Ashworth Wrap-Up

As we've mentioned in previous posts, the recent weekend of September 25th and 26th was a pretty huge milestone for us as wedding plans go. I just received an email from the hotel we stayed in, asking me to take their customer service survey and rate the various aspects of our stay and the amenities that we enjoyed during that wonderful weekend. I had been intending to review and summarize our stay here on our blog for a few weeks, and this email reminded me that I still had not done so.

We spent an extended weekend at the beautiful Ashworth Hotel, and, as Andy pointed out, the weekend resulted in us making some of the biggest and toughest decisions concerning our reception. Decisions like food and beverage service, size of the function room, and an attempt to put a strict range on our number of guests. It had never really occurred to me until that point how many variables were involved, and also how much math we would be required to do in order to plan this thing out properly. Luckily for both of us, I am a whiz at Microsoft Excel, and after our weekend at the beach, I immediately got started putting a fairly tight budget and expense plan together based on the decisions we had made so far. Our stay and the tour and meeting with the Sales and Catering Manager also helped us to visualize the logistics of seating, decoration, and other minutae of our plans.

But let's get back to the Ashworth. I can really only speak for myself with certainty, but it appears that Andy and I share an attraction to Hampton Beach for the same basic reasons: It manages to be beautiful and fun, while still maintaining the incredibly tacky circus freak-show vibe that American beach towns tend to exhibit. And at the northern end of this freak-show, you will find the surprisingly classy Ashworth-By-The-Sea Hotel.

While considerably more pricey than virtually any other lodging in Hampton Beach, the old adage "you get what you pay for" rings true here. The hotel is well-staffed with valet parking attendants who never once failed to hold the entrance door open for us, helpful and polite concierges, and energetic and efficient waitstaff at their Breakers restaurant.

Speaking of which, Andy and I did take the opportunity to sample a meal or two while we were there. Dinner was prime rib au jus for me, and baked haddock with sherry lobster sauce for Andy. The food was excellent, the portions were reasonable, and we paid our check with a sense of pride, knowing our guests will be enjoying excellent meals next October. On our last morning at the hotel, we also checked out the Sunday Jazz Brunch Buffet. Realizing that our plans for the reception were also a buffet-style meal, I was overjoyed to see the degree of style, elegance, and quality the Ashworth showed, and this was just brunch. My mind reeled at the thought of what our reception dinner would be like.

The room was also very nice. If you will recall, our stay at the Ashworth was originally part of my plan to propose to Andy, so I had reserved the nicest room they had, which is called the Luxury Studio Suite. It featured some little balconies, and a full ocean view.



This was the view... pretty nice, especially during sunsets.
Not a great photo, sorry about that.

Unfortunately, much of the oceanfront area of Hampton Beach is undergoing some kind of elaborate revitalization project right now. Cheri, the hotel Sales Manager, assured us that construction would be completed by the time we got married. (crossing fingers)



I'm pretty sure that red circle is where our room was.

 So, having thoroughly checked out the venue, the hotel, the food, and even the swimming pool, I know I am absolutely convinced that neither we nor our guests will be disappointed in the service or atmosphere of this historic beach landmark. The deposit is in, the contract is signed. On to the next steps!