Welcome to VillaCaminoCieloSucks!
Welcome to the site dedicated to the true stories about Villa Camino Cielo and John Carroll of Santa Barbara. If you are reading this you probably already know how much of a nightmare he is. We got ripped off by him by having our wedding at his site, Villa Camino Cielo, and we want to help other couples or renters watch out for him. If you would like to post, please do. I know we won’t have to over exaggerate anything because he is really THAT off base. If we post enough in the next few weeks we can get this up to the first page on some search engines to help other before they make the mistake we did.
You you would like to post shoot me your email so I can add you!
Jerry Lynch, 
Amanda, 
Cindy, and 12 others are discussing. 
Villa Camino Cielo Sucks Blog 
Jerry Lynch 6:36 am on December 24, 2014 Permalink |
I too had a bad experience. First the Villa looks great on the surface, but things like doorknobs coming off in your hand, and dirty curtains, and dust in the rooms tell the story of deferred maintenance. My wife forgot her iPad and when we discovered it missing reported it to John Michael. We used the “find my iPad” app to see it sitting in the Master Bedroom and reported this to JM. The next day it appeared 17 miles away (at the home of his Housekeeper). Only after threatening to involve the Police did JM told us he would either retrieve it or buy us a new one. Then the next day he went to the location and the next day called to say it was returned to him and would send it Fed Ex and cover the shipping (we live in Hawaii). A week later it showed up and the iPad was so damaged (glass separated, case scraped and dented as if run over by a truck or used as a frisbee) I texted JM and reported this. In reply, (and I have the text saved) he wanted to know the date of purchase, and said when sent it was fine, that he spent quite a bit of his time recovering it and fedexed on his account (we later received a bill for $79 from Fed Ex). Then the text goes on to say his garbage disposal had to be replaced at a cost of over $800. (it was working fine when we left). BTW the Fed Ex package was totally intact so it could not be so damaged in transit. I took the iPad to the Apple Store and they were so blown away they showed it to all the staff who could not believe the damage.
I am in the hospitality business and I stay in many places. This villa was a nice location and fit our needs as far as the number of rooms, but the experience stops there and the owner, John Michael has not returned any phone calls or texts since he tried to blame us for a broken item when the place is falling down around him. From all the other complaints, I can only say “caveat emptor”, baby….. this is a “last choice” place to stay and be prepared for an owner who doesn’t give a damn about keeping customers happy.
Cindy 4:56 pm on April 21, 2013 Permalink |
So I was interested in this property. Emailed the owner back and forth, gave him my driver’s license and told him I was ready to proceed. I get an email back (2 days later) and he says that he already got a deposit and had booked the property. Why ask me for my driver’s license and still be shopping renters?? I read all the negative reviews (and there are plenty) that went with this property but I chose to ignore them. Go to the blog (yes, a whole blog set up just for him) and don’t ignore your gut! Beautiful property but the decor and the owner are crap!
Tony 4:00 pm on April 21, 2013 Permalink |
Wow… Is all this true?
Amanda 1:06 pm on April 29, 2013 Permalink |
This is true, you can call my wedding planners at XOXO Bride. They can tell you about the hellish experience we had in August 2012
Phil 3:25 pm on March 23, 2013 Permalink |
He is up to his old tricks again. He tried to swindle us out of cash, he is a BIG LOSER. He has never worked an honest day in his life.
Janice 9:46 pm on January 12, 2013 Permalink |
Nikki Hetz must not know John Carroll very well, she doesn’t even know how to spell his name. Nice try Nikki…another fake message.
Amanda 1:08 pm on April 29, 2013 Permalink |
Fake message, please! Any reputable wedding planner can tell you how horrible John is to work with. Take your pick – XOXO Bride, Pure Joy caitering, none of them will do business here anymore. I was the bride- I lived through the hell of dealing with John!
Janice 9:44 pm on January 12, 2013 Permalink |
Kathleen Phalen is a fake name, John wrote those comments. There isn’t anyone with any integrity that would write those comments. As a matter of fact, there isn’t anyone with integrity that is associated with John. He surrounds himself with people just like himself.
Janice 5:54 pm on December 27, 2012 Permalink |
The folks that have been swindled need to contact the District Attorney in Santa Barbara. John has been in so much legal trouble over the years, that the DA and law enforcement is familiar with him and will act.
Greg 1:14 pm on October 30, 2012 Permalink |
I recently had my wedding at villa camino cielo. Unfortunately, the majority of the information contained on this website is accurate. I would suggest any prospective wedding party or renter contact a Santa Barbara catering company and/or wedding planner. John’s behavior, illegal activity (documented) and general attitude have created a well documented backlash. I would NOT rent this house without a positive reference from at least two prior renters. This needs to be people who are not friends with John in any capacity.
My experience can be summed up very briefly. 2 months of hell leading up to wedding (hidden costs to rent generator, screaming matches with John, 4 missed meetings at site with John). After a relaxing honeymoon, I come home to see I have had $3,000 withheld from my security deposit. Per Johns contract, he has provisions for cleaning and site managers. Well my wedding was to have ONE site manager (per his contract). My security deposit has charges for 3 site managers withheld AND over 30 hours of cleaning- none of which were documented and some of which were redundant to the cleaning that was included in the contract (spa/pool). I have sent multiple emails to John, none of which have been answered, and with no details on the withheld fees (required by CA law).
My wedding planner was top notch, as were all the other vendors. In fact, due to Johns erratic behavior leading up the event, all the vendors brought extra help to accommodate for any ‘problems’.
Renter be VERY CAREFUL.
Amanda 1:02 pm on April 29, 2013 Permalink |
We had our wedding reception here in August 2012, and dealing with John was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. John stopped answering calls 2 weeks before the wedding- totally went off grid. I started looking for new venues . He finally called back after I called http://www.santabarbaravenues.com frantically, and he acted as if it was my fault he did not answer. My wedding planner from XOXO has plenty of information about how unprofessional and horrible of an experience this was- if you are even thinking of booking this venue, call them or Pure Joy first – they can give you first hand accounts on why you should NOT book this venue. As for the price, we ended up paying over $10,000 in fees and random costs that John made us incur before letting us move forward at the last minute. Also, this property has a ton of liens recorded on it- don’t take my word for it; this is public information. STAY AWAY- you want to enjoy the months leading up to your wedding, and no bride deserves this type of agony.
Kathleen Phalen 10:35 am on July 6, 2012 Permalink |
John Carroll has been a local business owner for 27 yrs ,has employed hundreds of people and has always been a man who operates on the highest level of integrety and professionalism. He is the best at what he does and it’s very disturbing that the few unprofessional & incompitent people that he’s had the misfortune of trusting were obviously not the best at what they do & misled him, or they would not have been hired. A few bad apples can’t hurt one who has a track record that is superior and speaks for itself. Maybe they can take some courses on business & etiquette.
Furthermore myself as well as my father have conducted business with Mr Carroll on several occassions, all in a timely and straightforward manor. We signed contracts, every one was more than delighted. We give him our utmost respect and will stay at tne Villa again. Its the most peaceful & gorgeous retreat & one of a kind. The truth always prevails ans negative & disgruntled people should further their skillset or possibly stay somewhere more fitting to their Life is too short to waste on ill will… Lastley John has been a perzonal friend/employer of mine for ten years and i can’t think of any other employer who has treated me with more respect! I’ve always been well compensated, trained to conduct business on the highest level and recieved perks & bonuses betond the scope of my expectationx. I would work for and utilize one of a kind services again and have the highest recomendation to any one considering a first class vaca./retreat/wedding in one of the most spectacular and magical Villa’s in all of southern Califoenia, and certainly Santa Barbara. Mr Carroll is an innovator and leader in both his professional & personal life and anyone who would waste time to slander him is deeply disturbed. Hopefully they will find their truth &.passion in life as for the leaders … Not everyones cut out to be # 1 and Villa Camino Cielo is the best, one of a kind , superior. The strong survive and the truth are undeniable facts. The ceator of this blog might want to utilize his energies to further his education & skill set in an effort to further his own career b/c clearly he’s unemployable , disgruntled and has too much time coupled with negative energies ….LA is a few miles away maybe you’d be better off there, clearly your not a local. Small town and Inteliigent people.. We know our own. Camino Cielo Villa is forever a place of peace and joy foe me and to all i wish the pleasure & memories that it has graced upon me and my family. My support & blessing to Mr Carroll and serenity i send to the oddly malicious people who wasted precious time and energy to put negativity on our planet and lies about a man of the greatest moral, professional stature, a gentleman and leader of the highest level. From our family to yours!! Love Peace& Prosperity !!!!
Claudia 4:08 am on January 8, 2013 Permalink |
Well, we don’t know who Kathleen Phalen is, but this post looks a lot like Johns writing style since it has several grammatical errors, and misspellings.
It probably took him like 10hrs to type this up.
We just feel like people deserve to know the good and the not so good. I would want to if it were me.
If I had the slightest doubt about your integrity from a reliable source prior to, then I would have been able to make better choices on how to best invest my time and efforts.
I guess learning through trial and error is okay, but its not my favorite way to learn.
–Claudia
Claudia 11:00 pm on March 11, 2012 Permalink |
I also designed a full page Ad for Santa Barbara magazine which goes out mid March 2012. I only had a few hours to do it, which included downloading a free trial for Photoshop. (see image URL on previous comment).
For more believability, the ad shows my name on as graphic designer, and the photographer, Eric, who has commented here also.
Claudia 2:47 pm on March 11, 2012 Permalink |
….When I got home my Dad asked me if I wanted him to talk to John, but I decided against it since sometimes he put the phone down when people are talking to him.
It’s not about the money… it’s about the Golden Rule of the Ages:
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31
Claudia 2:36 pm on March 11, 2012 Permalink |
See image URLs after these comments.
First Incident: I know John through a good friend of mine. In October of last year, I called myself having a job helping John with computer tasks, and errands. I was staying at the Villa in a guest bedroom, which I assumed to be only practical given that I actually live 180 miles away (one way). I didn’t realize until later that, that there was no actually money to be earned, and staying at the villa was ‘payment’ to me. I also was paying for my own gas during errands, and a few things that I paid for I didn’t receive compensation. This all ended in an uproar when he found out that I had made him a Facebook page, which was something that he asked me to do (see image URLs). It was an ‘Item’ included on a list of things to do for marketing. I took the Facebook page that I made down and it has been deleted. I guess he made amends with his feelings towards Facebook, since I see he has a Facebook page now.
Second Incident: So, I forgive and forget the first incident. John called me near the end of Feburary 2012, and says he needs help with placing some items for sale on internet, and help with errands. Before I went out there, I asked if he would be able to pay me money and expenses for gas during errands which he agreed (see image URLs) So, I drive out there on a Monday and help him out to my best ability until Friday. Then, on Saturday morning, I’m getting ready to leave for church and I ask him about $200 that we agreed to and he says he has something I can sell to our friend for $250. After I found out what was, I gave it back to him, and also, the friend didn’t want it. Then he started mentioning money that I gave back to him, left over from bills that I went out and paid for him. Sounds like he forgot that he said some of the money was for gas. I’m glad I put $40 (something told me to fill it up) in my gas tank; otherwise, I would have been stuck in Santa Barbara. If I hadn’t gotten upset, I would have given him $4 and all the coins that I had in my wallet. I just left and was glad to be able to get home.
October Email about Facebook: http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j479/CalifBabe/Email.jpg
Text agreeing to $200: http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j479/CalifBabe/Message1.jpg
Text to friend about sale: http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j479/CalifBabe/Message2.jpg
Notes on work preformed: http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j479/CalifBabe/Notes.jpg
Dolores Sears 9:57 pm on September 30, 2012 Permalink |
Hello Claudia, I also was dupted into thinking that I would get paid by Mr. Carroll for work I had done all over the property. He told me that if I listed his trucks on craigslist then I would be paid a percentage of the sale, except he wanted so much for what others considered old trucks and junk, that this day never came. Then he hired me to help him out with some painting and staining of windows. Well I worked for 10 hours one day, 8 hours second day and 4 hours 3rd day. During these 3 days each night he said take my truck but bring it back with the same amount of gas in it that u started out with. well needless to say it cost me minimum of $20 per day driving all the way home to IV just outside of SB., and back! And he never did pay me a penny. He does nothing but use people. And he thinks that u cost him money by staying in his little shangrala while u work for him. And just knowing him is payment enough, not to mention, being graced by his presence.!!! And to Nikki who is a parole you do not handle his mail. He handles his own mail, as I was the one there who showed him mail that needed his attention if he did not want to loose his money in the bank. And yes John can be a great guy when he is N_ _ _ A L. (fill in the blanks). I use to feel sorry for John knowing how hard he works daily. Until I seen first hand how he operates when he kicked me out of his house owing me jet again, for the $60.00 in groceries I picked up for him at his request. Then again $50 for more. Yes I have learned my lesson and will never answer another phone call , should he have ball enough to call me! Slander I think not!!!! every bit of this is true and I stand by it now and forever…..
signed Deeee
Eric Roland Photo... (@sbcaeric) 12:50 am on March 7, 2012 Permalink |
Pay the photographer? He only paid me 50% of bill.
Dolores Sears 5:41 am on December 13, 2011 Permalink |
Mr ‘Carroll needs to pay the people who helps him in getting the house ready to show. Unpaid debts are unprofessional…. And I hope he realizes you cant tell someone you would pay them , then after all is said and done, turn around and say I had to pay the photographer Not to mention his sticky fingers!!!
john carroll 12:23 pm on May 8, 2011 Permalink |
I am the owner and this is completely false. This needs to be removed.
villacaminocielosucks 1:45 pm on May 8, 2011 Permalink |
Everything on the review of your place is true. There are plenty of witnesses and vendors that agree. Please let us know which part of the review is not true.
Lawyers have sent letters to you and received no response. Feel free to let us know if you would like us to contact you or post all of the details of what was taking out of the deposit or more stories from the experience at Villa Camino Cielo and dealing with you the Owner.
Amanda 1:10 pm on April 29, 2013 Permalink |
It is true John, you need help and I feel bad for you. You are a terrible person.
villacaminocielosucks 10:52 am on October 1, 2012 Permalink |
crickets?
Shea 4:00 am on October 21, 2009 Permalink |
this should be pretty easy.
Nikki Hetz 5:50 pm on April 14, 2012 Permalink |
John Carrol is an amazing human being. I’ve worked for him for over 7 years (continuously throughout high school and UCSB) and he has ALWAYS paid me in full on time and often given me bonus’s for doing a GOOD JOB. Do you really think he’d pay for shotty photos (non-photoshopped and looks like a third grader took them… Sorry man its true though) and pathetic graphic design? I know who the second poster is and you are completely diminishing his kind hearted character. He is a good man who works hard and has a great soul. John Carrol is not a thief in any which way. Also, GET PAYPAL OR CASH FIRST…CONTRACT…..USE BRAIN MAYBE ? It is completely unfair for you to hide behind a computer with your scandalous remarks. Also I handle his mail and haven’t had ANY main pertaining a lawsuit or anything like it, so that would be untrue. Your slander makes me sick, have a heart. Pretty much made a website bashing a great man that has ALLEGEDLY made a few minor mistakes, we’re all human. PLEASE find something more positive to do with your time.
villacaminocielosucks 11:06 am on April 17, 2012 Permalink |
I guess everyone that has commented here have had much different run ins with him than you did. I agree that you should do a cash first contract since that is how Mr. Carrol was able to stiff us. Not sure how long you have handled his mail and if you do it for all his companies but a legal letter was sent two years ago.