Ely Manor

At my niece's wedding over the weekend, they had the largest area closed off, even though it's open when they show the venue for booking. Nobody warned us. The place was filthy, there were bugs, and the owners didn't seem to care. These people are a joke. Save yourself the anger on what should be a beautiful day.

The bride woke up in the bridal suite on her wedding morning to a cockroach in her bed. The owners didn't help and wouldn't return calls or texts. They left no clean towels, only four rolls of toilet paper for the wedding, and no trash bags. The suite had water damage on the walls and on the tables they expected us to use while getting ready. The venue was so dirty that we had to rent a floor cleaner, and the pregnant bride was scrubbing it the day before the wedding because of the owners' “oversight.” There was mud on the floors, dirty bathrooms, ladybugs everywhere, mold in the kitchen, and inches of dust on the banisters. Beer cans were scattered across the parking lot, dead plants by the arbour had to be moved by us, and there was a recliner and mattress by the dumpster. The owner only seemed to care when guests arrived and they didn't want cars on the grass. The owners were no help to our family and sent their son over instead of handling things themselves. Without our amazing family, the wedding would have been a disaster. They did what they could to make the day good for the bride and groom. The filth and lack of communication were unacceptable for a wedding venue, and I would never recommend this place. Please learn from our family's mistake and don't rent it.

Between our viewing and the event, the owners put up a wall in the main area and took away about 1,200 square feet, roughly 25% of the floor space. The outdoor wedding area had random junk, including a lawnmower and potted saplings. Water and lights didn't work, and the whole place was filthy, especially the kitchen, which seemed like a health violation waiting to happen. Any of that could have been addressed, but the owners showed no concern and sent their poor son to deal with the complaints instead. Then they stopped communicating altogether. I won't even get into the ADA and fire code violations. One star is too many. I'd give zero if I could.

The caterer refused to take food into the kitchen because it was so unsanitary, and the bride found roaches in the filthy bridal suite bed. A wall had been built in the middle of the venue without warning, leaving too little indoor seating, so we had to feed guests outside. There was mold growing inside the refrigerator when we arrived, and the venue itself was in unacceptable shape. Outside were broken-down cars in front, overflowing trash cans, and dead trees lying around. The owners gave us no communication. After we contacted the health department, we were told the venue should have been shut down six months earlier. The wedding weekend was absolutely horrible, and the experience was completely unacceptable.