My wife and I picked the Catamaran and Oceana Coas...

My wife and I picked the Catamaran and Oceana Coastal Kitchen to have our wedding reception and dinner last weekend. The property is beautiful. It has lush landscaping with ponds and a waterfall in the lobby. There are exotic birds, ducks, turtles, and koi fish as well. Very beautiful Polynesian style to the property. We got 2 rooms for 4 nights and paid a tad over $1500 with our travel network. Upon check-in, we were charged another $535 for resort fees and incident deposit. The $400 incident deposit was a surprise, never saw that amount stated anywhere, but it was refundable. Once we got to the room we were immediately disappointed. We paid for a room with a "garden view," but received a room that had a view of the parking lot, parking structure, and the side entrance and exit to the property from the front. From the back, there was a large patio area with a view of a small grass area with a few small trees and the side of the next building and its stair case. No garden in sight, this was a lawn. The garden was in the center of the property. The room itself was clean but very old. Wallpaper had bubbles in it and was peeling in many different spots. The light in the entrance way, the light above the vanity, and the light in the bathroom all flickered very badly. To the point that my wife couldn't get ready for the wedding in there. She had sit out on the bed to get ready. The AC was a central design and took 5 hours to cool the room. There is no fan in the bathroom. Only a 1 x 1 square window you can open. Whoever did the grout for the tile floor in the bathroom was terrible. Ugly stray grout marks all over the place. The toilet was crooked and pointed towards the wall. Which made sitting on it interesting. The faucet in the bathtub was broken and literally turned in circles on the wall. Last time we got a hotel room, my wife and I got a Motel 6 room for about $55/night. It was nicer, newer, and cleaner than the room at the Catamaran for $158/night.

Moving over to the second room which my father checked into before we got there. We prepaid everything for my father so he could just show ID and pickup his key. Which worked out well. Somehow, my dad ended up with a tower studio that had a full kitchenette and a 7th floor balcony view of the ocean. Needless to say I was a bit jealous considering I bought both rooms and they were supposed to be the same, and I'm the groom. However, the second room still had the same flickering light issue in the vanity area and in the bathroom. My dad did not like the bed in the room. The room was also dated but didn't seem to have as many issues as the first room.

Fast forwarding to the night of the wedding, we came back to the property for our reception dinner at Oceana Coastal Kitchen. We ran a little late and the restaurant was gracious enough to hold our reservation. But the food was subpar. Ribeyes were thin cut less than 1" thick, Sea Bass was overcooked and dry, Roast Chicken and sushi was ok, and the Crab Fritters were great. Service was absolutely terrible. Waiter was unattentive and missed people's orders. I had to actually get up and walk around the restaurant to find someone to help us on multiple occasions. Bill was $736 for 17 people with 18% gratuity. We gave the waiter $750 and he brought me receipts. No change. I had to go ask for my change. The waiter tried to play it off like he meant to give it to me. But c'mon. I fully intended to give it to him, but since he was gonna steal it, I gave him nothing. I already paid over $100 in gratuity anyways.

For over $2250 spent for what we got, we are highly disappointed. They only good thing about this place is the location and the coffee shop. Eat at The World Famous across the street on the boardwalk. Far better food and service. Catamaran is just not worth the money!