The Row Hotel at Assembly Row Reviews

If you are thinking about booking this hotel for your wedding, look no further. This hotel was the perfect venue for my wedding last summer and I’m so glad we went with it. The hotel itself is absolutely stunning and well designed. From the beautiful swirling stairs leading up to the venue, to the large/small ceremony space and the grand reception space. The ceremony room was the perfect size for my wedding and the large ballroom had enough space to fit all of my vendors and guests.
I stayed in the bridal suite with a connecting room and my husband had his own grooms suite. We loved all rooms, they were very clean, modern and enough space for my vendors and guests.
I just want to thank Marissa and Elyse for being the coordinators at my wedding. They were exactly what every couple needs. They were both super organized, professional, polite and efficient. The day of the wedding, they provided any and everything my guests, vendors, and I needed. My vendors also mentioned that they were a pleasure to work with. You ladies made my stress and worries nonexistent on my special day. Thank you.
The food was great. The chef definitely hit the nail on the head with our customized menu. His suggestions made us feel like he really cared about what he does and the day of he executed that flawlessly.
Again, you will not regret booking this hotel to host your wedding.

It was hard enough wanting to keep our wedding date and trying to get married in the midst of a pandemic. We had high hopes and high expectations and wanted a great day we would remember for the rest of our lives. Elise and the team at The Row gave us just that and then some.

Ganesh, our head chef, put together one of the most stellar menus we could ever hope to offer our guests. The tasting we had with him answered every question we could ever have about the food we honestly loved to serve all our guests. Three delicious entrée items, hors' d'oeuvres that our guests could not stop raving about long after the wedding, and two signature cocktails that expressed who we were as a couple.

I only started with the food. Elise, our wedding planner and the Director of Sales at the Row was a consummate professional and the greatest pleasure to work with. She ensured everything was safe for a Covid wedding with social distancing, masks, and set expectations perfectly while executing every bit of it on site. The event was ever changing due to the pandemic, and Elise was never once flustered and was always able to offer alternatives and accommodate everything she could. Even on the wedding day, we found a few things she threw in especially for us as little surprises just from the time she got to know us (like an adorable picture of our cat in front of our reception space).

All in all, though our guest count was only 20, we had an afternoon and evening we will always remember. I cannot express how much we enjoyed our time at the Row and working with this team. Weddings are once in a lifetime, but if we ever need to host another event, we will always look to Elise and the team first.

Without hesitation, we offer our highest recommendation to the Row Hotel. With an ear-to-ear smile, here are a few words about our experience. Back in November 2018, we first sat down with Abigail, who is the Sales and Catering Manager. Over the year, she skillfully coordinated all of the details and provided a vision for how we could pull off the best party of the year. Time flew by; the next thing we know, it's the day of our wedding. The entire Row Hotel staff, from the bartenders to the valet, the managers to the cleaning crew, all accommodated our guests and us superbly. We appreciate all the small things and the big gestures. In all, we could not have imagined a better way to launch our new lives together than at the Row Hotel. See you next year on our anniversary!

If you haven’t booked your wedding venue yet, BOOK THE ROW! I would give it 10 stars if I could, everything about this venue was incredible. My husband and I were looking for something in the Boston area that would be convenient for all our out-of-town guests. The Row was the perfect spot! First, the hotel itself is stunning (there is a reason they were just ranked as one of the best hotels in the world by Travel and Leisure). The lobby speaks for itself with the huge staircase (we took a lot of family photos there!) but the event space is equally as impressive. This really feels like a unique space vs. your standard corporate hotel function room. Their event spaces have floor to ceiling windows, large exquisite chandeliers, and one room even has gold vintage maps of Somerville decorating the walls. It was so convenient to have the ceremony, cocktail hour and the reception not only at one venue, but all on the same floor. We even used their outside terrace for cocktail hour! Second, the food was incredible. All of our guests couldn’t stop talking about the food (and still tell us to this day) how good everything was, from appetizers, to main course, to dessert. Last, but not least, Abby and her team absolutely make this the best wedding venue. Abby is the type of woman you want in your corner on your wedding day – incredibly organized, calm and so sweet. I got to relax and enjoy the day of my wedding because Abby and her team took care of coordinating all the vendors coming in, setting up the décor, and making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. From check in, to the wedding day, to the breakfast on Sunday, every member of the hotel staff was so gracious and excited to be there. Our guests also commented about how helpful and accommodating everyone was. It doesn’t’ get any better than The Row!

Had my wedding reception here this past August, and I couldn’t be more happy that I made that decision. The Row is such a unique venue because unlike other hotels that generally have the same interior look, The Row is a one of a kind boutique hotel. The minute I stepped in, I was kindly greeted by the valet staff as well as the front desk receptionist. My first impression was the beauty of the details in the front lobby. Looks like something straight out of Pinterest. The hotel also has a very distinct scent that reminds me of a warm winter candle, so pleasant! As soon as I saw the beautiful white staircase going up to the ballroom, I knew this is where I wanted to have my wedding reception! It’s a very versatile venue that caters to almost any wedding style. The events coordinator, Abigail, played a huge part influencing my decision in picking The Row as the venue. She is so attentive and polite! All of my questions were answered promptly and her flexibility in adjusting to all of the wedding planning details was phenomenal. Not only is the venue absolutely gorgeous, but the food is to die for! All of my guests loved the hors d’oeuvres as well as the dinner. The suite that we stayed in was so cozy, it made the whole experience all the better. I 100% recommend The Row as a venue for any event as well as a great place to stay!

What can I say but, wow, it has been a month since our wedding and we still think about how lucky we were to have been able to celebrate our special day at The Row. Abby and her team were absolutely impeccable, from our first planning visit through to the end of the night on our actual wedding day. We were shocked at how wonderfully the event turned out, and, frankly, so was every one of our guests. I don’t think that anywhere else could have knocked it out of the park on every single detail the way the team at The Row did.

First, the hotel itself is incredibly unique, drawing back on its history as a manufacturing plant. We visited a lot of locations, and just thought a hotel venue couldn’t work for us until we visited The Row – its character shines through with the spiral staircase and scrap metal sculptures, and its boutique size made it feel like the building had been built for our event. The entire event space -an entire floor- was reserved for our event, and it included a separate cocktail hour area, an outdoor patio, a lounge area, and the main ballroom. It felt much more like a rented a mansion than a hotel event space.

Secondly, food is very important to us, and this was one of the key components in our choice of venue. James and the food/beverage staff really knocked it out of the park and put together a unique menu for our event, tailoring it to our preferences and our theme. Frankly, it’s not easy to maintain food standards when catering to a large group like we had, but the team managed to create a meal for everyone that was every bit as well done as our tasting for four – which is to say it was phenomenal. Try a meal at the hotel, or even just a cocktail and a snack at the lobby bar, and you will see what I mean. Everything was prepared fresh just behind the door to the ballroom, and it showed.

Lastly, and most importantly, we can’t say enough great things about the staff. This is what really sets the best places apart. Abby was a true partner with us every step of the way, and without her help we couldn’t have created the unique wedding that we wanted. We had some requests that, I am sure, were unusual. Rather than be discouraged, Abby was excited by the challenge and worked with us to make sure everything went just how we envisioned it. On the actual day of the wedding, it became clear how many people were working behind the scenes to make our event happen.

I am an honest rater and can usually find something to criticize, but in this case there really is nothing that could have been better. I can see why The Row has been rated as a top 50 hotel in the world by Travel+Leisure magazine. Thank you for everything, and we will certainly be back for a drink whenever we are back in the area.

Abby and the entire staff at The Row exceeded all our expectations!

I honestly can't say enough about how amazing our experience planning and celebrating our wedding at the Row Hotel was. From our first meeting with Abby we felt at ease and like we were well taken care of. Not only is Abby super organized, friendly, and professional, but she also is a very experienced event planner and thought of things that we hadn't even considered that ultimately improved the quality of our event. Apart from the great experience with the venue and staff, the hotel itself is simply a beautiful hotel and the perfect backdrop to photos that we are excited to look at for the many years to come.

We got married at The Row Hotel in Somerville in April 2022 and we cannot recommend it enough for anyone looking for a hotel wedding venue in the Boston area.

The hotel itself makes for a gorgeous wedding venue, with all of the dark grey and navy hues offset by the gold details you can find throughout the lobby and other spaces. Assembly Row was also an amazing backdrop for many of our pre-wedding photos.

BUT the BEST thing about having our wedding at The Row was Marissa, the catering & events manager. Marissa was absolutely amazing from start to finish. She answered all of the questions we had a long the way, had so many great suggestions, and made the whole wedding planning process so much easier. From the day she walked us through the venue to the day of the wedding itself, she was very thoughtful, reassuring, and an absolute joy to work with. We didn't have a wedding planner, but the best part was that because we had Marissa, the day of the wedding was completely stress free for us. She had all of our vendors' information, and coordinated everything for us so all we had to do was show up and get ready with our friends. Not once did I have to worry about the setup of the wedding, whether vendors had arrived, etc.

The food was also amazing and so customizable. We got to have a menu tasting, and the chef was really accommodating about the menu and took notes on any tweaks we requested. We went with the "stations" instead of a plated meal, and it was a great decision. We had a lot of guests with diet restrictions, and the stations made it really easy for everyone to customize their plates and still enjoy all of the options (e.g., we were able to have the nuts on the side of the salad, so you could have it added or not). This also made the invitations/RVSP process so much easier, since all we had to do was simply get a count of how many people had food restrictions so we had enough food to accommodate them, but we didn't need to get anyone's meal preferences ahead of time.

It was also great that the cake came as a part of the wedding package. Icing on the Cake is the cake provider for the venue, and their buttercream cake was absolutely delicious and beautiful!

Cannot recommend The Row enough!

We just got married at the Row and had an excellent experience. They were able to accommodate a few unusual requests and on the big day, the staff helped everything to go smoothly. We especially appreciated our event coordinator, Abigail, who was very friendly and helpful.

My now husband and I booked the Row Hotel because we had a great experience when we came to visit the hotel and met with Abigail, their Sales & Catering Manager. The space was beautiful and modern. The staffs were professional and the customer service was excellent. We were looking to have an open bar for a 100 person wedding and we liked the package options that they had available so we booked them with no hesitation. Our Sept 2020 wedding got postponed due to Covid and the hotel was very accommodating and let us postpone to Sept 2021. They were always very informative and always quick to respond to emails/phone calls and always keeping us in the loop especially with the ever changing rules due to Covid. Of all the vendors that we booked, we had the utmost confidence in the Row Hotel to carry out all that we wanted for our wedding. All of that changed came our wedding day.

Abigail left during the Covid shut down and eventually her position was filled by Marissa. Marissa was also pleasant and very communicative through the planning process, at least up until the wedding. One week before our wedding, Marissa sent me an email about how Somerville just passed a mask mandate and that we have to wear our masks during our ceremony and reception unless actively eating/drinking. This mask mandate actually passed over three weeks ago but she waited until the last minute to tell us. When we brought this up, she said she didn’t want to stress us prior to the wedding. Ironically stressing us out one week before our wedding was ok for her because now we have no options left but to go through with our wedding. The day before the wedding I met with Marissa who confirmed that we will have two open bars for our cocktail hour and two open bars for the reception as discussed. Then come our wedding day. The hotel lost my cake topper. I did not have two opens bars for both the cocktail hour and reception like they said. There was only one bar for the cocktail hour which then closed and the reception bar opened for the reception. We were supposed to have wine service once dinner started as well. They brought out the salad to us and no one was coming around with wine. My husband flagged Marissa over and asked her about it and she said “well we normally don’t start wine service until the entrée comes out”. Are you serious? Come to find out after the wedding when I spoke to my families and friends that many tables did not receive any wine service nor did anyone ever came to refill any water glass. Some didn’t even get any cake because they didn’t bring it out and it’s not like there was not enough cake to go around as it was a 3 tier cake! The champagne raspberry toast was literally one sip, that was how much they filled the glass. It was a quarter full and mind you there was a raspberry floating in it which brought it to being a quarter full (see uploaded photo). Then they put the late night snacks outside of the reception where no one knew it was even there so most people left without even seeing it. The day after the wedding, my husband and I had to pack up all of the decors on our own. Things were just left everywhere and tucked away into different rooms and we had to make 4-5 trips back to hotel to pick up more stuff once we realized we still had things missing. The hotel was of no assistance. They could barely hold the door for us let alone help with anything. It was like once the wedding was done with then they were also done with us. I e-mailed Marissa to tell her how disappointed I was in the service that they provided, how they blatantly lied about the two open bars, and how they lost my cake topper and never gave us the top tier of our wedding cake. My husband and I ended up on the phone with Marissa and Elise, the Director of Sales and Marketing to discuss all the things that went wrong and all the things that they promised us that did not happen. They said they were surprised that we felt this way about the service because they have won awards for their service. It was the most frustrating phone call because they gave us excuse after excuse then finally they owned up to what happened and apologized. They sent us an email post phone call to say that they were giving us a few Bonvoy points. For the amount of money that we spent on this hotel for a wedding that they ruined and they think a few Bonvoy points were going to fix it? Screw you.

I DO NOT recommend the Row hotel and would caution you to think twice before booking your wedding here. We opted to pay more for an open bar but we might as well not as they were stingy with the alcohol from the champagne toast, to the lack of wine service, and the lack of open bars. I cannot even begin to express my disappointment and frustration from the staffs to Marissa and Elise. I don’t even believe that this is a Marriott hotel because nothing from our wedding day or after showed Marriott standard. Learn from my experience and stay away.

However, the one person I will give high praise to is their head chef, Ganesh Thapa. His food was amazing and I had so many family members and friends (even the picky eaters!) tell me how delicious the food was. He even checked in with us during the reception dinner to make sure the food was to our liking and offered to get us anything that we needed. He set the expectations high when we had our menu tasting and he certainly delivered on our wedding day. My 1 star review is not a reflection of him but rather the rest of the staffs. Ganesh is a 5-star chef and he was the only good thing that came from the Row Hotel.