Merrimack Valley Golf Club Reviews
Reviews
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![Debbie]()
Debbie Sent on 05/18/2020Simply Elegant is Amazing
Simply Elegent is a great caterer. My experience was a pleasure due to Stephanie. She was so helpful & thoughtful with my many questions. Sam, Michele all of the team was amazing. Our reception was outside under a tent in Portsmouth. All food was delicious and I received many compliments from our guests. Thank you again for making our day so special!! -
Jen Sent on 07/13/2018I had my reception at Merrimack Valley Golf Club. The grounds are gorgeous for pictures. We had 140 guests, and the room was set up perfectly (not too crowded). Simply Elegant Catering did a phenomenal job. The food was delicious and cooked perfectly. I received so many compliments. Michele, Sam, Carissa, & Stephanie are a great team. There were no issues with communication, and they were very flexible. The planning process was extremely easy due to their experience, and they even made helpful recommendations for the other vendors we worked with. On the day of the wedding, things went very smoothly, and we were able to enjoy ourselves. I cannot say enough great things about the Simply Elegant Catering team and highly recommend them.
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![Stacy]()
Stacy Sent on 10/13/2012Absolutely gorgeous venue! Michele and Sam are amazing and the venue is so lucky to have them!! My wedding was the best night of my life thanks to these 2 and their amazing staff!! -
![Olga]()
Olga Sent on 10/13/2011Where do I start. The place is gorgeous!!!! Very modern!!! The food was delicious!!! The staff was wonderful!! The landscape is amazing, we went out on the golf course and did a photo walk. I would highly recommend this venue to all the couples looking to book a modern venue!!! This place e was beautiful!!!!!! -
![soontobemrspanag]()
Crystal Sent on 07/20/2011This venue is extremely beautiful and exactly what I was looking for to hold my ceremony and reception at a decent price. In the beginning, after my contract was signed, I also had trouble with contacting people and the venue switched caterers three times while I was planning my wedding. This made it very difficult and stressful to believe everything would work out. However, once the got their final caterer (simply Elegant Catering...reviewed separately), everything went smoothly and we were more than happy with how everything was working out. The one thing that bothered me was that my husband left multiple messages to get in touch with the owner about the bar and he never returned calls. I had to go there and seek him out personally (the week of my wedding). However, he was nice and I was pleased that he honored the champagne toast that was in our original contract (the caterer does not have a liquor license so that is handled through the venue). We also ended up with a lot more space than we had originally thought due to the restaurant there closing as well. The gentleman who took us out into the golf course for pictures was kind and funny. All in all, everything ended up working out very well and in our favor. -
![Jacob]()
Jacob Sent on 07/06/2023Merrimack Valley Golf Club
Merrimack Valley Golf Club is a beautifully appointed venue for a wedding. It is modern, spacious, has picturesque grounds, a covered deck-area, and a nice bridal suite. Some of my favorite features are the outdoor ceremony area (more about that later) and the food & service staff.
The Equinox Ballroom comfortably held 150 guests without feeling cramped, with room for a dance floor, buffet serving table, sweetheart table, and DJ Table. The foyer and patio area that overlook the beautifully manicured grounds with attached bridal suite are a must! This gives guests flexibility if they want to get some air or mingle away from the action. Chiavari chairs are standard (awesome), and the dining tables are 60-inch round tables that can comfortably seat 6-8, up to 10 guests. The outdoor ceremony area has a large, four-post, circular arbor and has gorgeous views over the grounds, as well as a waterfall feature. Both the indoor and outdoor spaces are first class.
The service staff were incredible! The waitstaff did a beautiful job setting the tables, and were courteous, friendly, and attentive. The bar staff despite a very sluggish start to the evening, quickly corrected course and the drinks were delicious and well-made.
Chef Diego, from the in-house Sandtrap Restaurant, prepared a delicious buffet selection of fresh salad, hot rolls, moist chicken piccata, tender steak tips, spiced roasted potatoes, and savory roasted vegetables. The food was delicious and fresh. I have gotten many compliments from my guests about the quality of the food. The appetizers were also delicious, and there was a huge selection to choose from, plenty of options for every palate.
Merrimack Valley Golf Club was (yes, WAS) a good value as well, undercutting many other venues in both the cost of the venue and food, and they did not have seasonal or weekend pricing. The price to book the venue itself was the price, 365 days a year, which we truly loved, but this is about as far as the praises go. Today, they have readjusted most of their pricing, and now charge more for many options, just because of the word, ‘Wedding.’
Over the 17 months we had the venue booked for our wedding, the price of our preferred buffet option increased by over 60%, or almost $20 per person. We were told the food pricing was subject to change until final payment, and was due to the rising cost of food, which such a drastic and quick increase was a hard pill to swallow. Thankfully, we were able to negotiate as the latest and most drastic increase was only several weeks before our final payment was due. Keep in mind here, the pricing for the same exact buffet option is drastically higher if you are having a wedding, versus a different type of event, (eg. a mercy meal or a baby shower). The final payment must be cash, check, or credit card (with a 4% processing fee for cards).
Before the wedding It was a rainy night and morning-of. On account of the forecast the week prior, we had contemplated moving the ceremony to indoors, but due to the cost we decided to chance it anyway.
The morning of the wedding, we were informed that it was too wet and muddy to have the ceremony outside, and that we would have to have it inside. I tried to call the events manager but she would only periodically respond to text messages. When I finally got ahold of her, she explained our options were to have it in the reception hall, using the dance floor as an aisle, or we could book the Aurora room for $1000, less the $250 ceremony fee we had already paid. Mind you, the Aurora room for our rehearsal was only $600 for 3 hours, but the less-than-1-hour ceremony was priced higher because I was charged for the initial tear-down of tables, set up, and subsequent tear down of the ceremony chairs. This doesn’t even consider that the event coordinator was not aware that the venue only has 250 indoor chairs, leaving 50 chairs short in the ceremony room, which nobody from the venue offered a solution for. My wedding party and several of my guests had to take chairs from the ballroom downstairs and bring them upstairs and then back down after the ceremony. This was tacky, and in my opinion, unacceptable on the venue management. I paid to have the room set up and they could not finish the job, or even offer a resolution.
After ‘chairgate’ ensued, before the ceremony began and whilst my wife and I were doing our first look, my family members were harassed by the event coordinator for my credit card for the $750 fee for the Aurora Room. I can understand needing to receive payment for services (even only half-done), but the timing of the event coordinator was unprofessional and inappropriate.
Despite the many hurdles of planning a wedding at Merrimack Valley Golf Course the wedding itself was spectacular. The food was delicious, the venue was beautiful, and the event went smoothly despite the morning’s headaches. I still would recommend Merrimack Valley Golf Course as a wedding venue because of that alone. In my opinion, Blue Birch Management needs to address their communication and professionalism standards if they want to continue to expand as a reputable and professional company. Buyer beware, make sure you ask lots of questions, get things in writing, and understand how quickly the management is willing to ask for more money. -
![Matt]()
Matt Sent on 06/27/2023We pushed through
We recently had our wedding at this venue and we're disappointed in the lack of professionalism and attention to customer service by the team. Communication was a constant issue and promised follow through were not timely or sometimes completed at all. The golf course itself is also often flooded and their side was not willing to work with us on my bachelor party. Sorry to say we'll never be back. Proceed with extreme precaution. -
![Tiffany]()
Tiffany Sent on 06/28/2023Unprofessionalism, deception, fear-inducing tactics
We strongly advise exercising extreme caution when considering Merrimack Valley Golf Club (MVGC) based on our personal experience hosting our wedding there. The event planning, which was overseen by Blue Birch Management LLC, left us profoundly disappointed and disheartened. To put it simply, our encounter was a complete disaster. Where should we even begin? Our entire journey was plagued by gaslighting, inconsistent communication, unprofessionalism, deception, fear tactics, and numerous other problems. As if that weren't enough, after our wedding, my cousin posted an honest review on Google (because, well, it's 2023, and word of mouth carries significant weight). Shockingly, during my honeymoon, the owner had the audacity to email me and issue threats, attempting to manipulate me into pressuring my cousin to remove her truthful review of her own experience. This blatant display of intimidation and fear tactics not only demonstrates highly unethical behavior but also violates the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA) established by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Furthermore, they also resorted to threatening another couple who recently got married at the venue, warning them about their negative reviews. These experiences compelled me to share my own review, although I am limited by the constraints of review platforms. I have much more to express (four pages' worth), but unfortunately, the platform restricts me. However, if you are interested in hearing further details about my personal experience, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Rest assured, we refuse to be intimidated into removing our posts, as we are protected by the law. My name is Tiffany Fontaine, and I encourage you to verify my credibility. It is disheartening to witness their desperate attempts to tarnish my character. This venue should be avoided for your wedding, especially when the management team is so insecure about negative reviews. It now becomes clear why they have absolutely no recent reviews. A business that attacks its own customers and guests instead of making positive efforts to improve tells you everything you need to know.
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