Timberlodge at Arrowhead Golf Club — Attraction in Town of Newstead

BUYER BEWARE!

I really was hoping I would not have to write this review, but Arrowhead and associated management have really left me no choice. First, I would say that it is an expensive venue but has a beautiful location and great buildings. The food was not the best but not terrible. The staff that worked with my wife and I were wonderful. Kayla was our "wedding coordinator" and she was lovely. It did feel like a very loose term for the wedding coordinator but during the event she was extremely attentive and helpful. The reason for the one-star review is due to the venue itself and its management team. We had a Saturday, 2/15/25, wedding and there was a wedding there on Friday, the night before. Again, this is all to be expected given this is a golf course and wedding venue. During the winter, they would need to get as much business renting out the space. We had our concerns but again, this was on the pricier side of wedding venues, and you would expect that booking 2 nights in a row should not be a problem for them. Oh, but we were wrong, and I have receipts for everything and gladly explain the details to anyone. The problem was with their plumbing. Before our wedding event even started, their toilets backed up and for the remainder of the night, the venue smelled of sewage. This was about 130 people at the wedding. Pregnant women and handicap people were in attendance. Thank God we had hired buses to help people get back to the hotels safely. Our hired drivers were willing to transfer guests to the other venue to use their facilities. This screwed up our bus schedule for the end of the night. Also, the venue did not put up any signs or directions on what to do if you had to use the restroom. As we are in the middle of our wedding with family and friends from all over, what can we do? We rolled with it. Here is where the sad truth of the company and management team comes into play. As a respected client, I reached out to Arrowhead and asked to speak with someone about how unsatisfied I was with the venue. I did not want to write a review until I gave the company a chance to make it right. After reaching out via email, I was put in contact with the property manager (PM). This gentleman was really a piece of work. At no point in our conversations did he give me the respect of a valued customer. We had to pay for everything up front, which is probably why they don’t seem to care The first conversation started out with the PM telling me that the venue had to get an emergency plumber out to the venue to fix the backed-up pipes and that he could bill my wife and I for that charge. I tried to explain to the property manager that I am an upset customer and would appreciate the company making it right. The PM claimed to be an ex-lawyer, which he liked to remind me of constantly throughout our conversation. During this conversation, I let the PM know that I was not seeking legal action and simply wanted to be compensated for the unsatisfactory product, which is the price of a new car. I told them that he could prevent bad reviews by giving us some money back. This sent the PM off. He began to threaten to sue me if I were to write a bad review. We ended the conversation with the property manager, going to reach out to the owners to try and meet my request. Keep in mind my request would only hurt their margin a little, not at all make them lose money for the night. The property manager told me he would get back to me within the week. I took 3 more weeks to hear back. After reaching out multiple times, the PM told me their final low-ball offer but said I would have to sign an NDA. I would rather write an honest review so other customers can fully understand the company they are working with.

ONCE THEY HAVE YOUR MONEY THEY DON’T CARE! THEY DO NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. I would be concerned that they will continue to have...

I had my wedding reception here this past Friday 9/16. I love the location and venue but it ends there. During the planning of our wedding our wedding coordinator was often MIA, taking a very long time to respond to emails, not only from myself but also to other outside vendors we hired. I completely understand that during wedding season there is going to be a delay in response, figuring that the coordinator is giving 110% to her current brides. However, as my day got closer, the communication got worse. At the end of the day, the lack of communication with the coordinator was frustrating but not the worst experience of our wedding. The worst experience at The Timberlodge was the food. I have to admit most wedding food is not usually great, a so-so experience that most people come to expect at weddings. I would have been grateful for a so-so food experience in this case. The food was literally inedible. We splurged for our guests and got their ultimate entree option. We chose the honey garlic chicken and Delmonico steak. The honey garlic chicken was so dry you could barely swallow it, but the STEAK was the worst steak of my life. The cut was fatty, terribly cooked and tasteless. I couldn’t even cut the steak. It turned into a messy steak slop on my plate that I only had one bite of. The worst part about this, the terrible food didn’t stop at the sweetheart table. I was horrified to find out that the food experience was so bad, our guests complained!!! I found out later that one of them pulled our coordinator aside to tell her about the horrible food with no resolution offered. I even spoke to one guest who didn’t touch her vegetarian option - who explained to me the vegetable primavera was bland and tasteless. To say the least, I am so embarrassed that my guests literally couldn’t eat their meals. I never thought I could be this disappointed with a wedding venue I fell in love with, a food tasting a few months prior to the wedding that was delicious and a wedding venue/ food price that cost us $30,000. On top of the terrible food experience they also forgot to do a few things. I purchased two gluten free cupcakes for two of my guests. I made the coordinator aware of this 1-2 weeks before the wedding. I was told the cupcakes would be served directly to my two gluten free guests when the cake came out. As I was saying good bye to one of the guests, I asked how her gluten free cupcake was and she told me she never got a cupcake. I immediately located someone and asked to speak to my coordinator (they couldn’t find her) and I was greeted by someone else who tried to locate the cupcakes. After a few minutes of waiting for them she handed both of them to me and didn’t serve my guests. Unfortunately one of my gluten free guests had already left and didn’t receive their cupcake. We were also told that our wedding cake would be served to my groom and I and that did not happen. I was finally given a piece of cake by my matron of honor but unfortunately my husband never got a piece. We were also told that the fire pit outside would be lit after dark and that never happened either. I am disappointed beyond belief - a feeling no bride...

I've now been to two weddings at the Timberlodge and they were both beautiful. The space is lovely, and has that sort of pinterest-worthy rustic feel. Both ceremonies were in an outside area, but one (in October) had the area closed off and heated.

The food at both weddings was very good for banquet food. Interestingly, since I'm not a vegetarian, the standout dish was an eggplant parmesean that was just gorgeous. I had the opportunity to sit at both the head table and a not-head table; a lot of times that means a huge difference in food quality but here it was not a marked drop. The service is okay. Friendly but not super efficient, especially considering how many servers they had running around. The door to the kitchen opens right onto where people are standing and waiting for the bar, and waitstaff were slamming that door open like there was no tomorrow.

They have a dance floor off the main room that is technically outside but is covered and has roll down flaps (think a big tent). It was nice to have the dance floor/music completely separate from the bar and tables, so you could carry on a conversation.

One thing that I would definitely keep in mind before booking this venue is the air conditioning. For a wedding in October, the temperature was perfect. For a wedding at the end of August, it was sweltering hot. They had the doors closed throughout dinner with signs about improving the AC efficiency, but the only place that seemed air conditioned was the bathroom. One of the other guests mentioned the heat to a server, who said "this is nothing, it gets a lot hotter." Which, oof. Temperature is definitely something to factor in to the decision-making...