Hilton Pearl River Hotel

We are still on "cloud 9" following the wedding of our youngest son, Justin to his bride, Erin. About 6 months ago we all started to look for a suitable venue. Since the kids of our neighbors were in a marrying mood we had attended 13 weddings in the last 18 months. So we had a pretty good idea of what we liked and what we didn't.

After looking at hotels and banquet halls in vermont, New Jersey and New York, we went to look at the Hilton Pearl River. We were greeted by their event manager, Gerry Burns, who turned out to be a honey. She answered all of our questions, showed us typical menus, offered suggestions as to timing, and was the easiest to negotiate with.

Along with Justin and Erin, Erin's parents (good friends) and we decided to book the hotel for our event. For Friday night rehearsal dinner we planned a Manhattan Lower East Side Deli theme, complete with hors d'oeuvres, matzoh ball soup, kosher pastrami, corned beef, knishes, and much more. For dessert in addition to the unlimited make your own sundaes, we asked for a babke cake, and all o fthe supplies necessary to make an old-fashioned New York egg cream. Despite never having done any of this, the staff swung into action, and needless to say, everything came together perfectly. They were truly amazing. We had a special keyboardist, Dani Lev, from Sammy's Romanian restaurant in Manhattan for entertainment. Gerry along with her maitre d' were there every step of the way, insuring that the guests were happy , and pacing the evening for speeches, entertainment, and food service.

Gerry had us rehearse the procession and made sure that everyone was calm and ready to go. She asked for the names of people for who she would have printed reserved seat signs in the first row. On wedding day we were all excited, and Blake, 3, was going to pull Braden, 1, down the aisle in a red wagon. At the last minute Braden decided not to take the ride, so Gerry had Braden's dad carry him, followed by Blake with the wagon with a tuxedoed teddy bear following. Problem- and instant solution. The ceremony was magical and needless to say we were excited. We had told Gerry that, we really liked lamb chops but we had missed getting them at the previous weddings. And, so, when we exited the ceremony into the cocktail hour, there she was with arms outstretched, a plate full of lamb chops in each hand. And, she said "keep moving... we don't want to hold up your guests".

Without boring you with details, the Sunday brunch was just as professionally run. The omelet stations were manned, there was an ample supply of everything, both food and plates at all three of the events, and used plates were scooped up promptly.

This really is a class act. Truly, we joked that we would be back as wedding crashers. We would highly recommend the hotel for any type of catered event.

Incidentally, our guests had about 15 room nights and I am not aware of any complaints. Our guests were all very happy. we had a great, great time and would do it again.

Finally, the catering staff was very reasonable in counting people at the buffets. All in all... 100%. We are so fortunate. Thank you Hilton Pearl river. We truly feel like a part of the family.

The following letter to the CEO of the Hilton Chain says it all:

September 2, 2007

Dear Sir:

On the weekend of August 17,- Augusr 18, 2007, my wife and I as well as a party of 30 separate guests, stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Pearl River, N.Y., which is five miles from where my daughter was having her wedding. After spending two days and two nights I have renamed the hotel the "Hilton From Hell." I will document just at portion of the horror story your hotel provided for us.

Eight months before the wedding, I contracted with the hotel to put a hold on 40 rooms and arrange for breakfast for 70 people. Several weekends before the wedding, I received a call from the new sales manager, that a year prior, an organization contracted with the hotel for a conference and that the old sales manager erroneously contracted with me. They could not now accommodate my guests but would arrange with the Hilton Hotel in Woodcliff Lake, N.J. to cover the rooms. Only ten rooms at the Pearl River Hilton would be available. Since I had arranged for buses from the hotel to the wedding hall, I told him that I would go along if he arranged for the buses to also pick up my party at the other Hilton at no additional cost to me. I then had to send him a legal letter with a time limit on his response in order to get that from him in writing. I have since found that there was no conference that weekend. He lied to me and double -booked another, larger wedding later on, making things very complicated for us.

Other issues were as follows: (1) There was a broken air conditioner in the Bride's room that was fixed and broken three times during our stay; (2) There was no hot water in one of my guest's rooms, and it too stayed that way; (3) The best man, who is highly allergic to feathers, specified that he needed a foam pillow when he made his reservations. Not only was there no foam pillow, but when he complained, he was told that he was a liar, and the pillow was not replaced until the next day; (4) When my wife's 80 year old aunt checked in on Saturday, they told her the room had been reserved for Friday and Saturday. When she told them that they made an error, she was told by the room's division manager that she was a liar and they got her so upset that she had to be taken to her room to lay down. I was called down and I confronted the manager who then backed down, primarily because I deliberately made a loud scene at the desk. When I asked for his card, he threw it at me and walked away. (5) My wife's cousin was handed a note that said that there was a noise complaint and if the room was not quiet they would

be charged for moving the complaining guest. They tried to explain that there's was the wrong room but they too were told they were lying; (6) My son, who made reservations

a week after we contracted with the hotel, asked specifically for a pull out bed for his 7 year old son. When he arrived on Friday at about midnight there was no pull out bed. He slept with his parents and the next morning, I demanded that they put a pull-out bed in their room. The night before, he too was told that he was lying but chose to just go to bed at that time; (7) As I was returning my door keys to the desk upon checkout, another old lady was trying to check in and the same room's division manager was insisting that she also had made a reservation for the previous day and that she too was lying. I walked over and asked her loudly if she was being abused by this man as she was visibly shaken. When he saw me come over, he turned very pale and said to her "you won't be charged," turned on his heel, and ran into the back room. All the other clerks behind the desk had big knowing grins as I left.

The next day, I spoke to the General Manager who said that he also owned the property and he yes'd me to death and ended up saying "Gee, I'm sorry it happened but I guess it's too late for me to do anything about it."

I am outraged enough by this treatment that I will be posting copies of this letter on every travel site and blog on the internet as well as sending copies to every catering establishment in the area. Incidentally, I spoke to the director of the catering establishment where my daughter's wedding took place and he indicated that this was his third complaint about the Pearl River Hilton this summer and was quite upset because he had recommended it. I never expected that kind of treatment from anyone and have never had that happen before, and I arrange several times per year for hotel conferences for an international mental health organization so I am not inexperienced. Be assured, I will be advertising my experience in the Hilton hotel from hell wherever I can.

Wedding Weekend To Remember. Our children were married at the Hilton Pearl River on a Sunday in September, 2006. This hotel, its Wedding Planner, and Staff helped create a wedding that exceeded our dreams and imaginations. As you approach the hotel, you are hit by a chateau-like building looming ahead, dramatically. From that moment on, you are convinced that this is the mood and the setting for an elegant wedding. Bellhops meet you at your car and are eager to assist you. The lobby is grand and inviting. The rooms are clean, spacious, and attractive. Throughout the pre-wedding process, and the wedding ceremony, and the cocktail hour, and the reception, the wedding couple and their families were guided and supported by a professional and skilled staff. The person who worked most closely with us in the planning stages was experienced, accessible, and ammeneble from beginning to end. During the wedding, he, the maitre d's, and the banquet wait staff remained there for us in a supportive, serving capacity. It is a month since the glorious wedding. We are all still high on this magical evening. Accolades from knowing and seasoned guests have been pouring in. Their comments generally focus on the food, drinks, and atmosphere. To them: The food was of excellent quality, delicious, and served sumptuously. Wines and drinks flowed and were of "perfection!" An air of warmth, spirit, and love permeated the night. We live in Manhattan, New York where fine hotels and wedding venues reign supreme. Well, they will be meeting their match, if not surpassed, in the Hilton Pearl River as a Hotel and as a Wedding Venue. We have attended many a gala event in these hotels. None to date, in our opinion, holds a candle to the Hilton Pearl River. This hotel is perhaps the best kept secret in New York and its surrounding regions.

Our children were married at the Hilton Pearl River on a Sunday in September, 2006.

This hotel, its Wedding Planner, and staff helped create a wedding that exceeded our dreams and imaginations.

As we approached the hotel, we were hit by a chateau-like building looming ahead, dramatically. From that moment on, we were convinced that this is the mood and the setting for an elegant wedding.

Bellhops met us at our car and were eager to assist us. The lobby is grand and inviting. The rooms are clean, spacious and attractive.

Throughout the pre-wedding process, and the wedding ceremony, and the cocktail hour, and the reception, the wedding couple and their families were guided and supported by a professional and skilled staff. The person who worked most closely with us in the planning stages was experienced, accessible, and amenable from beginning to end. During the wedding, he, the maitre d's, and the wait staff remained there for us in a supportive, serving capacity.

It is a month since the glorious wedding. We are all still high on this magical evening. Accolades from knowing and seasoned guests have been pouring in. Their comments generally focused on the food, drinks, and atmosphere. To them: The food was of excellent quality, delicious, and served sumptuously. Wines and drinks flowed and were of "perfection!" An air of warmth, spirit, and love permeated the night.

We live in Manhattan, New York where fine hotels and wedding venues reign supreme. Well, they will be meeting their match, if not surpassed, in the Hilton Pearl River as a Hotel and as a wedding venue. We have attended many a gala event in these hotels. None to date, in our opinion, holds a candle to the Hilton Pearl River. This hotel is perhaps the best kept secret in New York and its surrounding regions.