Carmel Valley Ranch

Location: CVR is set in an absolutely stunning area, with beautiful landscaping everywhere you look, and the breathtaking Carmel Valley hills as the backdrop. We chose the Vineyard Lawn for our ceremony site – I cried when we first stepped onto the lawn in our initial visit, so I knew it was THE place. The banquet hall in the lodge was also beautiful – it did not feel like a typical banquet hall, and there was a lovely patio with a fountain for the cocktail hour. There are endless areas to take photographs – from the vineyard, to the lavender fields, to the organic garden, and any of the tree-lined roads, all made for beautiful pictures. Food: CVR’s food was unbeatable. We had numerous guests rave about how it was the best steak they ever had, but every dish was creative, high quality, and most importantly, delicious. It was very difficult to choose our menu because everything was so yummy! We are huge supporters of farm-to-table, and CVR takes pride in sourcing ingredients locally – even as local as from their own garden! Service: I worked with Rachel and Tracy for my wedding, and they were amazing. Rachel was responsive and attentive to all my questions leading up to the day. She offered very detailed answers to my questions, and always responded within a day or two. At the wedding weekend, Tracy was an amazing day-of coordinator. She was so patient when one of the wedding party members was late for the rehearsal – we never felt rushed. On the wedding day, she handled all the crazy demands and running-around with grace and ease. When I got a stain on my gown, she was ready immediately with a Tide pen! She was a helpful guide in taking us from place-to-place, and she worked seamlessly with all our vendors to keep us on schedule. We also brought most of our own decorations, and she did a fantastic job of setting up everything. It was a pleasure to work with the catering team to make my wedding day an absolute dream come true. We could not have picked a better venue for our wedding.

My husband and I had the most wonderful time at Carmel Valley Ranch on our honeymoon. The service, the facilities, the food, everything was spot on and fabulous. We plan on returning soon!

My fiance' and I have had our hearts set on getting married at Carmel Valley Ranch in the vineyard since we started dating. I contacted CVR this past August to begin collecting information about having our wedding there. I also was checkig a few other venues in the area. I promptly heard from the other venues in 2 days; however I had to contact Jessica a second time after a week of no response. She then said she would get to it as soon as possible. Three days later, I still hadn't heard anything so my fiance' called her and Stephanie Callica, who is in sales. Stephanie apologized, notified their Director Mark, and said that Jessica would contact us with in the next 24 hours. She did and I also received an apology email from Mark explaining that they were short a coordinator, he had just hired someone, they'd just completed a $35 million renovation, and that this wasn't how they did business. Jessica did contact me within 24 hours and apologized to me and sent the information promptly. For the next few email exchanges, I heard back quickly which started renewing my faith. At the end of September, I let Jessica know that we were planning a trip out at the end of October to select our venue and ask if we could make arrangements for a tour. It took 12 days before I heard a word back. Once I had heard back from her, our Saturday was booked up visiting the other venues because we only had two days to spend there. I asked if we could possibly tour Sunday and explained what happened. It is now two weeks later and we leave Friday to go to Monterey to choose our venue and I've yet to hear from her. I'm absolutely heartbroken. We decided that since this is the "honeymoon phase" and we aren't hearing back, then this is a strong indicator of what is to come. I also read a review on www.projectwedding.com of a bride who just had her wedding at CVR in Septemeber 2011 and it was a distaster. Jessica coordinated the wedding and it ended up being a disaster. I wanted to share my experience because I have spent so much time researching venues in this area. I've also been working with LaPlaya Hotel, Pebble Beach Resort, and The InterContinental Clement. Each of these has been an absolute pleasure to work with.

So I had my wedding there this September 2011 and while the views and scenery is picture perfect (literally picture perfect my pictures came out great) the whole wedding process with them was less than perfect. We first looked at Carmel Valley Ranch when they were in the middle of the remodel and while I didn't mind having to imagine things I did mind the 3 different personnel changes that happened during my planning process. Our first person Gillian was amazing from the start she was on top of everything. If I emailed her she had an answer for me within 24 hours and always willing to help and give suggestions on how to set things up etc... Gillian however left for a bigger and better opportunity and one can't blame her but the second person that I worked with was less than satisfactory. I believe her name was Heather she was only there for about 5 months and if I emailed her asking the size of tables and if she could send me a picture of they patio furniture it took 2 weeks or more. If fact I had to send another email to her to see if she got my first email. Not the best thing for a nervous busy bride. After Heather left I believe it was another month till they gave us Jessica and let me tell you she was the worst of them all. Hardly got back to an email, my wedding planner and I were calling her a month before the big day to get answers from her. I understand that she was put into this at the last minute but when you spend $$$$ with them for your wedding your contact person needs to be on top of everything no matter what the situation. My now husband and I were also going to be spending our wedding night there in the bridal suite. Usually when you spend "X" amount of $$$$ on a wedding the venue gives the bride and grooms room for free. Not here I had to pay full price and was not even given a discount on the room. I had asked there hotel manager if it was possible that I get into the room early on my wedding day so I can change etc... I was rudely told no and that check in was at 4pm, I had to email Heather 2 times and call her twice before she told me that I would be able to get into the room early. At the end after all the problems we decided to rent a car service and stay at the Plaza Hotel in Monterey and it was perfect. While my wedding turned out great I mainly have my wedding planner to thank for that cause she handle CVR perfectly and didn't let them phase her one bit.

Carmel Valley Ranch is a BEAUTIFUL venue which provides all the natural surroundings with a touch of modern aspects. It's in the valley of Carmel, so the view is great. In the beginning, our venue coordinator was not responsive and a bit frustrating to work with. However, it quickly changed when she left and the managing director of the property stepped in; after that, the service was superb. The new point of contact, Simeon, was fantastic and extremely willing to help. We walked through each detail to make sure the day would go smoothly and he took detailed notes. The service of the staff on property is exceptional and the food is delicious. When we had our tasting, the chef was there to personally describe the dishes and solicited our feedback to make sure it was the menu we wanted. He was very open to changes/modifications and great to work with. Our guests kept commenting on the breath-taking venue and food. CVR did everything in their power to make sure we had everything we needed and their attention to detail did not go unnoticed. We look forward to celebrating our anniversaries there for years to come.

;wedding planner