We had our "rehearsal dinner" here on the night before our wedding, and also used the Delfina as our hotel for 45 out of town guests. The dinner was really just a family get together for all of the out of town guests and relatives to meet each other informally before the wedding. We had it outside by the pool, which was both convenient for the guests just arriving to the hotel and a lovely, relaxed ambience.

The hotel must have been going through management / financial changes, and we bore the brunt of that. I must have worked with 7 different people to organize this dinner, each one telling me something different. They were all gracious and professional (except for the catering director the night of the event), but there were just too many organizers organizing. I had to clarify and re-clarify again and again many of the details of the menu, pricing, room rates, etc. Sometimes I had the impression that "the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing." For example, the hotel supposedly offered us a very good group rate, as we were having an event there as well. However, on their own website better deals and rates were being offered, so some of the guests opted out of the group plan and just reserved via the regular website. This created much confusion in dealing with the catering and room reservation staff.

Anyway, the evening of the dinner, the hotel posted on their info boards around the hotel the starting time of the dinner as 45 minutes later than the invitations and planning had confirmed! They then had to call each room to correct the time, as well as change the posts around the hotel. The catering manager was uptight and rude that evening as I calmly tried to figure out if all of my guests had been notified.

Although the food in the buffet was good, some of the tastier items ran out early (the ahi tuna in the nicoise salad) and by the time more was made and brought to the buffet, everyone was eating dessert. I only tasted it with tea & dessert.

In summary, disorganization and a chaotic feel pervaded the planning and execution of this event with the Delfina, and I could not in good conscience recommend them to anyone planning a special event. I would say that the special event supervisor, who I met once during our tasting and who was present when we were trying to contact all the guests, was a real gem, and had she been involved on an ongoing basis, I feel it would have been a much calmer and more enjoyable experience. Alas, it was not.

Final note: Over a month after the wedding, I found a $200+ charge on my credit card from them. When I called to inquire, I was told that more people attended the dinner than I had contracted for. This was a gross error on their part, as all of my guests were from out of town and out of country, and there were no suprise guests at the dinner at all. It took several discussions, and a complaint to my credit card company, to have this final error resolved and the charge removed.