Reviews of The Birchwood

I looked for a venue that had a lot to offer and was in a great location. I wanted a beautiful space where I could do both the ceremony and reception.

I can absolutely say The Birchwood provided amazing service! I could go on and on about them! From the minute we signed our contract with them until the end of the wedding day, they were the absolute best.

The Birchwood is in a great location in downtown St. Pete and offers so much to help you have an amazing wedding day. I love that they have so much to offer, unlike other venues that just provide a space. On top of that, the food they serve is so delicious!

“The feel of our reception was most important to us: the music, lighting, location, great cocktail hour on the roof and beautiful custom altar, it needed to feel like a fairytale. Every person that we know has told us that they have never been to such an incredible wedding.”

“We wanted a unique venue, water views, and good food. We found all of that at The Birchwood. I loved the look, the rooftop space for cocktail hour and the fact that we would be the only wedding there that weekend. Their service was incredible. They made planning process as easy as possible, the food was incredible, and the hotel stay was wonderful for all of our guests. We also wanted the wedding to feel intimate; being a boutique hotel with only 18 rooms, our friends and family pretty much had the hotel to ourselves which was so much fun! Having the wedding at The Birchwood gave some great options for places for our guests to stay while being surrounded by great restaurants, museums, and shopping.”

“I love everything about the Birchwood: the food, the Prosecco glasses, the staff, the managers and the view! The Birchwood tops all other downtown St. Pete venues because it’s just cool, elegant yet sexy, fresh and the food is delicious! Their ballroom is gorgeous, and the hotel itself is amazing to stay at and get ready in! Much of the décor lends itself to amazing pictures too. We had a black-tie cocktail hour and reception at The Canopy rooftop and The Birchwood Grand Ballroom. We wanted it high-class, yet nautical and glamorous, and we feel like we nailed it! The Birchwood offers the best views of downtown ever! What more could we have asked for?! Amazing!”

“We wanted a venue that was convenient for our family, since we have a few family members with limited mobility. The Birchwood had everything all in one location (a restaurant, hotel, ballroom and after party), and we could get married outside, which was one of the main things we looked for in a venue. The people we worked with at The Birchwood were phenomenal! You could tell they were very experienced with big events and weddings because they were organized and full of helpful hints and tips for us. The food was unbelievable too and everything was served quickly and hot! The bartenders and wait staff were all friendly and helpful too. They did an amazing job.”

“We knew that we wanted something classic and elegant, and The Birchwood definitely delivered. From day one, everyone we worked with was extremely responsive and flexible. We wanted our entire wedding to be vegan, and all of the staff at The Birchwooddidn’t even bat an eye! The banquet chef was open to creating a plant based menu, and he was genuinely excited about it. The whole staff had such a great attitude about it. This was absolutely not the case with any other venue or catering company we talked to.

We also loved the elegant ballroom and the rooftop canopy bar, with breathtaking sunset views of the marina and the St. Petersburg skyline. We wanted our ceremony to take place in nature, so we were pleased that The Birchwood is right across the street from a pretty park and the water. The bridal suite was gorgeous, and they delivered a nice plate of our appetizers and mojitos to us during our cocktail hour so that we could have a moment alone before making a grand entrance to our reception. When we walked into our reception, it was more than we ever could have hoped for! The sweetheart table they set up for us was so beautiful, and there were many little touches that we never would have thought of that pulled everything together perfectly. Our wedding guests were raving about the food, and they were surprised that eating an all plant-based meal could taste so good! At the end of the night, a few of us went up to The Canopy rooftop bar and enjoyed a few drinks and some cupcakes in a cabana. When we returned to the bridal suite, a bottle of champagne was waiting. It was all so magical. The Birchwood staff thought of every little detail, and worked very hard to make our day as special as possible. Every step of the way, we knew that we had chosen the right venue.”

“We looked for a venue where you could do a cocktail hour separate from the reception, somewhat of a water view, newer, walking distance to hotels and where drinks and food was catered from within. The price at The Birchwood was much better compared to a lot of other hotels. The food was very good, the open bar was a fair price and the ballroom with the balcony off of it, you can’t beat it!”

“My parents are the owners of The Birchwood, and it was really important to me to have our reception there. Even though The Birchwood is my family’s business, I hadn’t experienced the venue’s service as a bride. The sales manager, Mary Barnett, helped us create an ideal floor plan for our guest count, choose our food choices and drink tier and worked with my wedding planner on an emergency plan B for the rainy day. She also kept in touch with me through the weeks leading up to the big day to assure that all details went smoothly, and the vendors were all up to date on everything. I will never forget the moment I stepped in the ballroom and saw everything put together. The flowers, table linens, place settings, lighting, and details were exquisite. We received multiple compliments from our guests about the food (the bone-in filet was to die for) and the drinks, particularly the wine (which Dennis, the in-house sommelier helped us pair with dinner!). The service and experience the Birchwood provided was above and beyond our expectations.”

“What first stood out to us about the venue was how stunning the ballroom was! The Birchwood was done so beautifully that I decided to keep centerpieces and decorations minimal to really enjoy the beauty of the space. The functionality of the space was also a huge draw for us; we held our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all in the ballroom and ballroom foyer, which worked perfectly for us and our 70 guests. We also love downtown St. Pete, and we had a really wonderful view of the water and the rest of downtown from the ballroom. The Birchwood was also extremely affordable in comparison to other all-inclusive venues that we looked into. Overall, we had a really wonderful experience with everyone at The Birchwood; they were quick to respond to calls and emails, and were accommodating to everything we needed!”

“Of course, price was our first deciding factor. After that, we just wanted the most beautiful space for our money! Ironically, I always said no hotel ballrooms! But when I walked into The Birchwood’s fourth floor ballroom, it was so stunning! The décor was so elegant and the beautiful built-in bar was a definite plus, but the huge windows overlooking Beach Drive and the Vinoy Yacht Basin really sold us. It was the perfect spot to satisfy our wish of being on the water and feeling open and airy, while still hosting in an elegant atmosphere. We also hosted cocktail hour downstairs in a private space at the Birch and Vine Restaurant, and invited people up to The Canopy Rooftop bar after for drinks. Our dads were the last ones to leave and didn’t want the party to end!”

“We wanted convenience, location, good bones (with the interior and exterior), outdoor ceremony options, and great food! I loved the beautiful interior of The Birchwood: the crown molding, light bulb chandeliers, and waterfront balcony view! The staff is also incredibly kind and very attentive. The easy win factor for this venue is hands down the food.”

“Our first impression was extremely positive. We immediately loved the atmosphere, look, and location! It definitely met our requirements of timeless and elegance. We realized that we could utilize multiple floors, including their wrap-around porch, cocktail areas, and rooftop bar.”