Bella Collina Mansion — Attraction in Kernersville

The road going into the venue is not paved. It is gravel and in poor condition. I felt like my car’s suspension was going to be damaged due to the condition of the driveway. For a venue claiming to be the “number 1 all inclusive wedding venue in NC” according to their signs alongside the driveway, they should spend $15-20K and pave the relatively short distance to the house. Also, the faux Italian/Tuscan look of the property just isn’t for me. I know some people love it, but it’s not my taste.

The sign that they have up at the entrance to their driveway is not befitting a property being marketed as a luxury event space. How about a permanent monument instead of a $25 plastic sign? I also was a little turned off by the fact you can see Duke Energy’s coal fired power plant. It doesn’t add to the ambience.

In response to the owner’s reply:

I am aware how land ownership works. If you do not own the driveway to your property, that’s unfortunate. I didn’t check GIS land records before making my review. In response to your reply, I have now checked the land records and see that Duke Energy owns all of the land around your property. I have never seen a county maintained road across private property that seemingly serves only one property, but I guess it is possible. What is most likely to me is that you have an easement for the driveway to your property and that like most easement-prescribed driveways the beneficiary of said easement (Bella Collina) is responsible for the maintenance of the gravel road.

Since the venue has numerous signs along the driveway in addition to a sign at the top of the driveway, it led me to believe you owned that portion of the gravel road. If I am wrong and the county/Duke Energy maintains the driveway that serves your property, I would suggest contacting them about regular maintenance of the gravel. Most county or state maintained gravel roads receive regular grading with a motor grader and are generally in good condition. Since this is a high end wedding venue, having a well maintained path is quite important. Not everyone drives lifted pickup trucks or Wranglers. Some of us have sports cars that are low to the ground and when going to a wedding you don’t suspect you’ll need to drive down a poorly maintained gravel road. There are corrugations on the downhill slope (caused by water runoff) and a quite substantial drop off at the top of the gravel driveway where the state/county maintained asphalt ends. I traveled at speeds of 7-10mph as not to cause damage to my car or kick rocks up onto the side of my vehicle. I drive on a gravel road all the time without issue, but that road is well maintained by the owner with a tractor and a box on a near weekly basis. The intent of my review was not to harm your business, but to inform you of my experience so you could take corrective actions.

Furthermore, reading through other reviews of the property, every review that isn’t a glowing 5-stars is met with a rather hostile long winded rant. It doesn’t look good when a venue can’t accept any criticisms or acknowledge any mistakes.

Update to the update: And yes, you do go on long winded rants. You can’t accept any criticism of your property. Maybe seek some professional counseling. The cheap sign that’s at the top of the driveway doesn’t look nice. I’m sorry if you paid a lot for it. It looks like any sign you see on the side of the road advertising some business. It doesn’t look like it would be at a venue that charges thousands of dollars per event. Again, this is my opinion. If you don’t like it, I’m very sorry. And yes, the smokestacks from the coal power plant are visible from the property. That’s where I saw them. On the plat map recorded with Stokes County, the driveway or “public street” as you call it going down to your property is not shown. It would appear that when the property was originally purchased the means of access were intended to be via a private roadway to the next property north of your property, but at some point since the plat was recorded the upper gravel...

The entire vendor team and staff has access to what every vendor is supposed to do. It is also Bella Collina's responsibility to double check the agreements and make sure that everything is perfect. Disappointments: 1. Flowers - none of my grandparents received their boutonnieres or corsages (paid for). A member of either their staff or Bella Collina's said "since they aren't walking down the aisle, they don't need it." 2. Bar – we were told all brand-new unopened liquor would be used for our wedding (very expensive). We received leftover, opened alcohol that was previously used at another wedding. We were given the same price as everyone else, no matter what was used. Apparently we were supposed to be refunded for any unopened liquor, but since it was all opened prior to our wedding, we were not. At our 45-day checkpoint I specifically told them what our 2 signature drinks would be, and was promised that they were no problem and they would have everything. They didn't have grapefruit juice on site for one of our drinks. For most of the night, they were still offering our signature drink, without grapefruit juice. I, the bride, never got to enjoy my own signature drink that night. 3. DJ Rone - let me be clear, he was the absolute best part of the night, and have no complaints about him. I specifically told Bella Collina in the app, in person at rehearsal, and again wedding day, yet somehow the garter toss and father of the bride speech were NOT removed from the itinerary. I know this because I never received updates on my app. On wedding day my father and myself were both very embarrassed when we were called up to do these things we did not feel comfortable doing. **4. Bella Collina Mansion - My MIL and myself unpacked the entire party bus, with no help from Bella's staff. A member of the staff unplugged my grandma's oxygen because it was a trip hazard, which caused her to gasp for air, choke during the ceremony, and later throw up because of the stress. I provided foam glow sticks for our reception, but they were taken and put somewhere downstairs without my knowing. I as the bride was scrambling to find them during reception. Please do not miss this – Joe, the owner, has already been made aware of everything in this review, good & bad (character limit here), and did not acknowledge a single concern. Instead, he harped on the fact that the mansion faced a fire this year (which we were NOT made aware of until the 45-day check point). Joe made us feel very uncomfortable, when he stated that "it was on every major news channel,” and that we should be grateful and not complain so much. Yet, who randomly googles Bella Collina Mansion Fire? We should have been made aware, and given options. We received no emails, calls or messages = zero notification until 45 days out, when we walked in and smelled smoke. I am incredibly grateful we still had our wedding, as I'm sure many others were as well. Communication in a respectful and thoughtful manner (rather than assumption) would have been the professional and kind thing to do though. Joe's response to our email recently with all of these concerns was ugly, disrespectful and completely changed my perspective on Bella Collina and who stands behind it. Kindness, listening skills, and genuine concern for ways to improve your venue goes a long way. All I want is for anyone considering Bella Collina, is to be fully aware of what your experience could look like. No matter what, best day of...

One word, PERFECT!!! Bella Collina Mansion was everything we wanted and needed, we cannot recommend them highly enough! We first noticed Bella Collina Mansion online, because of the beautiful pictures of the venue and setup a meeting hoping that it would be half as impressive in person. Not only is Bella Collina Mansion breathtaking, Joe and his staff are better than we ever could have dreamed of. We arrived at our initial meeting with a binder full of questions, but Joe was able to answer all of them as well as ones we never would have thought of. What makes Bella Collina Mansion so special is mainly four things: • The beauty and the elegance of the venue itself. • Joe and his staff’s dedication to do everything they can make your wedding day not only perfect, but as stress-free and easy as possible. • The relative turnkey ability that Bella Collina Mansion offers with features such as their single-day of vendor interviews. • The affordability that Bella Collina Mansion offers as it works as a partner to drive down costs with their world-class vendors. Because of the affordability and turnkey features that Bella Collina Mansion offers, we were able to plan our wedding from over 1,500 miles away in Wyoming. We cannot stress enough how beautiful and perfect our wedding was. In fact, it even rained during our reception, but Joe and his staff were so on top of EVERYTHING that we had our guests and tables inside before they could get wet. Also, thanks to the design of Bella Collina Mansion, the party kept going without as so much as a pause. Leading up to our wedding our friends and family could not believe that we did not need their help, but because of Joe’s diligence we had already taken care of everything. We wanted an outdoor wedding by the water at a beautiful venue (that would require no decorating) and had indoor capabilities in case it rained. Additionally, we needed a venue that was affordable and involved enough that we could fly into town a few days before the wedding and have our biggest concern be if everyone would sign our guestbook (which of course Joe and his staff helped make sure they did). Bella Collina Mansion was everything we wanted and needed, we cannot recommend them highly enough! There are not enough words to praise Bella Collina Mansion! If you want a beautiful, affordable, and stress-free wedding with the option of outside or inside, then book with Bella...