. Plus, they make it known that once you get married there, you are in for life! They want you, your parents, your children, to come back for years to come and enjoy the resort. And we are TOTALLY going to! I would highly recommend getting married at Topnotch Resort. They certainly live up to their name :)

process of selecting the perfect spot for our wedding, to selecting vendors, and worked with us through ALL of the details. She was incredibly responsive and made us feel very relaxed and that we were in great hands. She was available to meet us multiple times in person but overall, we were able to easily coordinate everything virtually. On the day of, Liz and her team were AMAZING. We had a smaller, family elopement and Liz took full control over the set-up for the entire day. I couldn't imagine it looking anymore beautiful. We were able to have our entire day outside overlooking the hills (although they had great back-up options for rain). We even ended the evening perfectly with s'mores by the fire. Our family spent the weekend at Topnotch and enjoyed all that Topnotch, Stowe and Burlington have to offer. Thank you Liz and team! You are the best. The only thing I am not including in this review is makeup. I was very unhappy with my makeup being done at the spa and after the expensive trial, I decided to have my sister do my makeup last minute. It was clear the woman was not a professional.

ost special day, our daughters wedding. Topnotch disregarded that menu & served whatever was easy & convenient. They omitted all expensive elements & replaced with jar condiments or nothing at all It was not beautiful & delicious like at the tasting. My expectations of a four star resort is that they would be prepared to provide a small forty four person breakfast with ease. It didn’t matter that I have documentation of each course in detail, numerous email correspondence & in person meetings & multiple visits. They couldnt live up to their end of the commitment; we weren’t served the same breakfast that they promised. They offered no explanation but thanked us for allowing their team a learning experience, all at our expense. The decision to choose Topnotch was because they promote the four star resort destination, professionals who were prepared for a top notch experience. I’m so embarrassed. My guests who asked for maple syrup were denied & told it had been applied. At the tasting the first course chicken & waffles was served with an individual vessel (as requested verbally & in writing) of Vermont Maple syrup. By the server denying my guests request for syrup it’s clear to me now that a decision was made in advance to remove this very important element from the menu. Even Cracker Barrel has individual bottles of real Vermont syrup. If I had known that they had no intention of serving my guests any syrup I would have provided it! At the tasting a gorgeous saffron garnish along with a pretty green that resembled a tiny shamrock was presented. That was replaced with a strip of red pickled pepper from a jar. They were able to save themselves a substantial amount of money by removing & replacing these very important elements from the agreed menu. When I realized this half of the guests were finishing the first course. But at that time I was unaware guests had asked for syrup but were denied. I’m a Vermonter along with most of our guests, NO to a request for maple syrup is ridiculous. The second course of Beef brisket was again lacking in the delicious flavor & the beautiful garnish of slaw at the tasting. It was so nasty the bride spit it into her napkin, to avoid swallowing it. Topnotch wished for a do over & has acknowledge that it was their internal miscommunication that led to a “disappointing meal “at our wedding. I have shared these thoughts with them & in fairness they offered the bride and groom a weekend with the offer of a meal at the same restaurant. Topnotch advertising claims to offer couples a two night stay in a luxury suite with couples massage & dinner. This was not offered to us. What was offered as our wedding perk was one night in their bridal suite. Which ended up being a sad dark small room overlooking the parking lot. With a continuous incredibly loud children’s game of tag being played throughout the hotel the bride & groom chose to leave the hotel on their wedding night. So not surprising, they refused the “free” weekend. I wish I had some words of wisdom for others, but I don’t. By hiring Topnotch we expected professionalism on every level. Topnotch in their carelessness, negatively affected our daughters wedding without consequence. So as you travel up the Mountain in beautiful Stowe Vermont just keep going right past this place.

rything we paid for - Paid for a desert bar and it was missing several things - Topnotch refused to refund us until Amex already gave me money back - Some passed apps were missing the day of - Rehearsal was a joke as Kim was not organized and my Grandmother had to take over to get the ball rolling - Kim the wedding coordinator was missing the day of until like 30 minutes before the ceremony - Wait staff was extremely rude as I asked for water and was pointed to a water station - Topnotch Front-desk could not find our weeding reservation for room discount and we had several guest including my -Grandmother calling upset saying how rude they were - Bar manager would not pour me drinks neat for myself and groomsmen as he said "we don't do shoots" lol - No tent drapery as it was presented to us and changes were made after the contract was signed - No Drum Patterns as Kim promised when we did tasting and in a email -Grandmother had conversation with Bob(GM) who spoke over her after front desk refused to honor online price (topnotch site) -Booked our room for the wrong days -Called reservations line multiple times only to wait 10 minutes for a voicemail box -Accounting was off and at one point said we owed them $3k more than we did -Wedding coordinator did not communicate with tent people so we had to call them directly and even the tent people seemed frustrated with Topnotch - Kim kept messing up our weeding menu even though we emailed it to her - No signature drink that was actually recommended by Kim - Paid for open bar and extra for an additional bar in the tent and 2 extra bartenders were promised but never provided - Wait staff with the exception of the bartenders were rude - Room air filters were dirty when we checked in like they had not been cleaned in years Pros: - Food was pretty good - We got 2-night hotel room stay for free - Our Open bar liquor package was upgraded - The view

That being said, we were very disappointed with the months leading up to, and following our wedding weekend. The planning process was very difficult, even for a laid-back type of bride. I hope that the culture of the resort has improved since our wedding, and continues to do so...Topnotch is a beautiful resort and there is no reason that brides and grooms shouldn't feel extremely lucky to host their wedding here. I would simply say that the coordination process was slightly less than desirable, and the customer service was not at the level it should be for a resort with a name such as theirs.

s!