Chaminade Resort & Spa

Chaminade did a great job! They kept everything moving and the wedding went incredibly smoothly! Everyone had a great time!

We are so thrilled that we decided to have our wedding at the Chaminade. We live in Tampa, Florida and found the staff to be very accommodating and efficient in planning a wedding from so far away. You are assigned a wedding coordinator who takes care of everything on their end and walks you through every step of the process. We were lucky enough to have two people helping us out. Another great thing about the Chaminade is that after you choose the package for food and for beverages, they give you a price per person. That price includes EVERYTHING - food, beverages, cake (& cutting), tax, gratuity, etc. There are no hidden fees or charges later. That made budgeting for the wedding/reception so much easier for us. The food was INCREDIBLE. The service from every staff member, from the coordinators to the wait staff, was exemplary. We were treated like royalty the whole time that we stayed there. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Shannon and Angela specifically (the coordinators). My florist did not show up to my wedding. Needless to say I was devastated, and as I didn't know this until 5 minutes before the wedding (my husband was trying to keep me in the dark, hoping he would show up in time), I was a wreck as I was about to walk down the aisle. Shannon and Angela were absolutely incredible. They found flowers around the resort for my husband to wear and to put around the "altar" area. They got a hold of the florist and had him send up a bouquet from a friend of his. Obviously, it wasn't anything like I had planned over the nine months before the wedding, but they did a wonderful job of improvising at the last minute. And they calmed me down so that I could walk down the aisle and enjoy marrying my husband without focusing on the absence of flowers. The wedding was perfect. The day was perfect. And I would, without reservation, recommend the Chaminade for your wedding.

Shannon was our wedding coordinator, and he was wonderful. He was there every step of the planning process, and he dealt easily with every one of mine and my mom's questions. The second the wedding rehearsal started, Shannon handled all 20 of our wedding party and all 6 of our parents without even breaking a sweat. He also handled all of our other vendors including my sister-in- law who made our cake, my cousin who married us and a friend who DJ'd.The venue was so beautiful! We barely had to decorate the ceremony spot because the view of the ocean and the natural vines and flowers decorated the space perfectly.The food was amazing! It was the best wedding food I have ever had!

The Chaminade was the PERFECT wedding venue. Everything from the ceremony to the reception was flawless thanks to the wonderful staff there. Angela was our wedding coordinator and she made sure that things were taken care of the day of and she was so responsive whenever I had any questions. There was also a "banquet manager" that on top of all the events that occured during the reception. I didn't have to think about what was next or worry about things not being taken care of. My family and all the guests were pleasantly surprised with the wonderful service.

We had Angela as our coordinator at the Chaminade. She was very helpful and did not mind my million of questions that I had months before our wedding. The day of our wedding couldn't have been any more perfect. All staff members at the Chaminade had great attitudes, they all seemed like they enjoyed their jobs. Angela put out all my place cards, candles, napkins, crystal scatter, etc. So my mom could be with me in the room instead of putting out everything. The food was great, got a lot of compliments from our guests. Our room was perfect and we even got a piece of our wedding cake, chocolate covered strawberries, congrats card from Angela, and Champagne to end our wedding day with. Thank you to everyone at Chaminade who made our wedding day amazing!!!

We had an amazing wedding.

We just had our Wedding at Chaminade. Many of our friends asked how we found this place? It is really a beautiful resort hidden away in the hills of Santa Cruz. The views are absolutely breathtaking,especially the ceremony site. I loved that the package at Chaminade includes everything from appetizers to linens. We had the Taste of California Buffet and many guests came to tell us that you never expect much from wedding food but that ours was amazing!Another plus is that they let the reception go till midnight,and they have an on-site coordinator,but because we had a Photobooth & Candy Buffet I hired an outside coordinator as well. My only gripe was that I had talked to their coordinator many times in the year before and she assured me we could have an afterparty in our room with the Bridal Party and it would be no problem. Well, within 10 minutes of coming back-we were only sitting around talking!no music playing or anything,we had security at our door kicking guests out.I was very unhappy about that after being assured for so long that it was no problem.So just be aware of that and don't plan an after party in your suite like we did.If they had told me it would be a problem we would have made after party plans.

Chaminade resort has been one of the most horrendous experiences we have had ever. After we started working with them the first few months seemed great but as we got closer to the wedding things started to fall apart. Our guests would call in to book the rooms only to be told that the price was $230 per room per night with a 2 night minimum and we had negotiated for only 1 night minimum since some guests wouldn't be staying more than one night. Then their website dropped the price of the rooms down to $189 and they were told basically the negotiated price was for $230 night and that is what they would be charged. We first contacted them about it and they were unwilling to compromise so we informed our guests to book without telling them they are part of our wedding. We requested management intervention and after negotiating we were able to get the room rate down to $179 a night.

We all know the economy is bad and people are being laid off in all walks of life. Times are tough and it is no different for us and our guests. We originally invited around 250 guests thinking we would end up with about 150. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. The economy has taken a toll on our families and friends and we now only have about 100 coming to the wedding and it seems to be shrinking as time moves on. We contacted Chaminade to explain our situation and if we could work out a deal for the same cost but without having to meet the minimum due to the economic times taking a toll on our family and friends. Chaminades response was to raise the kids meals from $40 dollars a plate to $114 and vendor meals from $40 dollars a plate to $114 a plate. Then charge us $114 per person for each person not coming up to the $125 minimum. Then responding with, we are a business and are trying to operate a business and there was plenty of others who definitely would have made their minimum but we chose you instead. It was the other way around, Chaminade wasn't our first choice and no one had booked that day 9 months in advance when we started our planning and booking, the primary place we wanted unfortunately didn't have the rooms available to meet our needs. I can definitely sympathize that they are running a business but what I found interesting is all our vendors were more than willing to work with us and we made changes in line with the growing economic downturn with the exception of Chaminade. They were completely unwilling to compromise or even acknowledge there were problems. We contacted them separately about room availability for the night of our wedding and they were not even close to being at capacity for the weekend. They may be a business but hopefully a business that is failing at a rapid pace. I wouldn't recommend the resort to anyone, nor would I recommend having their wedding there.

Chaminade and their staff are excellent to work with. Their food is excellent. Their staff are professional and very fun to work with. Plus the view of The Santa Cruz bay is to die for! We love working there very much!

We have a great working relationship with Chaminade and value their ethics as they honor their clients. Give Shannon or Angela a call when booking your wedding plans. Cori is the contact for corporate inquiries.

Chaminade is a place that I grew up near, and have photographed many many weddings on their gorgeous grounds. With a beautiful view of the Monterey Bay and a very well equipped staff and Hotel quarters, they are one of the top places to have a wedding in the whole Bay.