Inn at Irwin Gardens — Hotel in Columbus

I recently hosted my sister's baby shower at the beautiful Irwin Gardens, and while the venue itself was stunning and steeped in history, the experience was unfortunately marred by the unprofessional conduct of the event coordinator

To give some context, I had previously hosted my other sister's bridal shower at Irwin Gardens just a year ago and had a fantastic experience with the event coordinator at that time. However, during the site tour prior to my most recent event, my mother and I specifically asked if we could bring in additional chairs from other rooms to accommodate our guests, to which the event coordinator replied that we could either rent additional chairs or use the chairs on the main floor. We chose the latter option and explicitly declined the offer to rent extra chairs.

Similarly, we had made our own hors d'oeuvres and cake and did not require the services of a caterer. We asked if we could store our supplies in the butler's pantry during the shower as we had done during our previous event, and the event coordinator assured us that there would be no extra charge as we were not hiring a caterer and did not need access to the refrigerator or oven.

Imagine our surprise when we received the invoice after the shower, only to find that we had been charged extra fees for chair rentals and access to the butler's pantry. When we brought this up with the event coordinator, she simply stated that we had to pay for it and did not offer any explanation for the discrepancy between what she had told us during the site tour and what we were being charged for after the fact.

My sister, our mother, and I, who co-hosted the shower, were initially pleased to have received the proprietor's personal contact information when we sought to converse with her manager. The conversation with the owner was similarly unsatisfactory, with the owner insisting that things just cost money and that we have to pay for things like this because "that's how we make more money."

Furthermore, the owner's excuse for the unexpected expenses, blaming the new event coordinator, was unprofessional and insufficient. She dismissed these ancillary expenses as a result of the event coordinator's supposed inexperience and concluded that we were to pay for them regardless of whether we were aware of the charges before hand or not. As a long-time patron of this venue, a certain level of consistency and professionalism should be expected, regardless of any internal changes or transitions.

This latest experience with this establishment has left me with a palpable sense of disappointment, as the unprofessional conduct and inflexible approach displayed by both the Event Coordinator and Owner do not, in my opinion, align with the standards of excellence one expects from a reputable venue.

While I have many fond memories of Irwin Gardens from my childhood, I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone looking to host an event there. If you do choose to proceed with an event at Irwin Gardens, I would strongly advise you to request a written invoice beforehand to avoid any unpleasant surprises like the ones my family and I experienced.

It is truly a lamentable reality that an establishment as enchanting, historic, and charming as this venue could be marred by such a subpar level of customer service and ownership. The breathtaking beauty and rich history of this establishment deserve to be complemented by a level of service that is commensurate with its grandeur. Alas, the contrast between the splendor of the venue and the disappointing quality of its service and ownership only serves to accentuate the latter's shortcomings.

Admittedly, as an infrequent online reviewer, I never fathomed that I would find myself so compelled to express my thoughts through this medium about the inn, a beloved fixture and cherished gem in my hometown, and a beautiful venue where my family and I have hosted a few memorable events over the years. After more than 30 years, I'm afraid my visits to the inn have come to a...

We booked a stay pre-New Year’s Eve, at the inn in the WG Irwin Suite. Stacey, the innkeeper, was very gracious at accommodating our request for an early check-in at 3 PM. When we arrived, we parked in the rear guest parking area and were greeted by a flock of beautiful cackling hens. Stacey met us at the guest entrance and pointed us to our room. One of the first things we noticed was how beautifully deckering the house was for the Christmas season. Each room in the house had a Christmas tree and every space was beautifully decorated. She said it took a team of seven people 3 days to decorate the house. It was magnificent!

We were pleased when we got to our room to find a bottle of champagne on ice and chocolate dip strawberries that we had requested. Our room was spotlessly clean, and the mattress was very comfortable. The bath towels were luxuriously, fluffy and thick - such a nice touch.

That evening we walked to dinner at a wonderful restaurant in town – Henry Social Club, where we enjoyed an excellent dinner. After dinner we came back to the inn and found a cozy fire going in the fireplace of the library. We then enjoyed our bottle of champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries in front of the warm fire while listening to music in the library.

After a good nights sleep, we then went down to the elegant dining room, where our breakfast citrus fruit and kiwi fruit cup was waiting for us along with a glass of oj. Stacey then served us a homemade apple tart, made with apples from the orchard at the inn and some fresh brewed coffee. Our next course was a wonderful frittata made with the farm fresh eggs from the chickens on property. That was accompanied by small salad with champagne vinaigrette, and toast and bacon. It was quite a hearty breakfast and beautifully presented as well as tasting so good! We really felt pampered.

We have stayed at the inn numerous times and always enjoy ourselves. It’s a bit of European elegance in a small town in Indiana setting. We highly recommend the Inn at Irwin Garden It’s a wonderfully relaxing and refreshing getaway. Once you stay here you will want...

In my opinion the Irwin Gardens owner, Jessica Steven's is an absolutely awful, mean, and narcissistic individual I have ever had the displeasure of speaking with.

She has already made her employees quit and doesn't know how to run any sort of business. This was all going towards what was supposed to be a very special day, and she has absolutely ruined everything.

We have had a signed contract for almost a full year and we have had at least 2 event coordinators since that time.

Today was supposed to just be us measuring the space out to figure out how to lay out tables and instead she started saying that we weren't going to be able to have the ceremony and reception with the 4 hours at the price that we signed the contract for.

When she showed us the contract, I already knew that it wasn't the one we had signed, and I told her so, but she didn't listen. I was well okay with paying for extra set up time, and then she began saying really hurtful things and casting snide comments at me, when I was already about to cry, saying "oh are you angry?" And I said "yes, because you just told me I couldn't have the wedding I already paid for and signed a contract for"

She then continued saying "well don't be angry at me, do you know how much it costs to run this business?"

I told her that if she broke our contract I will take my money back and we will find someplace else. She said "okay, tell me who to write the check out to and for how much"

She then continued to get nasty with my future MIL and my fiancé saying she never said she was going to break the contract and wasn't going to pay until my MIL said that we were breaking the contract.

We had to get the police involved because she just continued to have a narcissistic grin on her face and continued to drag everything out.

TL:DR

The owner of Irwin Gardens in my opinion is hateful, narcissistic, and rude and I would not recommend anyone to have any sort of...