Emeline Reviews

Kaitlyn and the Hotel Emeline team were extremely responsive and helpful with executing a plated dinner in the courtyard for a rehearsal dinner I planned. The service was great and they were able to adjust the space after the dinner to accommodate the Welcome Party afterwards. I highly recommend this space and staff for all your future event needs!

We stumbled upon Emeline just months after they opened in July of 2020. We were so glad we did - it was an absolute dream! The venue has so much unique beauty and character. We did a package with included pretty much everything and we had a day of venue coordinator, Rebecca that made our day absolutely flawless and stress free. Would HIGHLY recommend!

My husband and I were married at Hotel Emeline in April of 2024. This was the perfect venue for us. Not only if it perfectly located downtown for our out of town guest to take in all that Charleston has to offer, but the greenery and homey-ness of the hotel was just what we wanted. All of our guests loved the service, food, and especially that all wedding events were in one location. Kaitlyn and her team made sure every detail was perfect and all visions came to life.

We were married at the Emeline in February and recommend the venue for weddings big & small.

The décor was amazing, the food spectacular. We did not need to bring extensive florals into the space because of the gorgeous greenery, which matched our color scheme perfectly. The location could not be better; everything is walkable so out of-town guests will naturally be entertained. The hotel is pricey, but the vast array of lodging within walking or uber distance means there are options for every budget.

The Emeline knew how to be creative with the space and had the infrastructure to support our wedding. The ceremony was held in the courtyard, then we moved everyone to the greenhouse for cocktail hour, during which the entire courtyard was converted into a seated dinner setup. The staff moved with speed and discretion; two curtains between greenhouse/courtyard and in the ballroom hallway meant we did not see any of the conversion process. Seating for 110 people was flawlessly arranged with 7-piece settings, décor, florals and menus within a half hour.

Our advice for future couples; stay vigilant during the administrative processes leading up to the wedding. We had the impression the event management is understaffed. Kaitlyn was lovely, accommodating & professional, but was prone to delayed responses & documentation errors that created confusion. After an enchanting, full service tasting, they lost their notes of our food & wine selections – forcing us to speculate on what we did. Overall, our wedding planners helped to mitigate this, but the extra effort must be mentally budgeted for.

The Emeline is still a relatively young venue & thus is naturally prone to these types of errors. I would expect them to be ironed out so please do not let that dissuade you from hosting an event there. The Emeline was generous at every opportunity, providing napkins to match our scheme & upgrading our immediate families to suites for no extra charge. It was the best night of our lives (so far), and we can’t thank the Emeline enough.

Pros
- Space: Hotel Emeline is a beautiful venue. It was the perfect space to host our small wedding (~55 people) in the fall. The fireplace (that they turned on for the ceremony!), garden/greenery backdrop, the warm string lights and chandeliers made our event so cozy and intimate. Our ceremony was in the Courtyard and the reception was in the Greenhouse. Our cocktail hour was moved to the foyer because it started raining, but it worked out well.
- Catering: We loved our wedding menu and received many compliments from our guests. Sarah guided us through our wedding tasting, and she was receptive and detail oriented. They listened to and incorporated our feedback on the dishes. The service staff were friendly, professional, and easy to work with. They even packed us leftovers as they saw my husband and I didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy our hors d'oeuvres and dinner.
- Convenience: We loved that we could have the whole wedding event— ceremony, cocktail hour, reception— in one location so that our guests wouldn’t have to travel. Having the catering on-site was one less thing to worry about. We also didn’t need a lot of extra décor because of the natural beauty of the space. The location is at the heart of downtown Charleston, making it easy for guests to walk if they were staying downtown, use rideshares, or drive (there are several parking garages nearby as well as metered street parking).


Cons
- Communication/Events: Kaitlyn, the catering manager, was helpful, flexible, and personable. But, communicating with her was a challenge. We understand she’s probably busy with many other events and may be understaffed, but her average email response time was 2–3 weeks, which was frustrating. She also never picked up her phone. Eventually, our planner got involved which made it a little easier for us, but overall, it remained a challenge.
- Communication/Venue: In general, it is difficult to reach the people you need to talk to at Emeline. There was an accounting issue we needed to clear up, and I called the accounting department several times, but no one ever answered. We escalated this to Kaitlyn who was able to connect us to the right person, but it was a hassle.
- Attention to detail: Most of our wedding details on our BEO were correct, but there were small mistakes that we had to correct. I checked in on our hotel reservation for the wedding weekend a few days before and there was a mistake that we had to fix as well. I would recommend taking notes and keeping track of/closely reviewing all decisions, details, etc. Pay close attention to your itemized invoices so you don’t have the wrong things or get overcharged/charged incorrectly.


Though Hotel Emeline was challenging to work with at times, we loved our wedding. If we had to do it again, I think we would still choose Emeline. The beauty of the space, the food, and friendliness and professionalism of the staff were highlights!