The Vandenberg House Event Venue

AVOID! Impossible to get in touch with, never responded to phone calls or emails, and they held onto our $900 refund for 3 months - we only got the money back by issuing a chargeback through our credit card. Don't risk your time or money booking with them! The full story of our experience: Feb 6: My fiancee and I booked the Vandenberg House for our June 6 reception. We had tried to email and call them throughout January to confirm some details and ask questions, but they never got back to us - and, stupidly, we went ahead and booked online anyway. Payment was taken immediately. Feb 22: We were unable to visit in person, so my parents toured the house on our behalf. They called in advance but no one ever answered, so they just showed up at the house on a Saturday and ended up meeting Christiane Tetreault, the owner. Once Christiane found out that our June 'reception' was a 'wedding reception', she told them there would be an additional $200 wedding surcharge, and that the venue would also require us to hire their bartender (which was not mentioned anywhere on the website). Feb 24: We emailed Vandenberg House to request a cancellation and refund, and noted we didn't think it would be fair to be charged the $100 admin fee for cancellation (which has since been increased to $150), as we would not have booked the venue in the first place if they had ever replied to our calls and emails in January and answered our questions. Feb 26: We received a reply from Christiane - so I guess they do respond to emails, but only if you're trying to cancel! She apologised for not having received our previous emails or phone calls, and blamed vague 'tech issues'. However, she did agree to waive the $100 admin fee if we wanted a refund. We emailed back to confirm we wanted a refund. March 5: Still no reply or refund, so we followed up again via email. March 10: Christiane sent us a brief email: "I sent the request to accounting, but realized we do not have your address. Could you please send that to us?" We replied immediately, and asked why she needed our address, as she should already have that information from when we booked. March 24: Still no reply to our previous email, or a refund. We sent another email, this time including our address, and asked for confirmation of refund. No reply. We called but the voicemail box was full. April 2: We emailed again. No reply. April 4: Last resort - we initiated a chargeback with our credit card company. May: Continued silence from Vandenberg House, no response to our calls or emails. June 6: We received an automated reminder email about our 'upcoming' event, and a "thanks for joining us" automated email after the event. We replied to both emails reminding Vandenberg House that the event didn't happen and were still waiting on our refund. June 8: We received an email from Christiane, who apologised and blamed the delay on COVID-19 - despite the fact that we had requested a cancellation and refund BEFORE the pandemic. (While we sympathise with small business owners who may be struggling, that's no excuse for appalling customer service, particularly when they're holding onto $900 that they'd already agreed to refund months prior.) Still no refund. June 16: Our chargeback refund was granted by the bank - more than 3 months after we'd requested a refund. It's shocking that we had to rely on a bank chargeback to get our refund, and that Vandenberg House never did the right thing. If you're reading this review and having the same issues with Vandenberg, good luck!!!

We had our COVID wedding there. It was perfect. The intimate space in Leslieville could easily accommodate our Micro-wedding ceremony and reception. It fit our budget and style. Vandenberg House has reasonable and flexible policies. I can't express how CRITICAL that was in October of 2020 when we thought we were going into a second shut down. There was plenty of street parking for guests as well as easy access to the TTC. I would recommend renting the space for your party, pop up store, or business function. You won't regret it.

Our wonderful wedding planner, Kimberly from Envision Weddings + Events found the Vandenberg House 5 days prior to our wedding (due to our previous venue cancelling) and we thought it was perfect! Great central location, with an intimate and cozy charm. We had a very small ceremony and reception with 10 people total. Christiane was such a gracious event host, she always checked in and made sure we were comfortable, and she made sure we had everything we needed. We had such a great experience, the only thing is I wish we found this venue sooner!! Thank you Christiane for your hospitality!

Christiane went above and beyond to help us with our event. She answered my many questions leading up to the day with patience and thoroughness. She was so helpful in getting us set up when we were late and I was really thankful for her coordination. While the space itself was beautiful and intimate, I also appreciated her coordination services. The bartender she works with was also excellent! I would definitely recommend this space for any type of event. It's the perfect blank canvas to decorate and easy to get to on transit or by car. Lots of parking nearby.

Unfortunately booked this event space for an event on March 21st 2020. The booking was cancelled due to the event space being closed for Covid 19, which is understandable; and have yet to receive a refund. The director Christiane has gone completely ghost after giving me the run around for almost 2 years. Finally, I am left with no other option but to file a consumer complaint with the the government.

The Vandenberg House is a wonderful venue. We celebrated my partner’s 40th birthday there recently and had a fantastic time. Christiane was incredibly helpful and easy to deal with, she really made planning the event so easy. I would definitely recommend the venue and would absolutely hold another event there.

We had a fantastic experience having an intimate family dinner at Vandenberg House. Our event was booked on very short notice and Christiane was amazing—she communicated with us every step of the way and helped everything run smoothly on the night of our dinner. The space is beautiful and her attention to every detail was greatly appreciated. We would highly recommend using this venue!

Christiane: Thank you for your expert guidance in planning our event. Thanks for choosing the most beautiful linen and dinnerware and for the loan of your sweet yellow flowers/pots-all which graced our table so elegantly. Plus, who could forget the rosette napkins? Thanks for the serving help which made our meal flow so smoothly. And, most important of all, thanks for preserving and cherishing Vandenberg House thus enabling our family to experience the intangible but lasting joy of making memories.