Abulae

I went to a wedding last night and the venue was beautiful, however, the bartender at the wedding was very rude. Later, the bride was in tears because the bartender chose to close the bar almost 3 hours early, after getting frustrated that the guests were enjoying the rooftop bar. It felt like an extremely unnecessary headache on someone's wedding day. Especially because drinks were not leaving the wedding floor or the rooftop bar. Part of the reason someone chooses a venue with a rooftop is to be able to enjoy it.

Really disappointed that they closed the bar unexpectedly early and ruined someone's wedding. Of all the occasions to grift people on..

So grateful for the beautiful work everyone here did on my daughters wedding! Absolutely beautiful accommodations and professional people make this an outstanding venue in every way.

Great venue! There are tons of great things to say about it! Gorgeous views, friendly staff, and an overall fantastic ambiance.
I am a wedding event coordinator in St. Cloud and two minor things stuck out in my mind like thorns to a rose. Our salads sat out on serving trays next to their corresponding tables for up to an hour before they were finally given to us. Maybe its just me but I don't prefer my salads to be room temperature and for the croutons to be stale. I really hope they improve that.
Also, the order in which everything was served was a little backwards. The family tables up front are priority after the head table but we didn't get offered coffee till all the other tables were served.
These are all minor things. Please don't pass up this venue due to my review. Great place!

I completely agree with the below reviewer Sai D!!!

Sorry I did not write this review sooner, when it happened a year ago!

Although the venue is gorgeous, at the end, the food was TERRIBLE for how much it cost and you can't use any other caterer. The worst part was that the bar tenders were rude and the venue staff did nothing about it regardless of complaints. Instead they turned around and SHUT DOWN THE WEDDING AT 9:30PM!! When they already received payment through midnight.

The venue refused to issue a refund for the hours not used. If you are going to spend the kind of money you would at this place, go with a venue that has a long standing reputation of excellence and committment to making sure the bride and groom have the night of their life; they certainly are paying for it!!

If I could i give NO STARS to a venue that forced ended the night of a lifetime that can never be repeated again.

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of course if you are a wedding photographer - this venue is great for taking photos! (which is the only reason the below reviewer gave it a 5 star)

I LOVE this venue! I'm a wedding photographer and whenever a bride and groom tell me their wedding is at A'Bulae, I get super excited! They have a beautiful bridal suite for getting ready, a great reception room that can also be used as an indoor ceremony room, or the rooftop can be used as an outdoor ceremony site! Absolutely stunning, and I love the variety of locations in the building and nearby to take the bride and groom, along with the bridal party for some photos! Highly recommend!

We have had our company holiday parties at some of the top venues in the Twin Cites. We have done parties at Green Acres, Aria, The Profile and McNamara Alumni to name a few. This by far was the most expensive place and it was the first time ever in 25+ years that we ran out of food before all the guests had made it through the buffet line. The worst part is that the owners, the people who paid for the party did not get any of the beef tenderloin because they ran out. We paid to have a carving station and but the beef came out on a plate. They were very slow at replenishing food-leaving people standing around waiting and finally giving up and going to sit down. The bartenders kept trying to shut the bar down well before the party was over and we insisted it stayed open. When we were handing out gifts to our employees they finally shut it down. The catering prices were outrageous (we had the same exact menu items at other venues) and paid 2x more for average food that they ran out of(keep in mind-we were below the final number I gave because some invited guests couldn't make it) A'bulae was a beautiful venue and its to bad they partnered up with an awful caterer.

Nice location... decent views. Nice wood paneling on beams and pillars (not sure if it is faux or real wood, looked like real wood). Bad acoustics. REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BAD FOOD !

Had my wedding here the 15th of July. The venue itself is beautiful. We booked it a year and a half ago with a different coordinator and staff. The original members we loved. New employees not so much. If I were to take a tour now I would pass and move to another venue. Photo booth worker was rude, un helpful. Bar had watered down drinks when we paid for top shelf. Staff members busting dishes when speeches were going on. Venue employees coming to me to figure out phone numbers of other vendors, asking the bride for numbers that were emailed way ahead of time. Became hot inside later on and took far to long to turn down. The list goes on! I feel the communication with employees, leaders, vendors, and us was sub par at best. I would not recommend this venue to another bride. All the things that were supposed to make the venue a big draw, them coordinating with vendors and all inclusive was not lived up to. Disappointed to say the least and wish it was the same runners staffed when I booked. You can clearly tell by the reviews that they used to be good and have significantly gone down hill from a couple years ago. Hard pass people!!

1) You will get nickel and dime'd to no end and it's NOT worth it. The place just looks classy, but none of the service quality is remotely so.

2) Mintahoe is hands down terrible, and even more disgusting when you consider the prices they charge. Everything tastes too surgary, like it was recently taken out of a can, freezer, or microwave. They clearly have no incentive to improve by how tightly they lock you in with the contract, and how expensive an outside caterer would be. It's really a shame that a venue so beautiful would create such a harrowing experience for a bridal party. If you want to be sweating bullets until the last second about whether the food quality will match up to the glamor of the venue, then go for it. The best result will be mediocre.

3) As our struggles started, our other vendors began admitting to us their reservations regarding Abulae, and shared stories of other clients they had who really struggled with their experience as well. This came up OVER and OVER again....but it was too late for us.

And oh yea, you might encounter an incredibly rude bar tender or two.

In closing, don't buy the sweet talk and please don't sign the contract. The "details" meeting they host for you is nothing for a 90 minute waste of your time as they try to sell you more bottom of the barrel quality products from Bellagala. It's actually nothing related to planning and organizing your affair.

Any place that makes you pay full price up front strips you of any bargaining power, and that is exactly what I wish we were not so naive about.