Rasta Rita Cantina and Venue — Attraction in Twentynine Palms

I do not recommend this venue. My husband and I got married here recently and the venue itself is beautiful and well set up for a wedding. However, the venue and its management kept our $1,000 deposit on false pretense and without providing sufficient evidence as to why, citing stipulations not covered in our signed contract. We gave Rasta Rita Margarita a $1,000 security deposit as part of our drink contract. We also paid a $1,000 administrative fee to the venue that stated it covered cleaning. Upon messaging the venue after the wedding to ask about this deposit, Mario (the owner of Rasta Rita Cantina and Rasta Rita Margarita) stated that due to pampas grass debris, vomit in the toilet, and some trash and cake on the floor, it took 4 people 6 hours at $25/hr to deep clean the venue = $600. No receipts or proof of this was provided. No proof of distinction between what was routine cleaning and what excess cleaning was provided. No proof of actual damage to the venue. When we decided to not fight him on the $600 but requested the additional $400 back, Mario refused. He then stated that he would not return the $400 because we allegedly went over our allowed rental time at a cost of $400 an hour. This simply isn’t true. Our event ended at 10pm with the music fully off, and all guests were to be out of the venue by 11pm, with all remaining vendors out by 11:30pm. This was per our agreement and wedding timeline. Mario states that our guests were supposed to be off the premises at 10pm. Nowhere does it state in our contract, or anywhere, that the event end time is 10pm and guest exit is also 10pm, as this wouldn’t be physically feasible. Our guest exit time was 11pm. Around 10:30pm, Mario contacted our coordinator stating that we must exit the venue immediately and he was already charging us “overtime”. Despite us having 30 more minutes, we cleared everyone out right away. This venue also did not hold up their end of the bargain in terms of setting up decor, which was something we paid $400 extra for and was shown in our invoice. Our wedding coordinator and Jeri (Mario’s girlfriend) had discussed us dropping off the decor and it would be taken care of by venue staff. When our family arrived on site to drop off the items, there was one woman on site to set it all up, and she knew nothing about it. This was not sufficient staff to set up an entire wedding. This caused it to fall on our friends and family to set up last minute, which was not originally anticipated. For these reasons stated above I recommend seeking a venue and drink vendor elsewhere. Mario also tried to tell us we couldn’t write a negative review and this is ILLEGAL per the Consumer Review Fairness Act. He is also telling blatant lies in his responses on...

Summary: the Owner Gerri and the overall customer service was terrible. Tacos were great and venue was beautiful. We had the venue booked 10am-10pm, so we showed up at 935 to prepare all the decorations etc for the coming wedding. The Owner threw a fit and demanded we pay an extra $200 for the 30 minutes we took extra in the morning. Afterwards she personally took it upon herself to get into an argument with the brides mother because the Owner Gerri was not aware that Photos (of all things) will be conducted throughout the night of the wedding. I'm still unsure why this was an issue... Furthermore, in the contact we agreed to pay and use their mobile trailer for the bride to get ready, after paying we were informed that we could NOT in fact use it for whatever reason, the bride ended up changing in the BATHROOM. so we negotiated putting the money toward an extra Hour of food service. Not a great deal but whatever. The brides mother Tipped the bar staff a collective $500 for the night however Gerri was verbally not pleased with this amount either. I sure hope Gerri honored the staffs tips and payed them out. Overall, the venue and general staff were great and did a great service to us all. The Owner who stayed the entire night was very rude, hustling for money, and...

We recently celebrated our wedding at Rastarita Cantina, and it was absolutely perfect! From the stunning natural desert ambiance to the impeccable service, everything was more than we could have hoped for. From the start the owner Mario was communicative and responsive the whole way through. The staff went above and beyond to ensure our day was stress-free and magical. The venue manager Ken answered any and all question we had and was so helpful on our special day. The venue itself is breathtaking, with beautiful Spanish details and natural views that created the perfect backdrop for our photos and ceremony. We had Rastataco and margaritas cater and OMG it was delicious! (if you're from LA and know King Taco.. Rasta was better!) Our guests couldn't stop raving about the delicious catering, drinks and the seamless organization. Hands down everyone's favorite margarita flavor was the Jalapeno Cucumber. We felt so cared for and supported every step of the way, and the memories we've created here will last a lifetime. If you're looking for a place that combines classic beauty, professionalism, warmth, AND all for a fantastic price Rastarita Cantina is absolutely the one! Highly recommend, we are...