The Bond Ballroom

It’s honestly not surprising this place only has 1 review. For a while I felt silly being a guest of a wedding and leaving a crummy review but I know if I were looking for a venue for my wedding I would want my guest to have the perfect time so here it is… I was a guest of a wedding at the Bond Ballroom last weekend and had a wonderful time (until the end) mostly due to the crowd, DJ and photo booth. The ballroom is beautiful but Joe Howard who owns and runs this facility is not so much. He likes to bad mouth the guest («completely inebriated») and when confronted with an issue he does not respond like someone who has been in this business for over «30 years». My issue was small and could’ve easily been handled with an apology. Which I never got. During cocktail hour (on the lowest level) a coat rack was provided to the guests to hang their jackets. Once the reception began (top level) the coat rack was brought upstairs and that was the last time we saw our jacket. It was my boyfriends jacket… who had to leave that night to go plow (which Joe laughed about) jacket-​less. After a 45 minute phone conversation with Joe on the Monday following (after leaving 3 voicemails with no call back and being hung up on) he still couldn’t muster up the pride to apologize. I was blown away by his unprofessional approach to a minor situation. I can only imagine how he would react to a more serious issue. Which I later talked to an ex bartender of his that said he never handled situations well. Lastly he told me it was given to a «completely inebriated guest» who insisted it was theirs. In the ballrooms defense there were no ticket numbers given but also no signage releasing their responsibility. He never once asked what the jacket looked liked but said he looked for it… makes sense. After describing my boyfriends jacket we figured out it was not indeed the last jacket to be given away to the «completely inebriated guest» so when it was lost nobody knows. I would never chance a huge day of mine, where there’s a possibility of minor issues occurring, in the hands of a man who can’t even apologize. Oh and he held a «birthday party» in the lowest level until 4 am with music blaring that kept guests of the hotel awake… the hotel refunded a lot of money to unhappy guests. And again, never apologized for that. He made me feel as if I was lying and making these issues up. I will never let any of my friends/​family/​strangers I hear talking about their wedding plans, consider this place, solely because of Joe and his unprofessionalism. Sorry for such a long review. Happy Planning!

The Bond Ballroom was such a great place to have our wedding. Joe Howard came out to work with me and my husband personally. He helped us figure out all the details and his team coordinated everything with all the vendors. There were many food options to choose from and everything was exceptional.
It truly was a magical day from the weather, to having the Bond Ballroom as our venue. Being a ballroom on-​top of the Homewood Suites hotel made for breathtaking views as the sun was setting. A perfect atmosphere for a wedding.
We can’t thank you enough. We highly recommend the Bond Ballroom in Hartford for a wedding or event.