Tired of driving to Lakewood or out to Long Island to attend a wedding or bar mitzvah celebration? That is no longer necessary now that the Robert Treat Hotel has become an exciting simcha possibility, offering many lovely interior options. Located in gentrified downtown Newark, it is an easy 30 to 40 minute drive at most from our local communities, and parking on site is a great perk.
I had the opportunity recently to attend the wedding of Rivka Hirsch, daughter of Rabbi Dovid and Dr. Miriam Hirsch of Passaic, and Netanel Abramov, son of Uri and Adina Abramov of Hillside, which took place at the Robert Treat Hotel as the result of an ad that the Hirsch family noticed in The Jewish Link. I am thrilled to report on my experience at this beautiful venue.
What makes this hotel so perfect as a simcha destination is the number of various sized rooms and halls available to the baalei simcha. The kabbalat panim took place in one large room, the smorgasbord and bedeken in a different room, and many other rooms were provided for the bridal party for whatever preparations they needed. Space is definitely not an issue. Special rooms are also set aside for the chattan and his family. Children related to the bridal parties had their own assigned space, first to play and grab a bite and later in the evening for them to sleep. What a wonderful feeling to know that young relatives of the bridal party are well taken care of!
Due to the spaciousness of the halls, people were able to gather and fraternize with each other without disturbing the other hotel guests. The hotel allows any caterer of your choice to use the facilities and offers its own wait service. The maximum capacity for our type of weddings would be 500 people to be seated comfortably. I also noticed that the acoustics in the ballroom where the dinner took place were excellent. One of the greatest perks of using a hotel for a simcha is, of course, the ability to house out of town guests, serve them breakfast and entertain them either prior to or following the simcha. Additionally, transportation is available between Newark Airport and the hotel.
I also noticed that there is an auditorium in the hotel with a seating capacity of 1,200 and a shul or school dinner can easily fit 750 people when not using a dance floor.
As a participant of many NCSY and Yachad shabbatonim, OU Marriage Retreats, etc, which often use hotels as Shabbat venues, I can see this hotel filling that purpose as well. Breakout rooms, a shul, a dining room, and more would all easily fit into the scope of making such a program at the Robert Treat Hotel.
Full disclosure, I must admit that it was my idea to describe this hotel more vividly to our readers after attending the beautiful, lively Hirsch-Abramov wedding. No question that the unique qualities of these two families added to its aura. I hear the comments so frequently of people complaining about the distances they have to travel in order to attend a wedding and, in some cases, the resentment they feel for having to do so. A new experience for all with a more local simcha is that the celebrants can even stay for the main course and still get home at a reasonable hour! Mazel tov, Rivka and Netanel—I had a great time!
