Over 60 Years of Fresh Air, Fun, Friendship, and Flourishing Families!
Holiday Hill’s large event tent, cozy post-and-beam barn, twenty-five acres of well-kept rural grounds and recreational facilities combined with our flexible options for catered and non-catered custom events make for an unparalleled venue in eastern Connecticut.
Something for Everyone
Our giant event tent that seats up to 300 for dinner, a beautiful post-and-beam barn, swimming pools, basketball courts, playgrounds, miniature golf course, softball and soccer field, volleyball and badminton courts, foursquare and pickleball courts, horseshoe pits and a bocce court ensure no guest will ever say “I’m Bored!”
Superior Quality, Flexible Service.
You want your wedding or party to be to be uniquely your own. We want to help! We are happy to customize our venue and packages to your wedding plan or special event needs. Your affair will be the focus of our day and we will tailor arrangements to help make your vision a reality.
Your Backyard for the Day
We can accommodate all sorts of decorating ideas and themes for your wedding ceremony and reception. Your special event can be casual or formal, free-flowing or carefully scripted. We can help arrange catering and DJ’s for your wedding reception or you can have a family-style do-it-yourself plan. The possibilities are endless!
Camp Professionals Know Service.
We pride ourselves on our flexibility, customer service and ability to help clients plan successful events. If you have any questions or if we can be at all helpful in your planning process, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email or call (860) 423-1375
Packages & Pricing
Have your wedding or special event your way at Holiday Hill!
Wedding Ceremony
Our post-and-beam barn provides a lovely starting point to set up your personalized wedding ceremony. Great acoustics for the spoken word and live or recorded music add to the atmosphere. Arching beams create a cathedral-like ceiling with an open floor. Any number of decorating ideas may be incorporated to reflect your unique character. Our grounds may be used for an outdoor ceremony, keeping the barn as an inclement weather backup location. The barn seats up to 200.
Wedding Reception
Our reception tent is a classic high-peak design, wedding-white, and spacious enough to serve up to around 300 guests depending on layout. It can be set up in any number of configurations for as formal or informal a reception as desired. Smaller groups (85 and under) may elect to hold their reception inside our post-and-beam barn.
Ceremony & Reception
Invite your wedding guests to one location for the day! Start with an outdoor wedding ceremony or indoor ceremony in our classic post-and-beam barn. Then, you and your guests can stroll right into our spacious reception tent set for as formal or informal a wedding reception as you wish.
Party & Event Rental
Our party and event rental package include full use of our facility for up to six hours. Our event tent, barn, and all recreational facilities may be utilized. In-season swimming can be added as an option. The barn and tent can host meetings as well as parties and can be set in many configurations of tables and chairs. Audio-visual aspects are available.
Make it your own: Flexible Spaces
The tent is regularly set up with picnic tables that can be rearranged, replaced, or augmented with display tables, or banquet tables and chairs for an additional fee of $15 per table and $1.50 per chair. You must arrange for table covers through your caterer, on your own. We can arrange rental and installation of walls and heaters in the tent for the colder seasons. There is a $300 surcharge if you wish to serve food or drink in the barn.
Simple Package Pricing
Our facility can scale to meet the needs of a wide variety of events. No matter your choice: Children under 4 come for free!
Ceremony & Reception
$1200 minimum/deposit
per Adult
Party & Event Rental
$1000 minimum/deposit
per Adult
À la carte.
A number of additional services and features are available beyond our basic package offering. We are committed to helping your vision of the day become a reality. Contact Us if we can be at all helpful in your planning process.
Decorate till your heart’s content: Advance decorating time (same-day, as early as 10am!) – $50 per hour
Ceremony Rehearsal – $150.00 for 2 hours (Rehearsal parties or dinners are separate events)
Be your own DJ: A PA system with pro-quality speakers, mixer, and microphone is available at $300 per event.
Shuttle Service is available to local lodging options using our state-inspected camp vans and trained drivers. $100 per hour per vehicle
Access to the 25-yard pool with 9′ diving bowl, bathhouse, showers, dedicated lifeguards – $100 per hour
Keep the Fun Going! Extra Hours planned $150 per hour. Extra hours without notice, $250 per hour.
Farmhouse Rental
The Duff Farmhouse at Holiday Hill is an updated 3-bedroom 18th-century farmhouse. The house adjoins our camp office and health center and has a commanding view of our fields, event spaces, and the forest preserve across the street from the property. The Farmhouse may be reserved through Airbnb. See photos of the Farmhouse. Dates for wedding weekends in the distant future are blocked. Contact us to open dates for you.
It’s About Details.
Catering
Your catering ideas can be as creative as you wish! You can go to full-service-fancy or do-it-yourself-basic. We are happy to put you in touch with caterers who have been successful here in the past. You may also choose your own caterer if you have one in mind. You can have a memorable event with many styles of food service: family-style potluck, portable pig roasters, food trucks, grill-it-your-selfers (bring or rent your own grill); all are permissible. Let us know what you have in mind. We are happy to explore ideas and make helpful suggestions.
Recreational Facilities
Included features: Basketball Courts with adjustable height backboards, Miniature Golf Course, Softball, and Soccer Field, Volleyball and Badminton Courts
Insurance
Groups need to show proof of general liability insurance coverage for their event by providing us with a valid Certificate of Insurance indicating coverage for bodily injury or property damage in the amount of not less than $1 million per occurrence; $5 million general aggregate. Such coverage may be purchased for under $200.00 through PRIVATE Event Insurance or the insurer of your choice. Groups need also provide Certificates of Insurance for any outside vendors used.We also require certificates of insurance from each of your vendors naming Holiday Recreation Center, Inc as additional insured.
Local Lodging Suggestions:
The Duff Farmhouse at Holiday Hill,
Our own on-site 3-bedroom, fully equipped home.
Available through Airbnb
Spring Hill Inn, 957 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06268 (1.9 miles from site) 860.477.1199
Stone Arches Bed and Breakfast, 614 Storrs Rd, Mansfield Center (0.3 miles from site) 860.429.2269
The Fitch House Bed and Breakfast, 563 Storrs Rd, Mansfield Center (0.5 miles from site) 310.868.4445
The Inn on Storrs, formerly Best Western 123 Storrs Rd (CT Rt 195), Mansfield, CT (3 miles from site) 860.423.8451
The Graduate Storrs, formerly Nathan Hale Inn, 855 Bolton Road Storrs, CT 06268 (on the UCONN campus, 3 miles from site) 860-427-7888
Rental Policies
A non-refundable deposit is required to secure a date. Payments may be made in the form of cash, check, or credit card.
Wedding Ceremony and Reception, Deposit: $1200.00
Party and Event Rental, Deposit: $1000.00
Confirmed Number (guaranteed minimum) of guests must be given to us no later than five business days before the scheduled date. The number of guests may be increased by contacting our office. If the number of attendees is less than the confirmed number, the guaranteed minimum number of guests will still be charged.
Payment of the balance is expected five business before the scheduled date, at the time number of guests and all other arrangements confirmed.
Additional Information and Policies
Cancellation—The initial Event Deposit is non-refundable. If cancellation is due to expected inclement weather, the deposit may be applied to an alternate date, as available.
Live Music and DJ’s—Very loud amplified music outdoors is limited by town zoning ordinances. We will permit Disc Jockeys or Bands with the understanding that our requirement for controlling the sound that leaves our property be met. Loud music must end by 10:00 pm. Live, unamplified acoustic music is always permissible.
Liquor & Bartender Service—Alcohol must be purchased by the event host, or provided by a licensed bartending service, or may be brought by individual guests for their own consumption.
Swimming Pool—The pool is available from early June to September. Lifeguards are provided as an optional add-on at $100 per hour, per pool. Only persons with bathing suits are permitted to use the pool. Food and alcohol are not permitted inside the fenced pool enclosure. Lifeguards will be in complete charge and will insist that all pool safety and health rules are enforced. We have two 25 yard in-ground pools. One is generally reserved for picnic use.
Sports Equipment—Equipment for all listed activities is provided with the exception of softball gloves. Fastpitch Softball and Baseball are prohibited without proper equipment and adult supervision provided by group sponsors.
Adventure Challenge Course—Our Adventure Challenge Course areas are off-limits to rental guests unless special provision has been made by group organizers for the operation of the Zip Line or other elements during their event.
Read our complete Use Agreement Contract
Event Inquiry
Get started by giving us some basic information about yourself and your event. We will reach out with more information about availability, tours, and booking. Thanks!