Water's Edge Resort and Spa hosts corporate meetings, trade shows, holiday parties, social events and weddings for up to 300 attendees, with 12 meeting rooms and about 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. The resort sits on 14 acres on Long Island Sound in Westbrook, Connecticut, with a private sandy beach and 185 rooms, villas and condos on site.
Seminars and company events
The resort sells complete meeting programs. Its Complete Meeting Package bundles a hot breakfast buffet, a plated or buffet lunch, morning and afternoon breaks, dinner and meeting room rental, with taxes, fees and gratuities included. The Westbrook Ballroom is set aside for larger meetings and trade shows, while smaller rooms serve breakouts and board sessions. Holiday parties have their own seasonal menus. Planners can take a virtual tour and send a request for proposal through the website before a site visit.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings have been held here for decades. Ceremonies take place on the beach or on the lawn, weather permitting, followed by a cocktail hour on the patio that moves indoors if needed. The reception is held in the Royal Ballroom, which looks over the water. The resort's own team handles food, drinks, bar service and decoration, with servers, bartenders and bus staff, and the Pastry Shop takes cake orders. Guests stay on the property.
Rooms and capacities
The Royal Ballroom and the Grand Ballroom both have water views. The Westbrook Ballroom is the room for trade shows and larger plenary sessions. Grotto and Bushnell serve as private dining rooms. Bill Hahn and Chapman, and Stannard and Executive, are meeting rooms for smaller groups. Outdoors, events under the tent take 25 to 80 people with views over the Sound. The largest event the resort states is 300 attendees; floor plans and room specifications come with the event brochure.
Accommodation
The resort has 185 units: 97 hotel rooms, 20 Villas by the Sea and 68 condos. Room types include ocean-view rooms, standard and accessible rooms, suites and house rentals, so a group can mix hotel rooms with villas.
Catering
Catering is in-house. Dattilo is the Italian steakhouse, with private dining. The Seaview Bistro, the Sunset Bar and Grill with live music, Julia's Beach Bar, Cappuccio Caffé and the Pastry Shop complete the offer. Sunday brunch runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
History and setting
The site began in the early 1900s as a summer beach cottage of the Knothe family, who sold it in 1940. Bill Hahn and his sister Ruth opened a hotel here on Memorial Day 1941, and its entertainers drew up to 400 guests on summer nights. After the hotel closed and declined, real estate developer Michael Dattilo bought the property in 1982 and restored it as Water's Edge Resort and Spa. The resort also has a spa and two tennis courts.
Getting there
The resort is at 1525 Boston Post Road, at Exit 65 off I-95. New York and Boston are about two hours away, Providence 90 minutes, Hartford 45 minutes and New Haven 30 minutes. Bradley International Airport is about 60 minutes away and T. F. Green about 90 minutes. Shoreline East stops in Westbrook and Amtrak serves Old Saybrook. Self-parking and valet are included.
