The Sanctuary Reviews

The Sanctuary provided an exceptional venue for our Fiji Independence Day celebration! The atmosphere was vibrant and welcoming, perfectly capturing the spirit of the occasion. The staff were attentive and ensured everything ran smoothly, from the moment we booked with them, to details of the decorations. It was a memorable experience for everyone who attended. Highly recommend The Sanctuary for any special event!

We had our May wedding at the Sanctuary and could not have been happier with the experience. The venue itself was stunning and we loved all the different spaces within it for creating distinct moments throughout the night. Guests both from NYC and from out of town said what a special place it is, and how it felt like seeing a different side of the city. Alfonso and his team went above and beyond, going over our timeline with us to make sure everything would run smoothly, and were very accommodating with some special requests we had. The food also exceeded expectations: people are still telling us how delicious the sea bass and dessert table were in particular, and I’ve never been to a catered event with such perfectly crisp veggies - don’t know how they did it. It was a magical time, we’re so grateful!

We had my daughter’s birthday party at the sanctuary! It was wonderful! Alfonso's coordination and attention to detail were impeccable, ensuring that everything ran smoothly. Kat's culinary skills were outstanding, with delicious food that impressed all the guests. The setting was beautiful and the atmosphere was perfect for our special occasion. Thank you to Alfonso and Kat for making our day truly memorable.

This was our first child's first birthday, and let's just say we went quite a little bit over the top. The Sanctuary delivered above and beyond any and all expectations. We are looking forward to our #2 and to the next first birthday celebration, as well as many more parties to come.
The staff was super helpful and considerate. The food and drinks great. Our guests were blown away by this hidden NYC gem. We cannot recommend them enough.

We held a dinner for about 200 people attending a conference on Roosevelt Island. The staff was amazing from start to finish. They helped us plan the event and accommodated our needs. The food and cocktails were wonderful! Everyone had a great time at this beautiful venue!

What an amazing venue! The location is such a gem, and everyone we worked with really cared about us and helped us every step of the way, especially Frank and Alfonso. Kat and her team in the kitchen crafted a delicious menu and all my guests said how amazing the experience of visiting the Sanctuary was. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking to have an amazing event that isn't so typical cookie cutter catering hall - much more personalized, fun, and special!!

We had a winter wedding, planned five months out. We got a good rate for a Friday wedding, with service and food that matched a full-price day. We brought in decorations, but didn’t need to—the winter seasonal decorations made the venue look festive. The food was tasty according to our guests—we didn’t eat much. The drinks flowed. The younger guests loved the pizza bar. The desserts were very good and well presented. The servers and staff were friendly. The parking was very convenient. We had our ceremony offsite, but for an on-site event, the house would be a great place to get prepared/dressed. Highly recommend.

We recently had our wedding at The Sanctuary, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. From the stunning waterfront location with breathtaking city views to the seamless coordination, everything was perfect.

Frank and Alfonso were exceptional in managing the event, ensuring that every detail was taken care of, allowing us to truly enjoy our special day. Kat, the chef, prepared the most delicious meals that our guests are still raving about. The food and beverage service was top-notch, with a variety of options that catered to all dietary needs and preferences.

What stood out the most was the flexibility and support provided by the team. While their team handled the venue and catering aspects impeccably, they allowed us to bring our own touch to the décor and music, making our wedding uniquely ours.

We highly recommend The Sanctuary to any couple looking for a beautiful venue with outstanding service!!

Frank, Alfonso, and the entire team at Sanctuary were an absolute pleasure to work with. Their timely responses, consistent communication, and extraordinary efforts to manage my pre-wedding nerves and requests were truly commendable. Kat's culinary skills are Michelin-worthy and will satisfy even the pickiest NYC foodies.

The venue feels like a fairytale escape from the city, perfectly capturing and highlighting the stunning skyline and river views. My wedding vision board came to life effortlessly in such a beautiful setting. We are forever grateful for making our special day so easy, memorable, and magical. Thank you, team! We can't wait to return for future anniversaries and celebrations!

We loved our wedding at the Sanctuary, and the team was amazing to work with, always going above and beyond in their communication and desire to make everything perfect for us. The food was great- the venue is just beautiful, and everyone said what a wonderful time they had. Alfonso helped with the preparations and Kat managed everything day of, so that, along with our wedding planner, we had everything taken care of in an organized way and could just enjoy the most magical day of our lives. It is also more affordable than other venues we looked at, and we loved how special the space is. The twinkly lit tent! The red heart! We will remember it and them forever, and we are forever grateful!

The folks that run The Sanctuary are really great. Alfonso was with us every step of the way to make sure our wedding was exactly our vision. The food was delicious, and we were able to customize some of the options to fit some cultural foods we wanted. Great staff, yummy food, good drinks!

The Sanctuary hosted our Friday evening wedding in Dec. ‘23. The planning was straightforward; the pricing transparent; and the cost appropriate for an off-season Friday wedding. The venue is very pretty sitting on the East River—the photographic options are lovely. The holiday season decorations made the venue sparkle inside—I don’t know that we needed our own decorations on top of theirs! The venue responded well to our DJ’s inquiries, which helped that process work well. Frank and Alfonso were very hospitable and professional. The food, drinks and service were excellent—the homemade pizzas were a hit with the younger guests. We appreciated that they can offer vegan/vegetarian options easily; and that they think about how to minimize food waste…nice to have an ethical venue! The side house, which is a wedding party suite, is very generously proportioned with lots of room to dress. (We had the ceremony off-site, but if you have your ceremony here, the site inside or on the river is really convenient, lovely and quite a good deal.) Also, while some materials say parking is limited, it was available on our day which made our guests’ experience easy for them to arrive and for them to get home. (Btw…gps directions can be a little confusing but finding the location is a little treasure revealed on the river.) When we visited to check out the venue and for our tasting, we saw some Cornell parties going on—they can handle a variety of events easily, which was reassuring. A positive lovely celebration!

We feel so lucky that we were able to get married at the Sanctuary. They accommodated all of our requests and helped us have a beautiful wedding. We cannot recommend them highly enough.

Our wedding at The Sanctuary on Roosevelt Island was absolutely perfect. The venue itself is stunning, set in a beautifully restored stone church right on the river. The staff were exceptional in facilitating on the day of. We felt completely at ease, knowing everything was being handled efficiently. Frank and Alfonso were always available to address any questions or concerns, ensuring we were happy at every step. Their dedication and attentiveness made a significant difference in our overall experience.

Our guests loved the bar and appetizers that were passed around. The food was also outstanding, very delicious! We were able to customize our menu during a planning tasting, and everything turned out as we hoped.

One of the venue’s standout features was the attached house, which provided a convenient space for us to get ready, store our belongings, and even have a pre-wedding shot. This added convenience made the day flow much more smoothly.

Throughout the day, we experienced no issues or hiccups. The seamless coordination allowed us to fully enjoy our celebration without any stress. We were able to focus on spending time with each other and our loved ones (which is all that really matters).

We wouldn’t hesitate to book another event at The Sanctuary, whether it be another wedding or a different occasion. Their exceptional service and beautiful venue made our wedding day all we could hope for!

Save yourself the money and the heartbreak, and book someone else for your wedding.

The entire experience felt scammy, as they offered us a discount and a bunch of extras when we booked to take a less than ideal date, and then tried to get out of providing good customer service after the final payment. Their communication became poor the closer we got to the wedding - at one point, our DJ had to reach out to the venue on our behalf, as they had stopped answering completely. Clearly the communication between the two owners, Frank and Alfonso, was not great either, as Alfonso took over and the promises Frank made to get us to book were no longer a given, especially when it came to money. We had to remind him and fight with him over things we were told would be part of our wedding when we booked, and some of them were not delivered (or ever able to be delivered, and should never have been promised to us by Frank).

The pier advertised for an outdoor ceremony is not their property, but NYS, and therefore wasn’t available to us for our wedding because it was under construction. They never told us that - I had to reach out and ask when I began seeing a different ceremony spot on their instagram. Be aware: it doesn’t seem like the new ceremony spot is their property either. The arch had to be set up inside the venue, then the staff would move it to the new pier shortly before the wedding. They didn’t secure it when they moved it, and our arch broke prior to our ceremony.

Frank and Alfonso promised one of them would be the included day of coordinator. Neither of them showed up for the wedding, nor did they have the decency to tell us they couldn’t make it. After I sent two emails following our wedding, we were told we did have a day of coordinator. It was the chef, who let us in the morning, and gave us our cake at the end of the night, and whom we never saw or spoke to otherwise. This was particularly frustrating, as I had asked at one point via an email [that they ignored] about speaking to the day of coordinator ahead of the wedding, and an included day of coordinator was a main reason we booked them.

They also: left other wedding decor out during our wedding, packed up our decor for the lounge before the cocktail hour even started, didn’t make our signature cocktail [one of the upsells they included during our tour], and used someone’s fourieth birthday napkins during cocktail hour despite us bringing custom cocktail napkin. The firepit was another main reason we booked, as we wanted an outdoor wedding, and they told us it would be included free of charge, both during our tour by Frank and again reconfirmed by Alfonso during during our final walk through in October. Not only was it not included, THERE WAS NO FIREPIT ON PREMISE. The outdoor heaters weren’t lit by the staff, and when my dad tried to light them, they had no propane, so they weren’t even prepared for guests to utilize their advertised outdoor space.

The food was horrendous, overcooked and cold, a total 180 from our incredible tasting back after we booked. The other cocktails were prebatched and gross. And the real kicker for the amount of money they charge: water was not included or served during dinner like it was during the tasting. You had to get up and serve yourself water out of a plastic jug and tiny little cup a la an office.

The entire experience felt like a bait and switch, where they promised us the world to get us to book and then provided us as little as they could get away day of. I highly recommend you avoid this venue if you want to save yourself the stress and the tears for cheap plastic decor and poor service, and just spend the money elsewhere.

I had an overall negative experience getting married here in September 2023 and would advise against it!