Villa Lombardi's — Attraction in Town of Islip

We normally do not write reviews but we decided to do one this time because of the horrible experience we had with Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook in connection to our daughter’s communion reception we recently had at the place. We were returning customers as we had our son’s communion there 2 years ago. We booked our daughter’s party in December 2023 and signed a contract with the place. Two weeks before our event, we were called in to the venue to go over final details with the manager we signed the contract with but were told that he is no longer there. We ended up dealing with a new manager who gave us a hard time about everything we initially agreed on, including room set-up, although we asked to do everything the same way we did 2 years ago for our son’s communion. The new manager, at times, dealt with us in an unpleasant and unprofessional way showing off her attitude or ignoring us when passing in the hallway. The triggering point was when we asked to serve a toast champagne, being that open bar was included in our contract and we had it served with no issue at our son’s communion. We were asked to speak to the owner at that time who was very rude to us and told us that we should have paid more for the package we got. We explained to her that we got the package, which was very similar to the one we got 2 years ago, based on the fact that we were returning customers. She started arguing that the package we had did not include open bar and agreed with us only after we showed her a copy of the current contract we signed as well as our previous contract from 2 years ago. The owner was speaking to us in such an arrogant manner that at some point we asked her “what did we do wrong?” She responded that we didn’t do anything wrong and that the things we asked for are in our contract. Unfortunately, our ordeal did not stop there. Our contract called for 5 chafing dishes for our mini-coctail hour and instead of getting 5 full trays, we only got 5 half trays which was not enough to serve our guests. We had paid half price for kids 3 and up and kids under 3 were supposed to be free of charge. During the party, the MD came up to us and told us that they are not able to serve any food to kids under 3 years old and that parents should have brought food for them from home. We had no choice but to go to the office in the middle of the party to pay for the kids under 3 so they could be served food. We found out after the party from some of our guests, however, that their kids were served only french fries as they were told they did not have any chicken tenders left. Some of our guests complained also about the food, more specifically that the pasta was too hard as well as the steak. We were spoken to by the MD so much at the party that it was difficult for us to enjoy it. Some of our guests noticed and started asking us about what is going on. Two of them had mentioned that, while in the lobby, they overheard unsatisfied customers from another party discussing their issues with the VL’s staff and asking them to review their contract. For Villa Lombardi’s we were just another business deal, but for our family this was a very special day in our life that they totally spoiled for us. We’ve had other special events at other Long Island venues, including our wedding and children’s christenings, and no one ever treated us in such a horrible way. We booked the party at Villa Lombardi’s because they were able to offer us atrium, which we felt was appropriate for a communion party because of it’s windows, high ceiling and access to the patio. We had previously checked this venue out 10 years ago for our wedding and didn’t book it because we did not like their main reception hall, which had no windows, low ceiling and a folding wall that made you feel like your party was in a basement room. We will definitively never return to this...

Villa Lombardi’s Wedding Review- Working with Jennifer has been a pleasure, even when me and my mother were at our peak stress level! She was always available to reach even up until the very last minute! She is an amazing addition to Villa Lombardi's! I could go on for days about her. Our wedding night- Was the MOST AMAZING night we have ever experienced in our lives. The room was amazing and the blue color we chose was just right. -Our Matre D - Pedro was the sweetest human being, he was always there when needed, he constantly checked in on us. He catered to not only us but both our families as well. Anything that was asked of him he had the job done immediately, he really made our night, he ran a smooth/well controlled party! He walked my Husband and I through instructions when we needed (cake cutting, etc.) He went above and beyond to make sure me and the other bride didn't run into each other. Not one person at our wedding even knew that there was another wedding going on! His personality is vibrant and he constantly had a smile on our faces, love him!! -The food (from what we had) was DELICIOUS. Unfortunately my Husband and I didn't get to cocktail hour because of picture taking, the bridal attendant was able to put food in the bridal suite but we were too tight on time. The cocktail hour- I had a bunch of guests come up to me and tell me that it was the best cocktail hour they have ever been to! From what I saw the display was beautiful and the room was so spacious, the fact that everyone gets a chair to sit in is probably my favorite selling point! When my husband and I finally got to try some food when we sat down for the first time- The Burrata salad and the bread was great. My Husband and I did actually get to eat dinner, Pedro offered us individual meals or the full spread, of course we had to try everything! The Steak was phenomenal, well seasoned and perfectly cooked. The Fish was very good as well, I don't eat fish and I even thought it was good! The stuffing/like mashed potatoes (not really sure what it was) was amazing and still has us talking about it! I heard the Duck was some of the best duck anyone has ever had. The Viennese setup was BEAUTIFUL!!!! Pedro grabbed us to walk through and preview it before it was revealed. We were too busy dancing to try any dessert, but from what I heard from Guests and from the pastries/cakes we got to take home at the end of the night- everything was delicious! -We want to Thank You and Villa Lombardi's from the bottom of our hearts for giving us the best wedding experience anyone could ask for! I will HIGHLY recommend Villa Lombardi's for the...

We had our wedding here on 11/22/23, Thanksgiving Eve. So many amazing things to say about this venue and our experience. Villas was the first venue we toured at when we started looking for venues for our wedding. We loved it immediately, just from walking in those front doors and also into the main ballroom. After looking at about 10 other venues, we came back here and booked with them as soon as we could. They were able to accommodate our date, which almost every other during that time of year in regards to when we were booking (a little more than a year ahead) was already booked up. Over that next year we had a few meetings with Eleanor who was our main contact and discussed all our details for the wedding. So many our guests, still to today, can’t stop mentioning how beautiful the venue was and also how incredible the food was, specifically the cocktail hour. The cocktail hour room has a beautiful look. Our ceremony was also held at Villas and we had it inside, which was a closed off portion of the main room. And then there’s the main ballroom which is just magnificent. Large space that comfortably accommodated our guests and vendors and made for a smooth night.

Gave 4 stars because we felt there were 2 main issues here that we experienced. One was the promise of us having the entire ballroom as long as we had 300 people. We invited 470 guests, ended up having a little over 300 attend. Coming close to our date there were comments made about us not having the full room or that they would be able to fit 300 into half the room or 3/4 the room. Due to our guest count and vendors we were having (2 photo booths and caricature artist) we were adamant about having the full room, not to mention it was also in our written contract. And the problem here is that this was an issue up until the day before the wedding. It was an unnecessary issue to be added to the never ending list of wedding planning. After many discussions we did get the full room. Second issue was dinner being served late and delayed from one side of the room to the other. By the time one side of the room had gotten their dinner, the dessert was being put out for the other side. It was over an hour of dinner serving. It just felt like there was an issue with how many guests we had, yet they claim they can cater 600 guests here.

With that being said I again want to say in the end we had a fantastic time here and it was a great venue with excellent staff. Eleanor was pleasant to work with, and Ray and Kathy helped assure us that the night was going to go smooth which it did with their help. Thank you all at...