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Rockefeller Lodge
Rating Details »
Categories: Party & Event Planning, Churches, Landmarks & Historical Buildings [Edit]
2650 Market St.San Pablo, CA 94806
(510) 235-7344
12 reviews for Rockefeller Lodge
The Rockefeller Lodge was definitely on our list as a wedding and reception venue.
Pros:
*The gardens are well-kept and the lodge is really old and funky. There was even a cute little gazebo!
*The catering manager, Debbie, was very pleasant, informative and supportive.
*They can accommodate a variety of budgets, even absurdly low ones like ours.
*Folks have reported that the food is great!
Cons:
Nothing on the "cons" list has anything to do with the actual lodge but rather the location. It's situated on an narrow street in the middle of a residential neighborhood. We went a little too far and noticed the fence next door was covered with graffiti. Also, the lodge itself isn't situated very far back from the street. It's easy to imagine a car with a big boom driving down the street and drowning out the "I do's."
Mostly, our thinking was that we wanted our guests to have a pleasant travel experience in getting to and from our venue. It's part of the package, right? If Rockefeller Lodge had been located in a more secluded location, we would have booked this place in a heartbeat.
Ever heard of "the myspace angle"?? That's pretty much how this place took every single picture of their events that they put on the website. I can't even express how run down the building is. The gardens are *meh*, and have tons of areas where there are no flowers, grass, groundcover etc and it's just hard packed dry ass dirt. The stones/bricks on the ground are cracked in many places and do not match throughout the area (one type is brick and one type is like concrete looking).
The building itself is questionable at best. Worn out wood surfaces, floors and door jams make this place look outdated, not "rustic" or "antique". The drapes are...*shudder* hideous. Old old floral patterns and the white is now cream-ish. There are literally 4 types of chairs inside. So basically none of them match and you'd have to use all 4 kinds to seat all your guests.
Very very little is included in the package other than basic white linens and food. You bring your own liquor, floral, decorations, music, dj, cake etc. You have to pay for chair covers like $5-7 each which is RIDICULOUS considering the chairs don't match AT ALL and you MUST cover them so your guests don't know how ghetto this place is. The seating area next to the patio USED TO BE THE PATIO that they had covered so the floor goes from sh*tty old non polished/maintained hardwood to red brick. Nice.
The menu is pathetic. They are CRAP at communication. Basically, I'd rather go to city hall or my fiance's backyard.
Now that our wedding date has been set, Gayle and I have started to look for the right venue. All we're really looking for something cozy and pretty and within easy driving distance of the Bay Area. We also expect that our wedding will just include immediate family and a few friends. Plus, we'd rather spend our money on a nice trip to Europe than splurge on a "destination" wedding.
Gayle and I took a drive yesterday and visited several places, including the Rockefeller Lodge. The Lodge and grounds are very pretty, cozy, and well kept. My web research also indicates that this historical location is a very good value for the money.
However, we just couldn't get past the neighbourhood, especially the outside noise and music that could and probably has interrupted a very special ceremony. We also wondered about the safety of our parents in trying to find this place or navigate their way out at the end of the celebration. And that is very much a part of our "package".
I had my wedding reception here last night! I would definitely recommend it. It is an event venue with an on-site catering service. Debbie is very professional and really knows what she's doing. I felt like I was in good hands the whole time. Johnathan, Debbie's son, also helps plan events and bartends. He did a great job mixing my signature cocktail and slinging booze all night. My single girlfriends thought he was extremely cute.
I hear the food was excellent, although I didn't really get to taste it because I was trying to cram in bites in between talking to guests. I remember the scalloped potatoes being really good, and I loved the orange and red onion salad. The stuffed mushroom appetizer was delicious. We also had chicken breasts, salmon, ravioli, green salad, grilled veggies, and passed appetizers that many of my guests said they enjoyed. The only thing I wouldn't recommend are the chicken skewers with peanut sauce appetizer. They were OK but not as impressive as the other appetizers.
We picked this place because it has some history (used to be John D. Rockefeller's hunting lodge), and because it had a wintery cabin-like feel to it. They built a big fire in the fireplace, which is original to the building and from the early 1900s. We liked that it is in San Pablo where you wouldn't expect to find a nice venue. Rockefeller Lodge is sort of hidden and magical. A diamond in the rough, if you will. Mostly we picked this place because they don't charge a rental fee Monday through Friday, and we had the wedding on a Friday night. You just have to pay for catering. That saved us over $1,000!
Take away one star for two minor annoyances:
-The floor is uneven. Make sure people watch their step. Follow my good friend and wedding guest Emily J.'s advice. If you can make your way from the dining room to the bar without tripping, you can have another drink.
-The sign for the venue doesn't light up at night, and is impossible to see. People had a hard time finding the place.
I got married here about 4 years ago but just recently saw a few reviews written for this place and thought that I would express my gratitude for the amazing staff at this venue.
Everything about this place is a brides dream:
- Amazingly friendly, knowledgeable staff there to assist you with your every need.. these people are event planners that know what they're doing!
- Simple and elegant venue, doesn't take much decorating to beautify - just enough to give it your own personal touch.
- Great price - and if it is still the same as when I got married there, their prices are cut in half during the winter months.
- Great food with a good variety in their selections... my guests were raving for weeks about how great it was to leave a wedding and not have to stop at McDonalds on the way home.
- Tons of help on the day of the event and they set up everything exactly the way I requested.. I had three different favors for each guest that I wanted set up in a very particular way at each place setting and I just dropped of the favors the day before and they handled the rest!!!
In conclusion - I think that whether you are on a tight budget or have a couple grand to spare, the Rockefeller Lodge is a beautiful venue and the amazing staff support will ensure that your big day goes seamlessly and allow you and your hubby to focus on what's really important - EACHOTHER!!
Got married here last night. The place is ridiculously super duper awesome. Especially when you have a picnic wedding with mac 'n cheese and bbq'ed chicken.
When we first signed up, we were a little dubious though because they don't let you taste the food. Yup, no tasting. Which is kinda freaky if you're one of those people who likes to actually plan stuff. Happily, that's not us.
But here's the thing: the place is super affordable. And one of the ways they keep the price down is by not spending your money to hire a whole kitchen staff to cook one meal for you to test out. So yeah, it's a leap of faith, but it's also a nice little adventure that adds some much needed unpredictablity to what is often an over-planned, over-choreographed event. Besides, the food turned out to be amazing!
So take the leap, and trust it'll be delicious.
Oh, and my wife (whoa!! wife!) wants me to say that Debbie, the woman who runs it all, is fantastic and attentive and will work with you to accommodate all your plans.
I was going to wait until after our wedding to write a review, but after checking back on their reviews, I figured I should jump in now!
We are having our wedding here at the end of August, and I am so excited that we found this place. It is rustic, and totally charming. The best selling point in my mind, was that they charge no rental fee for Friday nights. We rented a bus for our guests to take them to and from San Francisco to the lodge, and we still saved money (and now they don't have to rent cars).
Debbie has been awesome. She is available, quick to respond to emails, and really helpful. I'll update again in September.
When looking for a wedding venue, someone recommended the Rockafeller Lodge in San Pablo. "San Pablo" I thought wants to get married there? Living in San Pablo, I never knew there was such a nice spot. As soon as you walk thru the gate, it's like you are no where near a city! Trees and flowers covering the whole place. It is so cute! The lady and her daughter who run it are very friendly and helpful! Another big reason I choose to get married here, they let you make payment until it is paid off, of course the whole thing has to paid off 2 weeks before the big day, but there is nowhere else that let's you make payments. Plus included with the venue is the food, which was really, really good. We picked out the tri tip and the chicken. Which everyone at our wedding complimented!
I got married in 2005, since then I have heard that the rates have gone up, but even so...I would think that it still couldn't be that much. I would recremend this place to anyone looking for a venue for a wedding/reception!
I attended a friends' wedding reception here last night. They seemed very pleased with the process of reserving the location and planning their party and, as a guest, I thoroughly enjoyed my evening. The ambiance is lovely, with a large fireplace in the entrance and hard wood floors. The food was delicious and the service was great. I don't always expect delicious food at weddings but their's was actually very good, especially the appetizers and scalloped potatoes. There are separate areas for the bar, live music/DJ, and dining but everything flows well from one space to the other. It maintains a cozy feel even with room for 80+.
It was too cold for us to utilize the outdoor areas but I'm sure they are nice during warmer weather.
Most likely a symptom of an old lodge, the floors are a bit uneven from one end of the lodge to the other. I just took this as a test. If you can make it safely from the dining area to the bar, then you can get another drink.
"The Rockefeller Lodge is simple yet elegant."
The Rockefeller Lodge by far met my expectations. Debbie the manager and the staff are so easy to talk to. My guest raved about how usually at weddings you never have a great wedding with great food, so they ranted about how wonderful the food was! The staff was so courteous, and at the wedding you didn't even realize they were there...
The lodge is great especially if you are on a budget and want a simple wedding. For the ceremony and reception can easily say I spent a little over or about $5000. Everyone loved it! My wedding day turned out perfect! I loved every minute of it!
The former hunting lodge of one of the rockefellers is a lovely space in the middle of bum fuck san pablo! who'd thunk! the gounds are lush with flowering plants a little stream runs through it and a nice little gazebo for wedding ceremonies. I attended a wedding and reception there in summer 06. The ceremony was held outdoors in the evening. It got a bit chilly but otherwise it was very nice. The actual lodge (indoors) seems fine if you are expecting less than 100 guests. there were at least 175 to 200 guests at this wedding. Anytime one has to get up AND walk 10 steps to let someone go by is not cool ie the joint is too CROWDED!!! the dinner was buffet style and was aight as far as mundane banquet menus go. There was limited seating on the patio (should have been more) If you are having an intimate reception for say about 60 people, this is a nice place.ANy more than 60 go to the park! The facility has been around a long time the owners need to invest in some decent banquet chairs and tables. Fix the floor too! holla
Had my wedding reception here. It has beautiful wood floors and a brick fireplace built with some of the bricks from the great San Francisco quake and fire. It's got a lot of history. It's one of the most reasonably priced places to throw a party in the Bay Area and they really know what they are doing! They host weddings year round and we had a really great experience working with the mother daughter team who runs the place. They have a great caterer too, and a menu to fit all budgets also they have been hosting parties and weddings there for years and are very professional. This historical landmark was once a hunting lodge owned by Rockefeller himself. The garden is lovely with a white gazebo, fountains, trellises and flowers. They throw more then weddings there, they also do Retirement parties, or Anniversary parties whatever you want to celebrate. Check out the website for more details.
