Reviews of The Grand Guelph Banquet & Event Centre (Event Planner)

James Hitchcock

Great catering food is always fantastic

Mitch

I attended a work party at the Hanlon Convention Center. It was hosted well. The drinks were $6 or $7 each. The main course at dinner was cold but I guess that's to be expected when serving 100 people at the same time.

nimwegan

An excellent local venue with incredible staff that dropped whatever they were doing to help me get things done that were time sensitive. Things changed on the fly, and they accommodated us. Food was tasty as well, no negatives. 6/5 stars

Maude Stephany

Participated in the Handmade Holiday market. Great venue. Lots of vendors.

Jaime Diep

Decent place to have a wedding.

Canadian Association of Farm Advisors CAFA

Held a conference there in October. Facility was great - a little hard to find though -- food was good. Need more staff of clean-up after he meals though.

Jason Fowler

Standard conference centre experience

Mike Willis

Great atmosphere for a wedding, lots of parking, and the food was amazing. Very clean facility.

Kimberley Cutler Smith

Wendy provided superlative service and attended to our every need. The venue, food and service were perfect. We will be returning to this site. The only suggestion I have is to provide better signage exposure on Woodlawn and remove the BBQ branding that is very distracting.

Rob Cameron

The Grand is fantastic!

Sara 73

They change the details and prices after you agree and give deposit. In turn we gave up another venue and lost that deposit only to not go here because they try to get top dollar even when you have a budget. Very dishonest and always wanting the biggest value customer.

Carol Anne Stares

The team at the Hanlon Convention Centre did an absolutely great job when it came to hosting our event. We hosted our event in Halls B & C which allowed us to divide up our event into two parts. They were very accommodating when I ask for the layout to be moved around the day of and got right on it. The food was amazing, everyone really enjoyed the sandwiches, salad and desert. Even after the presentations were done in Hall C, the servers made sure that coffee, tea, water and juice were still accessible during the rest of the event. Wendy Jewitt, Director of Sales was very accommodating when it came to asking for certain little favours. The venue was gorgeous and very welcoming, and located in a great area of Guelph as it has access from the highway and local transportation, this made it easy for our attendees to get to the event. I would recommend this place to anyone, whether it be for a wedding, meetings, small events, large events, job fairs and more.

Ciara Catingan

We had our wedding reception at the HCC in May, and words cannot express the wonderful that experience we had. We were so pleased with the services that we received, and we are so happy that we decided to spend this special occasion at the HCC. First off, the venue is one of the most beautiful and elegant venues in all of Guelph. The lobby and halls have stunning chandeliers, the lobby has a gorgeously lit water wall, and the halls are equipped with ceiling lights that can change colour depending on your preferences. We wanted an elegant venue, and the HCC delivered. The food was delicious! In the midst of the busyness, we made time to eat because we didn't want to miss the fantastic dishes. After the wedding, our guests raved about the scallop potatoes, beef tenderloin, cheesecake... and poutine bar! The poutine bar that we had as a late night snack was a big hit and was worth every penny. Most importantly, it was an absolute pleasure working with Wendy and Calli in the year leading up to our wedding. We had many, many questions and inquiries along the way, but they always responded to us in a timely and professional manner. They helped us to feel welcomed and well taken care of. Wendy worked with us to customize our dinner package so that it suited our individual needs, and she also discussed other details with us to make sure that everything was covered. A big THANK YOU to Wendy, Calli and the HCC team for your assistance and hospitality, and for ensuring that our reception went smoothly! We hope that our paths cross again in the future :)

Tara Signorelli

Lovely setup, nice decor, excellent food!

Susan Neath

This past April 2016 I had the opportunity to work with Wendy and the crew from the Hanlon Convention centre for a fundraising event. Although there many challenges, Wendy and the staff did an amazing job of handling things. In the end our event thanks in part to the Hanlon Convention centre made our event Embracing Beauty for Hospice Wellington a night to remember.

Melvin Paul

Good party place

Andrey

Good food this time

Stacy Cooper

What a difference a few years make from my last review. Platter's Catering has made a real difference for food and service quality. Sound system still needs some work, but maybe people don't know how to use the microphone properly.

brenda macisaac

I attended the New Years Eve Gala and it was THE best party ever!!! Everything from the food, decor and the service was exceptional. Kudos Kevin and staff> The food was hands down the best I have ever had and I so hope I don't have to wait another 5 yrs. to do it again. I have been raving about it to all my friends, family and coworkers. Thank you SO Much for a very memorable evening!

c & j jones

Formerly know as the Hanlon, now that Platters has taken it over, it has come a long way! Food is so good, and the facilities are looking better than ever! I know they have big plans for this place, inside and out. We had our Company christmas party there last year and have already booked for this year as well! I can't say enough about Allison and Steve, so detailed and nailed every aspect we wanted. If you want to have a worry free event with great food choices and even better staff? then you have to go here! Steve is the event Manager and he is amazing! Looking forward to this year with you Allison and Steve!

Larissa Wright

It was nice for my prom

Dana Mihut

It is a nice large banquet hall. Ceiling is very tall and has different colours on the top. Looks very nice in the night. Makes the atmosphere. Came here many times with ZATTU Photo Booth. Staff was always very nice and helpful. If you book the entire place you can fit many people. Maybe around 500 people.

Barb Scriver

it's great place

Eperjesi János

Very nice inside.

Matt Wright

Nice decor but a little basic, bartender was awesome. Food was not good at all. The small salad was great but the main course "prime rib" was pretty much the most hillarious joke I have seen in a while. Shrivelled dried out veggies, dried out potatoes, and a tiny little overcooked streak that required sawing though to get into pieces. Im pretty sure that its hard to ruin prime rib but they have figured it out here. Banquet hall is in the title but dont expect a banquet here.

Jordon Kehoe

Werid location weird venue

Martin Featherston

Poor access, although the nearby road was under construction. Terrible signage. I assumed a convention centre would be obvious and easy to find. The facility is very small and parking is limited, although there is more parking behind the facility. The parking lot is in terrible condition, potholed and in extremely bad condition. Go slow. Only washrooms inside, no other facilities. More like a banquet room than convention hall.

Mickey Franklin

Food service was slow and not much left by the time i got in line. Its pretty though

Jess Massarski

Went for the bridal show, it was good!

GuelphPublicLibrary

We are pleased to say Chris and his staff were very responsive and helped our event run smoothly! Thanks!!

Jason “The Difference” Huestis

Awesome breakfast/lunch restaurant on the corner of the building... You wont be disappointed.

Thai Mac

Very nice place that I didn't even know existed until recently.

ThunderStorm Productions

Love what Platters has done with the place. They have really brought it back to its former glory and even better. Fixed all the old issues. Improved everything. Great job guys!! All the best!

Eduardo Badaro

Big and clean, good services

Lance M

Hidden away but a great place to hold an event.

El Barron

Find what you look for.

Tracey McMullen

Recently we had our daughter's wedding at the Hanlon Convention Centre. I will begin with the positives. The Centre is a beautiful facility!!! And the food was excellent! Generous servings and delicious. Cathy was our server during the evening and she was so kind and helpful and went above and beyond to help us out. The bartender, too, was friendly and accommodating. I can't express enough how these 2 people contributed positively to our evening. But this facility is being terribly mismanaged and I fear for its future. We were told there would be a tasting in mid November. I contact the Centre in early December reminding them about this. We were given 1 available date that was left for the tasting. We asked if the photographer and DJ could come at the same time to see the facility, thinking that this would be the most convenient even for the Centre as there would not have to be another viewing there arranged. Wendy agreed that they could come. When we arrived for the tasting she threw a fit because I (the mother of the bride) was there. I kindly said dont worry about it. I was not there for the tasting. I was there for some details that would also be discussed. The bride and groom were only tasting. They were fine with me there. Wendy continue to go on and on about how she wasn't expecting me and she wished she had known. and I mean on and on. The second course was out and she was still complaining about my presence. The the photographer and DJ arrive. The Mother of the Groom brought them as they are family friends. Before having their look at the facility they came to greet the bride and groom in the tasting room. Well that was the last straw! Wendy flipped out. Ranting and ranting. Making everyone feel very unwelcome and uncomfortable. The mother of the groom was in tears. The bride and groom had to go console her privately. I sent an email the next day expressing our disappointment at how she had treated us and her complete unprofessionalism. To this day I have never heard a word from her in regards to my email. It was not clean when we first looked at it and we were told this was because there had just been a large event and it would be fully cleaned before our event. It was not. The day before we went in and noticed that the carpet (among other things) needed attention. I asked about a vacuum as my daughter, the bride wanted to do some vacuuming herself so that it would be clean. I was told it had already been vacuumed. When I questioned the quality of the job, Wendy, the Director of Sales, ranted at length about how crappy the vacuum is and that she sends requests upon requests, which are ignored, and what else can she do?! I have pictures showing the condition of the facility. They just rely on the fact that the lights are down at a wedding and no one will see. But I question the cleanliness of the kitchen if that is what the ballroom is like. We also had asked before booking if the Christmas decorations would be down as our wedding was in early January but it was not to be a Christmas themed wedding. She assured us they would be long gone. The day before the wedding we notice silver reindeer and white poinsettias on the fireplace mantle. I approached Wendy to ask about these decorations. I would have offered to gather them up myself if necessary. She interrupted my sentence to claim they weren't 'christmas'. Reindeers and pointsettias. Then she jumps up and stomps through the lobby and starts grabbing the deer off the mantle ranting and muttering under her breath. The bride and groom were sitting on the sofa by the fireplace and they clearly heard what she was muttering. I wasn't demanding she do it immediately. I was just checking that it would be done at some point before the wedding. So unprofessional. i believe we were very undemanding as weddings go. We only booked the facility in October and the wedding was in January so we had not been dealing with her for so long that she would have reason to be annoyed with us.

Kim

Don't follow through with confirmed events. Beware... if they can make more money they will cancel an event to allow for another that will bring in more money.

Goose R

Fun place for holding event's

Rebecca Scott

I recently had my high school prom at the Hanlon Convention Centre and was quite disappointed with the food and the service. At $60 a plate, I think we should have gotten better food than a soggy caesar salad and a plate of slightly crunchy penne and only water with ice to drink. Also, having ordered a vegetarian meal, my food arrived almost 10 minutes after the rest of my table's. The staff gave off a feeling of being annoyed at having to serve a room full of teenagers. Maybe it would be better for a wedding or corporate event. But all in all, it seemed like the fact that we were just high schoolers made the service decline greatly, which really should not be the case.

Catherine Jenkins

Bs service clear drinks before they are finished lost 4 drink tickets because they clear tables and challenge customers when they bought wine... so glad it wasn't my dime next year if Christmas party is held here not coming js

Navin Vadhadiya

Not fair for price

Lisa Dolby

Very beautiful establishment

Amiel Manza

Very good for a big event.

HR ENTERTAINMENT

We have loved working at the Hanlon for events. Biggest space is guelph and very beautiful

Joel Regts

Embracing Beauty Fashion Show

Michelle Kelly

Good food good service

tom smith

Great venue for us. Wendy was awesome to work with. Made things easy for us.

kimmilil

Nice place for events !! great layout and water feature for the event

John Kuzyk

I was here to attend a company Christmas party. It is a rather large and somewhat upscale venue with high ceilings and chandeliers.

JANNI RECORDS CANADA

Good hall for fuction

Fredy Achuri

Visit for Company party, good place but the service need to improve

Jeff Dressler

Great venue, needs to add debit card capabilities and increase their selections of beverages

azza madani

Spacious and nice place

Valerie Lammers

We have had a very disappointing experience this past month working with the Director of Sales and the head dinning room server for our night, Cathy, at Hanlon Convention Centre and we would not recommend this venue. Their poor communication and lack of organization made the event very stressful. They take no accountability for their mistakes and were extremely unprofessional and disrespectful days leading up to the event and during the event.

Evan Grieve

The Banquet Manager Chris Barlow was great. He was easy to get ahold of and very helpful during the lead up to the wedding and during the reception. The food was amazing everyone loved the roast beef and the salmon. The servers and bartenders were polite and friendly. The venue itself looked amazing before we added our touch. I would recommend this place to everyone.

Mark Porter

We had our wedding here last weekend and were so impressed. This place is amazing. Kevin, Allison and Kate were so attentive and accommodating. FOOD The food was phenomenal. We went with the smoked prime rib and stuffed chicken supreme. Throughout the night we had multiple guests compliment the food. We also requested a special vegetable assortment for the side and they executed it perfectly. VENUE It's a little bland from the outside, but the inside is very nice. We went previously for some wedding shows that were held there and it's a very versatile space. The lobby is great for cocktail hour and the fountain makes a great backdrop for pictures. We had 125 guests and one room fit them all comfortably. The 2 sided bar also helps with congestion during peak serving times OVERALL So many good things to say about this place. From start to finish they were very attentive to our needs and the end result was outstanding. They were also really flexible with our vendors and our hectic schedule on the actual wedding day. Would highly reccomend

Denese Renaud

Iovely venue

Wendy Peart

Nice on the inside.

Dhar Khosa

I had the pleasure of working with John Trevor and his team for 2 events within the last few weeks (holiday parties for kids and then adults). I was so impressed with their service. Throughout the entire process, John was very helpful and accomodating. Feedback from our employees has been extremely positive. A special thank you to John Trevor and his amazing team for making our holiday parties a memorable and wonderful experience. We look forward to working with them again in 2022!

Marjan E

Kevin and Samantha are great to work with! Despite all the stress a bride goes through during her wedding, I can say that they did everything to make sure my venue is not part of that list. Two days before my wedding, Kevin stayed until 9pm for my bridal group to be able to practice their dance. The day before my wedding, Kevin himself moved several tables around until I was happy with the set up. They were easy, flexible, understanding, sympathetic and worked with my vision and budget. I was a VERY happy bride. My husband was also very happy with their service. I would recommend this venue for your wedding!!

Ian McLean

Attended the table top event for Chamber of Commerce. Very well managed...great presentation and refreshments. I will be watching for future events at Hanlon.

drew pen

Bar/Wait staff are truly terrible.

PoultryIndustryCncl

The Hanlon Convention Centre is a hidden gem! Beautiful venue and great staff to work with. We hosted a company event with them and were pleased with all aspects of the facility! Thanks.

Y&L MMt

Allison, Kevin, and the entire staff are an amazing team! We own it all to you for all your hard work and attention to detail in creating a worry free wedding for 150 guest. Our guest told us it was fun, grand, and the chef served great flavors from the apps to desserts. We had dinner buffet with open bar, we definitely recommend the venue for someone who wants to go Grand at a reasonable price just minutes away in the Tri-city. Thank You! Kitchener, ON

Kevin Reid

Visited for the CEC convention, great day!

Celia Payne

I have been told that this building was previously movie theatres. The Convention Centre does contain large rooms, an accessible entrance and conveniences like wet bar areas. Ideal for medium to larger sized functions, but parking lot set-up creates a bottle-neck when large quantities of people are all trying to leave the venue at the same time.

Tanya

Beautiful but waterfall was not working

Mr Joshi

Platters have taken over in managing this place and the quality of service has improved a lot. Its a very nice place to have parties, events, etc. The food quality is amazing. Highly recommend this place.

Tiffany Hilker

Great food and fun for the family

Dan Allen

BEWARE - this place has changed management in the past year and has gone downhill. It is a beautiful facility but everything else will disappoint you. Watch out for inflated prices on your invoice, charges for things you didn't get or agree to, terrible food, random menu substitutions, and ignored requests. Terribly disappointed.