Review - Castle On The Hudson in Tarrytown, NY

Photo taken from their website

Hello! I have no idea how you ended up here. You must've gone pretty deep into the Google results. Good for you! But please keep in mind this was written and published in 2008 and is most likely pretty out of date information! I'm still a photographer though, and you can still check me out at johngallino.com

Castle on the Hudson is located at the top of a hill in Tarrytown, NY overlooking the Hudson River (duh).

Looks nice, eh? Well I'm sorry to say I thought this place sucked. It's primarily a hotel, not a reception hall, so it didn't seem like weddings were their first priority while I was there.

First of all, please realize that this place is best for under 100 guests. I just did a wedding today with 170 guests in that place, and let me tell you it was just WAY too packed.

The ceremony was outside, and I was really shocked that they set up the chairs and even a platform for the alter on slanted ground. Who the hell does that? If you're going to have a beautiful castle with nice grounds, you should definitely designate an area of flat ground for outdoor ceremonies. And if it's not flat, hire some landscapers and make it flat! It just looks careless otherwise.

The unique thing about this place--and mind you 'unique' does not mean smart--is that the reception takes place in two rooms. The main floor features a nice, but small room which is used for dinner and probably indoor ceremonies. Then there's another room of about the same size downstairs which is used for the cocktail hour and the party after dinner. So your guests go downstairs for the cocktail hour, then come upstairs for a quiet dinner with no music and then go back downstairs to party the rest of the night.

However when I first saw the dining room, I made the I Love Lucy "eughhh!" face.

You see, with 170 guests, the dining room was filled with as many tables as it could take and maneuvering around them was hell for the photographers, videographers, and wait staff alike. But with the stone walls, painted glass windows and theatrical lighting, it's a nice room if you don't pack it like a can of sardines.

The downstairs party room is reminiscent of a dance club, with colored lights and booth style seats. But the dance floor is disappointingly small, and the 8 piece band that was playing was crammed in a corner.

The food here was awful. Cocktail hour was the always-disappointing fruit, cheese and crackers, and I was served fish for dinner which could best be described as "crispy and gross."
It was the little things about this place that annoyed me. Trying to have an elegant day with formally dressed guests interrupted now and then by some regular folks in T-shirts that were staying at the hotel. The way the paint on the window sill was horribly sloppy and got all over the windowpane. The tiny dance floor, poor air conditioning...and who the hell thought it was a good idea to have the guests sitting on a slant during the ceremony? Again and again I got the impression that everything was half-assed at this place, and that they would do so much better if they tore down a wall, built a respectable ballroom, a designated outdoor ceremony area, and left the upstairs room for the cocktail hour. This place is booked every single day for the next 11 or 12 months, but I have to believe they don't deserve the hype. You'd think with all the money they're raking in, they could afford to be a little more accommodating to the average 150-200 guest wedding.

The outside of the building is, of course, beautiful. But inside it's very Victorian, which personally isn't my thing. Expect lots of floral patterns and dark wood furniture, along with some ridiculous medieval-style tapestries adorning the walls.

I know, I understand. It's a castle! Who doesn't want to have a wedding at a castle? But trust me, you'll enjoy your day and everything will go a lot smoother if you have a wedding at a place that was designed to host weddings. And if you really want to get married at a castle, skip this place and splurge on Oheka Castle. That place is fucking gorgeous.

If you found this review helpful, or you have a personal story to tell about this place, please leave a comment!

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