Emerald Grande at HarborWalk Village Reviews
Reviews
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
Awards
-
![Lexi]()
Lexi Sent on 11/17/2025The BEST Wedding experience with the BEST staff ever. Did not have to worry about a thing!
As a Type A bride, I can confidently say that from start to finish, the Emerald Grande and their staff made the entire wedding-planning experience seamless and truly enjoyable. Emily Buckley (Director of Catering Sales) and Annette Peterson (Wedding Coordinator) were the dream team. They handled all the prep work—from the BEO document and coordinating with vendors to offering recommendations—and ensured every single person was in the right place on the big day, from first looks, family photos, the ceremony, reception, and everything in between.
I’ve seen some negative reviews about the Emerald Grande condos, and I could not disagree more. Our room was clean, comfortable, and had a beautiful view. Honestly, I get teary-eyed writing this because our day was simply a dream.
My family has a place in the Destin area, and we’re always on the harbor enjoying activities, pontooning to Crab Island, or dining and drinking—but we had never actually stayed at the Emerald Grande before. I’m so grateful we chose it for our wedding.
Thank you to the entire team for being who you are. You made everything AMAZING! -
-
![Kelsey]()
Kelsey Sent on 06/02/2025Phenomenal Experience
Choosing the Emerald Grande as our wedding venue was one of the best decisions we made during the entire planning process. Not only is the venue itself absolutely stunning — with breathtaking views, elegant event spaces, and top-tier amenities — but the real stars of our experience were Emily and Annette.
From the very first meeting, Emily made us feel seen, heard, and completely supported. They were organized, responsive, and genuinely invested in making sure every detail of our day was perfect. Their experience and calm professionalism gave us so much peace of mind — especially during those final few weeks when things can feel overwhelming. Every question I had (and there were many!) was answered with patience and care.
On the day of the wedding, everything ran seamlessly. I didn’t have to worry about a thing. Annette handled every transition, every vendor, and every tiny behind-the-scenes task with grace. Our ceremony and reception flowed beautifully, and I was able to be fully present and enjoy every moment — something I’ll always be grateful for.
I truly can’t recommend the Emerald Grande and this incredible team highly enough. If you want a breathtaking location paired with staff who will go above and beyond to bring your vision to life, look no further. Thank you, Emily and Annette, for making our wedding day everything we dreamed of and more! -
![Amy]()
Amy Sent on 04/20/2025The Perfect Wedding Venue - Truly A Dream!!!
Our wedding at Emerald Grande was everything we dreamed of and more. From the very beginning, the planning process was completely stress-free and enjoyable all thanks to the incredible team, especially Annette and Emily. Working with them truly made everything so easy and seamless. Their warmth, professionalism, and attention to detail were unmatched. We always felt supported, understood, and genuinely cared for throughout the entire journey.
The communication was outstanding. Every question, concern, and idea was met with a quick response and thoughtful guidance. On the day of the wedding, Annette executed everything perfectly — we didn’t have to worry about a single thing, which allowed us to be fully present and enjoy every moment.
And the food… absolutely phenomenal! Our guests are still talking about how delicious everything was. From cocktail hour to the main course, every dish was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. It far exceeded the typical “wedding food” experience and added a touch of luxury to our celebration.
Emerald Grande also offers amazing value. The pricing was incredibly fair for the level of service and quality we received. The packages were clear, customizable, and transparent — no surprises, no stress, just a smooth, well-organized process from beginning to end.
If you’re looking for a stunning venue with exceptional food, flawless coordination, and a team that truly cares about making your day perfect, Emerald Grande is the one. Huge thanks again to Annette and Emily — you made our wedding unforgettable, and we’ll always be grateful. -
-
Meredith Sent on 12/11/2024
The Best Wedding Venue EVER!
How do I even begin to write a review for the place that gave us the most MAGICAL wedding?! :)
My husband and I live out of state and found The Emerald by chance when looking up venue options in the area for our wedding. The pictures online were beautiful so we reached out to inquire about details. Their staff was very prompt in getting back to us, set up a phone call and were transparent with pricing and information. So, we set up a date to come tour!
The online pictures don’t do the outside Captain’s Deck justice, it is a breathtaking view! At our tour we met their Director of Catering and Sales, Emily Buckley. Meeting her absolutely sealed the deal, and when you meet her, you’ll see why! She was warm, knowledgeable, organized, and just an absolute joy to work with! I was a very Type A bride with lots of detail questions along the way in the planning process. Emily was always very prompt with responses, and always responded with a smile. She was just ON IT with every potential detail you could think of, and she even thought of the details we didn’t! We truly hit the jackpot working with her during the wedding planning process. We were sad when the wedding was over because we didn’t get to talk with her anymore, she’s just delightful!
Our day of Wedding Coordinator was Annette Peterson and oh my goodness, we just loved her, too! She could absolutely be president and we hit the jackpot again having her as our coordinator. Annette had every detail of the day planned down to the minute. She made sure everyone knew where to go and what to do, and the day flowed like a dream because of it! As any wedding does, we had a few hiccups come up, but she handled them flawlessly and we didn’t even know anything about them. She helped me with my dress, made sure we had drinks, at times was our body guard, and kept the pace of the day running smoothly. If I could rate her a million stars, I would!!
We cannot thank The Emerald enough for an absolute dream of a wedding day and a smooth wedding planning process. Planning a wedding, particularly an out of state wedding, is intimidating! But Emily and Annette made it a smooth and enjoyable process. I highly recommend having your wedding there and working with their dream team!!! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!! -
-
![Demekia]()
Demekia Sent on 11/20/2024Best Wedding Experience!
This wedding was perfect! From the beginning with planning details with Emily Buckley to the details on the day of the wedding with Annette Peterson! This team at Emerald made sure the wedding was great! The food selection was delicious! The price for this venue also fit our budget! The scenery was magnificent! I rate them a 10+! -
-
Kendall Sent on 07/10/2024
June 7, 2024 wedding
From start to finish, my experience with The Emerald Grande was perfect! Working with Emily and Annette was so enjoyable! They answered all of my questions in a very timely manner and were always so happy to talk to me! -
-
![Shuntay]()
Shuntay Sent on 06/28/2024Beautiful & Amazing
Where do I begin! The Emerald Grande condo and Venue was amazing!!! It was everything that we imagined. Emily and Annette did an amazing job from start to finish. Any questions or concerns they handled it for me. From getting the Bridesmaid together from making sure the guys was on point. Even me (the Bride) had a lot of anxiety) Annette knew how to calm me down 🥰.Originally our wedding suppose to have been on the Captain's Deck, but due to rain and heat we decided to have it in the new renovated Harbor Ballroom. The food was delicious. So if you looking for a destination wedding look no further Emerald Grande Destin, Florida is the place to say your I Do Too! -
-
![Kendra]()
Kendra Sent on 05/10/2024Scarlett and Christian
Our wedding was Perfect! Emily and Annette were awesome to work with and they made sure our day was spectacular! The venue was beautiful overlooking the water. The food was excellent. We could not have asked for more. -
![Steph]()
Steph Sent on 11/09/2023DREAMY Beach Wedding
Where do I even begin? My wedding at the Emerald Grande was DREAMY! From day one of my interest in this venue, the whole team made me feel listened to and they were always very responsive. I worked with Emily for most of my wedding planning process and she made sure that I was meeting deadlines and answering the questions that needed to be answered on a timeline. If it wasn't for her keeping me on track, I'm not sure what I would have done! Any question I asked was answered quickly and honestly and Emily gave her knowledge and input to guide me in my decision making, which was more than welcome (and I think saved us some money on things we didn't need to spend money on)! Once I got closer to my wedding date, I began to work with Annette who was fabulous! My whole wedding party and family knew exactly where to be and when to be there without me lifting a finger. Annette really was the glue the day of the wedding and kept everyone in line (even the boys)! "The food was the best I've ever had at a wedding" was a common phrase I heard about our wedding. We were even able to add in some pigs in a blanket to our appetizer list and ALL allergies were addressed and catered to the day of the wedding. The team made sure to contact all of my vendors and I rested assured knowing that the whole day was taken care of and they knew and understood my vision. I got ready in a bridal suite at the Grande which was overlooking HarborWalk and it was such a relaxing, beautiful view for the morning of the wedding and even the next day as we had a little goodbye sendoff for some of our guests. My family was even able to see us during our first look on the beach from our condo!!! How special! The first look on the beach is priceless and something everyone should do! There ended up being a LOT of people on the beach on my wedding day, so Annette made the decision to switch beaches and go to a beach right before the Grande's private beach that only had one group of people there. The photos on the rocks were INCREDIBLE and the sunset was to die for. The Grande was even able to accommodate our dog at the ceremony and made sure he had water and even let him hang out in the AC when it became too hot for him. We did our ceremony on the Captain's Deck, cocktail hour and reception in the HarborView Room. The level of care was unmatched and if you're looking for that perfect beach wedding, choose the Emerald Grande!! -
Kanisha Sent on 06/07/2023
My wedding was amazing!!!
My wedding turned out amazing at this venue. Emily works for the emerald grande and she was great at communicating in a timely fashion. I emailed her several times a day for a year and a half and she never made me feel like a bother. The food was Delicious. I had 110 guest attend our wedding and everyone said they loved the food and the view. . I highly recommend having your special day here. -
-
![Mayra]()
Mayra Sent on 11/30/2022Beautiful venue !
The venue is absolutely beautiful , you can’t go wrong with the captains deck ! The food was absolutely delicious all my guests raved about how good the food was. The coordination was very controlled and being that this was a destination wedding for us the hotel was very accommodating and there was so much to do in the area my guests really enjoyed their stay. The ballroom is very nice but simple and basic items are provided but definitely invest in decor, up lighting and flowers for a reception. Having never been to a wedding there were a few things I didn’t know what to expect but Annette and Emily did so much to help and I am so grateful. There was only one recommendation that I would have not taken had I known the cons .. the week of my wedding a different diagram or the reception was recommended. It was the worst decision I made as the setup made it very hard for nearly all my guests to see the reception events on the dance floor . Dance floor was at the entrance and not in the center with tables surrounding it like MOST weddings. So many of my guests complained to me that they felt over crowded and couldn’t see anything due to being blocked by lighting equipment , photographer , videographer etc . In order for other guests to see they got up and in addition blocked more views . The setup was NOT what I imagined and I didn’t consider the other factors. I walked in to my reception and by that time there was nothing I could do. Other than this , all the guidance and the help the day of the wedding was incredible . Overall it was a beautiful wedding with a few things I regret and being that this is a day I will never get back it does hurt , ultimately it was my responsibility to make final decisions. -
-
![Pamela]()
Pamela Sent on 11/06/2022Wedding Day 10/21/22
I am beyond delighted that I chose to have my wedding here. The staff was great on every level. Shoutout to Emily, Annette, and Crystal! You guys are amazing🥰 The views are spectacular on the Captain's Deck, and the Harbor View Room is beautiful! The food was delish! Especially the spinach dip😋My guests are still talking about my wedding. If you decide to rent a condo, rent #1025. It won't disappoint. My wedding day was not perfect, but it was everything I imagined and more💗 -
-
Amanda Sent on 10/17/2022
Dream Wedding and Dream Team
There are no amount of words I could possibly write to explain how wonderful the team was at the Emerald Grande. My husband and I got married there on 10/14/2022. We booked the venue in December 2021 and the team has been nothing short of responsive, resourceful, and did everything to make our wedding as stress-free as possible. I trusted all of their top vendor recommendations and am so happy I did. Emily and Annette helped with the on-site coordination of our wedding, as well as with all the vendors brought in. They literally thought of everything. I highly recommend booking one of them because of their on-site experience, close work with all the vendors the Emerald Grande recommends, and their graceful ability to really step up and let you enjoy your day. I opted to book the Captain's Deck for our ceremony and the Harbor Room for our reception. The food is incredible, you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. We did two different types of crostini for cocktail hour and did a buffet-style dinner, offering London Broil and MahiMahi. We got to enjoy a boat ride to their private section of a nearby beach to take photos in between our ceremony and reception. Annette made sure we had appetizers and champagne waiting. If you want a wedding overlooking the beach, a day to enjoy, not feel like you're being micromanaged, and a team that sees themselves as an extension of your family, rather than people there to just orchestrate an event, then seriously look no further than the Emerald Grande for your wedding. 10/10 recommend.
(Side note, my father unexpectedly passed away the day we arrived for our wedding and the entire Emerald Grande staff completely amazed me. They graciously offered their condolences, to help with anything we needed, and just made us feel like they truly sympathized with the pain we were feeling. I will never be able to thank the entire team enough for stepping up like that)...they made me feel like my Dad was there and helped us enjoy the entire experience so much. -
-
Desiray Sent on 10/11/2022
AMAZING venue! Best day EVER!!!!
Wow! Where do I even start? My wedding day was AMAZING. Emily helped me with a lot of the stuff from beginning to end. We got married at the captains deck with an outstanding view. The reception was in the newly remodeled ballroom. My guest LOVED every bit of it. I would definitely recommend the in house coordinator. Annette was our wedding coordinator and she was definitely God sent. She helped with so MUCH! My husband and I can’t thank her and the staff enough. The private boat ride to the private beach access to get photos was BEAUTIFUL! We recommend this venue to everyone. -
-
![Alli]()
Alli Sent on 10/22/2021Perfect day!
Our day went off without a hitch! Peyton and Emily are amazing to work with and we loved every step of the process! -
Alaina Sent on 10/08/2021
Absolute Perfection!!!
My husband and I live in Houston, TX and booked the Emerald Grande without seeing the venue in person. We absolutely fell in love with the pictures and had a wonderful, informative phone call with Emily and booked! We booked the Captain's Deck and the Harbor View room and had about 70 guests in attendance. Emily and Crystal were extremely responsive and helpful throughout the entire planning process. Emily was our hired wedding coordinator, and I cannot recommend her enough! She was extremely professional, knowledgeable, and helpful. She took charge of contacting all of our vendors leading up to the wedding and made an extremely detailed wedding timeline. Emily and Peyton decorated the Harbor View Room for our reception and brought my husband to tears when we were given a sneak peek before the big day. These women are amazing and helped us have the most enjoyable, seamless wedding day possible. After a week of stress, I woke up the morning of our wedding so surprisingly calm as I knew they were going to make sure everything went perfectly to plan. They thought of everything and paid extreme attention to detail to ensure we enjoyed every minute of our special day. We received so many compliments from our guests about the food, everything was top notch. A special treat I wasn't expecting was the beautiful sunset that beams through the Harbor View Room, it was spectacular. At the end of the night, they graciously packed our entire decor and delivered it to our room. The service was above and beyond and worth every penny. If you're on the fence, go for it, you will not regret having the best day of your life at this gorgeous venue!! -
-
![Katie]()
Katie Sent on 03/15/2021Amazing Wedding Experience!
We had our wedding at the Emerald Grande on 3/13/21. Through the entire process, Emily was always our main point of contact and our hired wedding coordinator. She coordinated with our vendors, made our day of timeline, set up the HarborView Room for the reception, on top of so many things I can’t begin to name. We got married on the Captain’s Deck overlooking the bay and the setting was so beautiful! We had our 50 person reception in the HarbourView room which boasts so much character and charm for the beach setting. The sunset at the end of the evening was the icing on the cake. All of our guests had so much fun and we received so many compliments on how amazing the food was. Emily and her team are simply amazing! -
-
![Laci]()
Laci Sent on 03/04/2020The most amazing wedding and reception!
My husband and I were extremely happy with how our wedding and reception turned out! We are from out of town, and communicating was a breeze. You can put your trust in them to get everything how you want it for your big day! I highly recommend them, and wouldn't change a thing about our wedding! -
![Tawny]()
Tawny Sent on 12/15/2019Emily & Christine are amazing!
We got married this past October at the Emerald Grande (on the beach) and everything was absolutely perfect! We live in Fort Worth Texas so we actually booked the Emerald Grande before even seeing it! We had been in contact with Emily Buckley and had many phone calls with her and she answered all of our questions and got rid of any doubts we may have had about the venue. Emily & Christine were AMAZING and so much fun! Months, weeks, and days leading up to our wedding they were always available to help us when needed. Emily made sure our wedding day went by smoothly - and I must say - there truly were no issues or hiccups at all! It was my own wedding & it was easiest, most seamless day because of her! The food at our reception was also sooo tasty! We did buffet style & it turned out perfect. Definitely not the normal/gross wedding food that I've had in the past. The fried coconut shrimp was my husbands favorite appetizer! It was by far the wedding I've been too ;) Highly recommend the Emerald Grande, & highly recommend using Emily & Christine! -
![Shelletha and Charles' Wedding]()
Shelletha Sent on 11/18/2018Well worth the money
Emily at the Grande was awesome. She handled everything with out a problem. If I have to get married all over again, I would definitely choose Emerald Grande again. -
Jayna Sent on 10/12/2018We worked with Julie and, after her retirement, Emily at the Emerald Grande, and they did such an amazing job! The venue is absolutely beautiful, and we could not have been happier with how things turned out! Emily was so sweet and easy to work with and really made wedding planning fun! The food at the Emerald Grande is absolutely amazing! Our guests all commented on it, and we thought it was so great that the chef came and talked to us at our tasting and was at our reception running our carving station! They made us feel like a huge priority and I would highly recommend the Emerald Grande and their stuff for any wedding or special event!
-
-
![Rachel]()
Rachel Sent on 01/12/2018If you are looking for an amazing venue then the Emerald Grande is perfect! We had our wedding reception in the HarborView room and everything about the night was amazing. Julie and Emily are so easy to work with and make sure every detail is taking care of and perfect. The condos at the receptions site are perfect for guests to stay and not have to drive afterwards. We had a plated dinner and the food was better than we could of imagined!Emerald Grande at HarborWalk Village's reply:
Good Afternoon, Rachel,
We truly appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your valuable feedback!
We are so glad that your day was perfect. We hope you and your husband have a lifetime of happiness.
Thank you again.
Laura Isaacson
Sales Administrator
Special Events at Emerald Grande
HarborWalk Village -
-
Aneliya Sent on 11/04/2017Emerald Grande is the most beautiful place to get married in Destin. Our ceremony was on the Captan's Deck and the view was amazing. The reception was in the Harbor View Room which is one of the most beautiful rooms for a wedding again with view to the ocean. We worked with both Jacky and Julie and they were very nice, always helpful and willing to answer our questions and requests. They also provided a very helpful list of vendors. Last but not least, the food was excellent, we had the buffet, couldn't be happier.
Thank you Emerald Grande Team! -
-
Taylor Sent on 03/13/2023
Amazing Venue!!!
We had our ceremony on the Captain's Deck and our reception in the Grande Ballroom. The entire process (from planning to actual wedding day) exceeded all expectations. We were planning a destination wedding and we booked this venue site unseen. Something that was really important to us was that we could have our whole wedding in one location (ceremony, reception, overnight accommodations) so that we didn't have to deal with transportation. This venue was perfect for that! We worked with Emily and her team during the planning process and we really appreciated her professionalism and great communication. She was there every step of the way and her expertise really helped me not get too overwhelmed. We worked with Annette on the day of the wedding and she was absolutely fantastic. She was on the ball with every little detail so that my husband, both of our families, and I didn't have to worry about a thing and we could focus on enjoying the day! The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is just because of the hotel. They are privately owned so they don't have much flexibility with overnight accommodations like bride & groom upgrades or room compensations and late check-outs. Our guests also complained about the difficulty of canceling a reservation and the high deposit they lost when cancelling. -
-
![Angel]()
Angel Sent on 01/11/2019Would not pick the Emerald Grande if I had to do it all over again.....
Poor communication among staff and turn over made the Emerald Grande a regrettable decision in wedding location. For the amount of money I paid, it should have been an amazing experience. Instead it was stressful and frustrating from the moment I signed the contract and provided a $10,000 non refundable deposit. I even had wedding guests lost and frustrated with the venue location due to poor signage. -
![Buddy]()
Buddy Sent on 01/20/2019I Can't Believe I Paid For This
When you spend $40,000 you expect an amazing experience and people to go out of their way to ensure the most important day of your life goes smoothly right? This was not the case at all with Emerald Grande. The whole reason we chose this venue other than it's location and scenery was because it was supposed to be all inclusive so we didn't have to worry about pulling together vendors and worrying about little details while my fiancé and I are both working full time jobs. This was almost the exact opposite.
We specifically mentioned we wanted an afternoon wedding and sunset pictures and were given a time for the wedding. We printed invitations and everything and then the manager we booked with got fired (no surprise there with her communication skills) and were told that we actually needed a later time than originally told. So we REPRINTED the invitations for the new time. When we FINALLY met with a new member of the staff only 45 days until the wedding day we were then again told the second time was too late and needed to be an hour earlier at a minimum and that the original time would have been best.
Their vendors can also be questionable. My wife has gluten and soy sensitivities so when we talked to the cake vendor she mentioned that she has never made a soy free cake before so she refused to offer that option to us. We then had to find our own cake vendor which was a nightmare in and of itself with no help from Emerald Grande staff.
We were told that there would be fireworks planned for 9pm which is done for the HarborWalk. This was going to be our "send-off" since it coincided with the end time for the reception. One week prior we were told that actually the fireworks would be at 8pm and we would just have an extra hour of venue time with no official send off.
We had lots of guests get lost within the hotel. The ceremony needed to be moved inside due to rain (not the venue's fault) however the inside of the Emerald Grande can be a maze. There were no signs leading guests to the wedding when it was going to be outside and definitely not once it was moved inside. Some elevators only go to the parking garage, others go to different floors of the elevator, some require room key cards which guests don't have. We had guests showing up late because they couldn't find the room the ceremony was being held in on time.
We chose to have a plated dinner during the reception with either prime rib or chicken and shrimp. The chicken was very dry and my wife couldn't even finish it. What a wonderful wedding night dinner!!
Overall there was just very poor communication from the Emerald Grande coordinators and us. This is not something we wanted to deal with. There was mixed information that was passed along, it took multiple times calling and e-mailing to get a response at times, not to mention dealing with people that had been fired and dealing with multiple replacements that were playing catch up and overloaded.
I DO NOT recommend using this venue if you want things to go smoothly and want guests to enjoy themselves. For the money you spend here, it's a total waste.
Are you interested?
Are you interested?