Minka-Aire F544-GBZ, Calais, 52" Ceiling Fan, Golden Bronze

I am deducting one star due to the poorly written installation instructions. They should emphasize that if the fan and light do not respond at first to change the dip switches in the battery compartment of the remote then go through the remote "re-learning process" which is holding the stop button on the remote for ten seconds after turning on the wall switch - the lights on the fan blink twice if the new code was received. Now the fan and light should work. This omission had me taking the fan apart to check my connections, plus swapping out a new wall switch.As for the fan, it is gorgeous, quiet, and the blades did not require balancing after we installed them. I am not sure I like the lack of manual controls (apart from fan direction) on the fan - you can only operate it from the remote - and of course you can turn everything off at the wall switch. I don't think the description made this clear. Here is hoping the remote lasts, and the batteries will always be available.

Arrived well packed in good condition. Had a mishap trying to secure the mounting bracket to the ceiling. It slipped and hit the ladder right on the plastic reverse switch which is attached to the mounting bracket, cracked and the switch was in pieces all over the floor. Was able to super glue it, but could not find one of two tiny metal contacts. Called Minka Aire and went round and round with customer service trying to describe it and sent pictures.After waiting 3 days, I found the missing piece and reassembled the reverse switch and reattached it to the mounting bracket and we were able to continue the install. Fan works great. Nice and quiet. Love how the housing cuts down on future dusting, keeping the motor covered.I emailed back to Minka that we found the piece and were able to continue with the install. No reply.

This is the nicest looking fan I've ever bought and it runs beautifully - smooth and quiet. The dimming/brightening feature of the down light is really great also. An excellent product. My only complaint is that the instructions are sparse and take some interpretation. For example, there are spring washers and star washers - it's not clear which to use - the instructions don't specify and the diagram isn't clear. So I ended up just picking one. Another example is that the white and black wires were not labeled like the instructions indicated they should be - but there were only one white and one black coming out of the top of the motor, so it was not too hard to figure out they were the right ones. Bottom line is that assembly time could have been cut in half if the instructions and diagrams were better/bigger. I gave it 5 stars because I really love the product despite the sparse instructions. It not only looks great, but it worked right the first time.

The fan is lovely and elegant but the first fan that I ordered was defective. The certified electrician that was installing it could not get the fan to work. I re-ordered the fan and my certified electrician easily installed it. I called Minka-Aire to ask for some compensation because I now had a second electrician bill for the installation of the second fan. Minka-Aire flippantly told me that they will not offer any compensation for the second electrician bill that I incurred because I bought this product on Amazon. Amazon did offer some compensation but Minka Aire did not stand behind their product.

Whether it was just this fan, or all Minka's of this type, it was not fresh out of the box. The mounting bracket had bolt marks on it from a previous installation and the parts came in zip lock bags from the grocery store. The screws for the motor shroud would not fit in the mounting holes and it was so heavy, I could hardly hold it in place while installing it. Lastly I could not get the fan remote to stop vibrating and making noise. I should have known there is an issue when the box came unwrapped and was just the Mfgr's fan box. It had new tape on the outside and at least 2 shipping labels that had been cut and removed from previous shipments. Not sure Amazon would be happy with Maxim Lighting for this type of action.

did not work initially & many heated arguments with Amazon & costly to have my electrician return for a 2nd & 3rd time to remove & reinstall this fan. It is pretty & still working so far.

I purchased this item March 2014. The light is not very bright and I notice recently that the fan will no longer work on high speed. I haven't called the vendor yet to find out why. Outside of the fan high speed issue I really like it. I had it installed in the master bedroom. It has a tray ceiling and it looks very nice there.

The exquisite details of this fan make it look very high-end. It is definitely worth the price. I get compliments on it everytime someone comes over. Most people don't notice such minor details when visiting someone else's home, but everyone notices this fan! It's gorgeous and would look great in any room. Also, it is completely silent and creates a nice breeze. I would recommend this product to anyone, it is fantastic!