Grand Island Mansion — Attraction in Rio Vista

If there's a grander word than Grand then that's the word that describes Grand Island Mansion. Being an old Hollywood boy now 72 this castle in the air has rich historical pertinence. The roads into the lush property that sits down below the levee alongside the Sacramento River are two. Tongue in cheek I'll report the road to Grand Island Mansion Suri put us on in my dear friends new shiny black Mercedes Sedan is an extremely rocky road. The narrow road winds over Hill and dale with plenty of sharp swerves and it's full of various pot holes, some the size of a Jacuzzi, expect this nightmare/daymare to last almost right up to the fancy front gates to the mansion. If you take this route in which is a scenic drive beginning on the levee road at Isleton, you'll see scattered farming communities, beautiful old Delta Victorian homes nestled there in the peat dirt backwoods of Walnut Grove. When we arrived after the treacherous drive I thought it wouldn't have been as bad if I had only taken a handful of Dramamine. Freeway5 is the fastest most suitable route to Grand Island Mansion. You take the Walnut Grove exit, turn towards the river and keep driving until you see the sign for GIM. Arriving you are suddenly in view of a sea of towering Italian cypresses. Then right smack in the middle of those tall trees sits in all her ivory glory elegant historical Grand Island Mansion. Breathtaking it is.. suddenly you may hear yourself saying gee am I dressed appropriately for this palace? Sunday brunch is what we came for and we were soon seated at our table by a beautiful hostess dressed in white frilly finery. Reservations are required although we didn't know that and still this marvelous hostess said follow me. Long story short so not to spoil the many surprising discoveries you will make after brunching on exquisite prime rib and a host of exotic entrees and divine desserts, all you can eat for $49. Grand Island Mansion was a home away from home for the Lewis W Meyers family, doubled as a duck hunting lodge, not to down play such elegance. Hollywood's elite classic film stars such as Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Edith Piaf often stayed there just to name a few. You will see their names affixed to the doors to their private changing rooms nearby the magnificent outdoor pool just beyond the ballroom. The upstairs bedroom suites are stunning to say the very least, each one adjoined by incredibly large gorgeous bathrooms the size of Texas, all bedrooms lavishly furnished having verandas overlooking lush green gardens. A spacious theater is a must see, to think Gable and Dietrich kicked back in that theater gave me the goose bumps. The entire time we were walking the hallways and grounds of Grand Island Mansion our jaws were dropped never returned to their rightful positions until we returned to Stockton 🤣. The rich history of the Meyer family that built this castle in the air is riveting. When the stock market crashed in '39 the home built for duck hunting expeditions by the ultra wealthy family overnight belonged to the family no more. It's definitely a sad sad story. Over the years since the great depression many twists and turns the property has seen. Today the mansion is owned and managed impeccably to please the public, I'm trying not to write a novel here. 😊 The full history along with stunning pictures any one of you can Google and read about. Right up channel across the river from the Grand Island Mansion sits The Ryde Hotel another eye pleasing historical building from a long gone era. It was once owned by horror movie star Lon Chaney (The Wolf Man). I give Grand Island Mansion not a 5 star rating but a 10 star rating. It's quite spectacular, sitting out there in the middle of nowhere along the aged levee road in Walnut Grove,...

I will start by saying I would like to give this place 3.5 Stars. I leaned toward 4 because of the service.

I'd like to give you an overview of the good and bad, then get into details later on.

The good: Brunch buffet is good. The desserts are top notch. Service is superb. The whole experience is quite nice. The price is exceptionally reasonable.

Cons: stylistically, and aesthetically, the details are a bit sus. This is nitpicky and does not actually have anything to do with the food or service, and I've mostly kept it out of the rating, but I did want to note some of the things.

So, the food is good, but remember this is a buffet. The menu is streamlined, there is no custom ordering, and it is scalable without a loss of quality. The food is changed out quickly, generally before the tray is empty, so you're always getting something fresh. This is notable as most places would be unwilling to waste food (or money). Their menu is on their website, so if you're curious about what is being served, go take a look.

The mimosas are bottomless, and this brings me to the service and experience. It's excellent; once you are seated, they bring you mimosas (or just champagne or orange juice) and if it ever runs low, it gets filled. When you get up to go get your food, it will be refilled when you return.

If you'd like coffee, just ask! They will bring you a cup and saucer and whatever amount of cream and sugar you'd like. If you want something else, again, just ask! The servers are very attentive, super nice, and very chill.

Nit picky details So, detail wise, I think the place looks great and has a great atmosphere, but the consistency of these details has me feeling odd. For starters the 'Mozart Room' is full of Japanese decorations and theming. This trend continues with rooms named after composers but having no real relation to them. Again, this is quite nit picky, I admit, and most people won't notice because it's really a place for events or a light morning brunch; if you lose the forest for the trees like I usually do, you'll raise a brow or two, but most everyone else will just enjoy being in a space that is different than most other things around.

Ultimately, I'd say this place has a menagerie of style in the details; english baroque and tuscan villa are vaguely similar but quite different. Is that really a problem in central California? Certainly not.

The decor is nice and it honestly seems like a great place to have an event. I don't think you'd be disappointed in any sense with this place being the backdrop for an important event in your life.

I imagine, in any case, this brunch serves to sort of advertise the space for events, and it does a good job of that. It is a nice experience that is at least worth...

If you're planning to use this place as your wedding venue..Read This!!!! We married here in 2014. Our wedding was stunning. Everyone was very welcoming and helpful until the day of the wedding ( when it counts most). This place is not cheap. It's kept up, but needs painting desperately. Food is good, not excellent. Some items are better than others. We spend a fortune on flowers, extras and table linens. I was amazed how gorgeous my wedding turned out to be but honestly, the flowers and table linens made it spectacular. Without that, it would have been mediocre. Never heard how beautiful my wedding was from the coordiator, and it undeniably was. Although, workers told us that they never seen the place look so beautiful . Coordinator was cold day of wedding. After wedding, we were literally rushed out of the ballroom so they could . clean....we rented the whole mansion....why was it sooo imperative that a few of us rush out of the ballroom so.you could clean?????!!!! And, the kicker is my friend was playing the piano for me to end the night. They never asked us for photos yet the keep the same god awful picutres to.promote the place. Just totally dissapointed. My wedding however was incredible and turned out exactly as I planned. For that I'm grateful. Do your research before you book. I had read other reviews saying key people were cold after the wedding was over. I didn't belive it....