Vina Robles Amphitheatre

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  I'm hoping I can update this review and bring it up to 4 or 5 stars, but for now I give it 2.5. First of all: GENERAL ADMISSION = the grass. There are no general admission "seats". Their website is not clear about this! It does show a seating chart with "General Admission Lawn" marked on it, but is that the only General Admission area? Yes, it is. So bring a blanket unless you want grass stains and flea bites. DON'T DRESS UP TO COME HERE. I know, I live in Paso and I should know better, but when you are stepping out to a show, you want to look sexy in high heels, right? Don't do it. You have to park your car in the hard, uneven dirt. I have a disability and followed all the signs for ADA parking, and we still had to walk about the length of 3 football fields in the lumpy, dry field. Then we got in there and sat in my best jeans on the itchy grass. Other than that, the sound is good. And, blind as I am, the view of the stage was pretty good from the lawn. We didn't have the problems others have mentioned about the "over-eager" staff checking our tickets a million times, but maybe that's because we were plopped down in the grass. Beer prices are borderline expensive $8. bucks for a Tap-It craft beer or a Heineken. I think you could get a horse piss...er, Bud light for $6 bucks. Wine was something like $10 bucks a glass, but their wine is pretty good. We didn't try any food. Yet. We have tickets for 4 more shows, so I will update, hopefully with better news.

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  Posted on 07.12.13 Tess S.

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  I attended the Yes concert 7/6.  I would love to give a better rating but can't do it.  I understand it was the first concert held there and of course there will be snafus but they should have been prepared. Same as the other reviewer let me start with the pros and end with the cons.
  Pros: beautiful grounds. Event staff inside the grounds friendly and helpful. Theater itself beautiful  and great sound.
  Cons: while standing in line to order wine people behind us told us we needed a wrist band so then we left that line to go stand in another line for a wrist band then back in the line for the wine.  Suggestion maybe they should tell you that when you enter the venue that you need a wristband to purchase wine or beer.  Wine was mediocre at best only got one glass at $10.  "Wine for the masses".  The food was priced high also and appeared to be mediocre.  So now we get to the part of the reason why I'm giving it a low rating.  When the event was over and we returned to our car there was a note on our car on how to leave the parking area.  We followed the instructions and soon the nightmare began.  It took us approximately 45 minutes just to go 2 cars lengths. People were getting out of there cars and asking event staff what was going on and were rudely told we would get to go.  Finally we had enough room in front of us to turn off the road and drive thru a field to get to the exit but again had to stop and wait while everyone else was doing the same thing.  Three event staff were trying to direct traffic.  We got in our car at 1055 and left the winery at 1215.
  I have to laugh at the fact we received and email that we could take a shuttle to and from the venue for $40.  Which sounded like a good idea but we got out of there way before the shuttle.
  Again ,I understand this was the first event at this winery and hopefully they will work out the kinks but I do have recommendations for people who are going to future events.  Eat before you go and if needed have a glass of wine in your car after you park before you go in.  Also, be prepared to sit in your car for at least one hour to leave the winery.

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  Posted on 07.08.13 Joy S.

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  I was torn between 3 and 4 stars, but I decided to be generous because this venue has gone out of its way to book some class acts. The British progressive rock band Yes was a great opening act for a schedule that also includes the likes of Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, the Doobie Brothers and Garrison Keillor.
  
  The pros:
  
  - The venue is nicely set up, so most of the seats have a good view of the stage. The seats are fairly comfortable, with cup holders available for drinks.
  
  - The restrooms are easily accessible, and there's plenty of room at the top of the seating area to walk around without feeling cramped. Being a new venue, it was clean, including the restrooms.
  
  - After the concert, the parking lot staff did a great job of directing traffic so everyone got out in an orderly fashion and no one line of cars got an advantage on the others.
  
  - The parking lot itself is relatively close to the amphitheater, which is a plus, especially in comparison to a similar venue in Santa Barbara, where you have to walk up a long, steep hill in order to reach the seating area.
  
  - The sound system seemed a little off at first, but the engineer quickly adjusted things so it was enjoyable for most of the evening.
  
  The cons:
  
  - I wanted to bring my camera to take photos, and I tried to check whether this would be allowed by contacting the venue's Facebook page. Getting no response, I checked the website, which said that "professional cameras" weren't allowed, but "small personal cameras" were permitted. I assumed a "professional" camera was a $3,000 model with a tripod and heavy-duty telephoto lens, as this is the kind of equipment professionals I know use. But when I got to the entrance, I was rudely informed by a security guard that my camera was not permitted because it has a detachable lens. Had this criterion been clearly stated on the website, it would have saved me both disappointment and rude treatment by the guard, for whom it didn't appear enough that I complied with his gruff demand that I not bring the camera inside - instead, he insisted on pushing the point that it was a "professional" camera (even though it clearly wasn't).  Not wanting to argue, I simply walked away. But his behavior was off-putting.
  
  - Once inside, we were greeted every 15 feet by an usher demanding to see our tickets. This was excessive. The staff members were pleasant enough about it, but it got to the point that we felt we were being treated like children or potential gate-crashers. Thankfully, this behavior wasn't repeated once the concert started (my wife and I both made sure to hang on to our tickets in case more demands were made when we left our seats for intermission).
  
  - It would have been nice if the big screen were larger and the image clearer, but this is a minor quibble.
  
  - Each ticket purchased has to pay for parking, rather than each car, which seems unfair.
  
  Overall, the concert was enjoyable. If the venue irons out some of the kinks in terms of some staff members' treatment of guests, this could be an excellent addition to the Central Coast concert/events scene.

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  Posted on 07.07.13 Stifyn E.

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