The Willows

The Willows on Westfield sits on Spirit Lake, a small and serene lake-setting just off Westfield Boulevard that manages to stay looking serene even with all of the construction going on in the area. There's a lot of construction. This is largely a space for special events. The Willows largely takes up this entire area and includes multiple event options including a ballroom: reception building, a lodge for receptions, a garden, a ballroom for ceremonies, and a lodge ceremony space. The lodge area is actually my favorite area, though I've yet to actually attend an event there. I've now attended two events inside the Ballroom building, a decent-sized building right on Spirit Lake (actually everything is right on Spirit Lake). It has a classic beauty and can be set up for everything from parties to special events to speaking engagements or conferences. The last event I attended here, just a couple weeks ago, had (I believe) 500 in attendance sitting around tables. It was packed - so, I'm guessing any more than that would be unreasonable. This particular event actually had back-to-back events with about a 30-45 minute period between them. So, kudos to the staff here for doing a really quick changeover. The first event I attended here was also catered, a definite option here. I found the food solid (I for the life of me can't remember exactly what was served). I recall thinking it was in the 4-star range. Truthfully, I thought I had done a review after that event but apparently had not. The Willows utilizes Crystal Catering (which they own) for its catering. This facility is run by the same team behind Holliday Park, Crystal Catering, Indiana Roof Ballroom, and The Crane Bay Event Center. Accessing The Willows is fairly simple since it's right on Westfield Boulevard. They have two large parking lots on both sides of their ballroom building. The lodge section is farther to the right. There's a row of accessible parking to the right side of the ballroom building, though the spots are shy of true ADA. If there's a place where The Willows falls short, and it nearly led me to drop it to a 3-star, it's in true accessibility. It's simply not truly accessible and not even particularly wheelchair friendly. There's a significant incline to get up to the door. While you could be dropped off at the front door, if you're the one doing the driving (as I would be) that's not feasible. There is a curb cut, however, so you can at least get on the sidewalk. The double-sided doorway entry is a tad heavy, though during events there tends to be folks around to help out. I also had some issues with the restroom in the ballroom building. In short, if you're a person with a disability or you know you have one in your party I recommend having conversations up front with The Willows. They are, in fact, good at working with people and sometimes pre-planning helps. This is just not a place where I would simply "show up."I will also note that both events I attended here had audio issues. While audio issues can be caused by a wide variety of things, it's a bit of a caution to me that 2 of 2 events had them at one facility. Both times, they impacted the event from an attendee's perspective. The setting here is beautiful, the lake wonderful, the garden an ideal space for weddings, and the ballroom an idea spot for chic, classy events. The lodge can be more laid back or classy. There's much to love here, but there are some accessibility concerns and some little glitchy things that keep The Willows from truly being a 5-star experience. The little things matter, for example even in researching for this review I noted there's a couple dead pages on their website...again, details matter if you want to serve up an impeccable, classy experience. I would easily return here, though as a person with a disability myself I know to plan ahead and be sure to work through the audio in advance to ensure a spotless experience is had by all.

I recently was married here and had an amazing experience. Shawn was a dream to work with and had us on schedule the whole day. I never worried about my wedding ceremony or reception because I knew they were in her hands. THe garden was well taken care of for our ceremony and looked beautiful. The food was delicious and we are still receiving compliments on it. I loved that the waiters personally walked my husband and I through the food buffet line and served us and walked it back to our table. It was so classy. The bartenders were quick and accommodating with guests requests. I would get married again here in a heart beat.

I was at the Willows tonight for a special event. It was a plated dinner consisting of steak, salmon, baked potato, and salad. The dessert was cheesecake with burnt caramel topping and raspberry drizzle. The food was really good for mass production food. Definitely a good location for a special event or wedding.