EDIT: I highly recommend reading the comments on this post at the end.
I wanted to write a post with a review about our experience with the ILVE Range we purchased for our kitchen when we renovated it last year. You can read the original post here and the follow-up source post here if you have questions. A commercial-style range is a very big investment, as well as a big factor in the overall design plan, so I wanted to share my real-life experience now that we’ve used it for about nine months. This is not in any way sponsored (unlike most of the ILVE reviews I have found online), I selected, researched, and paid for our range all on my own.
My Review of the ILVE Range
To begin with, I have the ILVE 40″ Freestanding, Dual-Fuel Range in Stainless Steel with Brass Trim. You can get more detail (cost) for it here, though I’d definitely suggest ordering it through the manufacturer (they have an American marketing company) vs. Wayfair. I looked at a lot of commercial style ranges, and read what I could find online but in the end the look, the price and the reviews sold me on this vs. a brand like Thermador, Viking or KitchenAid.
I’ll start with what I like, because spoiler alert: we’ve had issues, but overall I do have some good things to share. First of all, I admit love the style, I think it works perfectly in our kitchen which is on the smaller size. I also love having two ovens, I find the smaller one that heats up fast and is perfect for quickly heating up things like chicken nuggets. I will say though, the larger of the two ovens is not that large. It doesn’t hold a full-size baking sheet, and a full-sized Thanksgiving turkey would be a challenge so you will need to go larger if you need more oven space. It does have a large storage drawer at the bottom, which is a nice feature. I also like that it has multiple oven settings like for pizza, broiling even rotisserie chicken etc. though I admit I don’t use them often.
Moving on to my disappointments. I don’t like that with the grill set up, you only have four burners. There is a large middle burner, but it’s oval and I don’t know what I’d use to cook on it. The center grill has benefits, like making pancakes but it’s really, heavy so I rarely use it as it is quite cumbersome to move to the sink to clean.
Let me now share what we’ve dealt with performance wise. My biggest complaint is that during this one-year warranty period, it has been next to impossible to get customer service. I actually had to go through Instagram direct message to finally get a response. I spent multiple 45-minute plus hold times on the ILVE customer service line only to be hung up on once I finished waiting in the queue. I did get a better response once I started working with the marketing company I ordered the range from, which is why I think you need to be sure to order direct. (Edit: see below about the company that handled their marketing and service going out of business).
I do find that the burners just suddenly go out while cooking. I have to check frequently to see if there is still a flame under a pan. Not only is that scary, since the range is gas, but it can really slow down cooking time if it goes out and I am not aware of it. I find that issue for a range of this cost to be significant. I had the warranty repair person they sent (which took months) check this several times but am told everything works fine. I also often have to ignite the burners multiple times before the gas flame catches, which is a little disconcerting though I have gotten used to it.
Finally, the gasket on the larger oven door came loose in March. I wound up waiting until late August for the part to come in and for the repair person to come out and replace it. I actually paid for a new part (they billed the card they had on file from the purchase without telling me).
I had seen ILVE reviews online, many of the reviews are from bloggers/influencers who were given their range in exchange for online promotion so I thought it worth my time to share our non-sponsored experience.
I’d love to hear experiences from anyone else who owns a range like this, or about other brands if you have had good or bad experiences. I found very little information online to help when I was trying to make a decision, so please leave a comment if you think it will help others who may be remodeling.
{You can see the kitchen remodel in our last home here}.
UPDATES:
I am adding in this section to this post, as it seems that my experience is similar to many others.
June 2024: I reached out on Instagram and shared this post (and the comments) with @ILVEranges and asked if they wanted to respond. I was told the following “I am really sorry to hear about your experience with our product. Unfortunately Superior Marketing and its affiliates filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy at the end of February so we don’t have direct access to your order”.
June 2025: Both Thermostats on the ovens had to be replaced at our cost.
….more to come!
XO,
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