Lakes at Lacey — Attraction in Downers Grove

The Esplande Lakes ballroom is an incredible gem - we were so happy to use the space for our wedding. Our guests are still raving at how beautiful the venue was. The ballroom is unique with its circular shape (making every guest feel like they had a great seat) and walls of windows overlooking the spectacular outdoor space. We got married in the fall and did all of our wedding portraits along the garden path - the wall of hanging vines, the pond (with swans!) and forest made every shot special. On top of this, our coordinator from the venue, Sinisa, was absolutely splendid. He is incredibly professional with a warm and calming presence that instills confidence in every step and he has the executional prowess to back it up. We had a number of vendors and family that helped us put on our wedding day and Sinisa and team flawlessly ensured that everyone had what they needed when they needed it. In addition to this we also got the catering and alcohol through the venue. We had a Greek and Italian wedding so food was super important - and the Esplanade team really did an amazing job. The food was high quality and they managed to achieve a staggering level of consistency - we heard from numerous guests how great their meal was. The entire team at the Esplande and Doubletree were so kind, accommodating and professional and we could not be more thankful that they were a part of our wedding day. I would highly recommend this venue, the hotel, the restaurant, Sinisa...

Unfortunately, this review is based on a personal experience, and not the BEAUTIFUL space offered. The gorgeous dream setting was absolutely ruined by the meeting we had with Janet. AS they were prepping for a wedding ( runner, podiums, flowers, chairs) AND a reception, we met with Janet. Janet told us, only after we arrived, that there was 1 date available in 2020. We asked why she wouldn't have told us that prior to trekking out to the venue. She later went on to tell us from memory, the 6 dates available. 6. But what I really want you to know if how her PERSONAL feelings were expressed, and why we walked out of that meeting with a completely spoiled opinion of the meeting and venue. Janet rolled her eyes, looked at both of the sets of parents and my son and his fiancée when we asked where the ceremony would take place. She stopped and pursed her lips, and then said " No church wedding???". We were appalled. My future daughter-in-law, replied, " no we prefer to make it easy on our guests, is there a problem with that?". Guess what Janet's reply was? " No, I just prefer a CHURCH WEDDING". Wasn't sure why on earth she would feel free to express HER thoughts on religion. Remember that they were setting up for a ceremony? That was the first of many back handed passive aggressive moments. I have much more to say, but more importantly, we booked our venue …........somewhere else. Janet was not a warm, positive,...

I would rate Lakes at Lacey 1/5 stars due to having misleading pictures on the website of what the space actually looks like. For the amount of money it would cost its not worth it. If you are having a big wedding you would not be able to use the piano room unless you have under 150-175 people. We wanted our ceremony in the Conservatory, do not get me wrong it is beautiful! However there is an uneven, sticky, old dance floor thats dropped right in the middle of it. When asked if they could move it, the tour guide said no. So that was very disappointing when its such a beautiful space ruined by that dance floor.

I was really disappointed after driving over 2 hours to come tour here and our guide had such a lack of care and ability to be personable toward us. Touring venues for your wedding is suppose to be special and fun. Our person giving the tour today did not ask us a single thing about our wedding or vision and took a total of maybe 10 minutes to do the whole tour. I was so upset and frustrated when I left. This was our top place that we wanted to have our wedding at and because of the person who gave our tours attitude we decided on a firm no. Our "guide" could not answer many of our questions and did not seem knowledgable about the venue. It was truly upsetting and disappointing, I would...