Alameda House

Wedding Reception ReviewThe short:Great location for a venue, management was aggravating to deal with and we were hit by hidden fees. Four stars because the location is so nice and unique but one star due to our experiences leading up to the wedding reception.The long:My fiance and I booked the Alameda House (AH) as our wedding venue and backup wedding location a year out, simply because it is such a unique and beautiful location. The manager we dealt with was nice and receptive to our questions and concerns; the main concern being that the part of the building we wanted to use was not air-conditioned. The manager and the owner both assured us they would have air-conditioning installed within the next three to four months. Our other concern was when we were told that the AH preferred to do business through Dickerson's catering and they would only allow Dickerson to host a bar. My fiance and I pushed hard for them to allow a different caterer to run the bar and cater and we were eventually allowed our request (after much paperwork).Flash-forward to four weeks out from our wedding date. I had been continuously checking in on the progress of the air-conditioning installation and was met my more and more frustration from the site's manager. By four weeks out, the AH manager was beginning to treat me like an employee rather than a client/guest. Eventually I was assured the A/C was installed but then my fiance and I found out about the undisclosed 10% fee they charge vendors operating on their site. This nice little fee was, in turn, transferred to us. Needless to say, my wife and I were livid when we found this out but too late to turn back now! We were also continuously badgered about not using Dickerson's Catering to host our bar. The AH manager had the licenses, the security deposit and the proof of insurance but she still continued to drop unnecessary comments about our bar vendor each time we contacted her.One week out from our wedding day, the tune suddenly changed. The AH manager was very nice and pleasant once again when we met her to plan the reception layout and pay the remaining balance. She made good on the A/C and some other small requests my fiance and I made. The final frustration point came on the morning of our wedding when my fiance and her bridesmaids came by to drop off their things in the rooms we had rented. The owner met my wife and was clueless as to what she was doing there. Only after my fiance told the owner that she was having her wedding that night did he back off and grumble something about having to call the manager. Aside from that, ur event went off without a hitch (95% because of our awesome caterer) and we only had one complaint: the A/C of course! The A/C unit was installed but did not get turned on in time to properly cool the area. The indoor area was almost uncomfortably hot and they turned the units off the second we went outside to dance. The day was hot, we were already sweaty and decided nothing would ruin our day so we danced and partied all night!Long story long, everything came together happily for my (now) wife and I. We had the day of our dreams and nothing even came close to blemishing our day.Bottom line:If you can handle dealing with one vendor (Dickerson's Catering) for everything and inconsistencies with the AH management, then you'll probably be okay hosting your event at the Alameda House.

The owner was very disrespectful to me. Used profanity and almost slammed the door of the truck on my leg. Just because I had parked my truck on the lawn to unload equipment. I had apologized but he was screaming, using profanity in front of the guests at the wedding. The groom had to come and apologize to me for the unprofessional actions that the owner had done. The bride and groom were not to happy at all for his disrespectful approach. It just made the setting of the wedding gloomy. They also do not have air conditioning in the hall. Every one complaint about the heat and nobody wanted to be inside. It was cooler outside that inside. My over all experience is a ZERO at the Alameda House. I do not recommend this venue to no one. Staff members are not professional, they are disrespectful, and they can not even provide air conditioning in the 100 degrees weather.

Horrible service! I booked a wedding here and it almost ruined my day. I stayed the night before the wedding and here is a quick summary: Bed bugs (which they said I must have brought in myself), Ants that ate half of my gifts to my guests and me during the ceremony (which I also was told I must have brought in myself), and the owner which took up the living area which made it unusable. We tried to gather in the living room to all hang out before the wedding and the owner would not leave us alone and kept interrupting us to tell us more about his musician days back when. We finally just went to our rooms to find out there was no locks and we enjoyed hearing the owner walk all around our room all night....needless to say even though we made the place spotless after the wedding we still had to go and argue to the owner to get our deposit back. They still are not wanting to and I am in process of reporting to the better business bureau. Hated this place!

There were so many things wrong with this place I don't know where to begin. The lady who runs the place was absolutely awful! She yelled at our DJ (who was awesome) telling him the music was too loud and he better lower it. She turned away my grandson and his girlfriend who were there but left to change. She wouldn't listen to his mother and had the mother of the birthday girl go out to verify. She didn't allow the birthday girl's friend to enter saying it was over capacity ( even though some guests had already left). The air conditioning didn't keep the place cool-- lots of guests decided outside with the mosquitos was better than the sweltering heat inside! Kids were yelled at for playing on the grass and just being kids. So unless your an old white person with only 5 friends--I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE RENT THIS VENUE!!

Absolutely horrible... stay away!This place seems great. Great location, cool building, staff that are seemingly very friendly. But don't be fooled. Everything changes once they get your money, and they will repeatedly try to pull a fast one on you.My wife and I booked our wedding reception there. At first, the staff were great. Then we made our first (non-refundable) payment, and so came the extra fees. They added one thing after another to the cost that we were not initially told about. For instance, that if we wanted to have alcohol, we needed to pay a vendor to do this, and couldn't bring our own, as we were initially told. The vendor list they gave us was overpriced, and then they added that we had to pay servers, and then a security guard. Keep in mind, they told us this 30 days before the wedding, giving us zero chance to find other options.During the reception, they were rude and overbearing. They keep watch over us the whole time, as if we were bothering them with our presence. They also repeatedly nagged my guests, like when they scolded the toddlers for playing on the stairs. Perhaps worst of all, the air conditioning was pathetic. I know that it's Las Cruces (and our wedding was in the summer); heat is part of the equation. But it was so hot in our reception hall that my guests were visibly sweating and complaining about how hot they were. When we visited to book the place, the A/C was up high and it was nice and cool. When the time came for our party, the A/C was low, and awful.We also had crazy issues booking a caterer. They let us find our own, which is great. But then they said they needed to work out details with the caterer and they were repeatedly unavailable to deal with them. WTF? And this is the worst detail of all... when they found out who we booked, they called the caterer and demanded that the restaurant add another 8% to the fee they planned to charge us, which would then go back to Alameda House! Essentially, they were extorting us and the restaurant, forcing them to pay for the privilege of dropping off food. And they NEVER TOLD US ABOUT THIS. We found this out from the restaurant owner (who said he would never deal with them again after such a shady deal). What kind of racket is this place running?I would never, ever, EVER book from these people again. I've literally never written a bad Yelp review in my life, but I can't say enough negative things about this place. Save your money. Find someplace else to go.

The Alameda House was great location to host a reception. As for most venues, you must book a place well in advance; which is what we did. We were told we would have the place to ourselves the evening before the event as well as the entire weekend. Unfortunately, in error, a party was booked the night before our reception. Upon arrival, which we were given a check in time, nothing was ready; rooms, dusty floors, no linens on the beds, furniture that had not been dusted the floor had not been swept and best of all...they were low on toilet paper. Our guests were treated rudely when parking to unload luggage. We were told we would have the house to ourselves along with our guests, but we did not. Our guests were constantly trying to avoid the gentlemen owner, as he liked to tell stories about himself when he was not busy being rude to our guests. I am disappointed that our guests were charged full price for rooms that were not ready for hours after our arrival. The miscommunication and lack of organization was obvious. I hope they learn to decrease booking errors and can tend to their guests politely. On a positive note, they allow dogs at no additional cost!

Place appeared nice and staff friendly. Unfortunately, this was not the case. They have a list of never ending rules, and treat you as though you are a child who is unable to act properly. In spite of following all the rules, the event coordinator, Trisha was incredibly rude during the end of the event. She treated our guests with no respect and began to clean up while the parents to be were still opening presents. I tried to speak to the owner, Sue, she was not willing to listen. She was extremely rude and did not seem to care that I was not satisfied with the service. When planning important events, that we hope to cherish forever, we should find a place that either cares as much as we do or is able to show some level of respect for our event. This was not the case at the Alameda House. The owners could not have been more disrespectful. I should have known this when I saw that the event area, which is a closed patio-type place, was used to park their cars. Do NOT recommend this place.

After staying here for a wedding for 2 nights I can honestly say, as an NMSU HRTM graduate that this place is embarrassing. Management had the wedding party place their favors (cookies) on the floor in the dance area. Needless to say ants got to them. How was counter room not provided? Then we were told we would have the B&B all to ourselves. We did not. One of the owners (I assume) he did not introduce himself to me, kept running around with his guitar telling stories. When we would politely try to sneak away he would follow. The wedding party was supposed to be the only ones at this location. Also, for the wedding their management was dressed is shorts and a T-shirt; It was so unprofessional, and highly unorganized. My husband and I who were just guests, also ran out of toilet paper (we were given 1/4 roll to begin with) and had to run around during the wedding trying to find a manager. It was humiliating.

First of all, I think I was expecting more from the establishment. One of the owners was pleasant to begin, but as the wedding approached he became rude. For instance, we were prepping the dance area/patio for the wedding reception and we kindly asked for some glass cleaner which he had in his hand and he pretty much gave the impression I don't have time for you and your requests...Also, while the guests were unloading their luggage the owner was so concerned that guests were parking at the designated "salon parking" the place was empty and they were just parking to unload items for a short time period! During the tour, he kept on name dropping and bragging about all his helicopters, cars and properties that he owns in California and elsewhere...I mean it wasn't relevant, I guess he was wanting the oohs and awe's! The bride and groom reserved the entire house for 2 days and from the looks of it, the house didn't seem like it had been cleaned. The rooms were dusty and were definitely not dusted before the guests arrived. I know we live in a dusty area but make the place somewhat presentable and comfortable so that the guests can enjoy their stay! Overall, we all made the best of it, but I wouldn't recommend the venue to people due to the management.