Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach

We decided to have a small guest list for our wedding reception. Makayla Jenkins helped us every step of the way to bring our vision to life. We decided on the Constellation room (which is perfect for smaller receptions) . Its a great space that allows you to have a family style table set up for a intimate feel. The food was AMAZING!! We are still hearing from our guests about their experience. Family Dinner style, Pork Chops, Potatoes, and veggies were the Hit!! The whole team was great, friendly and very accommodating. My husband and I did not have to worry about one thing because our entire weekend was handled. Highly recommend for anyone having a celebration or just a weekend away with one of the best views only footsteps away.

I have debated writing this review for a long time. I booked my wedding at Zachari Dunes while I was a Hilton employee, and as someone who has built a career in hospitality, this experience was especially heartbreaking.

I wanted to love this hotel. The setting is beautiful, and I trusted the Hilton name and the promises made throughout planning. Unfortunately, when our wedding weekend arrived, too many carefully communicated details fell through the cracks.

A few examples:

• Champagne, my preferred beverage and something established well before the wedding, was not available as part of our fully hosted five-hour bar package. My bridesmaids had to go to my guest room, retrieve champagne we had purchased ourselves, and bring it down to supplement the bar.

• My name was spelled incorrectly on wedding signage. Three family and wedding party members told the front desk, yet it was never communicated or corrected. Mistakes happen. Having multiple opportunities to fix one and still not doing so is what made it hurtful.

• A high chair for my nephew was missing despite being on the BEO, event diagram, and communicated multiple times.

• Our ceremony was overset by more than 20 chairs.

• Steak knives were not provided despite more than 70% of our guests selecting the steak entree, leaving guests trying to cut steak with dinner knives or quite literally eating like carnivores. Not a detail that should be missed at a catered wedding.

• There was no warm wedding welcome. No congratulations, no special acknowledgment, and very little of the hospitality you would expect when hosting a wedding celebration.

The guestroom experience was equally disappointing. Several guests complained about dirty rooms and poor service, including Gold and Diamond members. Multiple guests said they felt nickel-and-dimed throughout their stay.

My husband was placed in a poor room despite me proactively communicating his stay details and specifically asking that he be identified as a VIP. He was the groom, a Diamond member, and one of the people paying for the wedding.

I was also told that, because I was a Hilton employee, the hotel would “take care of me” with a two-bedroom suite. That was not honored, despite suites remaining available throughout our wedding weekend.

Our room block was another source of stress. Several family members worked for Hilton and had access to Friends & Family rates, so I raised concerns about attrition if public or employee rates fell below our contracted block. Online rates remained lower than our block rate throughout the weekend, creating the exact situation I had tried to avoid.

Then came checkout the morning after our wedding.

I had asked more than five times for a 1:00 PM late checkout. I understand late checkout is based on availability. But this was a Sunday departure after we had hosted our wedding and room block, my husband was Diamond, I was Gold, and most importantly, I had repeatedly discussed the request and been assured 1:00 PM would be accommodated.

The front desk appeared to have no knowledge of those conversations and repeatedly told us no. I was floored.

By then, I had been incredibly understanding because I know firsthand how many moving pieces go into a wedding. But having to advocate yet again for something I had communicated more than five times, and had been assured was handled, was where my grace finally ran out. Only after I asked for a manager was the 1:00 PM checkout honored, and even then the interaction felt dismissive and unfriendly.

The issue was never simply the extra hour. It was the culmination of a weekend where information got lost and we were forced to advocate for things already discussed and documented.

& the follow-through disappointed. I did not receive our final bill until about one month later, and the Hilton Honors points were not credited until roughly two months afterward.

What has stayed with me most is how we were made to feel. I brought our closest friends and family there because I trusted the brand and believed we would be cared for. Instead, I often felt as though our wedding was an inconvenience.

As someone who has spent years in hospitality, I do not expect perfection. Things happen. What matters is communication, ownership, recovery, and making people feel cared for. That is what was missing here.

Looking back, I am honestly embarrassed that I encouraged so many people I love to stay at this property, especially because I believed deeply in Hilton and the standards I spent years representing.

The oceanfront setting is beautiful, but it cannot replace thoughtful service, clean guestrooms, communication, attention to detail, or genuine hospitality.

I truly hope future brides and grooms are treated better than we were, for their sake and for the future success of the hotel. Zachari Dunes has an incredible location and so much potential. I hope its service rises to the level of the experience it is trying to sell.