Malibu Conference Center At Calamigos Ranch

If I could give this place zero stars, I absolutely would.
Every single thing about the event planning went horribly wrong and even asking for something as simple as signs for our guests to be able to see where things were was like pulling teeth with Helen and Cindy.
We hired them to plan a corporate summer picnic. The first year we worked with them we were planning about 2 months in advance so I figured some of the details got lost in the shuffle. The face painter never showed on the day of the event, the food was only kept out for about 45 minutes and when the event was supposed to end at 4, at 3:30 we saw a couple shooting wedding photos walking into our venue and someone came over the loud speaker and asked all of our guests to leave a half hour early. Helen was supposed to be our event planner, but she was so bad about answering emails and overcharged us for items on the invoice (thank god I actually went through every detail finally on my own) and Cindy, her boss, had to get involved. On the day of the event, there was no signage whatsoever so our guests had no idea where they were going. They had hired a photobooth that had some very inappropriate props (for a family-​friendly event) and the photobooth was made out of some super shoddy wood with no backing on it so one of the children at the event fell backwards and had a pretty decent head wound and had to go to the ER.
For some unknown reason we gave them another shot, even upgraded to a better location with a twice as large minimum spend. I started planning the DAY after the first event. It took a whole year to get just MOST things correct with Helen. I asked her to create a map for our event so people would know where things were in such a huge space (Helen refused to do this at first and said we would have to pay for it until I said that was just absurd). She got the map wrong, misspelling things, putting things in the wrong place for 8 months. I asked for coverings (consistent with a high end event) for the cheese and meat plates they had set out because at the first year’s event they had bugs ALL over the food and it looked disgusting… she took 4 weeks to source something from a vendor and offered us mosquito netting to put over the food. We ended up having to pay 50 dollars per lid for lids we wouldn’t be keeping to cover the food. I could go through about 30 other things that derailed this entire process wherein Helen, Cindy and the owner of Calamigos, Garrett, got involved and did NOTHING to help the situation. Finally, the last straw: they asked for the final amount of the invoice to be paid the day before our event. I requested an invoice with the remaining amount to give to our accounting team, Helen sent the wrong invoice several times and then only sent a correct invoice with the amount actually listed 2 days before they expected to have a check in their hands. When I said they’d be hard-​pressed to find any accounting team that would be ok processing a check in a day and mailing it out that quickly and offered to pay via credit card, they said they’d charge a massive fee for using the credit card with the lower number of guests, but they’d waive the fee if we paid for more guests (who wouldn’t be attending).
DO NOT and I mean DO NOT book your corporate event or wedding here. They have no idea what the ambiance should be like at a corporate event especially and they will screw you over at EVERY single step. Yes, it’s a pretty location, but you will have ripped your hair out ten times before you even have the event.

I wish I could have selected ‘no stars’ since ‘Eek! Methniks not.’ is too settled.
DO NOT BOOK AN EVENT WITH THIS VENUE. Save yourself from a complete embarrassment, and a huge whole in your pocket. This Venue should be out of business for the way they handle their clients. I had my daughter’s bat mitzvah there 2 weeks ago. I though the location is perfect, and I believe they will be able to deliver on the day of my event. Boy I was wrong. $ 40k later I realized I made a huge mistake!
I have a very long list of all the things that went wrong. Few of the highlights were, poor AC all of the guests were sweating and asked to open a window, it was like a sauna.
One of the guest notify me that they are out of Chicken Fingers at the Kids Buffet, 20 min into the food service that was supposed to last 1.5−2 hours.
One table didn’t get served any food! the stuff said THEY ARE OUT OF FOOD to my guest because some of the waiters cater the kids adult plates instead of directing them to the kids buffet. (not to mention, 10 of my guests didnt show up, so they should have been at least 10 extras).
I paid and requested vegetarian dishes (7), 2 of which were me and my sister, they emailed me a huge description of the dish:“Herb Infused Black Quinoa, Tahitian Roasted Squash, Romanesco Cauliflower, Organic County Line Farms Miso Roasted Baby Carrots, Chanterelle and Honshimeji Mushrooms and Organic Bloomsdale Spinach”. On the day of the event we received a plate with steamed beets and raw cauliflower. It was seriously a joke.
I had to hire an electrician to bring a generator because I had a DJ and 2 arcade games for kids, and the room wont support more than 60amp.
No dessert selections (dry apple pie anyone?), horrible china — all scratched without the option to upgrade, their tables were tiny (60″ only) I had to bring in, tables, chairs, table clothes, china, dance floor, furniture, sweets buffet. I end up spending double of my original budget because Calamigos don’t offer anything better than the most basic, overused not attractive equipment.
After the event no one bothered to call, apologize or credit me for the embarrassment they caused. The waiter told me ‘I’ll include it in my notes’. They made sure I paid everything in full with Cashier check 2 days before the event, so you cant hold anything against them. You pretty much go home with a feeling of disappointment, and embarrassment and nobody could care less.
I have been so hurt by this that i had to share, and I hope to save someone else from this.

One of my college friends got married here recently and this place is BEAUTIFUL! I felt like I was in a secret garden the entire time there. The ceremony setup was gorgeous and the reception area was large and had a big open space, which is perfect for hosting weddings.

My husband and I got married here 6 years ago and had the best experience. We were catered to the whole time and felt like we were at home!
We can’t wait to visit in July for our anniversary! !

Absolutely gorgeous! Went to a wedding last night and it was beyond amazing! The scenery was breath taking.

So Calamigos had Unilocal remove my review of their grounds. My sister was married here last year. They treated us with the utmost disrespect the day of the wedding. Of course they made promise after promise upon trying to get us to agree to having the even there. However, none of the promises were kept the day of. Prior to the wedding, my sister and I were told we would be able to have a band on the patio as long as the music was off prior to 11pm. However, the day of, the coordinator tells us we have to move all of our speakers inside. We were also told prior that we would be able to have dancing on the patio as we had a very large party. The day of the wedding, we were asked to move the dancing inside.
Now it wouldnt have been odd had I not attended a wedding at the exact location a year prior and they had all the things we were asked to move inside, outside on the patio.
So needless to say, we had to have the first dance inside where the view was blocked by doors while all the guest had dinner on the patio.

I had my wedding at Calamigos Ranch in the Oak Room on Friday, April 8^th, 2016.
My fiancé and I had planned our wedding from out-​of-​state, so we had a VERY limited time in California to tour venues in person. We had researched and visited so many places, but nothing really grabbed my attention until we found Calamigos.
We were not the type of couple who wanted a fancy ballroom gala with hundreds of guests… But we were also not the type of people who wanted a backyard wedding with 20 guests. Calamigos was the perfect combination of rustic, whimsical, and elegant. We went for a woodsy/​fairytale inspiration, and the trees, lights and drapery in the Oak Room created the perfect mood for it (and the decorative lights/​drapery inside is free!)
Helen Truc was our representative for the venue. She gave us the tour when we decided we wanted to book it, and she helped answer any questions she could for the next year until the wedding. And we had A LOT of questions for her! She was very kind and patient with us, and helped us as much as she could. And when she didn’t know the answer to something, she consulted with someone else and got back to us right away!
The only thing that put us off was the rehearsal. Our wedding coordinator had never worked with Calamigos before, and they just expected her to be able to run the rehearsal alone. Granted, she is a great coordinator, but it would have been helpful to have someone who works there to be present with us during the rehearsal to guide us and answer questions. It was kind of a free-​for-​all the day before. Not to mention, it rained the day before AND the day of my wedding. and the rain plans were only divulged to us when we asked them. But we decided to keep our ceremony outside instead of bringing it in, and we were lucky enough to have the rain subside just in time for the ceremony. The employees even brought out leaf blowers and towels to dry the chairs and floor in the ceremony space!
Though the total for the venue was a bit pricey, the food alone is WORTH IT. We had the European cheese platter as an appetizer, and not only was the display table beautiful, but it was a great way to satisfy our guests while we were off taking photos!
We started our event with the Caesar salad, and our three entrees were the garlic-​salt crusted prime rib, the roasted chicken breast, and (for our vegan friends) the roasted acorn squash. I can’t speak on behalf of the chicken or squash, but the prime rib was DELICIOUS. Cooked and seasoned to perfection, and enough to keep me satisfied throughout the busy night! I had a guest who ate steak with Frank Sinatra, and SHE said this prime rib was among the best she’s ever tasted!
The service was fantastic throughout the night as well! They even made sure to place a small selection from the cheese platter aside for the groom and me! When we sat down at our head table, we already had glasses of champagne waiting for us, and they immediately asked what kind of wine we prefer and poured it right away prior to any toasts. They even helped us stage the cake-​cutting so we had beautiful photos! They then proceeded to take the cake back into the kitchen where they cut it, plated it, and served it.
All in all, our wedding was everything we hoped for and more, and I cannot recommend Calamigos enough! ALL of their spaces are stunning and well-​maintained, and their staff is very friendly and helpful! If you book your wedding here, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask questions! They are fairly informative, but you have to make sure to present any of your concerns first!
Thank you to Helen, Nicole, and everyone who helped us have the wedding of our dreams!

I just got married this past weekend at the Redwood Room, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The site itself is just beautiful so I would highly recommend it to anyone. But just know that it is pricey but in my opinion, it was absolutely worth it. Working with Ashia was great, always in a great mood and very patient. The only complaint I have is that our site shared the valet for another site and we kept having those guests walk into our wedding. It would be nice if there was someone who would help direct guests to the correct site so it prevents that from happening. And we had a taco truck that those guests decided to help themselves. I understand that is not the venues fault since it was our choice to bring I. The taco truck. And I commend our bartenders who refused to serve a few wedding crashers from that other wedding.
Other than that, my big day was amazing!

I am a wedding photographer and I have shot at Calamigos Ranch more then ten times. It’s a venue full of charm and character! Food is great and staff is very friendly too. There are so many places to take great photos, if you are a bride look no further!

5 stars for the waterfall alone, but I’ll dive deeper.
The tri view of the mountains, the forest, and the vineyards makes me want to try and get my deposit back on my venue. No, I kid. I’m happy with my selection.
I had the pleasure of DJng a few weddings here this year.
if you are in the hunt!
It’s very beautiful and accommodating for engaged couples looking to have both their ceremony and reception in one location. However, as a DJ to any other wedding DJs reading this review, I must warn you that a lot of their outside patio outlets don’t work so DEFINITELY bring extra audio and electrical wires as well as gaffle tape. You will need to problem solve with no help from the staff there on where to best plug in to keep your set up looking neat and professional!

So many upgrades I’m actually astonished. Fantastic location for weddings or mitzvahs. Had a nice event last week with Erin as my coordinator and everything went smooth as silk. Fantastic food… must repeat that the food is outstanding. Lots of TLC from the staf for my clients and without a doubt so many great locations to shoot fabulous pictures I love shooting there!!! Kerry Corcoran #DavidMichaelPhoto

Staying at the Calamigas Guest Ranch. This place is amazing. The staff goes above and beyond their job, to make you feel welcome. I can’t get over how nice and friendly everybody is. Especially Noël, one the nicest guys you will meet. The king beds in the rooms are super comfortable. They had a bottle of wine in the room for us, that’s a huge plus. The lounge is chic, wood fire going ²⁴⁄₇. This is truly a magical place. My family and I would stay here again in a heartbeat.
Thank you Calamigos Ranch for making our stay her a memorable one.

We got married here July 25, 2015. What an amazing experience! Working with the staff for the wedding department was efficient. And the day of was nothing short of perfect. The dinner staff was so helpful and went out of their way to make sure everything was perfect including placement of buffet, providing extra supplies for our ceremony, and of course the champagne toast ready for everyone to kick start the reception. We were married at the redwood room location and the space is just gorgeous. It’s perfect for a photographer to capture exactly what you are looking for. As the married couple we didn’t eat much lol but of what I did eat was the bacon wrapped dates, shrimp ceviche spoon and the prime rib all so good! Our wedding was a dream and couldn’t have been any better and a large part was choosing this venue. So happy we did. Thank you all and especially to Ashia and Nicole.

Me and my husband got married here 4.6.2014 in ranch house (they have 4 different sites). We succefully had one of a kind wedding in calamigos ranch! There is no other place like this in socal I think :)

I was officiating at a wedding there just tonight. Beautiful venue. Beautiful setting. The wedding started at 6:15pm — at 6:20 — A WOOD CHIPPER! GOING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CEREMONY!!! About 300 yards away from where this fancy event was going!
«Dearly beloved… GRRRZZZZZZ! we are gathered here today… GRRRRRRRZZZZZZ!!! to join this man and this woman… GRRRRZZZZZZZ!
I will never do another wedding there, and will talk any couple I know out of using their facility. Quite literally, a buzz kill.

Attended a wedding on Saturday, 8÷8÷15 (first time visiting)
It’s a big ranch so it’s easy to get lost but it’s a good thing there are signs and valet persons to help you out. There were a total of three weddings going on at the same time but we eventually found the correct location. Valet parking was complimentary.
Walking towards the Birchwood Room, we passed by a place where you can pedal a boat. Along the way, there’s a nice scenic view with lots of greenery. We finally reach the ceremony location with a small waterfall in the background. Heading up one flight of stairs, we had our outdoor dinner reception and dance floor inside the building.
Everything looked spectacular with the wedding’s theme of traveling around the world. There was an open bar inside the building along with the dessert table and photo booth. The upstairs area was big enough to hold 9 tables plus the small bride and groom table.
Appetizers were served right after the ceremony along with champagne. There were chicken skewers, shrimps, and ahi tuna on a chip. The food portion was considered big by many of the attendees. We had prime rib, salmon, pasta, and also the kids meals consisting of chicken strips, French fries, and a cup of berries.
Everything tastes delicious. Prime rib was a bit more on the cooked side but wasn’t too dry. The salmon was served with risotto so that kept the fish moist as well. I didn’t get a chance to try the pasta dish or the chicken strips though.
At the end of the night, the servers cleaned by the time the party ended at 11pm. The worst part of the night was getting our cars from valet. They aren’t very organized so it took a while to get our cars not to mention their not so friendly service.

This post will be about my experience as a guest at a wedding that I attended yesterday. I feel that having been a bridesmaid 7 times and have attended numerous other weddings, I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from a wedding venue and coordinator. This place either needs to retrain all of their staff, or hire a new crew.
My friends who got married booked the most expensive part of the ranch. However, money does not equate to better service. Here are the issues we encountered:
1) wedding coordinator messed up on ordering lunch, the food did not arrive until after the ceremony started at 6pm, so the bridal party went hungry all day
2)the groomsmen had asked for some beer while they were getting dressed, the coordinator reacted like that was the first time anyone had made that request, and then never followed through with bringing the beer
3)the AC was having issues, so the bride was sweating while getting into her dress, and everyone had to fan her
4)There were several place settings missing at the dinner tables, particularly the bridal party table, so people had to stand until the situation was rectified
5)They messed up the orders for dinner in terms of how many steaks and chickens. One of the waiters told me «there should be 3 chickens at this table, so your friend (groomsman) will have to get a chicken.» I told him «no, he ordered a steak, and if you don’t give it to him, he will throw a fit.» magically, a steak appeared
6)My friend insisted that he did not want his guests to have to tip the bartenders with the open bar experience, so he made prior arrangements and tipped the bartenders well. I went up to order a drink and I noticed a paperweight holding a few dollars down. the bartender then said, «yeah, we’re not allowed to have a tip jar here so i use these weights instead.» People were then confused as to whether they had to tip or not.
7)They never announced last call for alcohol, they just closed the bar approx. 30 minutes before the wedding was over, leaving many disgruntled guests
8)They were very quick to clean tables before the wedding was over. I had a goody bag of cookies that I was going to take home (and was also a souvenir from the wedding). The waiters threw my cookies away. I asked the waiter if there were any more in the back, and he just said «no, sorry,» in a very unapologetic way (I was not the only one who experienced this)
9)My friends were forced to use the site’s bakery, but the bakery did not make enough cake. There were at least 10 people who never got a slice of cake. Or maybe their staff didn’t know how to cut proper slices, i don’t know. On a sidenote, their cake was $ 900, but tasted like standard wedding cake, nothing special, just cake and fondant.
10)At the end of the wedding, the couple still had a ton of stuff that they had to load into their cars, and a few of us stayed behind to help them. However, the staff said, «sorry, if you’re not a vendor, you have to leave now, we’re closed.» So my friends in their beautful wedding atire were forced to deal with loading their cars by themselves.
11)The sound system produced an old and muddled sound, so I could not hear about 25% of the ceremony and vows, and I was sitting in the third row.
The ONLY good things about this place are:
1) The site is beautiful
2) The bathrooms were clean and well-​stocked
3) The dinner was good, definitely one of the best «wedding» dinners that I have had, and they did not skimp on the steak
For how famous this site is, and how expensive it is, I expected more. I have been to other weddings in the same area for far less money, and received far better service.

I just got married at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu on February 28, 2015 at the Redwood Room. Although the months and weeks leading up to the wedding were (predictably) stressful, I cannot say enough how great the staff was there. In particular, Cindy Liang — she was our point of contact and handled our probably endless stream of questions with such grace and patience! And when we had to sit down with her the day before our wedding to discuss a back-​up plan due to rain… she was so sweet and nice even though I was increasingly panicked and manic! Of course we got completely lucky because it did not rain and instead was beautiful!
When it comes to the cost, my recommendation is to be mindful that what you’re booking initially is the space. Really, that’s all you need because it is so naturally lovely and beautiful. But things like chiavari chairs, drapes, lighting — those are all upgrades and the costs can go up without notice (again, because all you’re signing the contract for initially is the cost to rent the space). I repeat this because sometimes in the whirlwind of planning, you may tend to overlook things like that and before you know it you’ve blown your budget by tens of thousands!
At the end of the day though, our wedding was worth every dime. The patience and grace of the staff (Cindy and Nicole), how all our guests loved the space and raved over its natural beauty, and how tasty the food was — it really was magical! I can’t thank Calamigos enough!

Beautiful wedding venue!
The ceremony was under a big giant tree with the watefall running next to it!
The farris wheel was neat and random. I wish we could have rode it.
The food was, salad and prime rib. Salad was normal. Prime rib was nicely cooked and tender.
One of the nicest weddings I have been too!

I’ve been to Calamigos Ranch a few times before to explore and visit Malibu Café, but this past weekend I attended a wedding here. OMG the wedding was STUNNING. The venue was everything– private, secluded, serene, romantic, and MAGICAL. I love all the nature and greenery, as well as the outdoor patio lights strung around tree branches and building tops. There were also outdoor chandeliers, little water falls, and bridges that made the venue look like a page out of a story book. Every corner was a photo op! There is so much attention to detail that Calamigos Ranch puts in to create the fairy tale ambiance. It truly is a DREAM VENUE for any event.
I love that the venue is SO CLOSE to Malibu Café. You can just sneak away for a little bit to go to the café bar, or play some life size jenga, chess, or pool. The ceremony was held in their outdoor space on a quaint lawn. There was a giant wooden arch with vines and roses where the happy couple said their vows. It was such a picture perfect scene. The cocktail hour and reception was held in their indoor banquet hall. The reception area was gorgeous– beautiful draping, exposed brick, wooden ceilings, large windows – basically an enchanting cottage in the woods. The service was phenomenal and all the staff were friendly and helpful. The event coordinators were also super on top of everything – making sure that the entire wedding ran seamlessly and perfectly without any hiccups.
Seriously, get ready to have your pants charmed the EFF off.