The Madison Hotel Morristown, NJ

Reviews 4

HA

Hannah Martin Lawrenz

Our winter wedding reception at the Madison Conservatory was gorgeous, and the event proceeded relatively seamlessly. Catering Manager Tim MacHale was a great resource and was highly responsive to our initial inquiries all the way through final preparations. Our guests also greatly enjoyed staying in the hotel for a few days prior to the wedding, and the honeymoon suite was spacious, quiet, and lovely. Our maitre d’ Carolina was an angel—she anticipated every aspect of final pre-wedding setup, offered solutions, and maintained a cheerful and pleasant demeanor in each of our meetings. The cocktail hour food was spectacular—so much variety! Our gluten free, vegan, and Hindu guests were accommodated and had a variety of food choices throughout the hour. Dinner was a little less flexible (a reasonable part of opting for a winter package deal), but I really appreciated the ability for all guests to order table-side instead of having to indicate on their RSVP which entree they’d prefer (who remembers what box they checked 2-3 months ago anyway?). As far as the event flow, we had our ceremony at a church in Basking Ridge, rushed through some photos (with our spectacular photographer Lindsey Zern—check her out!), then lined up and entered the conservatory for the reception. Only a few details went amiss—we didn’t want the attendants to form and arch and let the DJ know, but the Madison staff still instructed our attendants to make an arch. Couple awkward moments, but we got through it shortly. Nothing major! The one major issue we ran into was with the hotel front desk, who are affiliated with the hotel, not with events. In our contract, Tim included the hotel’s standard offer of and requirements for welcome bags for guests. We spent considerable time preparing bags according to these requirements and had the contents all okayed by the hotel. Once we dropped off the bags, however, the single staff person who was working the desk put the bags in a side closet, assuring me over her shoulder that they’d be distributed as guests arrived. This never happened. Guests began arriving Thursday, but no one received bags until Friday afternoon—AFTER my husband, mother-in-law, and myself each complained pointedly and repeatedly about the initial and then repeated oversight. And instead of delivering the forgotten bags to guests rooms after realizing their mistake, which I was assured would happen, the front desk staff put the gift bags up on the desk with a piece of paper stating our last name. Not exactly rectifying the issue. Anyone could’ve grabbed one, and our guests weren’t told to check for a bag, so many didn’t receive one. We spent hundreds of dollars on guest bags, which I was assured and then repeatedly re-assured would be distributed as agreed—to no avail. Thankfully, the groom’s mom grabbed several of the forgotten bags and tried to distribute them, so at least they all weren’t wasted. In retrospect, I’d have skipped the bags and opted for gifts at the rehearsal dinner—where at least I could ensure guests received them as they arrived. Granted, the front desk’s unprofessionalism isnt associated with the wedding staff, whose capabilities were so appreciated. The Madison is a striking venue that really can’t be beat for the location, accommodations, quality, and pricing for a winter wedding. Overall, we’re very pleased!

MA

Mallory Ponting

Just all-around dissatisfied with the visit. absolutely the most awful experience Ive had with any Hotel. stayed 4 nights and where excited about the hot breakfast in the mornings, but come to find out that its just coffee tea juices yogurt fruit and cereal. Which is what they think of breakfast should be I guess, but dont tell us theres a hot breakfast when theres not. Also they will only put flavored coffee creamers out at the end of the day , and put them out what the coffee in the morning. They only had room service so on top of having to pay for the food there are three other taxes added on to it. The room was awful. The wall was splitting in 4 places and coming down towards us. The unit around the AC unit was splintering all over the carpet and continued to deteriorate without even touching it. The carpet was bubbling so every time you walk in and walk around the room you trip on the carpet. We got locked out of our room twice because the key wouldnt work comma two ladies at the front desk said it was because we had our phones next to it, but I never had my phone next to it. And a funny thing that happened, the lady whose room was directly next to us she had the same issue with her keep saying that her phone deactivated it, when her phone was in her room the entire time she was out. So all they had were excuses every time we had an issue. They said there was complimentary bottles of water but then again they charged us $2 for each one, they say that you only get one complimentary bottle for your entire stay. The ice machine wasnt working on our floor. The elevator would work only if the service elevator was in use, or else when you press the up or down button the service elevator would open up and not bring us the other elevators that we were supposed to use so you stand there for 5 to 10 minutes your elevator to open. Then they were telling us theres a 12% charge on the room for more or less tourists, and they refused to take it off when I told them to. Ive never heard of this in my life, this is stealing and theyre lying about it. again like I said all around absolutely awful experience at this hotel!

EV

Evan Chaney

I had always dreamed about having my wedding reception in the Conservatory at the Madison Hotel, and when my fiance and I got engaged that dream came true. We were able to work with everyone at the Madison regarding blocking hotel rooms, choosing food and appetizers, decor and setup, and overall planning of the wedding. Every single person that we interacted was truly exceptional in helping us plan and deliver a one of a kind wedding reception. They were so flexible, patient, kind, understanding, and professional as changes arose. The Conservatory was absolutely gorgeous for our wedding reception it was more than we could have ever dreamed of. One of our favorite parts about our wedding reception was the food. It was delicious and there was something for everyone. All of our wedding guests raved about how good the food was, and even some of our guests took home doggie bags. My personal favorite was the ice cream sundae bar. Since all of the staff at the Madison are so professional the service was outstanding. Every aspect of our reception went off without a hitch, and everyone felt that they were in such good hands. We would highly recommend the Madison Hotel for any event, and a big thank you to them for making our day so special! Erin and Evan Chaney

SI

Simchelle1982

The hotel itself is beautiful, and the complimentary breakfast is really something. They even have Chobani yogurt! The room is gorgeous but it smelled like someone may have been smoking in the room and some sort of air freshener was used to cover it up. There must have been an excessive amount of air freshener used though because the smell was so thick in the room that I actually tasted it all night long. There is no gift shop in the hotel, which is really unfortunate since the nearest store is about 2 miles away. So, if you forget your deodorant, hairbrush, etc. you have a 2 mile drive to get one. The bartender was kind of rude and he didnt know how to make simple drinks, like a Mai Tai or a Seabreeze. Two very popular drinks. Lastly, there was one thing I thought was a little tacky. When I woke up the morning I was leaving, I found my bill had been slipped under my door. Really? I just thought that was extremely tacky for such a fancy hotel. I would definitely stay here again but Id make sure I didnt leave any toiletries home and I would ask the front desk to hold onto my bill until I checked out.