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Hilton Chicago/Northbrook Reviews

Hilton Chicago/Northbrook

Hilton Chicago/Northbrook

Northbrook, IL
4.8 out of 5 rating, 22 Reviews
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Reviews

4.8 out of 5 rating
22 Reviews
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95% Recommended by couples

Awards

22
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
  • Julie
    Julie K. Sent on 11/30/2023
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    Amazing Experience!

    We apologize that this review took us so long to publish for our wedding in June, particularly considering how incredible the Hilton Northbrook was throughout the entire wedding process. We cannot express enough gratitude for the exceptional efforts of the Hilton Northbrook, and in particular, their coordinator, Karen, who played an instrumental role in making our wedding day better than we could have ever imagined. From our initial consultation to the last moments of our celebration, Karen's dedication and attention to detail were simply outstanding.

    Karen's expertise and passion for her work shone through at every stage of the planning process. She took the time to understand our vision, offered invaluable insights, and worked tirelessly to bring every detail to life. Just one example that other future couples may run into: my husband has Celiac disease and Karen and her team were incredible with accommodating not only his allergy, but many of our other guests that also have varying food allergies as well (dairy-free, vegan, nut allergies, even an allergy to allium were all accommodated). I cannot tell you how many guests commented on how appreciative they were to be able to eat the food at our wedding, because so many other venues do not offer that level of flexibility and care.

    What sets Karen apart is her flexibility and genuine commitment to creating magical moments. Her dedication extended beyond the planning stages. She checked in regularly, ensuring that all our needs were met, and her warm and friendly demeanor made us feel like we were working with a friend who truly cared about the success of our wedding. She heard us when we mentioned how important it was for us to have a candy bar later in the evening, and she helped make it happen! She heard how we would love to have the popcorn machine up and running at the hotel bar after the reception, and she ensured that there were bartenders on-staff until 2AM (they usually close before midnight) and that popcorn machine? It was working overtime for our party! Karen's organizational skills are impeccable, and she seamlessly coordinated all the moving parts of our wedding, ensuring a smooth and stress-free experience for us and our guests. Most notably, her ability to handle unexpected challenges with grace and efficiency further showcased her exceptional leadership and professionalism.

    In short, Karen's contribution to our wedding was invaluable, and we are profoundly grateful for the Hilton Northbrook and Karen's unwavering commitment to excellence. If you are considering this venue for your special day, rest assured they will go above and beyond to make it an unforgettable experience. Thank you, Karen and all of the Hilton Northbrook staff, for making our wedding a truly unforgettable occasion!
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    Vonetta F. Sent on 05/31/2023
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    Amazing & Luxurious Wedding Venue/Guest Accommodations

    The Hilton in Northbrook/Chicago offers an elevated expression of luxurious, wedding glamour. My husband and I selected this venue to celebrate our wedding reception, mainly for two BIG reasons: They allowed us to bring our fury babies/dogs (whom we can’t part from) to the hotel and reception, and the wedding coordinator Karen Dragel - was an absolute joy to work with! 
    From the time I stepped into the hotel while venue shopping 5 months before our big day, up until the wedding reception ended, every moment on the property, and every member of their staff, made us ALL feel valued, as their special guests. The service was simply outstanding! The ballroom was spectacular, our bridal suite was beyond comfortable, the scenic natural beauty of their outdoor gardens were absolutely breathtaking for taking pictures, and the menu we selected was scrumptious and delightful. Karen went above and beyond, and orchestrated everything to fall in place, in ensuring my wedding reception was perfect! All our guests were raving about the impeccable service. Whomever, Karen recommended for our vendors, from the DJ and photographer/videographer, to our wedding cake and floral/decor vendors, were all beyond outstanding! To this day, I can still close my eyes and reminisce the glory and joy of our wedding reception, that was all made possible, by Karen Dragel and the Hilton at Northbrook/Chicago- A fairytale dream come true :) 
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    Catherine Sent on 01/17/2020
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    Amazing Venue and Staff

    Maureen and her team at the Hilton Chicago/Northbrook are some of the best in the industry. Our wedding was amazing and we are so thankful Maureen was our wedding coordinator. She took our vision and brought it to life. It was beautiful and elegant. Our friends and family cannot stop talking about the great time they had and
    the food. The food was delicious and if you are looking for food outside the traditional dried piece of chicken, this place works with you on a menu that your guests will love. Our cocktail hour was a hit with grilled cheese and tomato soup shooters, bbq meatballs and even sushi. Our dinner included sirloin, chicken stuffed with gouda and panchetta, and our vegetarian dish was a portabello mushroom stuffed with feta and grilled vegetables. We had a late night snack option of sliders and chicken fingers/mozzarella sticks. We received so many compliments on the menu and it was all because Maureen took her time helping us craft the one that worked for us. Truly amazing venue and staff!

    Hilton Chicago/Northbrook's reply:

    Thank you for such a wonderful review of our hotel and staff. It was a pleasure working with such an amazing couple! I can't wait to plan something else with you in the future. Best wishes to you both!
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  • L
    Lauren C. Sent on 11/17/2019
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    Very Pleasant Experience

    We recently got married at this venue, and everything went as well as we could have asked for! Maureen and the rest of the staff were very accommodating throughout the entire process, and made the event as low-stress as possible. We actually can’t think of one thing that went wrong the day of. Maureen maintained regular contact with us, and was always accessible when we had any questions or issues that needed to be addressed.  As soon as we met Maureen, we were sold on having our wedding at the Hilton/Chicago in Northbrook. Maureen is highly organized, attentive, professional, and overall amazing! She far exceeded our expectations. We would not change a thing about the day!  
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    Stephen S. Sent on 11/09/2019
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    A Superior Experience!

    The wedding was flawless from start to finish and beyond. Our point of contact, Maureen Schoenbauer, met and/or spoke with us on several occasions before the wedding date. On the wedding date she coordinated everything before, during and after the ceremony in a seamless manner. Similarly, the reception and dinner were perfectly executed by the staff. Same for the buffet the following morning. Throughout the entire process Maureen and her entire staff were cordial, professional and responsive to every request we made. Many of our guests remarked that this was one of the most enjoyable weddings they have ever attended.
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    Zachary N. Sent on 03/27/2019
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    Great wedding venue

    We booked the Hilton Northbrook for our wedding a reception, and Kesha helped with the event organization and planning. Everything was great! The venue is excellent, with beautiful, open spaces and friendly staff. Considering all the amenities, the cost is reasonable. Kesha helped us plan all the details, with good organization and clear options. She basically served as a complimentary wedding planner, and we appreciated personalized touches she made on the day. The food tasting was fun, and all the options were delicious. They were flexible on customization of dishes, and they offered customized bar options for additional cost. We planned an outdoor ceremony, but it rained on the day. Fortunately, they had a backup plan and there was no disruption at all. The Hilton Northbrook has everything streamlined, with the ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and reception, so it is very convenient for out-of-town guests. We keep hearing from guests how wonderful they thought everything was and what a great time they had. We highly recommend!

    Hilton Chicago/Northbrook's reply:

    Thank you so much for choosing us to host your big day, and most of all for taking the time to share your great experience! You and Jess were an absolute pleasure to work with! I wish you both a lifetime of happiness! Please don't hesitate to reach out if there's anything I can assist you with in the future! :)

    Best Wishes,
    Kesha
  • Kim
    Kim Sent on 10/01/2017
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    My husband and I had our wedding at the Hilton on 9/9 and everything was absolutely amazing! We actually had all of our wedding festivities there - rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and breakfast the day after the wedding. I am 100% happy with our decision on this venue. We originally started out with Katie as our coordinator, who was great and then after she left, we started working with Kesha. She hands down made our wedding day the success it was! I cannot say enough wonderful things about Kesha. She is extremely nice and patient and SO detail oriented! The wedding planning process was so easy with the help of Kesha. She helped me keep track of all the little details that I didn't even think of. All of the staff at the Hilton were great and provided wonderful service the day of the wedding. Also, the package with the venue included the catering, bar, cake and the basic decor (mirrors, votive candles and table numbers) which was perfect because we did not do much more than that. The thing that I loved most about the Hilton Northbrook was the gazebo outside. We did our ceremony outside in front of the gazebo, as well as our first look and most of our family/bridal party pictures. Overall, we are extremely happy with our experience, from beginning to end. We are grateful to the Hilton for helping make our wedding day perfect!

    Hilton Chicago/Northbrook's reply:

    Hi Kim and Greg,
    Thank you so much for your kind words! It was an absolute pleasure working with you and Greg! I'm so glad that I was able to help bring your vision to life, and make your day all the more special. I wish you both the absolute happiness for your new journey together! :)

    Best regards,
    Kesha
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    Scott Sent on 08/23/2016
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    Many thanks to all involved in our daughter's wedding celebration. I think the Hilton Chicago/Northbrook provided the WOW factor! We were delighted with the room presentation, the tables and chairs were beautiful, the set up just as planned. The food service, and the quality and presentation of the food was spectacular. I cannot tell you how many compliments we received from our guest. The types of comments included how good the logistics of the food service was, how good the food tasted and it was served hot. The hotel rooms were nice, and the staff throughout the hotel were kind and helpful. The cocktail room looked lovely & we really appreciated Alex's and John's AV services of keeping the video a surprise.
    We (parents of the bride) were so pleased that our guests had such a wonderful time. The grooms family and ours liked the shuttle service which we used to the church and the rehearsal dinner. I truly appreciated the extras -- like letting my sisters & friends use the gathering room on Friday night. It was so nice to have access to additional rooms to get ready in rather than try to use a room that was really occupied by a guest.
    We appreciated being able to work with the staff to arrange a send-off breakfast for all our family and friends. The planners were very helpful in explaining what could be done within our budget. Even the breakfast exceeded expectations.
    Our entire week end went very smoothly and of course our guests were pleased and impressed! Thanks to everyone involved.
  • K
    Kaitlyn Sent on 06/13/2016
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    I had my wedding here last weekend and it was amazing. Lisa was very quick to respond to emails and made sure everything was in order. All of my guests loved the food and it was a very good price, cake included! I had my ceremony outside and the cocktail hour on their patio and it was beautiful. They had everything set up for the reception inside and I didn't have to worry about anything! I would definitely recommend the Hilton/Allgauer's to anyone!
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    Lydia Sent on 04/27/2016
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    My husband and I hosted our wedding this past weekend at the Northbrook Hilton. It was the best choice we could have made. Initially we started working with Linda but the main details and planning were handled by Katie and she was a pleasure to work with. She was very nice, friendly, and always open to listen us and to advise us to make great decisions. Not once did she make me feel like I was a bother even when I asked her countless questions.

    We made lots of changes to our floor plan and she never got tired of our emails. Always saying: “It is your special day, I’m here to help”. The cake was included in the package and it was designed exactly the way we wanted. Also we got as complimentary free suite at the hotel for us the night after our wedding! The room was absolutely amazing! Katie left us a bottle of champagne with chocolate covered strawberries and a nice handwritten card. We even received a voucher for brunch the next day.

    She really cares about their business and knows how to treat her customers well. I really recommend this place to host your wedding or any special event. It will be one less thing to worry about because they will take care of everything you ask for.

    Thank you Katie..... for everything! You're amazing!!! Hard work and good heart!
  • K
    Katie Sent on 10/26/2015
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    We just had our wedding reception at the Hilton Northbrook/Chicago and were so pleased with the outcome! The recent renovations made the place sizzle with modern touches. I'm glad they kept the giant chandeliers in the ballroom though - they're so eye-catching! Lisa Anderson was a complete JOY to work with, and Benjamin - the banquet manager was so pleasant and regularly checked on us during the night to make sure we were happy. The outdoor cocktail hour was a favorite among our guests and the ability for the bar to stay open late to accommodate an after party was certainly the icing on the cake.

    The food, service and overall value was second-to-none. Portions were giant, the food tasted even better than the tasting (which was amazing) and the service - from start to finish - was every bride's dream. I knew we were in good hands!

    If only my husband and I could get married every weekend... :) We'd certainly pick the Hilton Northbrook again!
  • S
    Stephanie Sent on 05/26/2015
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    Working with the wedding Coordinator at the Hilton Chicago/Northbrook has been amazing! She always responds to my emails timely and is constantly being flexible with my crazy requests! She has kept me calm throughout the whole wedding planning process. The Hilton recently got a remodel and looks even more fabulous then it did before and the prices per plate and what you get is super reasonable. I would definitely recommend this venue to everyone!
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    Olivia Sent on 04/23/2015
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    Everyone was AMAZING. The staff was super knowledgeable, helpful, and nice! Linda was incredible throughout the whole process. She was very responsive, and on the day of - was there ready to help set everything up, and make sure we had an amazing the day! The food was great, the drinks were strong, and the service was wonderful. It was so easy to host my wedding there; I would absolutely choose the Hilton again!
  • User2056734 Sent on 03/03/2015
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    Everything was perfect! Our night was organized and every detail was perfect and went according to plan!
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    Mary A. Sent on 12/15/2014
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    We are so happy we got Hilton Chicago/NORTHBROOK for our reception and we stayed there several days with some of guests. Not only they have wonderful staff working, they Have the Hotel and restaurant wonderful clean feel of it... Special thanks for the following who made our day extra special:

    For Lindsie Parker-Hass - for making it a real stress free planning, please keep up the good work of saying things that make sense without sounding to be pushy-- and make me realize on my own. Extra thank you for lending me the fishbowl/dish to take home so that we can make it prior and many more too many to mention.

    For Kellie - for making it happen, you made an excellent "decisions " to adapt on the last minute changes---

    For Anna - the banquet captain or manager and the banquet staff for doing their absolute accommodation to our needs and our guests.

    For Linda - the bfast attendant at 10/F for accommodating us even if we were late coming to the bfast.

    More power to your establishment!

    Hilton Chicago/Northbrook's reply:

    Thank you for your review! We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed your time with us! Again, congratulations and happy Holidays!
  • A
    Ana P. Sent on 10/20/2014
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    We hosted our wedding on October 4th, 2014, at the Northbrook Hilton. Actually, we started talking to Linda in February just to have an idea about the price and menu. When we contacted her back in June she was ready to help us in any way. It was the best choice we made. She was very nice, friendly, and always open to listen us and to advise us to make the great decision.

    We made lots of changes on our floor plans and she never got tired with our emails. Always saying: “It is your special day, I’m here to help”. We offered our own budget and she worked on the menu with us. Also the cake was included in their package and they designed it the way we wanted. For the sweet table Linda allowed us to bring those from the outside and we could set up the table in our own or even ask the staff to do it without any charge. The other good thing about the Northbrook Hilton we had the ceremony room and chairs without any charge. Also we got as complimentary free rooms at the hotel for our parents and a nice suite for us in the night after our wedding! As me and my husband don’t drink any alcohol she left a sparkling grape juice in our room with strawberries covered with chocolate and a nice card including a free breakfast and dinner.

    She really cares about their business and knows how to treat her customers well. One more thing I like to share, in the day of our wedding we were running late and she was there to support us during the morning and was not pressuring us at all. I really recommend this place to host your wedding. It will be one less thing to worry about because they will take care of everything you ask for.

    Thanks Linda for everything! You're amazing. Hard work and good heart!
  • User1817627 Sent on 09/18/2014
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    Hosted my son's Bar Mitzvah party at Hilton/Northbrook. Beautiful hotel meticulously maintained. Catering Manager, Lindsie Parker, was professional, helpful and always responsive. Food was incredibly delicious and presented nicely. Shuttle service for guests to/from synagogue offered convenience. Would highly recommend this hotel as a venue for a special occasion. Would love to host another event there in the future.

    Hilton Chicago/Northbrook's reply:

    Hello! We appreciate the time you took to review our property. We are so happy to hear you enjoyed your time with us and hope to have the opportunity of working with you again!
  • S
    Shibani Sent on 09/21/2014
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    I checked out over 40 venues in the Chicagoland area before deciding on this one in January of 2014. So I met a lot of sales and catering managers too. Lindsie Parker outshines all of them - best wedding coordinator you will ever meet. She is organized, responds to emails right away, creative and flexible. The wedding ballrooms are beautiful with chandeliers and can hold up to 600 guests (we had 400 guests). Also, it is SO nice having hotel rooms attached to the venue for you and all your guests – the restrooms near the ballrooms, the honeymoon suite and the bridal parlor (just needs floor length mirrors to get ready) were very nice too. I don’t know how the catering is as we had outside catering for Indian food (use BAPS for Indian!) but the bakery (Marilyn) made a variety of vegan desserts for all our guests. The Hilton staff (wait staff, Ana – the catering coordinator, bartenders, front desk staff) were all phenomenal! Lindsie Parker – I really could not have envisioned my dream wedding without you. Thank you so much for everything you have done for us!!!

    Hilton Chicago/Northbrook's reply:

    Thank you for taking the time to write a review! We are so happy to hear that you and your guests enjoyed your time with us! Again, congratulations and Happy Holiday's!
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    Megan Sent on 04/10/2010
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    Banquet manager went above and beyond for us. We loved her. The few was also absolutely amazing!
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    Mollie Sent on 05/11/2015
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    The Hilton was an incredible place for us to have our wedding. They were pretty flexible and always answering our questions. They were always willing to help make it just the perfect evening as we worked on planning all the little details and gave us more room just to be sure everyone was comfortable. The food is awesome and the cake was delish! Marilyn the baker we had was so delightful to talk to and help coordinate everything. We did have a minor issue due to our event being handed over from one planner to another. A few things were left behind (seat covers - but I should have double checked that it was included on the final bill) and some things were communicated incorrectly to us, but overall it was an incredible experience working with everyone there!
    The only Real issue we had was with the Hotel itself. They don't have any food open inside the hotel late at night (which seems Extremely odd and silly) and my niece is diabetic (which we had told everyone from day 1 when we toured the place) so when her blood sugar crashed it caused an issue for my family.
    Their packages for their weddings are really great though. Go in and have a tour if you're considering!
  • E
    Elaine Sent on 08/30/2012
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    It was quite difficult to work with the Director there. She always starts off with "no" to all the requests and we worked our way through to agree with things. It is hotel, so I know it costs money but I do expect to have an easy experience to work with someone. Anyway, after all, they delivered the quality and service on the wedding day. The cocktail hour by the restaurant and reception turned out really nice. Bartender was great. The food quality is also good as well.
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    Caroline V. Sent on 01/02/2023
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    Don't book them for your wedding, you will regret it.

    My husband and I got married at the Hilton Northbrook/Chicago on 09/24/22. My first thought the morning after the wedding was that we should have eloped and that it felt like the Hilton has never hosted a wedding at their venue before.
    We booked our venue July of 2021. After signing the contract, my main contact person changed twice, which didn't leave me feeling too great, but we rolled with it. For reference, Karen was our coordinator for the day of.
    Let me preface this and say- THEY WERE EXTREMELY UNDERSTAFFED THE ENTIRE WEEKEND. We had our rehearsal dinner at the restaurant at the hotel. When we got there, I had to track down someone to take us back to our private room. Service took forever and we basically had to pour our own wine the entire dinner. Food took forever to come out as well.
    Now onto the wedding day and everything that went wrong and what the hotel did to make it up to us after the fact.
    1. Ceremony time as discussed was 5pm, bumping to 5:15pm if there were any stragglers. We were told by Josie, who was associated with the catering staff, that the ceremony couldn't start until 5:30pm because cocktail hour didn't start until 6pm. We ended up starting at 5:20pm or so. When discussing our issues with Karen later, she said it was our DJ delaying the time, which was not true. Remember Josie, she pops up again later.
    2. Now let's get to the issue with the "bartender" at our wedding:
    a) My husband provided his own bottle of whiskey and told Karen that the whiskey we provided would be for my husband ONLY. My husband went up for his first drink and found that 90% of the bottle was already poured to other guests without my husband's permission. Our photographer ended up ordering a replacement bottle for us and the vendue did reimburse us for this.
    b) We had signature drinks at our wedding and my husband's was an old-fashioned. I created bar menus for our guests. The hotel staff overseeing our wedding apparently did NOT know how to make an old-fashioned, nor did they ask the actual bartender that they have on staff at their restaurant because they were making the drinks with Sprite instead of simple syrup and then proceeded to blame ME for not including it on the bar menu. Restaurant staff should not be covering events.
    3. Cake cutting - we had two different flavors of cake. Only one was served to our guests and the remainder (excluding the top tier) was thrown out....which leads me to...
    4. THIS VENUE WILL NOT BOX YOUR FOOD FOR YOU EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE A FOOD MINIMUM. We ordered extras in order to meet our food minimum and it was NOT communicated to us that the venue will not save the food that we paid for. When I found out the night of the wedding, I was told VERY rudely by Josie that "We don't box food." Josie should not be communicating with any guests. We were refunded half of the plated meals for people who were not able to show last min but that's all. If I would have known this prior to signing with the venue, I would NOT have signed with them in the first place.
    5. They messed up our honeymoon suite. When we originally toured the venue, we were shown The Waterford Suite. The Alpine Suite was booked for us by mistake (a room with a murphy bed, c'mon). I didn't know the names of the rooms prior and once I saw the room, I had to spend 30-45 mins out of my reception getting it sorted out. The hotel did end up giving us rewards points to use at any Hilton later on in apology for the mixup.
    6. At the end of the evening, the staff did help box and clean up all of our stuff, but we were told we could not store any of the items in any of their extra rooms and I had to organize getting all of those items up to our suite. After everything else that happened that evening, this was just icing on the horrible cake.
    Even though the venue did do a bit to take the sting out of the many mistakes that were made, we still regret going with the Hilton Northbrook for our wedding venue. Do yourself a favor and book a different venue.
    A note to the venue- in the future, please use staff that actually have experience in events, not restaurants. Make sure the bartender knows how to make drinks. And Josie should not be in ANY customer-facing role. She is beyond rude and only made the entire evening worse by being there.
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