Gervasi Vineyard Resort & Spa — Restaurant in Canton

First I want to start by saying that Gervasi is breathtakingly beautiful and has all the make up of a luxury stay away from home.

What we did: Stayed 2 nights in a Villa Ate at two restaurants on property Received two spa treatments on site.

Our Expectations going in: We knew that it was a holiday weekend and it would be busy. (We stayed July 4th weekend) We were looking forward to meeting people and to having a shared common space in our villa. We knew that Gervasi is a popular wedding destination and we were excited to see brides in their dresses and everyone dressed up.

Villa Review: Cautionary tale to those who want relaxing time and want to stay in a villa. Pros: The villa was beautiful and the rooms were clean and comfortable. The common spaces had drinks and an ice-maker and dishes to use with a table and couches. Very comfortable. Cons: Music can be heard from across the lake and from the wedding venues in the facility. (We didn’t mind it but it could be a bother to some.) Rooms are not well sound proofed. Situational review about the villa a warning to those going during wedding season. There was a bridal party in our villa in one out of the four rooms. They overtook the villa and trashed the common space. At 8:50 am they were moving chairs and furniture to set up their hair and make up in the common area. There were also about 20 people in and out of the villa all through the morning and afternoon. We felt very uncomfortable and the noise was LOUD. We attempted to eat breakfast in the common area but were quickly pushed out by people coming in taking over the tables from the bridal party. We understood that it was their day but wish it would have been communicated to us that there was a bridal party in our villa and to expect some extra commotion and noise. We were not communicated with. We complained to the front desk which assured us they would take care of it. They offered us a $50 gift card for our troubles which I thought was very generous. When we returned to our villa after lunch it was worse. There were more people more trash and noise. It didn’t seem like Gervasi management “took care of it” as they said they would. We ended up being forced to stay in our room and were not able to use the common spaces for the duration of our stay. When we returned from dinner and our spa day the common area was trashed with alcohol cans, personal bags, trash, paper plates, extra food and food scraps that were left, among other items that they left. They had drank most of the items in the fridge and had emptied the ice maker into coolers leaving no ice for the other guests in the villa. It stayed that way until we called the front desk at 9:30 pm to ask if Someone would be able to restock the fridge and if someone may be able to tidy the place up a little. They sent someone who refilled the fridge and emptied the overflowing trash. The tables were not cleaned off or items thrown away. Gervasi management was very apologetic and offered some additional comp items for our troubles which we were grateful for. We just wished there would have been some communication and consideration from all. We were not allowed to exit our villa at one point because there was a wedding right out front and they made us walk through the back door through the woods around. They should probably invest in some extra paths for people who have to exit the villas due to weddings. We ultimately felt like second class citizens to the weddings and the wedding parties due to having to complain multiple times and being ushered through the woods.

Spa: The spa was absolutely wonderful! We would highly recommend it to anyone staying or coming for a day trip. We got classic massages and facials. The spa was peaceful and relaxing with great aroma therapy. Spend the extra it’s well worth it.

Food: WONDERFUL! We ate at the crush house and the bistro. Food was excellent, service superior, and wine was great. Well thought out menus and the Brunch was amazing!

Would recommend Gervasi with...

We have been remiss.

In this time of so much uncertainty while staying at home trying to find, yet, one more drawer to clean, we realized that we never wrote a review for Gervasi Vineyard for our daughter’s wedding.

If you live in Canton, Ohio, you know what a rare jewel this company is for our community. Restaurants: The Bistro and the Piazza, The Crush House, Twisted Olive. And for overnight stays: The Still House and The Villas and The Casa.

We had looked at destination wedding venues, and places in Cleveland, but we kept going back to our own backyard: where Anna wanted to be married from the get-go. On August 31st of last year, our daughter was married, and we had the reception at Gervasi Vineyard Pavilion. In a word, it was “magical!” We made the point to look over everything at the entrance of the Pavilion before our guests arrived as we wanted to remember that moment. And we did. Everything was just so beautiful as we stood there with a breeze coming off the expansive pond on what could have been a sweltering day, but instead, it was glorious. The food was warm and delicious and the wines were wonderful! It is an amazing venue to have for any kind of event, but to have it for our daughter’s wedding was a dream come true.

Every employee that assisted with this wedding was exemplary: from Scott Swaldo, who answered every one of my emails and couldn’t have been more receptive or accommodating, to Susan Monteleone ( who is one of my favorite people-ever-and one of the hardest working), to Brit Stenger, our event coordinator, who was open to doing anything and everything to make Anna’s day incredible. Everyone of the staff was amazing: from the waiters, to the maid service who accommodated us in The Villas. And The Villas- lest, I forget! They were a great decision: staying there and walking to and from The Pavilion was perfect; also gorgeous and convenient for our family!

We have gone to all five establishments many times over throughout the years, and every visit has been a great experience: from eating outside on the veranda at The Crush House and Piazza, to enjoying a fabulous upscale dinner at The Bistro, to going to The Still House for the most delectable libations and coffees to the Twisted Olive for a more casual, but just as special meal.

And speaking of Twisted Olive: the day before Gov. DeWine closed down Ohio, we went there for dinner: walked to our seats and a member of the staff sanitized our menus, our seats and our table. We were so glad to know that Gervasi was so conscientious with their patrons’ safety. Little did we know that Gervasi would be closed the very next day along with everywhere else in Ohio. We have had many take-out dinners over these many weeks from the Gervasi restaurants, and the food and delivery has been warm, delicious and expedient. We were not surprised.

And now they are making hand sanitizer that we were too slow to move on: they sold out immediately!

Not having these wonderful restaurants open has made us realize even more how very lucky we are to have them in our community! We are not alone in saying that we cannot wait until you open your doors again.

BRAVO GERVASI!!!!

Katie...

We had our wedding at Gervasi and everything was so perfect it still feels like a dream. All the staff throughout the grounds were on their a-game to make sure our day went off without a hitch. Rooms ready right on time, breakfasts showing up right away, to all the servers and bartenders at the wedding itself. We received many comments about how enjoyable everyone working night of was. They all took care of my friends and family the way I would which was so important to our big day.

Then there was Kelsey Taylor. I feel bad even trying to write a summary of all she did for us because of all I’m sure to accidentally omit. But from the very beginning she was stellar to work with. She introduced herself at the tasting and we hit her instantly with an onslaught of questions. How does our timeline look, we want to do an ice cream truck instead of cake where can it park, risotto is on the plated meals but can we get it in the buffet, and so many more. Kelsey was prompt, thorough, accurate, and organized. It made all the jitters of not having a wedding coordinator go away to get her confirmation on things when a random question would come up.

Leading up to the wedding I was grateful to have Kelsey, however day of was when I realized and fully appreciated how hard she was working for us and just how lucky we were to have her on our team. I counted 5 times throughout the day I went to her with something that she was already 100% on top of. Every time her answer was “we’re on it” with the sweetest reassuring smile and confidence in her voice. At one point the top heavy arch we had rented from a vendor toppled over and smashed the flowers that had been set up on it. But it wasn’t until after the ceremony when we were moving the arch to the sweetheart table that I realized it even happened. Kelsey got the florist to come back and set up fresh/not smashed flowers, and hid some sandbags around the base to make sure it didn’t topple again. No crisis nor panic was brought up to us at all, just took care of the problem and let us stay in our day together as long as time would allow. THIS is the kind of help I want on such a big day and lord only knows everything else she did to make our day seamless.

At first blush, the sticker shock got to me. The venue is the prettiest in northeast Ohio in my opinion and I kind of viewed the price as “cost of admission”. But now having gone through it, I totally understand the premium you’re paying for the EXTRAORDINARY service you receive. The food was fabulous, grounds were gorgeous, and with Kelsey as the face and muscle of our operation, we wouldn’t change a thing.

Last thing I want to throw in is a pro tip, and that is use the vendors they recommend. I think we got the list at the tasting, but it wasn’t until walking around day of that I realized our florist, photographer, Kelsey, and set up/tear down person all knew each other pretty well it seemed. I think this might have been that extra secret sauce that made our big day run so...