Calamigos Ranch

love. IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED. The entire property is very enchanting, and super romantic. I Instantly signed on with Laurel (who doesn't work here anymore but she was super great, no complaints about her). Through and through, Calamigos wedding team OOOMMMMGGGG, HONESTLY THE BEST IN THE GAME. I used their catering service, did Hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hours. I brought in my own horse carriage here and there was no issue. BUT let's dive deeper into their entire team: I would personally like to thank Kyung (my uni now hehehe). Kyung pretty much got tossed into my wedding 2 weeks before the big day due to unforeseen but fortunate circumstances. She learned about us very quickly and was able to keep up with everything. Literally the night before our wedding, OF COURSE SOMETHING HAS TO COME UP. My husband's side of the family decided to bring an extra guest without prior notice and get this! It was 8pm!!!! So I frantically emailed Kyung asking for help and this girl is God Sent!!!!!! She calls me and tells me to not worry about a thing and she has it covered! Day of the wedding: Everything was magical, exactly how I pictured it, Kyung was there throughout the entire day making sure everything was done right and to perfection. Ceremony came and went, but when it came to cocktail hours, I literally was telling my best friend before hand to better bring me food and drinks hahaha cuz let's be honest, we all know how the bride and the groom are the last to get anything to eat. BUT NOT HERE!!! We had our personal waitress!!!! I wish I remembered her name but she was AMAZING!!!!!! she had our signature cocktails ready and waiting for us with the biggest smile one can see from far far away. I was blown away by the hospitality this resort has showed. Anything I asked for throughout our photo session she was there. She even brought extra skewers and mini burgers for my families who were also waiting. Hands down the best!!!!! The food was amazing, every single guests complimented on the food and the drinks saying it was the best they've ever had at any wedding. We ended up not being to eat our wedding meal because we were too busy entertaining our guests and were so sad that we had missed out. I told Kyung the next day and this sweetheart brought us the wedding meal on our second night here at the resort!! Come on!!! I truly love the motto here for being family oriented. It truly shows, through every single person that I've met and interacted with, they want you to be happy and thoroughly enjoy this hidden gem. Let's talk about some of the reviews I've read on here so far: I never ONCE had any hidden extra charges that surprised me: everything is written very clearly from the beginning. I knew the price charge difference between weekday vs weekends, adult vs children, different meal pricing, etc. To those that complained about the resort being outdated: Not sure what you saw? Perhaps you forgot your glasses or mistaken the resort lodge cabin style as outdated? Ma'ams and sirs, that's the style! lol, but through and through, thank you calamigos for giving me the wedding of my dreams, THE WEDDING THAT EVERYONE STILL TALKS ABOUT TIL THIS DAY!

apes to the flawless coordination, added a touch of magic to our wedding.

t, their team of professionals went above and beyond to ensure that every detail was planned and flawlessly executed. From our initial consultation to the final moments of our special day, their expertise and attention to detail were evident in every step of the process. They listened to our vision, understood our preferences, and transformed them into a breathtaking reality. The venue itself was gorgeous. They recently updated several of the amenities and aspects of the venue. Our favorite was the updated and enhanced bar that was just the finishing touch at our reception. One of the standout features of Calamigos Events was their unparalleled level of hospitality. The staff members were warm, friendly, and always ready to assist us with anything we needed. I read previous reviews from years back and in recent months the staff has changed and does not match that description AT ALL. They ensured that our guests felt welcome and taken care of throughout the entire event. The professionalism and dedication of their team truly exceeded our expectations. They coordinated with our chosen vendors, oversaw the timeline, and ensured that everything ran smoothly. We were able to relax and enjoy every moment, knowing that we were in the capable hands of the Calamigos Events team. In conclusion, we cannot recommend Calamigos Events highly enough. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and genuine care for their clients are unmatched. Our wedding day was a perfect perfect perfect, thanks to the dedicated team at Calamigos Events. If you're looking for a venue that will exceed your expectations and create memories to last a lifetime, look no further. They truly deserve every bit of our five-star rating.

space decorated for my wedding this October! Not only the venue, but the staff have brought an exceptional level of professionalism and attentiveness to every detail. After touring, Kyung was great about answering any questions that I had and is so kind and patient during the whole booking process. My fiance and I were blown away by the venue and highly recommend Calamigos Ranch for any special occasion.

We are beyond satisfied with all of the help and services from initial tour of venue, planning, food tasting, bar services (especially Katie) to guest ranch resort (Mark) and everything on the day of. All of our guests raved about the venue, food (The grilled baby Octopus Salad wowed everybody) cocktail drinks and services. Thank you all so much for being very understanding and patient in answering all of our questions and making sure we got what we needed. We can't thank you enough for making our dream wedding come true!

e we wanted to celebrate our wedding. The staff helped us navigate through the room being renovated between when we booked our reception and our actual date a year later. We know we didn't always make it easy on them as we had high expectations having both worked in the events world ourselves. Their recommended vendor list was immensely helpful and we ended up using a wedding coordinator, photographer/videographer, dessert vendor & transportation services from their recommended list and most of the rest had all worked their in the past, so they were very familiar with the venue and able to give us the best advice on how to create the event we wanted. Planning a wedding is not easy and was often quite stressful, especially as the threat of rain became very likely and we had to make last minute adjustments and still try to keep as close to our vision as possible. Thankfully from the moment we walked into the Redwood Room to start our photo session and saw how breathtaking the space already looked, there was such a huge sense of relief for me knowing my wife and I could relax and enjoy our celebration. Thank you Calamigos for giving our family, friends and especially my wife and I the most memorable night of our lives that we will cherish for the rest of our lives!

a closer look, the Calamigos Ranch is terrible. Bathrooms are old and outdated. Also, they only have a mixed gender bathroom sharing a stall wall for the guests. There’s another bathroom in the “groom’s suite” which you can “convert” as an additional guest bathroom, but is of even worse quality. It was old, rusted, run down and filthy. It has a dirty urinal so women would feel pressured to use the other mixed gender bathroom. It was terrible. Why can’t they do some renovations or just some remodeling to their bathrooms? Their bridal suite was small, outdated and dark because there are barely any windows and had these beige tinted green walls. Not one photo or review I saw online shows anyone using that room to take wedding bridal party photos in. Put five people inside that room and you would feel cramped and it would be hectic. Basically, you’re forced to get ready elsewhere especially if you want to take preparation photos with your bridal party. However, keep in mind that they don’t allow you to do hair and makeup on site. You have to be done with hair and makeup upon arrival and they don’t let you on the venue until 2 hours prior to start time of the wedding. You’re forced to book one of their rooms. It will be $2,000 for two nights and that’s on the cheap end. Why two nights? They don’t allow check-in until 4 PM. Never heard of such a late check in time. So with such a late check in and your wedding starting at 6 PM, bride and groom is pressured to pay for two nights for $2k. Be mindful of calculating this into your wedding budget. Worst part was that there was no bathroom for the bridal suite. That means you’d have to walk down the stairs, see all your guests and stand in line to use the mixed gender bathroom or the “groom’s room” bathroom with the urinal. Imagine doing that in your wedding dress. Imagine having your mother or mother-in-law pressured to use a dirty toilet by a urinal or share a stall wall with one of the male guests. I don’t get it. You pay so much money to have a wedding here and this is what the bride, groom, bridal party, elderly and guests are forced to use. The bathrooms are the worst part. We also noticed the fake turf covering the whole ceremony site was not well constructed around the base of the trees. The two birchwood trees is what the guests first see coming in and where the bride and groom walk between when going down the aisle. The turf around them is completely wrinkled and scrunched up. I saw brides and grooms forced to pay more money for flowers, furniture or accessories to cover up the blemished turf. It says something if you have to cover up obvious or embarrassing flaws for such an expensive wedding venue. Calamigos Ranch really needs to fix up the Birchwood Room. At the minimum, make something as simple as the bathroom facilities better and less of an eye sore. Ridiculous price for a venue for what you’re getting.

many surprise costs that arise. No matter the amount you spend there, or are initially quoted, you will likely end up paying some or a significant amount more due to their hidden costs and charges. It also seems as though they care more about their bottom line than their couples. They are wonderful at the initial walk through or tour, but from there, it gets progressively worse.

he price was $40 more per person than what we were originally told. This added ~$20k of extra fees due to tax and service gratuity. I wish that they were open about the actual cost per person. They need to change this cost in their wedding booklet they hand out to brides! If you want to book with Calamigos, beware. The expectation to pay for "TBD" things and "prices can change without notice" are just some parts of their sketchy contract. My fiancé and I are disappointed, but this was not the place! Beware!

you to a dead end. They have a sign with instructions at the dead end, but fail to update their google maps pin or provide directions when you book a tour. If you call for help, they will rush you off the phone with "it's by the café" *Click*. (BTW the Cafe hostess will roll her eyes at you for trying to get a table, be warned) Be sure to ask for the Terms and Conditions, they are not provided with the proposal, which is strange... The complimentary 48 hour hold is firm, even if they fail to provide you with the contract to review during that time. They will still call you and pressure you to make a BLIND decision despite your request for the contract, and blame you for preventing another couple from moving forward with your date. After I was given a mere 2 hours to review the contract and proposal. I ended up saying thank you, but no thank you. For an over $100K wedding I would have expected better customer service. It's clear we weren't welcome at the venue, and we're not interested in doing business with them.

ks, made to feel special, and felt like the end result was worth the cost. Calamigos is forever entwined in our history as a couple.

beautiful, but the customer service was absolutely awful. It was like the girl was trying to convince us to not get married there. It was a comically bad experience. We worked with Shay and she could not be bothered less. She did not introduce herself to my fiancé or mother, acted annoyed to have to show us the property, and acted as if we were bothering her with our questions. She kept talking about how her sister had her wedding at the venue and also that the owners apparently may not even be allowing weddings there in 2024. She complained that she didn’t know what the owners of the ranch were doing and that “they don’t tell the workers anything” and how she found out about their plans from a friend. She did not know specifics and kept saying “I think it’s this, I’m pretty sure it costs that” when asked about multiple details. There are 4-5 weddings going on at a time from what we gathered and the property is massive without clear directions for guests. We barely found the wedding sales office. They are super inflexible on multiple aspects of the day (extending time, having space to get ready, having space for after party). At one point, due to my research beforehand on the place, Shay remarked “you can probably do my job better than me”. Unpleasant experience, we absolutely will not be getting married here! We got a drink after to laugh off how bad the experience was and how unprofessional the entire thing felt. I would rather burn my $50000 than give it to this place. I never write reviews but it was such a polarizing experience than I felt compelled to let others know. Not worth your time.

y run down, stained carpet, felt like a small attic. The bathroom was totally run down as well to the point we were grossed out to use it. Also, the place is so big it took forever to figure out where to go and where to tell hair/makeup to go the morning of the wedding. Too hard to navigate.

not a nice feeling. Customer should always be king. This lady has no place being in direct contact with guests. She spoke down to my fiancé in a tone that made her almost cry. As beautiful as the venue is, we would not recommend it. You want to be treated with respect as a guest. Many other reviews state the same issue. Awful and disrespectful customer care and bad treatment of guests my management. I hope the owners will change and train staff accordingly in the future.

say enough good things at Calamigos - from the BEAUTIFUL property to the amazing food to the planning team to all in between - everything was best-in-class. Highly, highly recommend!!!!!

hearsal dinner. ONE WEEK prior to the rehearsal dinner day, we unceremoniously received an email saying that they had “booked a last minute event“ and could not accommodate us any longer. They wanted us to move everything, or rehearse someplace else. Really? If it was a “last-minute event“ why not tell that group what time the room was available rather than crapping on a bride one week before her wedding. Naturally, they point to their contract which says they can move rehearsals around to accommodate other events, but should they do this to a bride six days out? Spoke to the manager who was absolutely no help. Can’t change our plans now, but I will make sure everyone else knows how they treat people. They don’t care about the bride and groom, but only about how many dollars they can squeeze by jamming in more events.

ay there. Then the management changed this summer. And it all took a change to REALLY BAD. Starting with a rude and unwelcome tone at checkin, to nothing really working out as it usually did. We complained several times. Nobody ever got back to us. Nobody cared we were regulars. This place and the staff now have the vibe of a Vegas hotel. Laid out for volume and not quality service at all. Rude. Staff is a nightmare except Danny at the front Desk. We had planned on having our big day at Calamigos Ranch. But with those changes for sure won’t. And would not recommend it to anyone. Bel Air Hotel has the same prices. But there you actually are treated with respect and kindness by the staff. The new management at Calamigos Ranch killed the unique vibe and magic of this place and turned it into unpleasantness. Which is definitely NOT what you want on your big day. Stay away.

this is a crazy time in the wedding industry, but that's not how you treat potential customers who are excited at the thought of having their special event at your venue.

solutely no manners at all. Venue has now been crossed off our list.

e beauty and charm of California through Calamigos. From our initial planning meeting until our last call at the wedding, every experience was absolutely perfect! Nobody ever expects good wedding food when serving 200 guests, but our wedding party was in for a treat and completely blown away by how delicious and perfect the food was at our cocktail hour and our reception. Calamigos is truly one-of-a-kind and an absolute dream if you are looking for a luxurious top-notch wedding venue with every ounce of rustic California charm. Our guests who stayed at the Guest Ranch for the weekend were also amazed by the gorgeous rooms and loved the convenience of being on the property.

e representative on the phone was rude and standoffish. I understand if you possibly get these questions multiple times per day, but it’s your job to be represent your company and venue in the best light. Given this was only the first step in our potential long term relationship working with this venue, and it was negative, we will pass.

an and exceeded all expectations. The caterers, servers, and bartenders were AMAZING! My guests were impressed with the level of detail and care given by these team members. Our wedding was in the Birchwood Room and the sizing was perfect for our 60 person wedding! The layout was perfect! There was plenty of room to dance on the dance floor! The food was amazing! We included multiple appetizers (passed and stationary), dinner, and their dessert bar. I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Calamigos to figure out the pricing and what’s included in the wedding package. The first thing I noticed when I received the contract is that it did not say anything about what’s included in the price paid. The contract only says that we owe them at least $XX amount of money. Naturally, I requested the manager to attach the wedding package to the contract as an exhibit. They completely ignored my request. I asked again. They ignored my request again. I asked again. This time, they sent me an email saying that if I don’t sign the contract by the next day, I would lose the date (still had not attached the wedding package to the contract or mention a word about the wedding package in the contract). I replied saying that we would not sign the contract unless the wedding package is specified in our written, binding contract. The manager finally revised the contract but only included part of the wedding package in it (for some unknown reasons, half of the wedding package was intentionally left out.) At this point, I could not give them the benefit of the doubt anymore. It is clear that Calamigos Ranch does not want to specify or itemize the wedding package in their written contract. As a lawyer, there is only one reason that I can think of why they would do that – they want to have the option to NOT honor their wedding package.