Westchester Bat MItzvah Venues

[mitzvahmom]

Anyone know of good venues for bat mitzvah reception with good food and won't break the bank? I am considering CV Rich Mansion and Doral Arrowood, but have never been to an affair at either. Is the food any good?

[RawTunaFan]

CV Rich-- is that the Women's Club? We were at a bar mitzvah there this past November and the food was really good. I think they are the same owners as Sam's of Gedney way if you want to see how the food is -- I might be mistaken however.

Been to Doral many times - -I think they were much better years ago.

Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club and the Whitby Castle in Rye -- been to events in these places and they were great too, not sure if it fits your budget, though!

[mitzvahmom]

Thanks for your advice. You are correct about the CV Rich mansion. It is so much lesss expensive then some other venues I was incredulous about the quality of the food. The place is nice I thought except fot the "old ladyish" decor, which is not to my liking or my daughter's, particularly! Doral seems more contemporary. How long ago were you there? I here they have a new chef. Mamaroneck and Whitby have a minimum which I propbably will not meet.

[yeshana]

went to a BM last summer- food was awful. some of the presentations were nice, but when you ate it- yuk! over fried, greasy, over cooked, etc. not creative at all, either. It is possible that the hosts chose an uncreative menu, but the prep and taste is
CV's responsability

[Avalondaughter]

Reading that made my heart break.

[yeshana]

If yours was to your liking then that's it- to your liking. Perhaps the one I had attended was poorly chosen menu or an off day. Sorry if you felt that the one that I went to was a reflection of yours. Your satisfaction at your affair is what's important and memorable. Enjoy your memory.

[jprobber]

Been to Whitby for lunch once.....on that basis the food was adequate. The settting is handsome. Doral is a pretty slick conference center and can probaby pull it off...a lot depends on the planners you work with at each venue. Need to feel comfortable with those folks.

[addictedtolunch]

Don't know if you are looking for strictly kosher, but if not, we almost used the New York Athletic Club, which was at a great location in a nice mansion on the water, and at a little lower price (and a lot less attitude) than comparable venues. Yeah, sounds like a weird name for a likely spot, but suggest you check it out.

[mitzvahmom]

Why did you choose not to use the NY Athletic Club and where did you end up?!

[addictedtolunch]

Ended up at the mansion portion of the Renaissance Hotel in White Plains (mansion since been renamed), because we thought the food could be a touch better. Not a big consideration for most because at the end of the day the spirit of the party is much, much more important, but we had a LOT of "food centric" relatives flying in. Also because there were many out of towners the convenience of being connected to a hotel was important to us. They were nice at the Renaissance, and very helpful (but it was a bit pricey).

[mitzvahmom]

Hi again! Went to look at Rennaissance mansion. I thought the big room was nice, but I felt all the small rooms seemed too claustrophobic. I was planning to house my out of town guests there as I did for my son's Bar Mitzvah. We did a brunch the next morning which was very nice. I twould definitely be convenient! By the way, if anyone is interested, we had my son's party at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk and it was fabulous! Food was great and the venue can't be beat for entertainment value! I will most definitely have to have "games" and activities for my daughter's if we are at one of the standard type of country club/ hotel venues. How did all the small rooms at rhe Renaissance work out for you?

[debmom]

I looked at all the places you have looked at. We have booked the Tarrytown House and Conference Center. Size was definitely an issue for us. We plan to have 125 and didn't want to look lost in too large a room, yet didn't want the dark "claustorphobic" room either. While we haven't been to an affair there, we did have the food at Mother's Day brunch and thought it was quite good. There is a hotel there too, for out of towners. Mazel tov and good luck MM!

[addictedtolunch]

Smaller continuous string of rooms for the cocktail hour worked well for us, as if each type of station had a separate section. I liked that it wasn't a catering hall feel. The ones on the side for photo booth etc. worked fine but not perfectly when they crowded (which was only a few minutes)- depends on how close you go to the recommended maximum of guests. The stayover and brunch went particularly well, the indoor pool was a good feature. We ended up back at the Renaissance for our second daughter because it worked well for us the first time. Diff. strokes.

[planner]

I tried calling the NY Athletic Club and was told you need a sponsor. Do you know how to go about getting one?

[yeshana]

find a friend( or a friend of a friend_ like six degrees)
start telling your friends/colleagues- someone should be a member

[Avalondaughter]

I had my wedding at the CV Rich/Women's Club. It was awesome. The service was great, wonderful attention to details. Food was good (although it was fairly standard banquet menu, but prepared well enough with good appetizers). Venue is lovely. I would recommend it.

[blackeyedsuzy73]

im looking at the rich mansion tomorrow. for my wedding december. could i possibly see any pictures you have that show the space and the whole mansion? there is one image of the ballroom :( thank you

[Avalondaughter]

Check out my website http://www.rachelandkevin.com/wedding...

These pictures were taken mostly on the back patio and yard (we had the ceremony there) and in the ballroom. The photographer took a great recessional photo of us coming back up the steps with the back of the building in full view, but while it's in our album, it never made it to the website.

The don't do much to decorate the ballroom. It's just white lights on the potted plants, but I think the windows are nice and let in a lot of light for daytime events.

If you look at the photos, don't bother clicking on any of the thumbnails that prominently feature the best mean (bearded guy with glasses) or the ring bearer (small blond kid). BIL requested we not have these featured on our site. He's paraoid.

[mitzvahmom]

Thanks for all your great responses! What a great site I stumbled onto! Has anyone out there been to an affair at The Coveleigh Club in Rye or The New York Athletic Club at Traver's Island in Pelham?

[doberlady]

::sigh:: We just booked the Villa Barone in Northern Westchester for our daughter's Bat Mitzvah. We had our oldest daughter's at the Crown Plaza in WP 12 years ago. We hired a bus to do the transporting as we live in Yorktown and we didn't want to have to do that again to have it at a venue more south. Wish we had more to chose from up here in the "country".

[MisterBill2]

Crystal Bay in Peekskill does a nice job, I had both my kids bar/bat mitzvah's there. I haven't been there since they went under new ownership but will be next month and that person said she'd been there to taste the food and it was good. I had been to a bat mitzvah at the Crowne Plaza a few years ago and was not impressed, especially considering that the person was also from up here and made us all schlep down there.

I've been to a couple of nice bar mitzvahs at Lake Isle CC in Eastchester.

PS Villa Barone is actually in Putnam (Mahopac).

[yeshana]

Went to Traver's island last year for BM. It really was very elegant, and wonderful food. I have to mention that the hosts were "no holds barred" on the menu, entertainment, etc.
Mamaroneck beach and yacht was great food also and my friend who had her daughter's there, having her sons this year- loved the service and attention to everything that she got from the staff. Again, this family was very indulgent in their selections of everything. These were very nice affairs, both had great food.Now that I think about it, both of these families have OCD moms-sooo perfectionistic and difficult to please.

[mitzvahmom]

Thanks for the info. I haven't been able to reach anyone at Traver's Island-they seem to be closed until spring?! But it sounds like it would be fabulous! Mamaroneck has a minimum for a Saturday night that I won't be able to meet as we don't have a huge guest list, but I have been to some nice affairs there. Oh well, the search continues....!

[addictedtolunch]

That was exactly our problem in using Mamaroneck on a Sat. nite-we would have barely hit the rather large minimum and I didn't want to sweat out declinations and maybe pay for people not attending.

[cubanat]

In the last 8 months I have been to 2 weddings and 3 bar mitzvahs at different places in the Westchester area. Best: Whitby Castle, Tappan Hill & Glen Island's Hall. Worst: Tarrytown House & Beach Point. Everything just clicked at the better ones from food to decor and especially the staff. The bad ones just were really mediocre and tired. Good Luck!

[robinsilver]

We went to a Bar Mitzvah 2 years ago at Tappan Hill and loved it. My son was there last month for his friend's wedding, and they loved it too. Very interesting cocktail hour food, good service too, and the entertainment just all worked so well to make a great party.

[Feaster18]

You can also try the Wainwright house - the caterer is supposed to be excellent - the inside is nice - may be a bit old fashioned for your daughter, but if you are planning an event in the nice weather, the outside is gorgeous!

[debmom]

Sorry to hear Tarrytown House was bad. We have it booked for 2009. Yikes! What was wrong? Anything I can control? We had brunch there last year and it was wonderful.

[cubanat]

Where should I start? rude servicve staff from the boss to the server. Outdoor cocktail hour ended abruptly due to the sprinkler system going off in the middle of the reception! So now I'm soaked and sitting in an air conditioned room with no windows...

[cstumiller]

I went to two Bat Mitzvah's at Quaker Ridge Country Club. It was so wonderful. It is a very private club but there is a member who will sponser outside events with a small mark-up (and since it is private the prices are very reasonable). He advertises sometimes on Craigs list but fills up very quickly as he is only allowed to sponser 4 events a year.

[planning]

Has anyone been to a party at Beckwith Pointe in New Rochelle? Any feedback?