Palais Royale Reviews

Rebecca and the rest of the Palais team were absolutely wonderful. The venue was super cozy and lovely for our Fall wedding and we got to take advantage of the amazing patio (with tent). Amazing rope light set up, delicious food, friendly staff. Our guests raved about the experience and we could not be more pleased! The lead up and day of was all super smooth, and we had a a blast

Booking the Palais was one of our very first steps after we were engaged. It was our dream reception space! I would highly recommend having cocktail hour in the Morris Performing Arts Center lobby as well. Richelle (Palais Coordinator) was so helpful throughout the entire process. She was incredibly prompt and flexible. Taste-testing was great and the food was just as delicious day of. We also had several guests with dietary restrictions/food allergies. Richelle and Navarre were very accommodating and organized to ensure the meal went as planned. We felt confident that if anything unexpected happened the day of, she would handle it without a problem. You can really tell Richelle and all her staff truly care and want you to have your perfect day. The wait staff even brought us hor d'oeuvres while we were taking pictures since we weren't present at the beginning of cocktail hour. It was perfect for our winter wedding!

I felt like I was in the movie Beauty and the Beast with the European style architecture. It is a very romantic venue and perfect stage area for a band. Richelle was absolutely incredible. She helped to recommend other vendors, had so many tips and tricks and was very responsive. I loved both the cocktail hour space (morris lobby) and ballroom. Love love loved it all.

Wonderful! Richelle was responsive, organized, and a calming presence amongst the action of the day. I felt comfortable trusting her to 'make things happen.'

Everything was FABULOUS - the most beautiful venue for a reception. Loved it all!! From the moment we selected the Palais we were given excellent advice on vendors and what would work best at the venue. The Palais even accomodated us on short notice - like 2 days - for a tasting because we were in town. The food was phenomenal...even with speeches running late and the plated food sitting for a while - it was fabulous and they scurried to get hot food on the tables. The reception and wedding were so beautiful that we have received glowing thank you notes from several of our guests!! The Palais worked with all vendors and we never even checked on a detail the day before or the day of the wedding/even with a Chicago Band. It was smooth as silk. There were plenty of Bartenders and never a long line at the bars. It was beautiful and magnificent. Truly the most beautiful wedding I have been too...and my daughter said it was her dream. Great advice from the staff at the Palais throughout the process...very direct...to the point...meetings were organized and wonderful assumptions/recommendations were made when we did not know better. Responsiveness was perfect. I just left Richelle a message after the wedding saying..."WOW - I was speechless and so were my guests...I literally had at least 6 friends just tap me on the shoulder and say only a sincere one word "WOW" - when we entered the ballroom! A magical night! There were items that we just trusted to Richelle at the Palais like we had selected uplighting on the walls...but we mentioned that after the flowers were in there and the candles...she could decide with the flower vendor if the uplighting was even needed. I trusted her to decide if it was not needed...or to change the selected colors around the sides....It was all just magnificent. I completely trusted her with her recommendations. The groom's mother was an executive and so was her husband and she even commented that she had been to alot of really nice receptions but this venue was probably the most beautiful room she had been in for a party...with the tables set, flowers, band....etc. I agree and loved it all. Thank you for the perfect evening!

We had the BEST day. Richelle and Patrice responded to everything so quickly and the staff couldn't have been more accommodating during our reception. Our guests are still raving about the beautiful ballroom and the food! Wish we could celebrate here again with another party soon! Can't thank you enough.

Katy & Jamie

We held my daughter's wedding at the Palais and it was everything we had hoped for! The food was great, the facility was beautiful and their event planner, Richelle, is amazing!

The Palais is a beautiful, elegant venue. We were given excellent service throughout the planning and during the wedding. The food (filet and salmon) was delicious - all of our guests commented that they enjoyed their meal. The staff was attentive and accommodating to all dietary needs. Thank you for making the experience so wonderful! We highly recommend the Palais. :)

Food was delicious. Venue is gorgeous. Richelle, the venue coordinator, is awesome. Don't waste your money booking a wedding planner or coordinator -- Richelle at the Palais will do Everything!

There could not be a more beautiful place to have a wedding than at the Palais Royale! It was everything we dreamed it would be and so much more. Deb Leyes, the sales director, was kind, patient and professional. She and Scott were so helpful and I knew I could count on them to provide us with the best of service. The set up and lighting was perfect, the food was delicious and the service was great. We couldn't have been happier, it was a dream wedding come true!

A location for a perfectly beautiful wedding. Such a wonderful staff to work with!

The Palais is a gorgeous, stately event space. The food is delicious and the staff very professional. We had a Saturday brunch reception. The staff served passed champagne, mimosas, and chocolate covered strawberries during a cocktail hour, then served a brunch of beef tenderloin medallions, breakfast potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and an egg strata. All the guests raved about the food. Additionally, the staff made sure that everything went smoothly: introductions, cake cutting, moving from one space to another were all expertly handled by the staff. This venue is wonderful.

When I walked into the Palais Royale, I couldn't believe that I was in South Bend, Indiana! I think it's probably the best kept secret in the area since it's literally like stepping back in time to a wonderful, glamorous world and it's not even as expensive as some of the other places we looked! They have everything, from the linens and napkins, to the chair covers and preferred vendors. I found my wedding coordinator, photographer, and cake through them and all of them were fabulous!

It books up fast so I actually chose a date for our wedding based on the availability of this venue, and we were able to reserve the Morris Performing Arts theatre for our cocktail hour so the entire day was just filled with romance and drama. The hors d'ouvres, cocktails, and food was amazing and the staff was very professional, flexible, and accommodating.

I did have some trouble with getting a response in the beginning, but I think I was just being a nervous bride and they were a little understaffed, but they have since bounced back completely and our cocktails and reception were beautifully done.

The Palais was great, their staff was helpful and flexible with all of our needs. Everything they did for us was greatly appreciated!

The Palais is the best venue for a reception in the area. It is absolutely beautiful. Jesse was great to work with! The service was great and they really cater to their brides (and grooms). It is expensive compared to other venues in the area, but worth the higher price. My only disappointment was the food! Tasted completely different than the tasting. The chicken was well cooked (not dry) and most guests liked their food, but it was very run-of-the-mill wedding food which was very disappointing. Overall, I would highly recommend this venue for its beauty, great service & location.

The Palais was a wonderful place for our reception. If we had it to do all over again we would choose the Palais again. The food was wonderful, the staff was helpful, the ball room was simply elegant!

There were only a couple of things that we did not like. Tear down happened very quickly. We had barely left the room... we left 30 minutes before our reservation time was up... and they were already taking away the tables and clearing the place out. The other small flaw that we encountered was as my husband and I were getting ready to leave the staff began talking with my mom about paying the bill. We all felt this was in poor taste as the staff could have waited until after we left. It was hard enough for her to say goodbye to me... but to then have to deal with the staff at that exact same moment was very difficult for her. If that could have waited until after the farewell it would have been very helpful.

The Palais Royale was a TERRIFIC place to have our reception. The setting is beautiful (a ballroom that looks like the inside of the Palais Versailles) and the ballroom is large enough to easily accommodate several hundred guests. We had about 250 guests and there was still substantial space to create a dance area on the floor (the entire room is a hardwood floor).

The service was very good. You certainly pay a high price for it, but in exchange, the ballroom is completely yours to do with as you please for the day. We were able to have the room set up exactly as we wanted (including placing a projection screen on the stage for a slideshow), and the in-house catering was fantastic... very high-quality food and presentation.

Our only complaints, which we thought were rather minor, were that the wait staff rushed dinner a bit and we lost a couple small items in the shuffle. Overall, however, the evening was a great success. It was very well-coordinated, thanks to efficient staffing, and my husband and I were able to enjoy a completely WORRY-FREE evening because everything was taken care of for us ahead of time. We were able to just enjoy our wedding reception, spending time with our guests and celebrating! I'd definitely say the Palais Royale is WELL worth the money.

Richelle is the greatest! She walked us through the entire process step by step. As a Basilica bride (who knew very little about the South Bend area), Richelle was a god send. The venue is absolutely beautiful, the food delicious, the staff amazing. We could not have asked for a better venue. Richelle checked on us throughout the evening to make sure we were happy and she was never more than an e-mail or phone call away. It's just as magnificent as it looks in the photos. The ballroom will simply take your breath away when you walk through those doors. I could not have asked for a better experience.

Word to the wise: Beware of wedding planners in this area. We made the mistake of hiring a local wedding planner in the very beginning of the process and it ended up being a complete nightmare. If you are thinking about booking at the Basilica or (specifically) the Palais, Richelle is simply AMAZING. Don't get trapped.

The Palais was great- I am so glad we chose it! Deb was also great, walking us through everything. The food was typical wedding food- I wish they didn't charge extra for an option. The real disappointment was that we wanted a particular type of champagne that they could not provide, and we were not allowed to bring our own bottle in. If you have any special requests, make sure that they can accommodate them before you book!

The Palais Royale's in-house catering provided a quality meal for us and our guests. We got to sample a variety of food several months beforehand so that we could more easily select the menu. At the reception, the food was promptly served (although I think sometimes it was picked up too quickly -- my wife's food was taken before she was finished).
The wait staff and managers were very responsive to our needs and we didn't have anything to worry about throughout the evening. Great food; great service. I'd definitely recommend it.

The Palais Royale is an absolutely gorgeous venue! The food was good as well.