Tenuta Valle Cento

I’ve visited several times and always enjoyed it. There’s lots of open space and beautiful pergolas, whether you bring food from home or eat there. It’s more of a bistro than a restaurant, but a nice one, especially during fairs and events. Well organized.

One place, with several different moods, and so many ways to use it for events. It feels magical, and the colors are enchanting at any time of day.

The estate is beautiful, with plenty of greenery, and has areas for the adventure park and a smaller villa for more structured receptions. We first used the park and warehouse for our daughter’s 10th birthday two years ago. The event was organized well overall, though it certainly wasn’t cheap. We also saw the villa then, and liked its style and attention to detail. This February, we chose the estate again for our daughter’s first communion. The waiter service offsite was good, but the food didn’t match the price or our expectations, as other reviews have also said. The main problem was management. Poor communication and customer service have dragged my rating down to one star. The owner was unclear and focused too much on her own interests, and the relationship is irreparably damaged. A few days before the event, there was a misunderstanding about guest numbers. Although we’d been allowed to confirm the number a few days beforehand, management demanded payment for the original estimate, ignoring our message from four days earlier that reduced attendance by 10. Unhappy with the disagreement and saying they’d lost confidence in us, they also demanded an extra deposit to bring the amount paid to 50% of the total. It wasn’t just the money or what caused the misunderstanding, but the way they communicated that upset us most. We’re writing this after meeting all our obligations, both due and indirect, and think it’s right to share what happened. It’s a shame to see a place with so much potential losing its way because of inadequate management. If you think you’ll have the villa to yourselves because nobody tells you otherwise, be aware that after paying the deposit, you may find you have to share it with other people, as we did. If you fall in love with the place, get every detail agreed in writing to avoid unpleasant surprises.

I’m sorry I rushed in at around 9:30 PM to finish loading the last musical instruments. They turned the lights off, and I ran over a travel guitar I’d bought in Greece in 2014. Its sound box shattered.