The Gillespie

We recently attended a NYE party at the Gillespie and the event space was great. The ballroom is large and very attractive. It seems like it would be a good space for any large event. The largest downside was that the bathrooms are limited--especially upstairs where the balcony is.

We recently attended the Harry Potter inspired beer festival at "The Gillespie" and had a great time. The venue itself has so much potential and could really be turned into an authentic looking "Great Hall". For only 35 dollars a ticket we were able to sample unlimited amounts of tasty beers, provided by local and national breweries. This was the first time "The Gillespie" has hosted this event and while we definitely enjoyed ourselves, there is also room for improvement. If this event is going to take place again next year a few more Harry Potter related decorations and activities would be nice. Another point of criticism is that there is only one male and one female restroom in the entire building which caused some very long waiting lines.

We got married at the Gillespie June 16th so I am late in writing this but we just returned from our Honeymoon and finally are out of the post-wedding haze and have time to catch up on things. For anyone looking into the Gillespie, we had an AMAZING experience and I would strongly recommend it. I last minute scheduled a tour with them and when we were picking a venue and it was the best decision I made. What a fabulous experience everyone had at the Gillespie! It was so perfect and beautiful. All of our guests raved about every aspect of your venue. And everyone at the Gillespie was so professional and helpful and organized. We greatly appreciate everything! We looked at many venues and the Gillespie was by far the very best in Louisville in many ways (see below) in our opinion! We looked at most ALL of the venues in the Louisville area since we did not have a strong direction when we started the search. I truly think we may have toured over 25 venues trying to find one that felt right. The beauty of the venue is so impressive and makes such a statement. I love the detailed ceilings on the second floor, ALL chandeliers everywhere, the gorgeous entry foyer, the furniture and wood walls and doors in the bride's dressing area, the beautiful flooring on the main floor, the lighted draping above the main floor, the branches with up-lighting - exquisite!!!!, the fact that guests could look down on the main floor while upstairs, the vault in the basement, and the iron gate doors leading in to the main floor, and the gold chairs that accent all of the gold on the main floor. Just the GRAND nature of all of that was spectacular! We also were extremely impressed with the 4th floor venue and so many of the details there as well.Also, you offered many things that NO other venue offered, which helped tremendously with our budget: the discount on the liquor, the centerpieces, the tablecloths, and the up-lighting. I have NO suggestions for change. LOVED EVERYTHING!

We thought the Gillespie was a beautiful, vintage venue for special events. The rooms were spacious without seeming like a cavern and had intimate places for tete-a-tetes. The facilities were clean and in good working order (always a must for me because I visit them frequently). The interior is gorgeous with the large hanging chandeliers, the plaster bas relief molding and signature diamond floor. Did not know it was originally a bank!With the second floor mezzanine overlooking the first floor main ballroom, there is plenty of places to party.The entrance and front lobby are stunningly vintage including the elevator that slowly makes its way up to the large 4th floor event area.The security staff at the event made me feel very comfortable when entering and exiting. I don't know if this was a part of the Gillespie or set up by Wonder Woman Emily and her Super Hero Louisville Yelp Team, but it was a nice touch to have security at the door.

A profoundly unprofessional and disappointing experience when we booked a wedding. I'm in the service industry and fully appreciate the challenges everyone is facing during the pandemic, but we were treated with disregard - they just wanted our money (deposit). They made unacceptable adjustments (not due to gov't mandates), and then questioned why we needed to cancel. No one needs extra issues with a wedding, and unfortunately serving the client is not their priority.

The Gillespie is a gorgeous venue located downtown for events and weddings. I love the huge chandeliers and marble floors. Even the bathrooms are pretty. I've been here for a few events and a wedding and thought it was well organized and beautifully decorated. Parking is fairly easy as long as you don't mind paying for a parking garage. Otherwise, on street parking can be a challenge.

The venue is gorgeous, the customer service was lacking. Both venue contacts, Janna and Erin, acted as if we were a bother to them. I was the coordinator for the wedding, but I am also a personal friend of the bride and groom. Maybe The Gillespie is used to treating outside vendors or coordinators poorly, but it was unacceptable. My friend's wedding was beautiful but the experience was tainted by the bad attitude of the Gillespie employees. They work in the hospitality industry, and not once did I feel welcomed or see hospitality from them. In the worst moments they were rude and condescending, in the best moments they were neutral and tolerable. Will not be recommending them to anyone. I will list just a few items to consider.Photos on their website show the venue to be brightly lit, and that is not the case. All blinds in the venue were closed and it was extremely dim- when the photographer and I brought up that the bride booked this location hoping for it to look like the photos advertised on their website, our Gillespie contact told us we could edit the photos after to make it look brighter. All the photos on their website show the room with blinds open and we were told by Erin that we couldn't open the blinds, and if we did and anything broke that we would be charged for it. The blinds were extremely old and fragile so they certainly would break if we tried to open them all, not to mention the string to pull them open was about at about a 10ft height, and out of reach.The space was not what was advertised and they were not willing to accommodate our requests.As the processional was beginning, Janna was helping open the curtain to let the wedding party in. The girls were waiting up stairs since the groom was walking his parents down the aisle first. The bride and groom did not want to see each other before the ceremony, so as soon as the groom started down the aisle, the bridesmaids and bride would come down the elevator. Jenn began arguing with me about why the girls weren't down yet while the groom and his parents were standing in between us, about to walk down the aisle. I had a plan in place and instead of being focused on the ceremony which had already begun, I was arguing with a venue contact about why I was doing what I was doing. Completely distasteful and unhelpful, and honestly almost screwed up the timing of the ceremony. In the end, my bride and groom thought everything went perfectly and she had no need to argue about what my plan was after the ceremony had already started.Final note. As soon as dancing started, my husband and I jumped on the dance floor. If I did not agree to coordinate the wedding for my friends, I would have been attending as a guest and I was excited to celebrate with them. Midway through dancing, Janna came onto the dance floor to get my attention and asked me to come talk to her. She said she knew I was having fun dancing, but that my coordinator responsibilities were not over for the night. She said guests were leaving and our sparkler exit photo was going to look bad so we should stop dancing to go take the photo. I responded by letting her know that my bride and groom cared more about spending time dancing with the people they love than getting the perfect photo and I went back onto the dance floor. This could have been done in a helpful way, offering a suggestion. However it was said in an accusatory and condescending tone, as if I was messing something up by doing what my bride and groom preferred. I was genuinely shocked that she was acting as if I shouldn't be dancing and celebrating with my friends. The exit photo looked beautiful even with less people, and my bride and groom loved every minute they had on the dance floor.Again, the venue is beautiful (if you are okay with the dim lighting). I am simply writing this review so you know what kind of customer service you will be receiving.

This venue is probably one of the most beautiful venues in the area! I was blown away from the first meeting. They were very on top of communication and answers any and all questions as I had during my wedding planning process. The venue included bar, small tabletop arrangements, linens, and uplighting. Very happy with hosting my wedding here.

What a beautiful venue! The chandeliers are stunning and the space is incredible! It has been years since I last walked inside but I was amazed yet again! I highly recommend this for a venue space of any kind!!!

My company had our end of year celebration in the Gillespie Loft this year. We arrived the morning of the event to set up and noticed the ceiling was leaking throughout the whole venue. We were told the issue would stop closer to event time. We showed up an hour before the event and the leaks only got worse. Wet spots all over the ground, tables and chairs were not only a tacky look but also a safety hazard as there were no wet floor signs. We called the week after to request a refund or discount and were informed we not only could not get a discount but would not receive our security deposit because one person brought in a single outside beverage from their house and we did not remove our equipment immediately after the event. I have requested to talk to upper management and the owner, it is a month later and I have not received a call back. A nice event that our company looks forward to every year seemed cheap and poorly organized because of a venue that is poorly ran. Not to mention the venue was extremely hard to work with prior to the event as well. An extremely disappointing experience unfortunately.