Heads up this review is going to be long and detailed.

We had our wedding held in Grand Olympia on September 23, 2023. We went with the royal Italian package, I think that’s the name but either way we went with their best package which includes everything from decor, DJ, dinner, open bar. officiant but we went with our own.
we got engaged in 2019 and the grand Olympia was one of the first venues in Hamilton that we went to view. Grand Olympia it was the most appealing to us it was beautiful inside and out and overall just the aesthetic of it. We booked the wedding for the following year however we all know what happened in the year 2020. we postponed about three times, after that we decided that we no longer want to postpone to another date and have our hopes shattered again due to the pandemic. We requested to cancel with the return of our booking deposit. It was a little challenging to receive our deposit as we did have to go back and forth in person to remind them of it. It was concerning because the entire venue at that time had a huge odour, plumbing issue and we were concerned that would be the case if we held our wedding there. We were patient and received our deposit eventually which we appreciated and told them that after it all settles down we will most likely return.

In the year 2022 we started wedding planning and decided to branch out this time as we did Rush into the grand Olympia at first we had viewed venues all the way in Oakville to Burlington Etc. However they didn't give us the wow factor so we decided to go view the grand Olympia once more to see if the odour was gone and just to see how the Reno's are going, we were pleased to see that the odour was gone and the simple reno of just removing the carpet made such a difference we re-fell in love with the venue. however the reviews did concern us because prior to the pandemic the venue had amazing reviews and in between the past two years they had a lot of mixed and a lot of negative reviews, we brought up these concerns with Nicole and we did tell her that it is preventing us to go book with them.

Nicole assured us that we won't regret booking with them that we will be just fine .They did give us an offer that was much more appealing than the other venues Considering the venue was the one that we really liked anyway So we trusted Nicole and we booked with them. Nicole did work her magic she did throw in some things for us and was very understanding of our culture and worked with us to have it the way we envisioned.

There were a few times where we had meetings that she wasn’t able to make which we were notified last minute but someone always took over.

It didn’t feel real until we had our food tasting which the food itself was beyond our expectations, it was delicious our package had the upgraded menu which includes steak. We were stuffed and excited to choose our menu. The only dissasppointing thing was that we were told other vendors would be their regards to decor, Photo Booth rentals, florists and etc. but there was no one. We met our DJ he gave us his contact info and just told us to send over the songs we would like to have played and that two weeks prior to the wedding we would have to fill out our song choices for the ceremony etc.

It did concern me that we had met our DJ so late into the wedding planning and that we didn’t build rapport what so ever so I was nervous that he wouldn’t understand our taste in music, especially when it came to playing our cultural music. I did reach out to him he attempted to assure me, he told me to just put all the music I want in folders organized. We had I believe two zoom meetings that’s it. I kept telling myself that he must be a good DJ if the venue uses him for their packages, so that is what would calm my stress.

On our detail meeting with Nicole, you go over basically everything and finalize. It was very fast as I am a very organized person. Nicole did work with us regards to the dinner start time; I told her that we cannot have dinner for 3 hours and just dance for 3 hours. I said we need to cut the time in half; have dinner 1.5 hours and just have all our sweets etc out on the tables ready to go. Nicole worked along with whatever we wanted; I did show her examples from their own website of how I would like the antipasto bar to look like. Due to health and liability Nicole said that some food cannot be left out too long that they would be packed up for us to take home; which we did not oppose to.

we had our rehearsal, it went fine; we booked our own officiant.
Prior to the rehearsal we met with the Manager Kamil to just go over a few more details; similar to what we went over with Nicole. He asked about our drink we’d like; etc.
We brought all of our stuff that day was well like our welcome sign and all which was nice to just get that off our list.

Following day we even brought our own desserts and other food delivered, which they were nice enough to store in their fridge for us and it was. A lot of finger foods/sweets of our own.

After a year of planning and working with Nicole the wedding day was finally here, like with a lot of weddings you do need to be flexible as things do happen that are not apart of the plan. First off cocktail hour was not ready for 5pm; dinner was also then pushed back, instead of 6:00pm it was pushed an hour. The DJ was just horrible, he did not read the room what soever! Cocktail hour was no longer cocktail hour as everything was pushed back! So he could have played some music to start the party in the mean time but he didn’t. He was rude to the guests, my sister maid of honour was approaching him and he started shaking his head saying nope nope. Initially on our form we told him that song requests to be put on hold but in person we told him to disregard that and to listen to the maid of honour and best man to song choices especially when it had to do with our cultural music. He did not listen, was rude, did not read the room well, he just was constantly getting up to go eat dessert. Worst part is, he only had the music WE prepared for him, initially speaking with him over zoom he said prepare music for me so I can get a vibe of what music you guys like and that he will take care of the rest. But that wasn’t the case, he legit only played the music we had prepared aside from our non-culture music. It was horrendous as what makes the party is the entertainment and food; his name is Lennox by the way just so you do not choose him or just go with your own entertainment not the in-house DJ.

We didn’t have our hors d'oeuvres passed around... The antipasto bar didn’t look the way I wanted as per their photos. The tables didn’t meet my expectations, it looked empty considering we had the best package they offer, and we brought in extra foods/sweets, it just looked empty. However we were told that they had it in the fridge and were replenishing everything constantly.

Dinner was late; to be fair because how everything got pushed back a lot of the guests were outside as they are all smokers, so dinner wasn’t passed around till they were seated. Once dinner was going around a lot of guests say their plates were taken away before even eating cause they would go to the bar for a drink. That’s a lot of the feedback I got from our guests; with everything even finger foods . Some even told the wait staff to please not touch their plate that they are still going to grab some more food/ drinks. I was upset about this as it was such a waste of our food and we even discussed this with Nicole at our detail meeting to just leave the plates until our guests ask for them to be cleaned. A lot of the children didn’t receive the Kid friendly food as well.

To top it off our wine was not on the dinner tables at all. Overall there were constant small things that I had to take care of which I didn’t even enjoy my own wedding! Constant little things turn into big things. We had two fireworks for our dance, the manager brought one and then went to grab the other one, they were both supposed to go off at same time but of course didn’t so it ruined our dance. I had to tell the manager as well that we had the chocolate fountain in our package, so he brought that over as well which was such a hit, the guests loved it. Just the fact having to remind the staff what is missing to me is just disorganized and unpleasant considering we planned this for a year. I understand other weddings are going on at the same time but that’s why we have our in-house wedding coordinator right? Like in my opinion I thought that our wedding coordinator that we’ve been working with for the past year would be there at least portion of the night to ensure everything is going as it should be, but that wasn’t the case.

It took them an hour to put on our lights that were part of our package, to set the mood since everything was pushed back. We didn’t even get our signature drink. It just really upset me the more I think about it, like what was the point of going over and over the fine details when it was all missed at the day anyway?
Oh and the food that was supposedly going to be packed up? Did not happen.
I am glad I had booked a vendor for decor because I did not have to worry about them whatsoever, if I didn’t book them the wedding would look so bland. The ceremony was not decorated like discussed as well, so yes a lot of fine details/promises were just overlooked…

Besides all the negative stuff I just mentioned, the positive is that the guest tables were nicely decorated, fresh floral. The food was delicious for the people who had the chance to eat. The bartender was easygoing later on. The bridal suit is the most amazing and spacious one from all the venues we viewed, the bridal suit had its use and honestly it was also a reason we didn’t go with Club Roma. The venues we seen just provide a small room but grand Olympia? They provide an actual suite; you have a love seat with an armchair, a TV, a closet, two sinks, and an actual bathroom with a shower! Just amazing.

We did request a meeting with the staff after our wedding which Nicole was not able to attend which we were notified last minute… so we had to attend either way so we met with Kamil and Caela. We did request to be refunded for the wine that was not put on the table during dinner, at first they were suprised that there was no wine and were going to check with the head wait staff as to what happened and I said it doesn’t matter what happened point is that there was no wine so we need to be reimbursed. They were understanding and nice about it all however there is nothing you can do now as the wedding day passed, only thing we could do is get a refund for the wine.
We eventually got our refund sometime in December after constant nagging from our side. What bothers me about this is the fact that if we didn’t mention it, would they even reimburse us for not providing the wine?

In my opinion everything would go the way it was supposed to go as planned, if they didn’t have multiple weddings same day or if they had the coordinator that you work with be apart of the actual event to ensure everything is going smoothly and not there just for the preparations, I didn’t even get to see Nicole and I got to the venue at 2:30 pm, ceremony started at 4pm for reference. Oh and if they had a way better DJ.

Lovely venue. They made our wedding dreams come true. The staff were amazing to work with and so flexible in accommodating our vision for our wedding. We had our ceremony outdoors and it was perfect. The wedding officiant and the DJ were contracted by the venue and were both phenomenal. Our guests still speak about the amazing food they were served as part of the Italian Package that we ordered. The alcohol was flowing all night, top quality, not watered down at all.

The food was amazing!!! The music was really good!! The staff were so kind and accommodating!! Everyone had such a great time!! Some of our guests said it was the best wedding they’ve ever been to!! The entire evening was perfect.

Kamil and Caela were amazing! The amazing service was impeccable and the food was so delicious. I couldn't have asked for a better venue to have my wedding! I would 100% recommend this venue to any one getting married. Thank you again for an amazing day!

We had our ceremony and reception at the Grand Olympia and we are so happy with how it all turned out. Jenn and Caela were absolutely pneunomial when it came to planning our day. Their were both so quick to answer any questions we had and provided us with excellent service. The both made sure our wedding day went smoothly and there were no delays. The staff at the Grand Olympia did a fantastic job with setting up our venue and making sure everything was in order. We had Joy Johnson as our officiant and she was absolutely fantastic! She was there for us since day one to make sure we had everything in order for our ceremony and she made it memorable. Paul Lemieux was our DJ for our ceremony and reception and he was fantastic! he played great music throughout the night and always had everyone on the dance floor! Thank you Grand Olympia for the most unforgettable day!

Venue was big lots of halls to choose from. Price was amazing for what was included, but halls were dark and low ceilings.

Absolutely amazing!
Beautiful venue and very accommodating staff.
Made the day very easy.

They are horrible with correspondence. If you need to communicate with them, your best bet is to call the receptionist and speak to Raz. Caela was extremely hard to get a hold of the entire time planning with her, she is great in person, but not over email or text message she will not respond or call you back.

However, all the concerns I did raise were addressed and prevented on the wedding day which was the best service from there I got the entire time planning my wedding, as they were able to accommodate my cake not showing up by running out and getting a cake and covering the cost.

My daughters wedding Megan Sampson Nov 5th was here and we had a great time as it was family and friends that made the day. Hall was overall very nice as they were updated however wasnt sure why her rooms were changed as she was suppose to be in the other hall which seemed bigger and we woudlnt have been so cramped. Food was ok, roast beef was dry and overcooked, service was very slow way to much time between courses and for a table of 14 we should have been given 14 rolls not 8, that is common sense. Clean up went slow and the guy was asking us to get up from our seat so he could go by the wall instead of going around.
There should have been to servers at the bar to start as the line up was long and took awhile. They had no glasses at one point when I went up for a drink, this is unacceptable and the guy poured the ice into the ice machine just as my daughter and son in-law were giving their speech as it was very loud and disruptive . The bar tender would also not give a glass of wine to our friends and said the servers should have wine on the tables. There was 2 bottles at the beginning of the night however once drank you should be able to get a glass of wine from the bar. Bar tender seemed pissy and ended up handing out bottles of wine, not a glass a bottle. Bathrooms were awful at the end of the night, you would think someone would tidy them up during the night as there was 2 weddings going on with one shared bathroom.

Very disappointed in the service and attitude from workers. It is nice you are renovating and the rooms are nicer but if the food doesn't improve and the service I would not recommend your venue. I feel my daughter and husband should be compensated but not sure that is going to happen.

Wedding ceremony of my son held here on 19th Nov,2021.It was superbly organized .Staffs were ever responsive, especially Jenn Troke. Food was excellent, extremely well cared by the Chef, Mr Aftab. The young crew were ever responsive & proactive. Overall an wonderful experience, must recommend for any future South Asian Wedding.