South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, Temecula

We have stayed at South Coast (SC) several times and each time there has been something wrong with our room. I have always given SC the benefit of the doubt and returned but now that Ponte has opened their “Ponte Inn” I am going to patronize Ponte because I have always received nothing but top quality customer service from them at the restaurant and wine tasting room. I feel Ponte respects their customers and knows the definition and benefit of good customer service. The customer service at SC is substandard. It is actually the worst customer service I have every experienced. They treat you like they are doing you a favor to let you stay at their Villas, even though you are paying top $ and never get what you request. Every time I made a reservation at SC I request early check in and never receive it. We end up having to do wine tasting all afternoon and at 4:00pm they call us to tell us our room is ready. Even though we specified our request months in advance when we made the reservations on line and checked in at the office at 12noon we still wait 4 hrs to get a room and never get what we requested. Their response is “we can not guarantee any requests”. We got this response every single time. I never experienced this at any other hotel. The others always try to please and accommodate their customers. One time SC gave us a room key which never opened our Villa. I flagged down a Villa worker and had to wait ½ hour to get a new key delivered. The 2nd pair of keys did not work either. Another time our air conditioner in our Villa was not working. It was 98 deg outside and unbearably hot inside our Villa. After multiple calls to the front desk, they finally ended up having to change our rooms because the heat was too much and they could not fix the air conditioner. We had to pack everything up and move it to our new room. The front desk made me feel so bad that I had to change rooms and I was a huge hassle to them, even though I was spending top $’s to stay there. I guess SC thought I should stay in a 96 deg. room. The AC in the SC rooms are extremely loud and noisy which makes it very hard to sleep. If you are watching TV with the AC on it is very hard to hear the TV. The rooms are okay, nothing at all to brag or write home about. It almost feels like a dungeon in the rooms very close quarters and not very roomy. Plus, with that AC blowing the curtains all over table you can’t even use the table or that side of the villa because the AC is blowing full force. On one visit we woke up to ants in our room and all over the grapes we left on the coffee table. I did mention this at the check out desk and they gave me a free bottle of wine. I was completely shocked they did this, as this is the first time they ever acknowledge any type of true customer service. The only thing I like about the SC villas is the pool and the patio on the villas. I like sitting out on the patio and having breakfast. Although, it is more enjoyable when you get a Villas with a mountain view. But as mentioned before even though you request a villa by the pool and one with a mountain view you will rarely get what you request. SC does not care or respect the fact that you are a return customer. They are clueless and really need some type of training on customer service. I do like the SC restaurant. I think their food is okay. But again, I don’t think the customer service is all that good. They just don’t go the extra mile to make the customer fell warm and fussy and because of this you really do not feel comfortable there. I do not care for their wines. I never thought their tasting room was all that fun. I love Ponte tasting room and restaurant. Wilson Creeks tasting room is great. We always have fun at Wilson Creek and enjoy our time there. In summary, South Coast is nice to look at from a distance. But, when you get up close and personal with them their true colors show and it’s not that pleasant after all.

Went for a wedding anniversary celebration. I had to book during the week to afford it. Two night minimum on weekends and a little pricey. The restaraunt is wonderful and the villas are great. Take time to walk around a bit through the vineyards and the grounds. Wine in the room is a nice touch and yes you will pay for it. This place is not for cheap people! ... you can stay at all the hotels near the freeway miles from the vineyards at a slightly discounted rate. Service was just okay. It seems all of the wineries could pull their staff aside and have some serious talks with them regarding how to handle people!!!!! I am looking forward to going back someday. This place is no bargain but sometimes you get what you pay for!!!

I recently stayed at this "Resort". The villas are beautiful, however some of them are so far from the restaurant, wine room, pool and spa so you'll have to drive. You could walk, but it will be tough in the summer's heat and the morning fog. If you want room service, there is a $3 Delivery Fee not including the tax and gratuity. Also the hedges surrounding the patios were so high they blocked the views of the lovely vineyards. That's great if you like privacy. For me, it was a little too claustrophobic. Finally, they also charge a $15 "Resort Fee". They never told me about it until I inquired about it at check-out. The clerk really couldn't explain what it was but they wouldn't reverse it from my bill. She actually said, "Well, La Costa Spa charges a Resort Fee too." I feel like I was offered a low rate ($179) but in actuallity they jacked it up with the Resort Fee!. Not very cool. (They offer a complimentary bottle of wine as well as three free tastings at the Resort, but believe me, you'll pay for them too -- Probably with the Resort fee. Nothing's complimentary at this "Resort." I won't stay there again and I definitely won't recommend it to my friends.

Wow, I can't believe reading these reviews on yahoo, that Southcoast either gets a 5 plus star rating or below a 2. As many of us in the hospitality industry know, it's about your employees. There are so very many Southcoast employees that went out of their way to make our stays spectacular (we love it there), that it's hard to believe these complaints, although I know that they could also be true. Southcoast is a wonderful resort and for California, an absolute bargain for such beautiful rooms, wonderful dining and wine! The wine! Wow. I say, give it a try yourself. It is one of our favorite places in the US! J, D Hutter

We stayed in a large, beautiful villa (one oversized bedroom with two full baths, dining room and living room) for almost two weeks to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary. Our patio opened into the vineyards (we could pick grapes off the vine while sunning ourselves, resting and relaxing). We also had a pistachio tree growing next to our patio. It was private and beautiful. The restaurant on site was exquisite. We tried others, but we liked South Coast's the best. The pool and spa were large and inviting. We toured the grounds and the winery and sampled the wines...delicious! While in Temecula, we took a hot air balloon ride which lifted off from the South Coast parking lot, and I flew a bi-plane. We cannot wait to return. We highly recommend South Coast Winery and Resort.

The resort is nice and the restaurant is decent. Both are very overpriced but we splurged for our anniversary. After returning home we noticed they charged our credit card for $71 in food and beverages that we did not purchase. I tried to resolve the error 3 times with the accounting manager (Dawn) and reservation manager and never received a call back. Very poor customer service and I will never go back due to their total lack of consideration. We spent well over $700 for a one night stay (including dinner at there restaurant) and they would not correct an unauthorized charge for $71. Very tacky!

South Coast Winery Resort and Spa should be top on your list if visiting the wineries in Temecula. The rooms are very spacious and decorated elegantly in Tuscan style. The room looked out into the vineyard and the villas are separated into pods of four. Each day a new wine is delivered to your room, and the merlot and chardonnay we were given were very good. You also get five wine tastings for each adult. The wine tasting room is very busy on Saturday, so I would suggest another day if you really want to talk about the wines with staff. Every wine produced that I tried was good and some ranging to excellent. If you like port's you have to try the Black Jack Port...one of the best I've had. On the weekends, the rooms are not cheap, but I can say for what you get, it was worth it. Look on their website, the villas are just like what you see in the pictures, you will not be disappointed. The food at the restaurant was excellent, as were the offerings of wine, port, etc. I had a good experience with all staff that I encountered. I see that some people say that it is good for families, but I would suggest that this is not the case. Where you are looking to enjoy time at the spa, having some wine, and fine dining, kids would be really bored.

Everything about our stay was sketchy. From the check-in, to the response of the spa staff, to the fact that housekeeping never cleaned our room and left us with no towels, to the fact that after emailing the general manager we never got a response from him. Not one word. Amazing how poorly a beautiful place can be run. If someone took the time to write to me in the spirit of improvements, I would certainly take notice.

My sister and I reserved a villa for our dad to take our step-mother to for a surprise 60th birthday getaway. We booked the room on-line directly from their website. When my dad arrived to check in, the nice girl at the front desk said that the cost of the room was going to be approximately $30 more than what we had reserved it for. She stated that increase in price was for tax. The confirmation we had clearly showed that the tax and the service charge had already been added to the price of the room. My dad requested to speak to the manager about the misunderstanding and the girl at the front desk willingly complied. When my dad spoke to the manager, she told him that there was an additional fee of $30 for tax. He showed her the paperwork that clearly showed that the tax had already been applied to the room rate. She again, very rudely, stated that he had to pay the additional $30 if he wanted to stay there. Needless to say, my father was very upset and LEFT. So much for a nice surprise getaway for his wife! My sister and I were extremely embarrassed by the whole incident and feel horrible for sending them there.

Visited for 1 night on 9/7/07. The villa was the best we've stayed in! Very clean and well-kept. Decorated in Tuscan style. Not a typical hotel room - large square with dining area and wetbar as you walk in with complimentary wine - also large closet; sitting area with sofa, chair, tables, fireplace with mantle and mirror; to the side is a dreamy bed - fantastic mattress, double-sheeted with high-thread count cotton sheets, cable/ppv tv in armoire viewable from sitting area or bed. Bathroom off bed area - all marble and granite, mirrors, 2-person jetted tub (aaaah), walk-in shower with large shower head. Fluffy towels, great spa robes, nice soaps and bath salts. French doors lead to small patio in the vineyard that is totally private from other patios. Has a small table and padded wicker chairs - we had dessert and breakfast outside. Room service was excellent but expensive so be prepared! Front desk is really an office where you are seated and they go over everything with you - it's great and we saw no problems with personnel or service. Lovely area with a lot of horse properties (reminded me of Kentucky or Virginia) and rolling hills with lots of vineyards! We did a tour and a couple wine tastings which were really fun (and we got a nice buzz too). I highly recommend this place for a short romantic getaway. There is a trolley to take you around to other wineries so you don't have to drive!!