Riverview Bed & Breakfast

Beautiful place BUT...the owners/caretakers were terribly unprofessional. So much so that it stressed the bride and groom who were trying to make everything perfect for their day. The second the ceremony was finished outside they wanted everyone to leave the premises even though there was time alotted in the price for pictures.

This review is written as a wedding photographer hired to cover a wedding at the Riverside in July, 2013. Unfortunately, I was witness some questionable customer service / business at the Riverview Bed and Breakfast, near Okotoks. It's a pretty great location (and the photos look fantastic) but how a staff member (I was told the owner) dealt with the bride and groom (and my team) was really disappointing; enough to write this review. The most significant was presenting them with last minute unexpected, yet unauthorized/unapproved expense for additional chairs; and handling it very poorly. Basically, the venue put out extra chairs without the knowledge or getting authorization from the clients and then pretty abrasively tried to have them pay up there and then -- done in front of a lot of people. It was, to say the least, very awkward and the bride and groom where quite embarrassed. So, just a heads up if you're looking to book the Riverview for your wedding: It's a really pretty venue, but read through the contract and have it on hand at your event.

I gave this Bed and Breakfast one star because of the horrible service that was given to a wedding party. On someones wedding day, i believe that you should be trying to help make the day easier for the bride and groom. The service received from the staff (apparent owner) was horrible, he did nothing but stress out the couple. 0 Stars for the service that the wedding received. 1 Star Because the Location/views surrounding the bed and breakfast are amazing!

You know that saying "don't judge a book by its cover?" Well Riverviews "book cover" looked fantastic and gorgeous. It really is a beautiful place but the people who we're running the Bed and Breakfast were unprofessional and disrespectful. My best friends family rented out the place to have her wedding ceremony. They first got upset about the makeup artist and hairstylist arriving there at 7:30 in the morning to do all of us bridesmaids and of course the brides hair and makeup. When you have only two people for 6 brides maids and the bride, of course you need them to be there early. Most of the bridal party arrived around 8/8:30 at the bed and breakfast. The owner got upset stating that any one that didn't stay at the B&B couldn't shower there( which is understandable) but the only reason they said that is because one of the bridesmaids arrived with wet hair and was blow drying her hair to have it ready for the hairstylist. The "breakfast" consisted of yogurt,two cold waffles and two pieces of bacon. Anyways about half an hour before the wedding ceremony was about to start. The owners tried kicking the bride( which has a broken foot in a cast) out of the main room and into the basement because he wanted to show another potential wedding couple around. Which rightly so the bride refused. Who does that to a bride right before her ceremony?!? They had a agreement that they had the venue rented out until after the ceremony. So there were two random people being shown the place 30 mins right before her ceremony. To me that's very unprofessional, they didn't even inform the bride until we saw two random people waiting outside the door. Speaking of waiting outside, the owners of the bed and breakfast wouldn't let any of the guests wait inside before the ceremony even though it was raining. So all the guests had to wait outside in the cold rain.. Also they had their grand daughter and dog tuning around free the whole time we were getting ready. Then the owner didn't know how to run the sound system. So instead of going directly to a family member or a bridesmaid, he starts pounding on the bathroom door where the bride is getting into her dress. And starts asking her how to work it and if he could get someone to run it for him. Any ways after the ceremony we were rushed to get everything we owned out while the bride and the groom were taking family photos. We managed to get everything except the shoes at the front door. Well, we all went outside to observe the photos of the married couple and their family. After the photos were done, we returned to the front door where we saw that they threw everyone's shoes outside, locked the door and where no where to be found. So future brides Avoid! The place maybe beautiful but the unneeded stress, unprofessionalism and chaos is not worth it. Please Avoid to save you from unneeded stress on your special day!

This review is from a wedding this weekend. First impression: This bed and breakfast is located on a beautiful piece of land with stunning views. The home itself is absolutely beautiful and spacious and decorated very cozy. Upon first arriving, the wedding party all fell in love and were planning on booking group stays. Even the hair and makeup crew wanted to host staff parties there. I wish this stay and review stayed on such a positive note, however the terrible 'customer service' destroyed every favourable impression any of us had. The bride and groom and several family/friends spend the night before the wedding at the inn and rest of us arrived the next morning. The inn had been rented as the wedding ceremony site. First off: they advertise a game room/lounge but get upset it you use it. The pool table had wedding photos on it and the balls were hidden. Owner was upset that it got used the night before. The air hockey table is wobbly and doesn't work right. There is NOT tvs in every room and when there was there were no channels. Also the pool / hot tub were closed. The next morning the bridal party arrived to get ready and this is when things really started going south. The free breakfast was counted out and they got upset if someone shared a piece with someone who didn't spend the night ( even though it didn't effect them as you only got allocated amount) Then they announced that anyone that didn't spend the night couldn't shower there. Not sure why anyone would?? Maybe because I showered before leaving home and blow dried my hair there before having it styled by our hair team? (My own hair dryer I brought). Maybe those that didnt spend the night were not allowed to use the power either?? Then as everyone was doing hair and makeup with our style team the room was getting warm, so we opened the windows. They were quick to come close them and say we weren't allowed. Shortly after in the middle of the bride getting her hair done, they tell us to pack up and move everyone to a smaller downstairs room as they were showing the place to another potential wedding couple. I guess the current wedding no longer mattered as they had already been paid?? They should have scheduled for another time obviously. Here's the best part... The entire morning, their 3 year old grand daughter and dog was running around unattended, following everyone in the wedding party.... ALL morning. Guess we were babysitting / dog sitting? They were supposed to provide music for ceremony and owner didn't know how to operate it. Bothered one of the guests into running the music for it ? Also, please know that if it is raining, there is nowhere inside your guests are allowed to wait. They told us we could keep our belongings inside until everything was over. That would have been great were it true... They threw our shoes outside in the rain, told a guest to tell everyone we had to have everything out in minutes and locked us out. Oh but left the dog out who chased us around while we were trying to get wedding photos done with photographer. Later they said they were charging for the empty room they had as they believe someone slept there as a sheet was messed up. Couldn't have been unattended grandchild? What they don't know is the bridal party that didn't rent rooms, had a limo bus drop us off that morning so we can easily verify that we didn't sleep there. Why they believe we would pay for so much and try and sneak a room is beyond me. I never got my sneakers as they apparently didn't put those ones outside when they locked us out. So if they think they are charging for a ridiculous false assumption, they better believe they will get a bill in the mail for my sneakers, babysitting and dig sitting fees. And I don't run cheap. Do yourself a favour.... AVOID AVOID AVOID. Especially all you brides... Once they have your money, it's hard to contact them, and the day of service is horrendous... They will make you feel guilty of every little thing

The only good thing about this bed and breakfast is that the views are truly stunning. We were there for a wedding and it made for some gorgeous photos. That being said it is definitely not worth the hassle. There are plenty of other places out there to have a wedding. Trust me when I say to avoid this place. We were there for my Sister's wedding. My sister, her fiance, and most of the wedding party rented out the rooms the night before so they could be at the location and not have to rush around the next morning. They wanted to enjoy the pool and relax but the pool was 'out of order' and couldn't be used. The next day (the day of the wedding) my Sister had the entire place rented out. That way her hair and make up people could come there and get everyone in the bridal party ready for the big day. I was not one of the ones who stayed the night before but instead showed up the next morning to get ready. I was immediately made to feel like I shouldn't be there. They huffed at the fact that we were coming to get ready there even though we were in the wedding party and my Sister paid for the entire place for her wedding. Reluctantly they let us in. We went down to their games room (if you can even call it that). It had an air hockey table and a pool table. The pool table couldn't be used because the owners had wedding photos displayed on the table. When my sons started using the air hockey table the owners chased them away and told them they weren't allowed to use it as we weren't paying guests. Keep in mind that my Sister had actually paid for the entire place. The hair and make up people were getting us all ready and the owners were not at all happy with the fact that we were getting ready there. They actually ended up making us move everything out of that room and they put us down in a small room in the basement. Turns out they were showing the place to future potential customers. Extremely disrespectful considering the place was paid for and occupied by people getting ready for a wedding. The owner was responsible for the music but when the time came he claimed he had no idea how to work the music. Instead my cousin who was visiting from Nova Scotia had to do it since he wouldn't. So instead of enjoying the event she had to work the music instead. Once the wedding ceremony was done the photographer was going to take bridal party photos on the property. We were mid-photos when the owners had to leave and told us we had to get everything out immediately. While people stopped photos and ran to gather their things, the owners then went ahead and started tossing everyone's shoes outside the door. Very professional. My Sister still does not have her shoes as they didn't give people enough time to get their stuff and hers were still inside somewhere. This should have been the happiest day of my Sister's life but instead it was tarnished by all of the stresses and hassles caused by the owners. While this is a beautiful location and property, the issues with the owners should not have happened. Please make sure to AVOID this location for weddings. You will have nothing but hassles. They will never receive our business again nor would I ever recommend them to anyone. If I had the option to rate this lower than one star I would.

The property is beautiful and made for a nautical ceremony. However, the owners were incredibly disrespectful and unprofessional! They tried showing the place to people the morning of the wedding, they kicked us out of the main rooms that we had paid for because they booked in two bridal showers and did not run it by any of us. We had the entire place rented out until after the ceremony. As soon as the ceremony finished we had to get everything out of their place before the bridal party was able to take any photos. They ended up locking us out shortly after, and they were charging for an extra room because they failed to make one of the beds prior to us renting it out and they are claiming we used that additional room. They are extremely unprofessional and ignorant, I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.. Especially for a wedding!! In my personal opinion, they should be out of business! They caused so much stress and unnecessary hassles on what should have been the best and happiest day of my sisters life. Save yourself from this headache and DO NOT GO HERE!!!! Unfortunately I can't rate them a zero, otherwise I would!

As I understand, there have been new owners since the slew of poor reviews in the last year or so. The wedding I attended was lovely, and the venue was absolutely breathtaking in the fall. The signage to turn off of the highway may be a little lacking, but all other signage was perfect. Washrooms were well labeled, and there's lots of well-labeled parking as well. I would definitely consider visiting this venue again if I had need for such an event or overnight stay.