Goodwood Park Hotel

[strikingreality]

cocotintin >> Thanks for sharing. GWP increased their prices by quite a bit for the new package. I am also a BTB with GWP. Banquet is in May 2011, but I am under the old 2011 package.

If u signed with GWP, can u stil go for the wedding show?? Am tempted to go, since I have not tried the food and see the ballroom decorated in its full entirety. Do u think the coordinators will offer complimentary entry??

 

[purplebottle]

Thanks for sharing! Like Kass, I also took the old package and my AD is in June 2011.

We can go for the wedding show. After all, they will not reject people who pay

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

hi all, whats the old 2011 pkg abt? same price? are there any diff?

Kass ur AD is May when? I actually wanted a date in May but both ballrooms were taken so end up i change mine to July

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

i am still going for the wedding show coz i wanna look at the set up of the ballroom etc..
not sure if there will be complimentary entry.. i paid for it though..

 

[purplebottle]

It's 988++ for Sunday and 1038++(if I don't remember wrongly) for the old package.

 

[strikingreality]

The old package is 988 for Friday and Sundays for 8 course dinner, and 1088 for Saturdays for 9 course. Beer is 20L instead of 30L. This seems like the main difference. For food tasting, 10 persons allowed as well. Flowers are roses and gerbera only, but not a big issue for me, as I am a big fan of gerberas. This is based on what Violet posted are the differences, since I have not seen the new 2011 package in its entirety.

My AD is on 7 May. Originally wanted 22 May, but that was already booked, so took my 2nd choice date.

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

Kass you r so lucky, u manage to get a cheaper dinner package. When did u book ur banquet? i wanted 22 May too!! but it was booked, looks like 22 May is a super hot date.

by the way, can to share with me your detail package? my email is [email protected]

 

[strikingreality]

Cocotintin >>> I personally think ignorance is bliss lah, dun need to know what the old package is since it is no longer available...

In any case, I am not in Singapore right now, hence do not have access to my packages at my home laptop. If u really want to know, do remind me again next week, when I am back in Sg...

22 May is really hot! I asked for availability of this date in mid-January and it's already booked then!!

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

wow.. didnt expect it to be such a hot date. U book ur banquet in Jan this year?

 

[strikingreality]

I made a tentative booking in end-January, but only signed after CNY.

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

oic.. i am now waiting for my coordinator to send me the draft contract.

 

[celinepuah]

Wow... the wedding show promo is really good...
do they include card printing? coz i tried to talk to my coordinator.. and she can't add in the card printing for me -_-.. and the old card design is really....'plain' ..

Btw, any good cathering manager to intro?

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

sw: it does not comes with card printing. If you find the design too plain, u can consider signing up during their wedding show where dreamweaver (their vendor) can help u to personalised your wedding cards, wedding favours etc as part of the package.

 

[blueangel81]

Hi, are there any GWP brides or ex-GWP brides who have worked with the catering sales mgr, Anthony Ng before?

I have spoken & exchanged emails with Anthony several times, felt he was not v professional in the way he speaks or replies the email. But at least he is quite prompt in replying my emails. Still, my fiance & myself are concerned esp after we read couples of complaints on the not-so-gd service abt GWP.

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

Dorothy, my coordinator is Anthony. So far, he is quite ok. He is prompt with his response. We normally exchange short emails but I did spot a spelling error in the draft contract he sent me yesterday.

Care to share your experiences with him? In what ways was he unprofessional?

 

[blueangel81]

He made more than 1 spelling error in his emails to me. Nvm, I gave him the benefit of doubt that he typed too fast. Let me give u some examples of his replies (AN: his exact words) to my qn:

Qn 1: Can we choose to remove the noodle/rice item to shorten the 8 courses to 7 courses as we like to have more time for a dessert buffet?

AN: Basically, there is no starch to end the dinner, this will not work. As guests will be complaining the food is not sufficient.

We are also considering the individual plated option in a 6 course menu (like those degustation set served at restaurant) so I asked the following qns with regards to this option:

Qn 2a: Can you advise on the portion of individual serving? Will it be similar to those degustation menu of a standard 6 course meal served by restaurants? I am concerned if my guests will be full at the end of the 6th course.

AN: Honestly, the serving portion should be enough for the dinner. Any way, you have a food tasting to determine the food quality and quantity as well. If you still have concern, we can change the noodle to rice instead. At rice is more filling.

Qn 2b. Presentation: will I expect to see a exquisite display of the dishes since they are individually served?

AN: For wedding chinese banquet is really unlike dinner at a restaurant. Because this is for 250 persons, not for 50 persons arrangement. So you can't expect the restaurant style exquisit display. But i am sure that it will be properly presented to you and your guests.

Qn 2c. Can I also be assured that the individual plate of dish will be served warm for each guest? (Sorry if this is a silly question but I had attended several wedding dinners where dishes (supposed to be hot) were served cold, as if they had been prepared several hours before hand & left in the open)

AN: This has always been a concern for us. Usually, the food turn cold is resulted due to the programme timing. I think if there is no food stoppage, we should be able to deliver the food at least warm.

Then when we spoke on the phone, he will mix english, mandarin & a bit singlish in his conversation. I would think he should carry himself in a more professional light since he is representing GWP which is quite a prestigous hotel. Maybe he is just trying to be friendly or really being frank in his thoughts. Let me know your views.

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

I have not had such a long conversation with him over email before so i cant really comment. But from my interaction with him over the phone and in person, i tend to agree with blueangle.

 

[blueangel81]

If he is just trying to be friendly, then fine with it. But we are worried that the way he talks / writes, reflects a frivolous atittude towards his work. A wedding coordinator plays a very important role in making sure that the wedding banquet runs smoothly. We will be meeting him for the first time next week. Hope he will give us a much better impression in person as we really like to hold our wedding dinner at GWP.

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

blueangle, when is your AD? Mine is in July 2011. Will be meeting him next Mon to sign the contract.

 

[blueangel81]

Mine will be June 2011. Are you going for the wedding show on 18 Apr'10? Why don't you sign the contract on the wedding show for additional perks? Or did he promise you the same perks if you sign next Mon too?

PS. its blueangel, not blueangle haha

 

[strikingreality]

My coordinator is Mei Fung. While she speaks Singlish and have some problems with spelling sometimes, I do not have major issues with that as I do not expect everyone to speak Queen's English. We will sometimes also adapt and speak with her with mandarin as well.

I do agree from your comments that Anthony does not seem professional in his replies.

But blueangel, if u dun mind me asking, what is ur purpose of asking those questions, even if they promise you on email, that does not translate to actual operations. What they can assure u now on email may not be what actually takes place, as the catering sales manager are more focussed on selling rather than the actual ops. I rather liaise with the banquet ops manager on the day itself.

So are u having a chinese wedding banquet, or an individually plated meal?

 

[blueangel81]

Kass, I asked those qns cos' we were thinking of doing a customised individually plated menu in the first place coupled with dessert buffet. I supposed he has worked with the chef/banquet ops mgr to conclude & offer me what they could promise. All these should be drafted clearly in the contract & if they fail to deliver, they will be in breach and putting GWP's reputation at risk.

Anyway, we decided not to take the risk (given his reply). So we gave up the idea of the individually plated menu & stick to their standard package (chinese dinner). But we have some customisation to the standard menu & will top up $100++ per table for dessert buffet if we eventually choose GWP.

 

[strikingreality]

Oic, So what did u change to the menu? And what's the total cost of your package per table?

I changed my courses formy wedding banquet as well.

I kept the rice and noodles course though.

By the way, FYI, for individually plated meals, it is common practice for hotels to actually prepare the dishes in advance and leaving them out. If u go into a banquet kitchen, prepared dishes are left out in the open and even more so if it is individually plated, by the time u are done with the last plate, the first plate would have been rather cold already. It would be difficult for the hotel to guarantee a piping hot meal, especially for a individually plated dinner. Just speaking from my experience with hotel ops.

 

[blueangel81]

We shorten the weekday 8 courses to 7 courses with dessert buffet. Thanks for the extra info. Looks like its a right choice to stick with the standard package than pay a high premium for a individually plated menu.

 

[maddiejas]

Hands down to the heritage architecture of GWP but their service is not on par unfortunately.

Our experience with GWP had not been a good one which makes me & my HTB feel we were not in safe hands.

Anthony apparently is a new guy in GWP and which is why i havent seen reviews abt him until now..My HTB & I were not comfortable with the way he spoke and responded to some of our queries. Some of the questions posed to him were either not answered or given vague answers.

When asked if he can assure on the standard of banquet food served,he mentioned he cannot assure the food tastes good to all and went ahead telling us about previous ocassions where customers complained banquet food tasted bad.

He followed by explaining restaurant chef/team bought the raw ingredients which tasted sour where it was supposed to taste sweet. That freaked me out..

I met up with a fair share of wedding coordinators for hotel wedding banquets and GWP apparently is one of the more inflexible ones.

To all HTB/BTB, above is just my personal experience. There is no intended offence directed to anyone. Good luck in your wedding preparations and have a great one!

 

[maddiejas]

btw Kass, how did you know anthony was not professional and how did you get Mei fung as your wedding coordinator?

I requested to change wedding coordinator but their manager called and "interogated" (she sounded like she was) me and told me she has a great team working for her/GWP and every one of them has to go to her to negotiate additional perks so don't need to check with Meifung what i asked for from Anthony if it was rejected. Furthmore they have 100 years old heritage history and they are audited. Sigh.

 

[blueangel81]

Jazzy, on what basis did you request for a change of coordinator? Cos' Anthony could not accede to your request on additional perks?

My fiance suggests that we request for a change in coordinator too else we will source for other hotel. But it seems hard to justify the change based on our perceived 'professionalism' in him.

 

[strikingreality]

Jazzy >> I did not say that I know Anthony is not professional. What I meant was that I agree from the comments from blueangel that he does not SEEM professional in his replies.

I was intro-ed to Mei Fung by another BTB. At that time it was still the first meeting, so I just called/emailed Mei Fung directly and asked to arrange an appointment with her.

 

[strikingreality]

Jazzy >>

"Furthmore they have 100 years old heritage history and they are audited." LOL to this part, 100 years of heritage history and auditing does not guarantee service.

In terms of the perks etc, I think ALL the coordinators know what they can or cannot give. There are boundaries that they can work within, as set by the management. If one coordinator doesn't give you, most likely the other coordintor cannot accede to the request as well.

Btw, who called you? Their manager? Is it Esther, the Director of Catering?

 

[maddiejas]

blueangel>> I did not go ahead with GWP cos service is very impt to me.

Kass>> on hind sight, naming of names is sensative

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

blueangel, yup, Anthony has agreed to give me all the wedding perks if i sign anytime in April, so i do not need to wait till 18 apr. but i will still be going to the wedding show to take a look at their wedding set up etc.

Well.. people, you really have to look through the contract terms and conditions properly because i actually made Anthony do some amendments to the contract and he agreed.

So far the things i requested for, GWP was able to compromise to it so I guess thats fine for me.My food tasting will be next year anyway, if you are really looking for good food, I guess ballroom is not a place to go for.

Happy planning peeps

 

[blueangel81]

Coco, can u share what are the additional perks that you managed to secure?

How did you find his service/attitude during the 'negotiation'?

 

[strikingreality]

cocotintin >> What amendments did u made to the contract? The T&C looked okay to me leh. I only asked them to make some changes to the package, which we have previously agreed, but not reflected in the contract.

You secured the wedding show perks?

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

I have sign my contract with Anthony yesterday afternoon. I did not get any additional perks on top of the wedding show perks. So what you see in the wedding show, I am getting it.

Well, all along I am OK with Anthony and his service towards me has been OK too. I mean, he is not rude and he also did not make me wait for him for too long. We cant say that a person is unprofessional purely based on the way he speaks. Just my 2 cents. I have spoke to other banquet managers/coordinators from other 5 star hotels and they are equally inflexible with their perks.

Kass, i did very minor amendments to the contract. I made him add on that the free flow of beer starts during the reception instead of just 1 sentence "free flow of beer". Because if you realise, if you are taking up the DBS promotion, you can choose either free flow of house pour wine after the commencement of dinner or free use of bridal car which is a porsche (T&C) so I wanted to make sure my free flow of beer starts during cocktail reception and not after the commencement of dinner.

The 2 nights stay in bridal suite, I'm only staying for 1 night and the other night i will come back another day so he will issue me a voucher for that.

Other than that, I also told him that I do not want the floral arragement on the stage, aisle and VIP tables so he will be working with the florist or even I can work directly with the florist for something else. I will most likely upgrade my table centrepiece as I will be engaging my own florist to design the stage and VIP tables.

Anthony also told us which fish in the menu are fresh frozen, which are fresh water etc.. What we will expect in the wedding show this Sun etc.

 

[blueangel81]

Coco, I agreed with you & that's wat I told my fiance too. As long as he can deliver, I'm ok with his 'pattern' afterall he has been replying my email promptly & not exactly rude. We will meeting him tonight for the first time.

Did you ask for more perks b4 u sign the contract? I read from other forum, they will not give in to additional request after u have signed it.

Good that he can accomodate your request for the free flow of beer to start during the reception. I dun recall any wedding dat I attended b4 had beer during their reception..maybe they scare some guests will get drunk b4 dinner

Btw, is yr AD on a wkend so u din have to ask for an extra night stay in the bridal suite? Mine will be a weekday dinner so the package only has 1 nite stay. Hope I can successfully ask for an additional nite.

Did you also get an extra room for yr helpers? Is it complimentary usage of the 4 projectors at the Windsor ballroom too?

 

[strikingreality]

blueangel >> If u read previous threads, there is another BTB who tried to ask for additional night, but was unsuccessful. You can try, but dun have ur hopes up.

For day use room, GWP won't guarantee, will say it's only available subject to availability.

And yes, complimentary usage of all 4 projectors.

cocotintin >> Can u share on the fish - which is fresh and which is freshwater. Both my mum and my MIL are avid cooks. I'm sure they will want to know this! LOL.

I am not getting the DBS or the wedding show perks as I've already signed way before the wedding show on the older package. I changed my menu from a 9 course to an 8 course menu.

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

blueangel: my banquet is on a wkend so it comes with 2 nights stay in the bridal suite. During my first inspection we asked if I can get an extra day use room for helpers, extra invitation cards and extra carpark coupons, all these were rejected. carpark they cant give extra is because they outsource to wilson parking but we can purchase extras at $3.50/coupon or something. but anyway per entry after 6pm or 7pm is already $3.50 so no point buying extra coupons. invitation cards, GWP can give me additional 10+ more cards on top of the 70%. But if you are taking up the wedding show perks by dreamweaver then it is strictly 70%.

Yes the 4 projectors at windsor ballroom is complimentary. Oh ya, in the contract I also made Anthony include an extra clause saying that there will be a complimentary use of basic sound system (eg microphones, speakers, cd player etc). I'm quite kiasu, so better state it properly black and white to avoid any misunderstandings JUST in case Anthony resigns. From this forum i realise their turn over rate for their wedding coordinator is quite high so better to be safe than sorry. Anthony told me he just join GWP 4 months ago and he was previously working for Suntec Convention centre as a wedding specialist. So I guess that explains why he might seem unprofessional in the way he express himself since he was not from a 5 star hotel.

Kass: promfret is fresh frozen because it is imported from another country. Seabass is a fillet fish (some elderly might not like it because no head no tail), garoupa and another fish in the menu i cant remember the name is fresh. Fresh as in it is from Singapore, the fish is slaughter in sg and send into the GWP kitchen. garoupa is salt water fish i think. The other fish in the list above sea bass is a fresh water fish. Sorry i dont have the menu with me right now but i can remember the sequence in the menu.

Kass, u change frm a 9 course to 8 course is it because urs is a wkday dinner? so you upgraded which dish?

I am not getting the DBS credit card promo because i dont find it very worth it as the wine consumption once the dinner commence is very low as most of your friends and relatives might be driving. Whereas during cocktail reception the wine and beer consumption is crazy. Unless your relatives and friends are big drinkers and you are afraid you might exceed the complimentary bottles then i suggest u take up the DBS promo.

Hubby will be using krisflyer card for the banquet and wedding expenses to earn miles for our honeymoon.

 

[blueangel81]

Kass, I will try to bargain on the basis that we are topping up each table with another 100++ (for the dessert buffet), then total cost per table will be as close to the Sunday package price (which have 2 night stays)...hope he will be flexible on this.

Coco, thanks for the tips! I will wanna put these (thou the usage on the facilities sound pretty standard) on black & white too. Did Anthony also agree to have the wine (apart from beer) to commence from the reception too?

I thot weekday/Sunday dinner is 8 course standard? The old package has 9 course? The other fish is Sea Perch, also fillet.

 

[hoseki]

Hi all

I am intending to hold my dinner at gwp too and hope one of u can kindly email me the wedding packages for 2011 if u have them. Their service is really not fantastic as I had already called up three times to request for their wedding packages and I have not received any from them. Only gave me the registration form for the wedding show when I requested for the packages. Anyway, Greatly appreciate your mail thank u!

[email protected].

 

[graces]

Hello,

can anyone email me the packages for 2010/2011 as well?

Thks in advance =)

[email protected]

 

[ilovepinkroses]

Hey everyone!

Planning to have my banquet at GWP as well. My coordinator is Anthony. Feeling a little apprehensive now after reading all the comments about him! I do find him rather unprofessional. In fact, he takes a really long time to get back to me on whatever i am asking him about... For example, i went to see him last wed, got my reply today.. Makes deciding a really long process!

Am thinking of changing my coordinator since i have not signed any contract as yet. Any advice on who is reliable? Has anyone had Esther as their wedding coordinator? Is she good? Should I even change at all???

Someone pls advice me!!!

Anthony told me that I have to sign my contract by 18 April, otherwise they will release my tentative booking =(

I love the place to bits! But am worried about making the wrong choice about my coordinator.

Plus, he is very rigid about exchanging perks. Anyone experiencing anything like this?

I wanted to exchange my free flow of beer for better flower arrangements. But he says either I take the free flow of beer or I don't. There can be no exchange =(

Help!


Love,
pink roses

 

[strikingreality]

cocotintin >> Thanks for the tips on the additional parking coupons. For the basic sound system, what does it include? Did u make them define "sound system" clearly in your contract?

You all really think a lot leh. I take it "in good faith" that all these will be included. Shit, I hope they don't go back on their word lah.

We took out one dish cuz we felt 9 dish may be too filling for our guests.

So we upgraded the soup dish.

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

blueangel: yes, the housepour wine will commence during cocktail as well. Actually it depends on the couple. According to Anthony, he say that some couples prefer to serve wine after the commencement of dinner maybe some couples have more friends and relatives who are good drinkers so they prefer not to serve the wine during cocktail and save it for later.

pink roses: think u need to discuss with anthony and see what other options he has for u. I had some discussions with him regarding my floral arrangement too.

i understand that we are all paying alot of money on the banquet and we expect much better service but i guess sometimes the coordinator has got their own constrains too because GWP has their own policy set by their management and the coordinators are required to follow closely. So i guess we should try to be more understanding.

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

kass: ooo.. sounds nice.. better sharks fins. actually i would have trusted GWP on the contract but hubby wants to make sure things are stated clearly right from the start. We dont wanna presume this and that. hehe..

on the contract it states "complimentary usage basic sound system" and Anthony says it includes microphone, cd player etc.

 

[strikingreality]

ilovepinkroses (ilovepinkroses) >> As for changing coordintors, u can do it later after signing the contract. Esther is the director of catering, I dun think she take on "accounts", unless bo pian (eg. coordintor leaves etc).

Did u chase him for replies? I know they are v busy on the wedding show now (spoke to Mei Fung on the phone yesterday), so cut them a lil slack...

 

[strikingreality]

double post

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

Hi Richard and Grace, I have sent you the 2011 wedding package to your email address.

 

[strikingreality]

cocotintin >> u post v quickly!

 

[coco_mademoiselle]

hahaha.. happen to be online... wahahahaha

 

[hoseki]

Hi Coco, thank you for your mail. Appreciate much. Am considering whether to take the victorian menu or the renaissance menu now. hehe.

btw can i ask those who have signed up for the wedding fair this sun, will i get a confirmation note or anything like that after i have faxed them the forms and authorization letter?