Kate Hardy, Married on 11/08/2018

Treated like Royalty

We had our dream wedding at the Windsor Arms just over a week ago. We were a little anxious at the get-go about the negative reviews but a friend of a friend had her wedding here last year and assured us that their experience could not have been more positive. I’m so glad we didn’t pay attention to what we saw online - the space is gorgeous, the food fantastic, and Kelly, the new coordinator clearly knows her stuff. She was very accommodating with the menu and quite obviously wanted us to be happy. We had two private tastings and she worked closely with our planner to make sure all details were taken care of. You do pay a premium for this space but all costs are made known upfront, and for the feeling of old Victorian luxury and the prime Toronto location, it is absolutely to be expected. My bridal party was provided with a gorgeous room to get ready in and having the bridal suite right on site was a huge perk. The Courtyard Cafe (main ballroom), which was stunning before, has even been recently renovated and refreshed (Spring 2018) which was an unexpected and delightful surprise. Our huge thanks to Kelly and Ben for making sure we were so completely taken care of and that each of our guests had an incredible experience.

Windsor Arms Hotel's reply:

Dearest Kate and Shahan.
We are so happy to we could help you and your family create those wonderful memories and we hope to see you back at the hotel soon. Wishing you both all the best and a lifetime of happiness and success.
The Windsor Arms Catering Department.

Olivia Ho, Married on 19/02/2017

I am so happy we decided to book our wedding at the Windsor Arms Hotel. We were looking for a venue that was more unique and cozy than a banquet hall, and Windsor Arms definitely has that vintage charm! We received so many compliments on our venue of choice because of the sheer beauty of the venue. The aesthetics was a huge deciding factor, and the fact that they have an in-house kosher kitchen.

I loved the fact that George, the owner, worked with us along the way, and made the time to meet with us and the catering manager (Sharon). Made us feel like VIP patrons throughout. I read other reviews online prior to booking this venue, and I have to give George credit—he may be “rough around the edges” (mind you, so am I), but we brought some of the bad reviews online (which you’ll always find) and asked him to address the issues, and he was very straight forward and open about it, and made us feel assured that we would not experience any issues. Everything is laid out in your contract, and he allowed me to personalize aspects of the contract to better suit our needs. That was one of the elements that I appreciated most, the fact that everything was customized to our requirements.

Sharon went above and beyond to address every concern we had, and met with us on multiple occasions throughout the year we were planning. Right down to making sure the size of the strawberries on the plated dessert were proportional. This attention to detail was amazing! We also got a lot of compliments on the food!

For me, one of the best parts about the wedding venue was that they really let us have the run of the hotel on our day. We had a rather large wedding for the venue (180 people), and our guests were all over—in the restaurant, in the bar, upstairs, in the main hall….and they did not give us a hard time at all. In fact, they even allowed us to take some wedding photos in the restaurant, which we really appreciated. The wedding suite is gorgeous, and they let us check out the next day very late in the afternoon. All in all, we felt like royalty.

For the cons, there aren’t many. First, while we knew this when booking the venue, the venue is really much better for weddings under 150 people (seated dinner with dance floor). It got pretty crowded during cocktail hour, which also lasted a little longer than I would have preferred (though not sure if this was the venue’s fault or my other vendors). So I would say just be prepared for 2 hours of cocktails and get extra hors d’oeuvres. The other thing to note is that this is not a cheap venue….if you are looking for a budget venue, this is not an option. We didn’t do flowers or fancy décor, or super expensive wedding dress, etc. We chose to allocate majority of our budget to the venue because it was so important to us. So be prepared to pay a premium for a historical landmark 5-star venue. Parking is only valet, so we did not cover this for our guests (we also had open bar and didn’t want people driving anyway).

All in all, we are very happy with our choice, and we really felt special on our day. The food was great, the venue looked amazing, and working with Sharon was such a pleasure. We look forward to staying at the hotel in the future, and reliving our memories!

Eliane Mcdonald, Married on 28/07/2018

Jaw dropping wedding

We hosted our wedding at the Windsor Arms and had an unforgettable evening. During the planning stages, the catering and event team headed by Kelly at the Windsor Arms went above and beyond. Kelly put my mind at ease by sitting with me during the planning stages and mapping out the finest of details. Our guests were blown away by the beautiful space. During the ceremony in the Courtyard Cafe, the light filtered in through the tall skylights, and the chandelier, ceiling and art work added lovely ambience. We hosted our cocktail hour in the Gatsby bar which all guests loved and could not stop raving about. Next for the reception, the team had transformed the courtyard cafe into my vision of a romantic, flower and candle filled space. The lighting adds drama and warmth to the space and is truly beautiful. Our food was delicious and the catering team was able to accommodate dietary restrictions of some of our guests. It is a beautiful, hidden gem to host a wedding and I would recommend it.

Windsor Arms Hotel's reply:

Hello Eliane and Alan!
It was such a pleasure for us to host your wedding at the Windsor Arms Hotel and we are delighted that both you and your guests were thrilled with how it all turned out. We look forward to having you back with us for your 1 year anniversary stay.
All the best wishes to you both for a safe and happy future!
The Windsor Arms Team.

Annette Hartery, Married on 19/05/2018

Art Deco Weddding at The Windsor Arms

We were absolutely thrilled with everything the WA did for us on our wedding day. The Banquet Manager took over once we arrived and really acted like a wedding planner for us as we did not have one. The guests raved about everything from the ambience to the food,to the service . It was great. This was a second wedding for the both of us and we had no complaints.

Windsor Arms Hotel's reply:

Dear Annette and Steve
Thank you so much for giving The Windsor Arms Hotel the opportunity to host your wedding in May. We are delighted that the day went as planned and that both you and your guests had a wonderful time. We hope to see you back at the hotel some time soon. Wishing you both all the best!
The Windsor Arms Catering Team

Luke Kremer, Married on 09/08/2017

We had our wedding reception at the Windsor Arms. Food was great, service was better.

Going in we were a little nervous about throwing a party and getting everything done. Sharon MacLeod made the whole experience fun, easy and most importantly stress free. I would recommend working with her to anyone!