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Hilltop Hacienda At Kennolyn Kennolyn's two adjoining properties are in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains of California's central coast, where majestic redwood trees provide an awe-inspiring backdrop for events. Quiet and secluded yet easily accessible, we are less than 45 minutes from the San Francisco Bay Area and just a few minutes drive from historic Highway 1.
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With decades of experience planning unparalleled weddings, we have come to know which are the best ingredients for the perfect event recipe. After working with so many photographers, bakeries, and entertainment vendors, we've been able to narrow down the ones that we know deliver consistently exceptional and reliable services and that know our location and its nuances well.
Stone Creek Village is no less than an all-inclusive mountain getaway for your group to stay and relax and sink into its cozy timelessness. While reveling in that sense of escape, you'll discover many diverse activities surrounding you: swimming, hiking, volleyball, basketball, rock wall climbing, putting, ping-pong, and roasting s'mores around a campfire are just the short list. Free your imagination as you envision a destination wedding weekend, company retreat, or any other immersive occasion you can think of.
Your wedding will be a representation of who you are as a couple: the things that make you smile, the things you've learned about each other and about yourselves, and the things you want to carry into your future together. Here at Kennolyn, our passion is helping you bring those qualities to life, to turn that representation into an unforgettable celebration. Our private, all-inclusive venues are fully customizable to reflect you and your dream setting.
We offer a convenient all-inclusive experience with comfortable lodging (two-night minimum), multiple meeting spaces, all meals, and the attention of full-time coordinators committed to planning and overseeing every detail.
Reviews (28)
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Sabrina Thompson
Jun 28, 2022
We started going to Kennolyn last year in 2021. My children at the time 13,11,8 all enjoyed Kennolyn so much that every day I picked them up they were arguing who gets to tell mom how their day was first. Do you know how hard it is to find one camp that all 3 kids and different ages would enjoy?!.This year my 12 and 9 year old went, and again they love the Kennolyn experience!. my 9 year old says he wants to send his children here when they are older and my 12 year old wishes we knew about Kennolyn when they were even younger. Thank you Kennolyn for wonderful childhood memories for many more years!
James Mackey
May 30, 2022
Very beautiful, great staff. Trails around village is spectacular. I dont think anything could have been done any better. I will remember our visit and will talk about our 3 day there for the rest of my life.
Christian K.
May 16, 2022
We had our wedding at Kennolyn (Stone Creek Village) in May 2022 and it was absolutely magical. We wanted a wedding that was unique, active, outdoors, and gave us tons of time to hang out with our guests, and Kennolyn was the perfect venue to make it happen! Great: THE REDWOODS (insanely pretty site for ceremony), location (close to airports), weather, activities, cabins (hotel quality, unbeatable location), service from the Kennolyn staff on-site (need a fridge for breast milk? no problem! carrying bags? they'll ask to help!), late-night stuff (they make you go inside after 10pm but we had huge speakers in there and were blasting music until late with no problems), flexibility around food and late-night food we wanted Good/okay: price (the pool and ropes course are add-ons), food, recommended DJ vendor (Sound in Motion), but granted he basically just only used song from our suggestions Meh: communication pre-wedding, really felt like we had to pull information out of the Kennolyn team (very little proactive outreach from our coordinator), but granted we are super Type-A haha
Annabella Billante
Apr 21, 2022
Last year was my very first year at Kennolyn. Everyone was so welcoming, the activities were great, and I made a lot of friends! Highly recommend this camp.
Tom Donovan
Feb 01, 2022
I enjoyed many years creating hand painted signs for Kennolyn Camp contributing to the Old West theme for young people, who are our future to experience
Turboca Sc
Apr 14, 2021
Kennolyn is everything a summer camp should be. They have all the activities you'd expect and many more. The owners and Sr. staff are stable and they do such a good job of hiring exceptional college students to be counselors. My daughter grows so much each summer during the weeks she is at camp. Her manners improve, her ability and willingness to help around the house improves, and her self-efficacy is noticeably boosted. And the best part is that she has no idea that Kennolyn is teaching her so much- she's just having fun.
A. Google User
Mar 14, 2021
I have gone to kennolyn for 3 year sand look forward to it every year. The staff are so nice and accommodating. I am a picky eater but they always make sure I have things to eat. All the activities are great and safe even with possibly dangerous things like archery. I have never gotten homesick all four times I have went most times I don't want to go home.

I have made great friends that I still keep in contact with even months after camp. All the counselors are so nice and helpful. Outpost is always great you may not sleep the best but you're in the woods : They make special dietary meals like vegan, gluten free, and diary free meals. I highly suggest Kennolyn.
Jennifer Jaffe
Nov 28, 2020
Kennolyn Camp has become a fundamental part of our families life. My boys love it so much and look forward to it all year. Every detail is considered and every request attended to with kindness. The leadership of the entire staff is exemplary. You can tell that everyone is invested in creating a positive experience for all. Our children are engaged and having fun all day and always come home with enthusiastic reports.
Zoe Skognes
Nov 25, 2020
My boys just completed their second week of Kennolyn and today, on their last day, my 8 year old got into the car and gave me a piece of candy from their egg hunt in the forest and said "here Mom, this is for you to thank you for letting us come to Kennolyn this Summer so I could do so many cool things"! Every single day for two weeks on our car rides home my boys would talk enthusiastically about all of the activities they did, the friends they made, the new things they tried.

I honestly haven't seen my boys this happy and excited about anything in months and I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people at Kennolyn that created this truly special place and program. My boys are already talking about what they're excited for most at Kennolyn for next summer!
Danae J.
Sep 15, 2020
I was very hesitant to leave my honest review here, but feel it is necessary for future couples. After reading the most recent review, it validates that Kennolyn treated other clients in the same way. I'd like to highlight why we choose Kennolyn. My fiance & I toured the Hilltop Hacienda in Dec '19, contracted in Jan '20, & were going to get married in Sept '20. * The grounds are beautiful * There is a bridal suite onsite * Catering, DJ, & an on-site coordinator are included.

This allowed us to source/book less vendors * Signature cocktails. This was a huge selling point for us, since most non-hotel venues only allow beer and wine * Venue hosts an overview day for their couples to meet preferred vendors, see set-up designs, & taste F&B from their menu * We're local to the Bay Area. Kennolyn felt far enough to be a destination, but close enough to home.

We truly felt that we could have a wedding weekend with our guests in SCC Now, let's fast forward to March '20. CA is sheltering in place. Our wedding overview day gets cancelled and international travel is banned. We are hopeful that by Sept, we'd still be able to have our wedding and maybe the preview day will be rescheduled. April rolls around and we receive an official update from Kennolyn.

If your wedding is between May through the end of Aug '20, you can rebook through July 3, '21. All future payments for those couples will be rolled over. For Sept-Nov couples, this isn't being offered, however, you will only be charged for the guest guaranteed. We were relieved that Kennolyn is only charging what is guaranteed for F&B.

We thought they were being flexible. In May, we express to Kennolyn that my fiance's parents cannot travel to the US since they live in the EU. We ask if we could postpone. Kennolyn states that if we want to change our date through July '21, that we would lose 50% of our first deposit. If we wanted to postpone to a later date, we would lose 100%.

We instead offered an advance deposit in '20 in order to rebook to '21. Kennolyn declined and said that they would be "losing thousands" in '20 if they allowed that. Their response was extremely distasteful, especially considering these weren't just any guests who were attending; they were the parents of the groom. In June, we were supposed to have our 90-Day Final Detail Meeting at Kennolyn. Instead, we got an email stating that our detail meeting was cancelled since their staff were still furloughed but to "please send our second deposit via check to the venue." They got rid of their credit card system & were only accepting cash.

Since there weren't any "details" to go over, we asked if we could revisit our postponement request a month later in July & defer making payments for one month. Kennolyn accepted this. Kennolyn's stance was 1. If in July, Kennolyn is unable to operate in Sept, we can be refunded OR we can rebook without penalty to '21 OR 2. If in July, Kennolyn is able to operate in Sept, we can rebook to '21 but lose between 50-100% of our deposit (same stance) or we can have our wedding on the contracted date in Sept '20 with the following social distancing guidelines: * Masks to be worn until seated at the reception. * Guests to be seated within their own household. I'm not sure how this is achievable. * No cocktail hour -- There goes one of the reasons why we choose Kennolyn. * No singing or dancing -- What's a wedding without dancing?

Since outdoor weddings were still able to be hosted in SCC for religious/cultural ceremonies, Kennolyn held firm in their stance in July. We felt as if we were still being put in a situation to either lose thousands of dollars or put our guests health at risk. Days later, SCC is placed on the states monitoring list and Kennolyn "generously offers" to postpone our wedding to '21 OR '22 without any financial penalty.

Almost 30 days prior to our Sept wedding, why did it take this long? If this is how they treated us up until this point, how are they going to be when we have our actual wedding? Rather than accepting, we asked for our first deposit refunded & provided documentation around guidances to date & provided backing on how we made multiple attempts to find a middle ground with the venue.

We really got the sense that they weren't taking the pandemic serious; not only for their guests, but for their own staff. The venue countered & offered to give us all but $1,500 back as they "spent a great amount of time on calls and emails with us." I knew after all of this, this was as good as it was going to get. We accepted this offer & were refunded.

This experience has left my fiance and I both distasteful of weddings now. Thanks Kennolyn, you ruined the magic of our special day. I really wish I was giving Kennolyn a 5-star review for future couples to read, but I have nothing nice to say. If after you read this and you still want to host your wedding at Kennolyn, I would read their Cancellation clauses very closely within their contract.
Nikita K.
Aug 30, 2020
We had really high hopes for Kennolyn when we began to plan our October 2020 wedding with them. Unfortunately, in the midst of the COVID crisis, they made it clear to us that we are just another business deal to them and they care more about our money than about fairness, integrity to our contract, and a positive and warm experience. Once COVID hit, they spent several months telling us we could not move our deposit to another date and would be heavily charged extra for trying to do so, in spite of the fact that it became obvious that October would not be a safe time for gatherings of 100+ people.

Spending thousands of additional dollars was not an option for us, neither was risking the lives of our friends and family (not to mention the Kennolyn staff). Later, the general manager informed us that if by August, weddings were still not allowed, we would receive our full deposit back. In August, all of a sudden, Kennolyn stopped responding to our emails and requests to reconnect and figure out our next steps.

They left us with vague messages that "we are still holding weddings as planned" which we know is not possible given the regulations (and if they are currently upholding contracts involving gatherings of 125+ people in the midst of a global pandemic and wildfires, this should be considered a pretty awful public health hazard and should be dealt with).

Not to mention, their social media has made it clear that they are not upholding contracts for such large gatherings. At this point, it has been a month of a wild goose chase trying to get some response out of Kennolyn. They have thousands of dollars of our money in a deposit and contract, and have not upheld a single portion of their end. I have been told at least 3 times now that "someone will hopefully get back to me by the end of the day!" over the course of the entire month of August.

I would not recommend this venue unless you are willing to take the risk of having your money held with no services provided in return. I understand it is a difficult time for everyone, but this is absolutely not how you treat your clients, not to mention questionably legal.
Amy Kroeger
Jun 21, 2020
We had our son start his first year at camp here and he has loved it so much! Throughout these uncertain times it is a big decision to let our kiddos go into the care of others. The Camp Kennolyn staff has been SO professional and extremely organized. It gives great peace of mind to families. My child comes home happy every day and loves to tell me all about his adventures from each day. Thank you!
Carly J.
Nov 04, 2019
I want to start of saying. most of our guests said it was the best wedding they have ever been to! We ended up choosing Kennolyn after a friend recommended it to us. We were looking for a Redwood wedding that could be over the weekend and have lodging on site. Some other venues we had looked at had some restrictions that didn't work for us. We booked the Stone Creek Village location : most of our guests stayed on site in cabins.

We had a welcome dinner with everyone on Friday, had breakfast and lunch on Saturday, did yoga and opened the pool on Saturday before the wedding and reception, then had a final breakfast on Sunday. This was the perfect location for our friends and family. Most guests were flying in, so we were able to have them stay onsite and got to enjoy as much time as possible with everyone.

I will say the planning process was a bit hectic. We went through 3 wedding coordinators with the venue because 2 of them got fired. Luckily we had our own wedding planner to help us. But, once we got assigned Caroline with the venue, everything started to fall into place. Her and the venue staff during the wedding were amazing. There was only one hiccup with the guest welcome bags when people were checking in to their cabins some of the bags weren't given to our guests. But, I'd say if that was the only mess up. things went perfectly! The food was very good! The location is magical, amongst the redwoods in a luxury camp-like setting. I definitely recommend this venue for the wedding of your dreams!
Kate Claassen
Oct 28, 2019
Phenomenal day camp experience! It has always been our favorite, and in 2020 Kennolyn stands out even more. Kennolyn has a careful and rigorous approach to managing camp safety during COVID that we are very comfortable with. Kids come home tired from swimming, archery, climbing wall, outdoor cooking, and of course fun and engaging counselors. So happy Kennolyn found a way to make camp a go this year. First rate program focused on stewardship, friendship, independence, flexibility, and the joys of outdoors.
Jenny C.
Apr 21, 2019
I don't even know where to begin with this review because our May 2018 wedding weekend at Stone Creek Village at Kennolyn was amazing! We knew we wanted to incorporate the beauty of the redwoods, an opportunity for our family and friends to spend quality time with one another, and a venue that would be mostly inclusive of all wedding needs - Kennolyn fit that bill perfectly!

Working with Janine and her team was fantastic! Janine is an amazing coordinator who is extremely professional, understanding, and patient. The Kennolyn staff was nothing but professional, helpful and accommodating. Along with Janine, they helped make our weekend wedding a superb success making sure to take care of all of the major and minor details. Janine coordinated with the outside vendors like a champ and never once did I feel like I needed to intervene, and I like to intervene.

One thing that caused some concern was the fact that we had to sign a contract before a formal food tasting but all of that was alleviated the moment we stepped foot onto their site during one of their "meet and greet" events with their catering staff. We were invited to bring up to 2 guests and we met other couples who were also having their weddings at Kennolyn, meet vendors for services that Kennolyn didn't provide as well as sample a vast variety of their menu items before deciding what our wedding menu would be.

The food was spectacular and we were able to leave the event with a wedding menu in mind. Our guests loved the options and the quality! There were some additions we added to our weekend package: the bonfire and s'mores package for Friday night and the ropes course on Saturday morning. Both are HIGHLY recommended and if you are considering and evaluating if both are worth the value, for the purposes of our wedding and giving our family and friends opportunities to have shared memories, get to know one another in different capacities, it was a complete SUCCESS!

If you're considering Kennolyn's Stone Creek Village I would 100% recommend it! To this day, our guests still speak about their experiences as "one of the most fun and memorable weddings/weekends" they've been to. My husband and I would recreate the whole weekend again @ Kennolyn if we had the chance!
Matt B.
Aug 15, 2018
Most amazing venue and top notch staff! We had our wedding up at the Hacienda 8/4/18 and we can't sing our praises enough. The staff, including Lauren and Hannah, were on top of everything and the day went very smooth. Food was tasty, views were unreal, and all our guests raved about the event. HIGHLY recommend! Best wedding day ever.
Robert D.
Aug 06, 2018
We had a terrific wedding and reception event under the very effective planning and execution oversight of the Kennolyn team (Anna, Lauren and Sydney). Our event (160 guests) was easily accommodated and coordinated by this terrific team. No drama, on time, smiles all around. The facility was perfect for our event. Redwood grove, courtyard cocktails, dining on the veranda overlooking the Monterey Bay. Grooms Casita and Brides Hacienda for pre wedding preparations.

The food, beverage and service was excellent and without flaw. The affiliated vendor teams were seamlessly incorporated. The pricing was competitive and represented good value. Given the hundreds of details that go into a wedding, it was amazing that our days was as perfect as it was. Father of the Bride.
Rebecca R.
Mar 13, 2018
I don't know where to begin with Janine! She is the absolute BEST and I just adore her! She is such a joy to work with and makes the planning beforehand and day-of execute seamless and stress-free. Janine is helpful, quick to respond, flexible, reliable and a sincere kind heart. She made me feel calm on event day which is hard to do, but she has managed to do it 2 years in a row.

I love her! I absolutely love the venue as well. We've hosted a corporate leadership training at Stone Creek Village twice and it's been wonderful. So charming, plenty of space, and I love the camp style vibe that it gives off. I highly recommend Kennolyn, Janine and the rest of the Events team. I've had nothing but an amazing experience two years in a row.
Nicki K.
Nov 21, 2017
Words cannot describe how incredible this venue is! My husband and I just got married here a month ago and we still can't stop talking about what a fantastic experience we had. The venue itself is absolutely stunning, but Janine and her team are hands down the best part! During the entire planning process, Janine made us feel completely at ease and truly listened to us.

She took all of our ideas and turned the venue into our dream wedding! On our wedding day, she and her team took care of all of the set up and take down, which allowed us to really relax and enjoy our special day. They even packed everything up for us the next day! Our guests keep telling us it was the best wedding they have ever been to, and we couldn't agree more! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING JANINE!
Jack R.
Nov 05, 2017
Kennolyn is incredible! The natural beauty among the redwoods and with a view of the Pacific Ocean is unmatched. The property is classy but not over-the-top. But probably most important, Janine and her staff are A+. Janine has a fantastic attitude and looks for opportunities at every moment to wow you. Our wedding day could not have been better and we owe a lot of that to Kennolyn.
Shilpa G.
Oct 22, 2017
I can't say enough about how wonderful Kennolyn and its staff are. The venue itself is so gorgeous - it overlooks the ocean and is situated in the Santa Cruz mountains surrounded by Redwoods. The staff is incredibly helpful and responsive - we worked with Janine for over a year. During that year, she would respond to our emails within 24 hours and continuously make us feel at ease.

She coordinated with our vendors the day of and made sure we did not have to deal with anything the actual day of our wedding. The actual wedding went off without a hitch and was the day we both dreamed it would be. We feel incredibly lucky to have chosen such a wonderful place for our wedding!
Rebecca C.
Oct 20, 2017
W O W. Janine, Jen, and Courtney are such sweet hearts! I absolutely love them. Janine answered all of my questions. Courtney made me feel so calm during rehearsal and on the day of the wedding. We truly had an amazing experience. Hats off to these fantastic women! They do require you to use a specific DJ/MC, but Sound In Motion was fantastic to work with!

And SIM has many services like photography, photo booth, and videography! Since Kennolyn is located in a tucked away area, it was so comforting to know they had many connections to local vendors. Also, all of our guests could not stop telling us how BEAUTIFUL the venue is! This place does not need much as far as decor is concerned.
Vanessa M.
Jun 06, 2017
Kennolyn is a gorgeous venue to have your wedding. You get a beautiful combination of redwood groves and expansive views of the Monterey Bay from the estate. Unfortunately, we did not decide to go with this venue because there were some "surprises" during the preliminary contract phase. When we had originally gone over pricing with Janine, we were told that we would get a $1,000 discount if we held our wedding on a Sunday between the months of April and May in 2017.

This attracted us and we were set on signing the contract for my special day, due to this attractive discount. After saying, "Yes! Let's sign!", we received our preliminary contract. Sadly, the discount we were promised for an April/May wedding was not included (I guess it doesn't apply for a Sunday wedding) and on top of that there was a 20% service charge, 8.5% tax fee and an extra $500 fee for adding an extra 1/2 hour for our reception. Overall, I am pretty sad that this didn't work out because I love Kennolyn and attended the camp as a child for 3+ years in a row. I at least wanted to let any future brides out there know about my experience and hopefully you can learn from this!
E. F.
Jan 11, 2017
We loved having our reception at Kennolyn. The team there worked with us to create a wonderful evening for us and for our guests. From the very beginning, they were focused on making sure our day was as special as possible. The venue itself is gorgeous and doesn't need a lot to create a special event. It's also a photographer's dream.

From the sunsets, to the redwood grove, and place itself, it's hard to take a bad picture. Jenn worked with us quite a lot on the menu. We're foodies. Some would say annoyingly thoughtful about food. And we had a lot of vegetarians at our event. Jenn and her chef worked with us to create one of our favorite recipes which received tons of complements from meat eaters and vegetarians alike.

They also did a great job with all the other fare. One thing to be careful of, and we've already mentioned this to them, at the time of our event, they only worked with one DJ company. We found them to be professional, but slightly expensive. And as we have friends who are DJs, it was a bummer not to be able to work with someone we already knew and loved. Additionally, to get a DJ with a lot of experience, you'll have to pony up to their highest level.

We also appreciated their vendor day. That's where we discovered our dessert caterer who did a phenomenal job on our cupcakes. We made it even more complicated for them by having a non-traditional schedule for our event. We did away with the garter tossing and cake cutting style moments. We wanted to focus on the dancing, eating, and drinking. Jenn helped us create a schedule that worked and kept us on time the whole day. Thanks to Jenn and her team for making our day as special as we imagined it could be.
Donna H.
Oct 31, 2016
There aren't enough nice things I can say about the Kennolyn team; especially Jenn and Janine. They made our wedding seriously magical! We were married on 10.8.16 and also rented out the camp for an adult camp weekend, which I highly recommend. From start to finish in booking with them, they will be there during the entire process to help guide you.

They are quick to respond to emails, thoughtful in their suggestions, hands-on during the wedding day, friendly and just lovely. They are the kindest, most thoughtful women I've ever worked it. They loved my dog as if it was their own and made sure all of our family and friends were taken care of. The venue itself is beyond beautiful with views to the sea, the food was delicious and we couldn't have asked for a better venue for our special day. I would highly recommend Kennolyn for weddings but really any event needs. You won't be disappointed with the service you receive!
Simone L.
Feb 10, 2015
Beautiful wedding venue! I've photographed a lovely day here and I have to say the location is great for wedding photos. I love the large ceremony spot, the getting ready buildings are beautiful and full of light, and there are tons of great places for photographs all over the grounds. I love that it's filled with trees and light. Their on site staff coordinator was fantastic and I love that each part of the day has its own space: no need to reset any of the areas for different parts of the day!
Alexandra M.
Nov 10, 2014
I would pick Kennolyn for our wedding over and over again! It was such a spectacular venue, and I know that Kennolyn's awesome staff were a huge part of the reason our wedding day was such a success! My mom and I loved Jenn from the moment we met her. She was so helpful and low pressure when we were first looking at the venue, and always very easy to get in touch with during the planning stages. Having her there as a day-of coordinator helped everything go amazingly smoothly! (Multiple guests commented on how flawless our wedding seemed!) It was so great to just be able to drop off our decorations during the rehearsal, and then to return the next day to see them expertly displayed! Jenn also coordinated all of the outside vendors we hired -- I didn't have to worry about a thing on the day of!

I just showed up and enjoyed the day! The food was delicious, and the servers polite and professional. Our champagne glasses were never empty! As bride and groom, appetizers and buffet items were brought directly to the sweetheart table. Jenn and Janeen even arranged it so that I could have a special vegetarian meal, and made sure I got a slice of the cake.

They really thought of everything, and anticipated my needs before I even could. Also, the location is really beautiful! We had an amazing view of the ocean, including a spectacular sunset during dinner. I love the Spanish hacienda style of the place, and our pictures among the redwood trees came out stunning. It was so nice that it is private (no strangers looking on!) and my guests were easily shuttled to and from the hotel in our charter buses.

Many guests came up to tell us how beautiful, comfortable and fun our venue was. Don't hesitate to book Kennolyn as your wedding venue -- I promise you won't regret it! (Thank you again, Jenn and Janeen!)
Rachel H.
Oct 03, 2014
We had a wedding recently at Kennolyn. This place is fantastic. Guests and venders complimented a lot about the spectacular view. Jenn is our wedding coordinator. She is very organized on the day about the timing. She also did a wonderful job for the site decoration. This wedding venue exceeds our expectation. The only thing holding our back when we were choosing the venue is the transportation.

The final two miles are uphill and tough. We booked a shuttle bus for some family members between hotel and the venue. Overall, our entire experience with Kennolyn was amazing.