I've been trying to schedule a tour for this venue for over a month and have had a very frustrating experience. I've been in contact with the manager, Andrea, and every time she responds, she says she will email me with her availability--but the email never comes. I've also followed up by text multiple times and received no response. I've never experienced this level of unresponsiveness just to book a simple tour. Extremely disappointed with the lack of communication and customer service. read more

I rarely feel the need to leave negative feedback, but our experience at Villa Sol d'Oro was nothing short of a total waste of time. We scheduled a formal tour to view the venue, only to be met with a complete lack of basic professionalism. The facilities director Andrea Bertollini, who was confirmed to lead our tour, simply did not show up. We waited for 40 minutes in the hope that someone would eventually arrive or provide an explanation, but we were left standing there with zero communication. If a venue cannot even manage to show up for a scheduled sales tour, I have zero confidence in their ability to coordinate an actual wedding day. This level of flakey behavior is extremely unprofessional and frankly insulting to couples who are narrowing down their options. If you value your time and want a venue that actually respects its clients, look elsewhere. There are plenty of beautiful locations in the area that understand the basics of hospitality and reliability. Villa Sol d'Oro is clearly not one of them. read more

Unfortunate that this beautiful venue hires a horrible manager to contact for information. Guess they don't really care much to book the venue. Don't waste your time, the manager never gets back to you. When she finally does, she won't answer after. read more

So great. I went to school there and just had my quince there as well. not a lot of space but perfect for us

Attended a wedding here. We arrived to the gate we were directed to but it was locked and no one available to open it. We parked on the street and walked all the way around to a second then a third parking lot. There should have been a valet or something. It's a long walk in heels carrying a large present on sidewalk and dirt to get inside. We were sweating by the time we found an opening. We got lemonade that tasted watery and warm for our effort. I loved the checkerboard tile floor and wrought iron railing. One could not go up the stairs though. We were yelled at when we tried to an impromtu photo op. The drinks were ok. The food was mediocre, overcooked and marginal for the what my niece was charged. The music was way too loud so we moved outside. The place needs A/c. It was stifling inside. If they have a/c then it doesn't work very well for a large wedding with over 100 plus guests. Opening doors was not the way to do it because then inside just became humid. We tried going outside but then missed what was going on inside like the cake cutting and the bouquet throw. We didn't like the way the reception was split in two. It's a pretty mansion inside. Standing outside you look at weeds and a school paraphenalia until it gets dark. We noticed a lot of gopher holes walking around to find a way into this place. We were faced with stuffing our ears with cotton and trying to stay indoors to get away from the mosquitos. Overall I would not choose this place as a wedding venue. Good back drop inside for pictures. Loved the little light up trees in the parking lot where we had to go out to the port a potties. They had one bathroom for all of us inside and it was never available! Missed more by having to truck out to a parking lot to use a port-a-potty. The bride and groom were upset with the management. Some lady named Andie or Andrea was unprofessional. She had not disclosed some details until the day of the wedding. She should have left the couple out of it and spoken to their wedding coordinator. Tacky. No people skills. This place nickeled and dimed them for everything. I have been to way better venues for less money and don't require the guests to hike it over to a parking lot to use the bathroom. read more

What an amazing place, this a beautiful venue. It needs a bit of maintenance but has potential to be a spectacular spot for receptions and other events. Im looking forward to another visit. read more

If you're considering Villa del Sol d'Oro for your wedding photos, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. Getting any information from the property manager is like pulling teeth. She could have sent an actual letter via snail mail, and it would arrive faster than her emails. read more

I'm writing this review as a guest at a wedding. I was not aware of this place. It is a small venue but perfect for an intimate and elegant wedding. ::Experience:: Driving in was an "AH" moment. The tall gate and long driveway made us feel VIP. Finding parking was an ease. There are two parking lots and two gated entrance. I was told this place used to be a convent home; it's two stories. The first floor has a small hallway which turned to the dance floor during the reception; it's a little narrow for dancing but it worked. There were fireplaces in different rooms. The kitchen was also on this floor. Upstairs (second floor), had a nice balcony overlooking the bottom outside patio area and yard. There were many different rooms. The bride, groom, and the people that were in the wedding got ready on the second floor. Outside patio was nicely decorated. This was where the reception took place. Stringed lights were hung above the tables which gave it a nice glow at night. ::Food:: After the ceremony, the staff served appetizers while we waited for the reception to start. They served crackers, salami, slices of bread with an assortment of spread, cheese, pickled olives, mushroom & artichoke, coffee, and hot tea, etc. For the main course, I got the beef which came with vegetables and mashed potatoes. The beef was a bit salty but at least it was not tough to eat. Overall, I thought the food was not bad. ::Dessert:: It's hard to explain this part. We all got a very generous cake slice. I'm not sure what flavor it was but it had three layers; I think. It was a cake/pastry. The top layer was like a wafer then cream in the middle and another wafer at the bottom. As I dug in with my fork, the whole cake fell apart. I wasn't a fan of the cake. ::Customer Service:: Friendly. The adult's servers were more professional than the younger ones. ::Rating:: The food was just "ok" but I liked the venue. It's a nice place to have an event. I am giving it 3.5 Stars but rounding it to 4. ::Tips:: -Per their website, music must be completely off by 9:30pm. -For more information about this venue, check their website. ::M's Notes:: Parking Lot read more

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Beautiful venue. I would love to give it 5 Star but Andrea, the manager, is an absolutely awful person. Not only was she repeatedly rude to my wife, she refused to allow people to come early for hair and make up, repeatedly forgot to open the venue when we had walk throughs with vendors, would be out of contact for days at a time, and ended it all by harassing my wife over cleaning fees because she found some roses and a chapstick on the ground. read more

I've lived in Arcadia my whole life, and discovered this venue after becoming a wedding photographer and shooting here. It's a gorgeous venue for an intimate wedding. The architecture reminds me of Europe, and is a hidden local gem. In terms of photography, I recommend having an earlier ceremony time in the afternoon around 2-3pm. Closer to sunset, the sun shines directly on the ceremony spot. There were so many options to take so many beautiful photos for the portraits! I love shooting here, and can't wait to come back. read more

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If I could give zero stars I would. My daughter made several attempts to contact Andrea the facilities manager regarding event arrangements for her wedding. I texted Andrea to make one final attempt to see the venue and she called me almost immediately after my text to berate me. Andrea is not cut out for this business. Based on reviews of Villa del Sol d'Oro and my interaction with Andrea, I cannot even begin to find the right words for you to stay away from this place. Run! read more

Andrea was nice to work with however when we showed up to the engagement shoot there were white tables and chairs (left over from the party from the day before I'm assuming) as well as cheesy birthday decor all in the main area! If your booking the space you would think they would give it to you empty so you could work freely but nope we had to stack and move some chairs ourselves just to be able to get some shots in. Also my photographer made a comment about the property being poorly maintained - Ex. a lot of super overgrown trees and grass in the empty space by the hedge area. Overall I blame myself for not doing more research. If you like this look I recommend Greystone mansion or at least go see it in person before booking. read more

Beautiful! But just a warning before you spend so much time going here. It's a full on elementary school with little bikes out in the front Wilson parking lot. Super cute tho read more

This review is for a wedding on 04.01.17. The grounds were not well maintained and the area with the fountain and yew pines is in especial need of tree trimming. It reminds me of a sad version of the yew pines at Greystone Mansion. It will better in pictures than it does in person. If you have a wedding here, please know that you will have to put a lot of work into the lighting, flowers, decor, chairs....basically everything to make it look good. I think it is too much work and too much money for a wedding, but if you have a good photographer and all you care about are the optics then... read more

Had the best day of my life here at Villa Del Sol d'Oro! Had my wedding here in May of 2019. Sandi, Sean and the whole team made our special day that much more wonderful. I know they had issues with construction going on at the school, but even Andrea, the grounds supervisor helped push and hurry the painting and replanting of the Villa from its Movie Shoot to an even better venue from when we first did our walk through and decided to get married here. We are forever grateful for all of Sean's help. He was our Day of Coordinator and help kept us organized, on time, and took care of all the behind the scene issues to make sure we had the most amazing day. Sandi and her family made us feel so welcomed and so much apart of her family through the whole process. I couldn't of ask for a better catering/event company. read more

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This place I give it a 3.5 stars. It's a beautiful place to host a small wedding. It's definitely a romantic place. The wedding ceremony was very beautiful. If done at the right time, the shade from the tree's makes this one of the better outdoor weddings you can have (usually your sweating here in socal). Dinner is served outside also upstairs. The view is beautiful both ways (towards the building or towards the fountain). Appetizers and lounging is nice as there's plenty of space to walk through the rooms of the villa. The servers were pretty nice. Although the dancing/partying portion was abit cramped as you have a small room to dance in (the same place where you have your appetizers). It's just abit too narrow. I think most people would enjoy having their wedding here. read more

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We fell in love with this place and booked it for a dream wedding. Suddenly, at the last minute, were notified construction AND filming was taking place!The walls were antique white and beautiful now they're red, blue, green & gold--not the same! Horrible! Lots of construction going on and lots of trucks and trash bins on location. Bride is now hysterical! read more

I had a great experience with Villa Del Sol D'Oro... but I tried really hard to build great relationships with the event staff. Sandi is the caterer and Lindberg is the day of coordinator. Called Villa and reached Sandi. Sandi explained to me all the things that Villa would accommodate us with the wedding, we probably spent thirty minutes on the phone going over menu options and pricing. Scheduled a meeting with Sandi in person. We met at the venue and discussed other matters and paid the deposit of $2000, which was half the venue fee. During the year, my husband and I were able to visit the venue hours before actual weddings to check out the space, ask questions, walk our vendors and bridal party around. A month before the wedding date, we met the staff again and paid in full. Payments are broken down like this: Remaining deposit for the venue: $2000. Goes to Alverno Highschool, who looks over the property. Catering deposit: Goes to Sandi, the Caterer. Remaining Balance: Goes to Lindberg, the Coordinator. Payment is X amount per person at your wedding. This includes paying the staff, bartenders, cutlery or utensils used, tax, tip, etc. Day of coordination for Lindberg is $200 and is worth it. During this time, we also confirm what linens we wanted, and what needs to be provided day of. Rehearsal will take no more than an hour and a half and should be the day before. Our wedding had complications with scheduling our rehearsal so we had to do it the day of our wedding. Wedding went pretty smoothly, these guys pump out weddings like factory workers, but won't make you feel like just another product. The venue gives you an hour for clean up at the end before closing the gates. Our wedding ended and thirty minutes after closing hours, we were packed up and left the venue. Easy Peasy. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW_ + If you need to get in contact with Sandi, text her. + If you need to get in contact with Lindberg, call him. + If you text Sandi, send her a picture of yourself so she can remember who she's talking to. A little trick I use to do to help her out - she handles so many brides it's really hard for her to keep track! + If you want to check out a wedding, you are able to go around 12 noon to scope out the place. I recommend this, you can see how other people utilize the venue. + Acoustic music is allowed outside during the ceremony, otherwise no amplified music. The DJ set up inside and they project the noise outside. Honestly I didn't have a problem with any of that... both musicians and DJ rocked the house. + Make sure you have a bomb ass DJ and MC. The venue is an awkward set-up for dancing, your guests will want to chat outside, get drunk in the library bar, or find cake to eat. + There's two bathrooms for your guests located downstairs, one mens and womens. But if you use the bathroom, you may see guests staring at you because the toilet is next to the window, haha! + If your guests are late, tell the venue to close the gates when there ceremony starts, otherwise the cars will be rolling up during your ceremony... super awkward. + The staff works hard and they're all super cool people, so be courteous. + Strangely enough, not only was this the prettier venue I've found on my list (that was in the area,) but it was the most affordable. I definitely recommend this venue, I had a great experience! read more

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I am a wedding coordinator, so when the time came for my own wedding, I knew that I was going to be very particular about our location, and the staff of Villa del Sol *more* than met my expectations. From my very first meeting with Sandi, who is the site coordinator, and Lindburgh, who is in charge of coordinating rentals, I knew I was in good hands. Their packages were exceptionally well priced, as was the site itself (pro tip: get married in the off season--February was easily half the price)--we paid $4000 to rent the site, which was exclusive, no other rentals included. (This is totally normal, by the way) Lindburgh's rental prices for chairs, tables, linens, and table settings were competitively priced; after food, it ended up being about $50 per person, which is REALLY good in the Los Angeles area. He was also very flexible with the packages he offered in terms of decoration--I would recommend this to brides who are budget conscious. They gave me permission to decorate as I wanted (with a couple of exceptions, like no tape on the walls, which is to be expected in a historically protected site), and when the weather became unexpectedly cold on our wedding day, they immediately had two different plans of action in place for me to choose from. The waitstaff was charming, efficient, and responsive--a good thing when you have 130 guests! The food was delicious (we had tri-tip, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted veggies); we were allowed to set up dessert tables, and the staff coordinated wonderfully with my guests who brought in desserts! Sandi and Lindburgh also worked with my own coordinator beautifully--I knew I didn't have a thing to worry about, which was such a relief. I had absolutely no problems with the sound levels for my DJ--he was told at our rehearsal that there would be security personnel at the reception who would approve his volume level. He followed their direction, and we had no troubles at all--the music was more than loud enough to get people on the floor, and the windows and doors were all open. The only heads up I would suggest for interested brides and grooms is to know that sometimes Sandi and Lindburgh don't always get back to you within 24 hours--but I never went more than a few days without a response to my questions. My experience here was everything I could have hoped for. The site is stunning, the space is enormous, and I couldn't have asked for better people to work with. I would highly, highly recommend this site to any future couple--our wedding day was a thing of wonder and ease thanks to Villa del Sol, Sandi, and Lindburgh. read more

This review is solely for The facilities director Andrea Bertollini. I first contacted this venue back in June to see if there was availability for my desired date to rent the location for day of wedding photos. I was then advised to write back In September. I followed up on September 1st and September 9th to inquire about venue availability for a day of Wedding photoshoot. I heard nothing back from this person. I called the venue and again, they directed me to the facilities director who is in charge of coordinating booking. My fiancé, being close friends with many photographers who avidly take photos at this venue, very able to provide us with the facility director's number- as she is known to not be responsive to emails. Again, all calls and text messages went with no response. Nearly a month later, we were notified that the space is booked for that day. Also, I have heard from other friends who booked this space, of arriving on the day of their wedding to alarms going off and no coordinator being on site to ensure a smooth photoshoot experience. Please consider changing your facilities director. If I could leave 0 stars for the effort put in to inquiring about this space and the lack of communication from a Ms. Andrea Bertollini, I would. read more

I went here for a friend's wedding. The layout was a bit too spread out, and the climate control was a bit off, but the location is quite beautiful! Old-school beauty shines through in the decor and the place seems to come alive at night. I wouldn't book it for my wedding, but it still seemed like an amazing location! read more

Unfortunately I do not have many kind things to say about this location or the people managing it. We booked the space for May 15th to take our wedding photos before our church ceremony. I emailed with Andrea many times to inquire about pricing and was told that there is a three hour minimum at $200 per hour. Seemed a bit pricey considering we only needed it for about an hour, but we agreed since the space seemed worth it. We paid our deposit and thought all was fine. As our wedding date approached, I reached out to Andrea via email and multiple phone calls multiple times to ask about details regarding day of and and remaining balance and was met with total silence. Shockingly, when we showed up on the date and time we had reserved, there was a graduation party set up with chairs and tables and tacky decor, thus ruining some of the most beautiful spaces for wedding photos. Nobody was there to greet us either. Our photographer was actually shocked at the level of unprofessionalism displayed. All in all, it was a disappointing experience and we were only able to get a few good shots thanks to our amazing photographer working around all the silly dollar store decor. The grounds are also not well kept and not nearly as nice as they appear. They either need new management or new employees and they need to definitely notify people if they are double booking. Sorry, can not recommend. read more

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. read more

I wanted to book my wedding here until I realized it was 5k just for the property. You have to rent EVERYTHING yourself! It looked a lot more beautiful in photos than in person. Nice neighborhood though... read more

My family fell in love with this place and booked it for a dream Italian villa looking wedding. Suddenly, at the last minute, we found out (not notified) construction AND filming was taking place! The interior walls were a beautiful antique white, now they are red, blue, green & gold! The beautiful features that really sold the place are gone. Of course, CBS paid them out BIG, so changing the entire venue is not an issue for the school. However, you would think they would be considerate enough to communicate to all the booked wedding parties...NO! I saw brides run out crying because of weddings scheduled for Feb. March and April will now be held on a plot of dirt and funkily painted walls. There is full blown construction going on, no maintenance of the grounds, no communication, and lots of film trucks, construction tractors and trash bins on location. Oh the best part, they are saying they can "fix" everything and have it ready by the wedding date so they will not release any deposits. So now we are stuck in this fight for a return of deposit instead of allowing the poor couples time to find a new venue. Save yourself the bookmark and move forward. Such a waste of a beautiful place. read more

Beautiful Venue, but this place is not meant to have weddings. I had my wedding at Villa Del Sol D'Oro on August 25, 2012. (A 35K Wedding) AND the venue actually called the police on my wedding. I ended up with 75 guests, 50% of which were older grandparents and adult family members, not even dancing. I had 2 tables of Mormons, very quiet wedding; considering. My DJ turned down his music even though there were already no more then 5 people on the dance floor because you are required to close ALL the doors and it's like a sweatbox in there. in the middle of summer you have to keep the dance room doors closed with no air. They will tell you that you can have the doors open all the way until the final meeting when they decide to share with you, 5 days before your wedding that they have to be closed. BY 6PM, the police had been called on us 4 times (this came from the police report, as I called the watch commander on duty that night) This was just for the microphone we did our vows into. We had a single acoustic guitarist play for our ceremony, which we got approval on by the Venue Coordinator, Sandi....then we LOST our full deposit. (Which we know they never intended to give back anyway) $500.00 LOST, as they said it was considered AMPLIFIED, although we have our wedding video to prove it was purely acoustic. The police came up to me as a BRIDE and I quote this said to me on my wedding night "The venue 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". As a bride this is not what you want to hear on your wedding night at 8:30PM??? ESPECIALLY after paying 5,000 for a venue that you have a signed contract with until 10PM. AND after you have spent thousands of dollars on your wedding and have family from all over, including internatioal guests being kicked out by the police at 830PM. It was not even past the city curfew. It was completely embarrassing and disheartning. I would suggest booking your wedding anywhere besides here....there are too many "shady" things going on with this venue and the people involved. YES - Lindbergh rentals is affordable, but he is also the "Site Coordinator" for the Venue the actual wedding night. He is the one who called the police on my wedding, and was overheard saying he "Just wanted to go home". (By one of my wedding guest) He charged me for items that were never even at the wedding. He was rude and completely unprofessional my entire experience with him, including no email responses and not being upfront as far as what it would take for him to NOT call the police at 8PM on my wedding night. My DJ read and followed ALL of the site rules that were in writing. I can't help it if the night of the wedding they decided that the sound was "too loud" even though it was even marked down by the sites OWN security as under the allowed noise level. (again...I called and obtained records) TRUST ME...they will make it all sound nice until you sign the contract and pay the deposit. Everything comes out the last 2 weeks before. WHEN THEY KNOW YOU ARE LOCKED IN! I am really upset, but I didn't let it ruin my wedding.....I just want other people to know the truth and about our experience so they can make the best choice for them, knowing what past Brides and their families have had to endure. Thanks for reading. I have many other reviews (67 so far) ....please check them out! I am an honest bride, not a wedding coordinator trying to help them out for $$. I am just a real bride who has been mis treated...and would like the truth be out there for you to make your own decision. Thank you again. read more

My experience was awesome. Lindbergh was the best! He is the consummate professional, on top of his game, and is very thoughtful/considerate. If you follow the rules (as in any venue), you will have an awesome experience. Sandi was great too! The food was awesome! We had served dinners of steak and salmon and both were cooked perfectly. The venue itself looks amazing at night. read more