Villa del Sol d'Oro (Alverno Villa) Reviews

Reviews

• Lauren Sent on 02/23/2016
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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    5.0
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    5.0
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    5.0
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    5.0 out of 5 rating
    5.0

  My experience at the Villa Del Sol d'oro was wonderful! The venue was so beautiful on our sunny January wedding day. We had 100 guests and everyone was able to have a seat to watch the ceremony on the grass in between the reflection pool and terrace. My husband and I are Disney fanatics(he proposed to me at Disneyland) so when we found out that The Princess Diaries and Agents of Shield was filmed at the Villa, we were sold.
  
  I was never worried or stressed out thanks to Sandi(venue coordinator), Grace(Chef) and Lindbergh(coordinator). Sandi was easy to get ahold of and answered my emails of any questions I had quickly. She was very accommodating to my handicapped guests and bridesmaids. Instead of having the women changing room upstairs, we had it in the library. My husband and I are vegan, so we wanted the food to be a big hit with the meat eaters and non-meat eaters.
  
  Grace did an AMAZING job creating an all vegan buffet. She made a strawberry salad, soyrizo on sweet potatoes, asparagus curry, and lemongrass chick-un with veggies. She even made sure that the top of our cake(the part just for us) was vegan.
  
  Lindbergh was very helpful and the reception area, and ceremony area looked amazing thanks to him. I highly recommend using his worry free rental package. When we met him just before the wedding, he explained where everything was going to go and even helped us out with choosing what colors go together for napkins and table cloths.
  
  The staff were very courteous and hard working; they did a great job. If I could give a rating to every category, (venue, staff, food, furniture, coordinators) I would give it a 5 across the board.

  My experience at the Villa Del Sol d'oro was wonderful! The venue was so beautiful on our sunny January wedding day. We had 100 guests and everyone was able to have a seat to watch the ceremony on the grass in between the reflection pool and terrace. My husband and I are Disney fanatics(he proposed to me at Disneyland) so when we found out that The Princess Diaries and Agents of Shield was filmed at the Villa, we were sold.
  
  I was never worried or stressed out thanks to Sandi(venue coordinator), Grace(Chef) and Lindbergh(coordinator). Sandi was easy to get ahold of and answered my emails of any questions I had quickly. She was very accommodating to my handicapped guests and bridesmaids. Instead of having the women changing room upstairs, we had it in the library. My husband and I are vegan, so we wanted the food to be a big hit with the meat eaters and non-meat eaters.
  
  Grace did an AMAZING job creating an all vegan buffet. She made a strawberry salad, soyrizo on sweet potatoes, asparagus curry, and lemongrass chick-un with veggies. She even made sure that the top of our cake(the part just for us) was vegan.
  
  Lindbergh was very helpful and the reception area, and ceremony area looked amazing thanks to him. I highly recommend using his worry free rental package. When we met him just before the wedding, he explained where everything was going to go and even helped us out with choosing what colors go together for napkins and table cloths.
  
  The staff were very courteous and hard working; they did a great job. If I could give a rating to every category, (venue, staff, food, furniture, coordinators) I would give it a 5 across the board.
• Jamila Sent on 03/13/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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    5.0
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    5.0

  Everything about this location was perfect - indoors and out. I appreciated the teams professional, timely response to calls and emails, and over job well done.

  Everything about this location was perfect - indoors and out. I appreciated the teams professional, timely response to calls and emails, and over job well done.
• Charlotte Sent on 07/25/2012
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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    5.0
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    5.0
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    5.0

  5 stars!! Exceptional service, flexibility-- on top of the gorgeous, beautiful venue. Sandy was the wedding coordinator for the Villa and she was amazing. The wedding was planned from Seoul, Korea and was able to pull it off. Although we very last minute changes to the guest count and other problems that crept up close to the date, Sandy took care of all. I was very nervous about doing a wedding that had to have all the fixins (linens, tables, food, etc outsourced) but with Sandy's expertise and good judgement, everything went smoothly and perfectly. It was the best day of our lives, and we truly think its because we chose the Villa del sol d'oro for our wedding venue!

  5 stars!! Exceptional service, flexibility-- on top of the gorgeous, beautiful venue. Sandy was the wedding coordinator for the Villa and she was amazing. The wedding was planned from Seoul, Korea and was able to pull it off. Although we very last minute changes to the guest count and other problems that crept up close to the date, Sandy took care of all. I was very nervous about doing a wedding that had to have all the fixins (linens, tables, food, etc outsourced) but with Sandy's expertise and good judgement, everything went smoothly and perfectly. It was the best day of our lives, and we truly think its because we chose the Villa del sol d'oro for our wedding venue!
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  User4331337 Sent on 09/26/2011
  5 out of 5 rating

  5.0
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    5.0
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    5.0
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    5.0
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  This venue is amazing and Sandi and Linberg were great to work with. Santa Anita Gardens is the exclusive caterer to the Villa. The only real downfall of this venue is that you have to end your music at 9:30 p.m. and all of your guests have to be off the property by 10:00 p.m. because of the neighborhood. However, you can start as early as you want. Our guests loved the food, which was fairly priced. The actual entree prices are fairly low but you have to pay for the servers separately. You also have to rent everything. However, the total price of our wedding was comparable (or even lower) to other venues in the area considering we had our wedding on Saturday night and had an open bar all night. Parking is free onsite which was an added bonus. Sandi is now using email to regularly communicate with brides. You really get a lot of space for your rental fee and our pictures from the Villa look awesome. Sandi lets you bring in "ethic" appetizers and her staff will serve it for you at no additional charge, which was great. Plus, we got our deposit back from Alverno High really quickly.

  This venue is amazing and Sandi and Linberg were great to work with. Santa Anita Gardens is the exclusive caterer to the Villa. The only real downfall of this venue is that you have to end your music at 9:30 p.m. and all of your guests have to be off the property by 10:00 p.m. because of the neighborhood. However, you can start as early as you want. Our guests loved the food, which was fairly priced. The actual entree prices are fairly low but you have to pay for the servers separately. You also have to rent everything. However, the total price of our wedding was comparable (or even lower) to other venues in the area considering we had our wedding on Saturday night and had an open bar all night. Parking is free onsite which was an added bonus. Sandi is now using email to regularly communicate with brides. You really get a lot of space for your rental fee and our pictures from the Villa look awesome. Sandi lets you bring in "ethic" appetizers and her staff will serve it for you at no additional charge, which was great. Plus, we got our deposit back from Alverno High really quickly.
• David Sent on 07/21/2008
  4.9 out of 5 rating

  4.9
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    5.0
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    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5
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    5.0
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    5.0
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  The "Villa" as an extremely romantic site to get married at, there is so much history and charm. It's great for photos. I loved this site.

  The "Villa" as an extremely romantic site to get married at, there is so much history and charm. It's great for photos. I loved this site.
• Katherine Sent on 10/31/2013
  4.7 out of 5 rating

  4.7
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    5.0
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    3.5 out of 5 rating
    3.5
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    5.0
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    5.0

  My husband and I were so happy we chose this venue for our wedding. We worked with Sandi (catering) and Lindburgh (coordinator) on planning our wedding day and they were so accomodating, flexible, and most importantly, delivered amazing results. Our food was so delicious and we were able to customize our own wedding, like being able to bring in our own liquor, wine and champagne as well as our own desserts from a local bakery. Everything moved seamlessly, and the venue is just a unique, breathtaking and incredibly romantic spot. For those who are looking for a venues that are a little out of the norm, this is it. It makes it so easy that they offer a full catering package from drinks to appetizers, to dessert and cake and also even offer rental packages for furniture and everything else you would need. Lingburgh even can coordinator your rehearsal and day of event in addition for a nominal fee (we were so happy with him and he was incredibly professional and hardworking - doing everything from working with the catering staff, to setting up the decor, to fluffing my dress!). All in all, this was an amazing venue and we had absolutely no regrets. Just a tip -- if you're the kind of bride that likes to be "hands on" - be sure to ask a lot of questions and have follow ups and reminders when working with Sandi to plan out your special day. She is a busy woman (caters also at the Greek Theater with her partner) and all the up-front communication and thinking ahead helps the day move more smoothly!!

  My husband and I were so happy we chose this venue for our wedding. We worked with Sandi (catering) and Lindburgh (coordinator) on planning our wedding day and they were so accomodating, flexible, and most importantly, delivered amazing results. Our food was so delicious and we were able to customize our own wedding, like being able to bring in our own liquor, wine and champagne as well as our own desserts from a local bakery. Everything moved seamlessly, and the venue is just a unique, breathtaking and incredibly romantic spot. For those who are looking for a venues that are a little out of the norm, this is it. It makes it so easy that they offer a full catering package from drinks to appetizers, to dessert and cake and also even offer rental packages for furniture and everything else you would need. Lingburgh even can coordinator your rehearsal and day of event in addition for a nominal fee (we were so happy with him and he was incredibly professional and hardworking - doing everything from working with the catering staff, to setting up the decor, to fluffing my dress!). All in all, this was an amazing venue and we had absolutely no regrets. Just a tip -- if you're the kind of bride that likes to be "hands on" - be sure to ask a lot of questions and have follow ups and reminders when working with Sandi to plan out your special day. She is a busy woman (caters also at the Greek Theater with her partner) and all the up-front communication and thinking ahead helps the day move more smoothly!!
• Nancy Sent on 05/13/2013
  3.9 out of 5 rating

  3.9
  • Quality of service
    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5
  • Average response time
    4.5 out of 5 rating
    4.5
  • Professionalism
    3.5 out of 5 rating
    3.5
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    3.5 out of 5 rating
    3.5
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    3.5 out of 5 rating
    3.5

  My husband and I looked at a million venues, but we absolutely fell in love with the villa. It's hard to believe that such a beautiful place exists in SoCal, but it does! The villa makes you feel like you're being swept away to another country (Italy, to be exact!), as it is absolutely elegant, picturesque and has a lot of dimension to it with all the different rooms and levels. Everything from the bistro lighting over the terrace where people eat, down to the stunning garden with giant trees where we had our ceremony, to the amazing entrance with all the orante architecture and checkered floor... seriously, how could you NOT love this place?
  
  The villa does come absolutely bare bones and the price is pretty steep, just to rent the place with absolutely nothing in it. However, Lindburgh just started offering a "Worry Free" package, which basically covers all of your linens, table settings, furniture, bistro lights, lanterns, and candles. My husband and I opted to go with him, rather than relying on the hassle of managing multiple vendors on the day of our wedding. Lindburgh and his team were really great about setting up all of the various pieces throughout the venue...and thanks to them, our vision of the day really came to life and everything looked incredibly classy!
  
  Sandi, the main coordinator of the venue, is very sweet and I got along very well with her. I had no issues communicating with her and Lindburgh for the most part, as they both have iPhones and responded back to me fairly quickly, despite the hundreds of emails I would send them every day! The food from Santa Anita Catering is also really good, although they gave us BBQ ribs instead of the short ribs I had ordered- still decent, but not what I had hoped for. Also, they forgot that my nephew (ringbearer) had food allergies and messed up his order, so he almost didn't have anything to eat and they were unapologetic. But nonetheless, I'm thankful they made our day so special overall! :)

  My husband and I looked at a million venues, but we absolutely fell in love with the villa. It's hard to believe that such a beautiful place exists in SoCal, but it does! The villa makes you feel like you're being swept away to another country (Italy, to be exact!), as it is absolutely elegant, picturesque and has a lot of dimension to it with all the different rooms and levels. Everything from the bistro lighting over the terrace where people eat, down to the stunning garden with giant trees where we had our ceremony, to the amazing entrance with all the orante architecture and checkered floor... seriously, how could you NOT love this place?
  
  The villa does come absolutely bare bones and the price is pretty steep, just to rent the place with absolutely nothing in it. However, Lindburgh just started offering a "Worry Free" package, which basically covers all of your linens, table settings, furniture, bistro lights, lanterns, and candles. My husband and I opted to go with him, rather than relying on the hassle of managing multiple vendors on the day of our wedding. Lindburgh and his team were really great about setting up all of the various pieces throughout the venue...and thanks to them, our vision of the day really came to life and everything looked incredibly classy!
  
  Sandi, the main coordinator of the venue, is very sweet and I got along very well with her. I had no issues communicating with her and Lindburgh for the most part, as they both have iPhones and responded back to me fairly quickly, despite the hundreds of emails I would send them every day! The food from Santa Anita Catering is also really good, although they gave us BBQ ribs instead of the short ribs I had ordered- still decent, but not what I had hoped for. Also, they forgot that my nephew (ringbearer) had food allergies and messed up his order, so he almost didn't have anything to eat and they were unapologetic. But nonetheless, I'm thankful they made our day so special overall! :)
• Skylar E. Sent on 04/04/2023
  3.8 out of 5 rating

  3.8
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    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0
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    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0
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    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0
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    3.0 out of 5 rating
    3.0
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    4.0 out of 5 rating
    4.0

  Beautiful Venue

  This is the most beautiful place ever! Our wedding day went off without a hitch, and the Villa was a big part of that. Keep in mind that it is attached to a school, so when we had our rehearsal dinner the day before, we didn't know there would be TONS of kids and very little parking that evening (Friday night). The only true issue I had with the venue, was after we signed our contract, prices increased and we weren't notified of those changes. Seeing as the Villa does not include catering, rentals, etc. it would've been great to have been notified of a cost increase for an already expensive venue. Overall, I would recommend this place, and it's such a natural beauty.

  This is the most beautiful place ever! Our wedding day went off without a hitch, and the Villa was a big part of that. Keep in mind that it is attached to a school, so when we had our rehearsal dinner the day before, we didn't know there would be TONS of kids and very little parking that evening (Friday night). The only true issue I had with the venue, was after we signed our contract, prices increased and we weren't notified of those changes. Seeing as the Villa does not include catering, rentals, etc. it would've been great to have been notified of a cost increase for an already expensive venue. Overall, I would recommend this place, and it's such a natural beauty.
• Nicole Sent on 09/24/2012
  1 out of 5 rating

  1.0
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    1.0

  This place is not meant to have weddings. I had my wedding there this past summer, and they called the police on my wedding. I ended up with 75 guests, 50% of which were older adults, not even dancing. My DJ turned down his music even though there were already ONLY 5 people on the dance floor because you are required to close all the doors and it's like a sweatbox in there. They will tell you that you can have the doors open all the way until the final meeting when they throw it on you, 5 days before your wedding that they have to be closed. BY 6PM, the police had been called on us 4 times for just the microphone we did our vows into. We had an acoustic guitarist play for our ceremony, which we got approval on by the Venue Coordinator, then we LOST our deposit ($500.00) for it? They said it was AMPLIFIED, although we have our wedding video to prove it was just ACOUSTIC. The police came up to me as a BRIDE & I quote this said to me on my wedding night "They can't control you and they have called us out here to make everyone leave, if you don't get everyone out of here in 5 mins. we will raid this place". We spent thousands of dollars on our wedding and had family from all over, including internatioal guests being kicked out at 830PM. It was not even past the city curfew.embarassing and disheartning. I would NOT suggest booking your wedding here. They will make it all sound nice until you sign the contract and pay the deposit. Everything comes out the last week before. I also paid $350.00 for 5 gallons of Sangria, which it was later told to me that it was watered down and gone within the fist 30 mins.I never got one of them. I later heard from my wedding coordinator that they just wanted to go home early, so they worked up the police idea. I am really upset, but I didn't let it ruin my wedding. I just want other people to know my experience so they can make the best choice for them, knowing what past Brides and their families have had to endure.

  This place is not meant to have weddings. I had my wedding there this past summer, and they called the police on my wedding. I ended up with 75 guests, 50% of which were older adults, not even dancing. My DJ turned down his music even though there were already ONLY 5 people on the dance floor because you are required to close all the doors and it's like a sweatbox in there. They will tell you that you can have the doors open all the way until the final meeting when they throw it on you, 5 days before your wedding that they have to be closed. BY 6PM, the police had been called on us 4 times for just the microphone we did our vows into. We had an acoustic guitarist play for our ceremony, which we got approval on by the Venue Coordinator, then we LOST our deposit ($500.00) for it? They said it was AMPLIFIED, although we have our wedding video to prove it was just ACOUSTIC. The police came up to me as a BRIDE & I quote this said to me on my wedding night "They can't control you and they have called us out here to make everyone leave, if you don't get everyone out of here in 5 mins. we will raid this place". We spent thousands of dollars on our wedding and had family from all over, including internatioal guests being kicked out at 830PM. It was not even past the city curfew.embarassing and disheartning. I would NOT suggest booking your wedding here. They will make it all sound nice until you sign the contract and pay the deposit. Everything comes out the last week before. I also paid $350.00 for 5 gallons of Sangria, which it was later told to me that it was watered down and gone within the fist 30 mins.I never got one of them. I later heard from my wedding coordinator that they just wanted to go home early, so they worked up the police idea. I am really upset, but I didn't let it ruin my wedding. I just want other people to know my experience so they can make the best choice for them, knowing what past Brides and their families have had to endure.
• 
  User4331333 Sent on 12/12/2012
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  Villa Del Sol D'Oro is absolutely beautiful. With the globe lights turned on at evening time, it made me feel like I was in Italy.. which is exactly the "feel" I was going for. The only downside of this place is that EVERYTHING must be rented. They only provide the venue so everything from chairs, tables, etc. must be provided through a rental company. You also need to cater from the on site managers catering company. But the food is absolutely delicious and priced very well so I have only high praises for their company.
  
  As for the rental company, DO NOT GO WITH LINDBERGH. Up to the day before the wedding, he kept giving me wrong quotes. So I asked him for a final estimate the week of the wedding. He quoted me a certain number then when it was the day before the wedding, he raised the prices again. I showed him the latest invoice he sent me via email and showed him the others he had sent me before. Yes, the amount of chairs/silverware decreased to 30 people less but the price point should not equal $3,000+. I then told him you have been confusing us about the quotes since day 1 and so I emailed you one last time so that I could verify what the numbers are. It basically turned into a yelling match with him yelling at us, pointing his finger at my face, and threatening to bring his lawyer.
  
  You don't want unnecessary drama the day before your wedding. It's one thing if we were acting crazy too but no matter how angry we got, we never raised our voice or did anything out of the ordinary. Don't get me wrong, I probably looked angry but we never disrespected him once. The most we said is that he confused us and that he shouldn't be doing these kind of things as a vendor.
  
  Maybe he was having a REALLY bad day but in the end, no vendor should treat their client like that.

  Villa Del Sol D'Oro is absolutely beautiful. With the globe lights turned on at evening time, it made me feel like I was in Italy.. which is exactly the "feel" I was going for. The only downside of this place is that EVERYTHING must be rented. They only provide the venue so everything from chairs, tables, etc. must be provided through a rental company. You also need to cater from the on site managers catering company. But the food is absolutely delicious and priced very well so I have only high praises for their company.
  
  As for the rental company, DO NOT GO WITH LINDBERGH. Up to the day before the wedding, he kept giving me wrong quotes. So I asked him for a final estimate the week of the wedding. He quoted me a certain number then when it was the day before the wedding, he raised the prices again. I showed him the latest invoice he sent me via email and showed him the others he had sent me before. Yes, the amount of chairs/silverware decreased to 30 people less but the price point should not equal $3,000+. I then told him you have been confusing us about the quotes since day 1 and so I emailed you one last time so that I could verify what the numbers are. It basically turned into a yelling match with him yelling at us, pointing his finger at my face, and threatening to bring his lawyer.
  
  You don't want unnecessary drama the day before your wedding. It's one thing if we were acting crazy too but no matter how angry we got, we never raised our voice or did anything out of the ordinary. Don't get me wrong, I probably looked angry but we never disrespected him once. The most we said is that he confused us and that he shouldn't be doing these kind of things as a vendor.
  
  Maybe he was having a REALLY bad day but in the end, no vendor should treat their client like that.