John Joseph Inn — Hotel in Town of Lansing

I was married at the John Joseph Inn on June 10, 2018. Overall I'd rate him 3.5/5. ||||Rooms were a big frustration. ||No breakfast served or provided, not even continental and despite there's a restaurant on the property and the owner is a CHEF and prices are over $250 a night. Air con did not cool (was just a fan), cabin was missing pans, utensils and plates (was told they had a party in before and didn't get around to replacing them and didn't make an effort to because he didn't anticipate anyone wanting to cook while staying). Beds were very comfortable but Not worth the price. Kureig in the room with coffee make but not cups in the bridal suite- you get the idea. ||||The good:||-His venue is incredible. I loved how little I had to try to make this place absolutely gorgeous. Just a little decor can go such a long way. I loved that it was completely private, had large areas for people to sit and chat during happy hour. And of course all the greenery and flowers. ||-The staff!! He had just some of the most amazing people working the wedding. At one point I was talking to a guest and they had said that food was running low (we had buffet) and they didn't get something they wanted, I said I would ask John to get an update and was stopped by a server who said "No, you're the bride. Let me handle this!" Talked to my guest and within a couple minutes there was more food on the way (unfortunately it seemed like it wasn't until she had taken it upon her self to look into it that food was restocked, but it was restocked and everyone seemed fine!)||-We had the carrot cake for our wedding cake and it was SO. GOOD. I don't remember much of eating dinner except for the risotto - you really cannot go wrong with the veggie risotto! ||-The staff made sure that immediately after the ceremony they came to me and my bridal party to give us some appetizers. Something I know both of my other sisters had wanted but never happened at their wedding. ||-We were collected to go to the ceremony by John. ||- Everyone told me what a lovely time they had at the JJI.||||The Frustrations: The owner. ||||I've taken so long to review the JJI to figure out exactly how I want to say this. Frequently throughout this process we were frustrated with how hard it was to get a hold of John / hear back from him. It often seemed he was unavailable because he was on vacation or just busy. Perhaps it really was just poor timing but after a year and a half of planning, it was hard not to feel ignored at times. We had to struggle with every payment to get a receipt. We had to struggle to get bills from him to figure out what exactly we owed until it was down to the wire. We found him to be nonchalant, too familiar (calling me 'babe' and making nicknames for my bridal party), and ... to be honest, a little arrogant. ||||As mentioned by other brides, you need to have someone ready to set up the decor the day of. John will tell you that his staff will set everything up but no one came to us to ask where we wanted things. And when I sent my brother and sister to check, the staff was setting tables and decor owned by JJI. Understandable. But could have been a major frustration considering John had told me the week prior that they would take care of it the day of. Just be prepared. Break down was fine - any decor and gifts are brought into the conservatory and whatever they can't fit on the long table stays on a dining table in the tent. ||||Also - rooms are WAY over priced for experience/amenities. You're required to fill every room the night of your wedding (And the Friday before if having it on a Saturday!) and none of us felt feel we received a $259+ quality room.That's probably the biggest negative for me. Maybe this will change after my feedback.||||Overall: we had a great wedding day - we picked a great photog (Jill Studio), AMAZING DJ (Shout out Chris Washburn!), and JJI's staff made the day feel flawless. I just wish planning could have been as smooth. ||||I've expressed all these concerns with John and he seemed to take it seriously and genuinely found him to be sorry for the issues I had and I hope he takes them seriously. However I also found him quick to explanation/excuse. ||||While I wouldn't say that you should avoid this venue, I would offer some caution. Everything will come together, your guests will have a great time, and the pictures will be beautiful but the wedding process and time leading up to it are likely to be stressful and frustrating. ||||A very chill, go with the flow couple would do well at this venue. If anyone has questions, please feel free to reach out and I'd be happy...

It's hard to know where to even begin, but to start, we could not be any happier after getting married at the John Joseph Inn on 9.2.17...the day and the entire weekend at the Inn was better than we could have ever imagined! Before we get into the details, one of the best aspects about the Inn - especially for a wedding - is that your entire experience can feel more relaxed since you can stay overnight (in gorgeous, comfortable, decadent rooms), get ready with your bridal party, and then literally just walk right outside and get married in the beautiful gardens on the property. John and his staff (especially Ashley!) honestly makes you feel right at home immediately so that any nerves or wedding planning stress quickly melts away. We also decided to host our rehearsal dinner there which we highly recommend doing since the food, drinks and ambiance is fantastic. From the start, we loved John and his positive & humorous attitude, but he stepped it up a notch when it came time for our wedding weekend. He was so dedicated to our wedding & happiness that we honestly can't think of one thing that we would have changed. He was so much fun to work with, gave us great advice when we needed it, and gave us peace of mind since he has been in the wedding business for quite some time and really is a true expert. He wears many hats throughout the process (since he's both the owner/manager & chef) but he doesn't let anything slip through the cracks and will make sure your day is flawless. The food is incredible - huge portions, delicious/perfectly cooked entrees, AMAZING carrot cake (seriously our guests could not stop raving about all the food - we've been hearing constantly from our family & friends that it was the "best carrot cake I've ever had" "my steak was cooked perfectly" "the chicken was juicy and so delicious"), and John made our "food dreams" come true by surprising us during our cocktail hour with a specialized appetizer that he custom created for us because he knew it was a food we loved. The Inn is on a spectacular piece of property with manicured gardens, orchards, and a barn with horses and sheep, so both us and our guests had ample photo opportunities - again something that made it so easy for us since we didn't have to go off property and leave our guests during cocktail hour to shoot our wedding photos. As the day and night went on, the tent where receptions are held in, turned into an epic dance party and all the while John continued to make sure that all of our guests were taken care of and that everyone was having the time of their lives - which we sure did! All in all, John and his staff go above and beyond to make you feel like you're not just another wedding at the venue. The John Joseph Inn, John, and his staff made our 200 person wedding feel so intimate, beautiful, relaxed and SO. MUCH. FUN. We've already heard from many friends that it was the best wedding they've ever been to and our families (who stayed at the Inn for the weekend with us) are already talking about planning a future reunion there because they loved it so much! Thank you John, Ashley, and all the fabulous staff for making 9.2.17 a...

I booked a room here on Aug. 24 for a stay on Oct. 19. Perhaps I made a mistake by booking through Expedia, but here is what unfolded upon our arrival at 3:15 on Oct. 19. When my husband and I pulled into the parking lot I got out of the car and took a picture of the Inn. The Innkeeper came out and in an unpleasant voice asked if he could help us. We said we were checking in and he said I don’t have anyone checking in today. He asked if I had just made the reservation and I told him I made it 2 months ago. He started scrolling through his phone and said he did not have a reservation. At this point I had pulled up my reservation confirmation and he said when booking through Expedia 90% of the time the reservations come through, but mine had not. In any case, the room was available, however not made up. He requested we leave and drive back into town for a cup of coffee. We left and thought if the room was not made up it would probably take longer than a cup of coffee to prepare for new guests, so we ended up finding a restaurant for an early dinner. It would have been nice if he had asked for our phone number and offered to send a text once the room was ready, but he didn’t. We arrived back at the Inn around 5:45 and walked inside and could not find anyone anywhere. We finally realized there was a placard in the entryway with a phone number on it. My husband called and he said he was picking up his kids and would be there in a few minutes. Once there he took us up to the room and flipped on the lights and gave a very rushed tour of the accommodations. I asked how to turn on the fireplace because there were no directions or switch on the wall. He got on the floor and lifted a cover and pushed a couple buttons and it came on, but he never explained how to turn it off. As he was ready to leave I asked about breakfast in the morning and he said there are a couple restaurants in town he could recommend. I was very puzzled because his sign says John Joseph Inn and Restaurant. We’ve stayed in many Inns and B&B’s and a nice breakfast has always been included. I guess it was my mistake for not researching more carefully. I just assumed for $300 that breakfast would be provided. At any rate I would not recommend staying here only because of the attitude of the Innkeeper, which I believe was John Joseph. The room was very nice and spacious and had our arrival been more welcoming than it was I would have given it a higher rating. I don’t know where the breakdown in communication was between Expedia and the Inn, but it certainly set the tone for a less than...