Cortijo LA Almazara LA Organic — Local services in Ronda

A dispute around moving our wedding indoors to appease new concerns regarding noise complaints from neighbours came to light in July 2022. This was just a few weeks before our wedding in early October 2022 and threatened to derail the whole event. In the remaining weeks before the wedding, Madrid-based management exerted lots of pressure on our wedding planner to move it indoors, despite it being far too close to the event to make such changes. Other couples we spoke to were able to move more easily because they had not committed to marquee hire. Shortly after checking in on the day before the wedding the management started to hassle us again, arguing about the level of soundproofing that could be achieved by the material of the hired marquee, temporarily blocking its setup, followed later by hostile calls that evening from their ‘corporate’ team to apply additional rental charges for ‘unapproved events’. In the first call a staff member from the ‘corporate’ team demanded that the small group of family members who had arrived for a barbecue be sent home and the barbecue scrapped. This further dispute culminated with the arrival of 3 armed police officers before lunch on the Sunday after the wedding who were sent at the request of a member of the Madrid office. The officers formed a semi-circle around me at the doorstep, offered no translation other than ‘problems with contract’ and I was passed a card reader by a housekeeper while she spoke simultaneously to the man from Madrid, following his instructions and passing information to the officers in Spanish. I made payment for the disputed additional rental charges and the officers eventually left. The experience was horrible. We remain appalled, as were our guests.||If it was done with the intention of intimidating us and upsetting us, then it succeeded. The purpose was to extract an additional 847eur, on top of the 5800eur rental already paid to fulfil the contract prior to arrival. In the words of a member of the local event team on one of the many calls, “usually when we do this to the couples they just pay”. It’s such a shame because we would have been OK with the additional amount if it had been made clear in the original agreement but it was not, it was never part of the agreement. The manner in which we were pressured before and during the weekend was also not what we expected when we booked the wedding on a lovely friendly tour of the property in October 2021, done by the local staff, promising a space without any noise restriction, “you can have the party as late and as loud as you like, look around, there is nobody to disturb”, gesturing to the vast open space of the farm and surrounding hillside. But the key thing is that it’s not the lovely local staff who make the decisions, it is done from Madrid. That team are completely focused on keeping the neighbours happy and to ensure the ugly museum structure being erected behind the Cortijo gets completed. We found it all pretty awful and we regret having anything to do with them.||For what it's worth the event space itself is spectacular and the accommodation is of a good standard. The housekeeping team are just lovely. There were lots of areas in the rooms that need maintenance however and the rooms, while lovely in appearance, lack some of the basic facilities you might expect from a property at this...

A lengthy and unnecessary dispute around moving our wedding indoors to appease new concerns regarding noise complaints from neighbours came to light in July 2022. This was just a few weeks before our wedding in early October 2022 and threatened to derail the whole event. In the remaining weeks before the wedding, Madrid-based management exerted lots of pressure on our wedding planner to move it indoors, despite it being far too close to the event to make such changes. Other couples we spoke to were able to move more easily because they had not committed to marquee hire. Shortly after checking in on the day before the wedding the management started to hassle us again, arguing about the level of soundproofing that could be achieved by the material of the hired marquee, temporarily blocking its setup, followed later by hostile calls that evening from their ‘corporate’ team to apply additional rental charges for ‘unapproved events’. In the first call a staff member from the ‘corporate’ team demanded that the small group of family members who had arrived for a barbecue be sent home and the barbecue scrapped. This further dispute culminated with the arrival of 3 armed police officers before lunch on the Sunday after the wedding who were sent at the request of the property’s Madrid-based team. The officers formed a semi-circle around me at the doorstep, offered no translation other than ‘problems with contract’ and I was passed a card reader by a housekeeper while she spoke simultaneously to those in Madrid, following his instructions and passing information to the officers in Spanish. I made payment for the disputed additional rental charges and the officers eventually left. The experience was horrible. We remain appalled, as were our guests.

If it was done with the intention of intimidating us and upsetting us, then it succeeded. The purpose was to extract an additional 847eur, on top of the 5800eur rental already paid to fulfil the contract prior to arrival. In the words of event manager on one of the many calls, “usually when we do this to the couples they just pay”. It’s such a shame because we would have been OK with the additional amount if it had been made clear in the original agreement but it was not, it was never part of the agreement. The manner in which we were pressured before and during the weekend was also not what we expected when we booked the wedding on a lovely friendly tour of the property in October 2021, done by the local staff, promising a space without any noise restriction, “you can have the party as late and as loud as you like, look around, there is nobody to disturb”, gesturing to the vast open space of the farm and surrounding hillside. But the key thing is that it’s not the lovely local staff who make the decisions, it’s the guys in Madrid. They are completely focused on keeping the neighbours happy and to ensure the ugly museum structure being erected behind the Cortijo gets completed. We found it all pretty awful and we regret having anything to...

Disappointing Experience at LA Organic for Our Wedding

My wife and I chose LA Organic as the venue for one of the most important days of our lives—our wedding. While the location itself is beautiful, our experience was unfortunately far from what we expected or were promised. I feel compelled to share our experience so that future couples can make an informed decision.

Lack of Transparency and Communication We were never informed about the high likelihood of rain during the "feria" of Ronda, which took place on the date of our wedding. We only learned about this critical piece of information the day before the event, when it was too late to make appropriate changes. Proper communication about weather risks could have helped us avoid much of the chaos we experienced on our wedding day.

Unpredictable Weather and Last-Minute Solutions On the day of the wedding, rain and wind destroyed our outdoor setup, including the dinner area and ceremony decorations. It was incredibly stressful to watch months of planning unravel in front of our eyes. Thankfully, Jero, one of the staff members, was very helpful and assisted in moving everything to the greenhouse at the last minute. His kindness was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disorganized day.

Inadequate Support for Our Private Chef We arranged for a private chef for our wedding, which had been approved by the venue beforehand. However, when it came time for the chef to use the kitchen, there were no basic utensils like pots or chopping boards, and the venue staff was uncooperative. This added unnecessary stress and complications to what should have been a smooth process.

Rude and Unprofessional Treatment The worst part of our experience was the rude and unprofessional behavior from the venue manager during our last day. Despite confirming various details in advance (including catering delivery and collection times), I was treated disrespectfully over the phone. It felt as though once the event was over and they had received payment, we were no longer a priority. This level of service was both shocking and unacceptable, especially for an event as important as a wedding.

Final Day Stress and Poor Communication We also encountered misunderstandings regarding cleaning and the removal of items from the venue. Miscommunication from the staff about what was expected from us on the day after the wedding led to added stress, especially as we were preparing to check out. Rather than offering solutions, the venue manager's abrupt and accusatory tone made an already tense situation worse.

In Conclusion While the venue itself is beautiful and most of the staff we encountered were kind and helpful, the lack of communication, inadequate support, and unprofessional behavior from the management overshadowed what should have been a joyous celebration. I hope LA Organic improves their event management and communication to ensure that future couples do not experience the same...