Just returned from 11 days in SXM, most of which were wonderful, but I feel I just have to put out information on our one "bummer".
Having had at least one good experience over the past several years at Saratoga, my wife and I opted to go there to celebrate our anniversary this year. BIG MISTAKE!!
I must say that the food was pretty good, particularly if you don't count the cost (it's not cheap). However, a restaurant. particularly an expensive one, is about three things: ambiance, food, and service. And that's where our evening turned from a pleasure to a nightmare.
We had made a reservation well in advance, and we were told that we would have no trouble selecting the table of our choice, since we were arriving early, which we did. When we got there, one other party was seated, and there were several tables available. As we were being seated, the hostess told us that they had put our name on a particular table, not the one we really wanted. After giving us a little "grief" (was that necessary?), we were seated at the table of our choice.
Our server appeared to offer us water and drinks, and a Mango Martini and Saratoga Punch were actually quite good. Off to a reasonable start.
We had a bit of conversation about our appetizers, and we wound up asking our server whether the mussels could be made without lemon, since my wife is allergic. Off he went to the kitchen to get an answer for us. Meanwhile we were looking over the menu and the wine list. Anyway, he returned to say that there was no problem with the mussels, but we had decided to shuffle things around a bit. My wife had originally told him she would have the Lobster Bisque and I would have the Gazpacho. When he returned with the answer on our mussels, we said that we did not want the lobster bisque, we would have a tomato/mozzarella, and the lobster risotto instead of the mussels. Still going along pretty well. Our server indicated that "he would send someone over for the wine", but we told him the bottle we wanted. Here's where things start going south.
Our first round of appetizers (tomato and soup) arrived fine, but there was no offer of fresh ground pepper (which is generally a standard in any of the better restaurants we have eaten at). That was OK, but on the next round, lo and behold, an order of mussels appeared. When we informed our server that we had actually ordered the risotto, he told us that we had canceled the lobster bisque, but not the mussels, and we hadn't ordered the risotto. I suppose that should have been a harbinger of things to come, but we were still trying to have a good time, and the issue with the mussels (other than the "debate") was not worth fussing over.
Meanwhile, note that no one ever appeared to take a wine order, the hostess came over and asked what bottle we had ordered, and no wine appeared through our first two rounds of food. Since our server was not particularly handy, the party at the table next to us informed their waiter that we would really like the bottle of wine we ordered some time before the end of our meal. He came over and asked us what we wanted and went off to get it. When he returned, we told him that we were not particularly pleased with our server, and he informed us that our server was really a busboy and not a waiter. Needless to say, that did not go over terribly well, including the waiter saying, "he's doing the best he can". At the kind of prices Saratoga charges, "the best he can" is really a pretty lame statement.
At this point, we are not terribly happy, and this is compounded by our "server" returning to give us a hard time about the fiasco with getting our wine ("I told you I was going to send someone over", but NO ONE CAME). Can you imagine any of the serving staff in a classy restaurant anywhere else engaging in a debate with the diners defending the inadequate service (or lack thereof) and errors with the order (by the way, there was NO offer to replace our incorrect appetizer)????
On to the main course. Not a big one here, but my wife's salmon was dressed with a lemon sauce, which was not mentioned on the menu. By this point, she is completely upset and not taken with the idea of trading her salmon for my tuna, which was quite good. We briefly entertained the idea of sending hers back, but given our experience with appetizer and wine, we thought that was a hopeless cause. We decided to try to make the best of it, but we found ourselves having to pour our own wine, while no one bothered to stop by to ask us how our food was.
Finally, at some point, our "server" cleaned the dishes and dropped the dessert menus on our table, with no so much as a "how was your dinner".
By this point, the evening was completely ruined, and we were left to walk up to the hostess to ask for our check. Of course, we were asked how things were, and we informed them that our anniversary dinner had been completely ruined by the horrendous service. Their "gracious" offer was to ask us to sit by the bar and have a complimentary drink while they prepared our check. Right!! What we should have done was to walk out and let them figure it out for themselves.
When the check arrived, we were a little "non-plussed" that the obligatory 15% service charge was included, and we promptly told them that we would NOT pay for the miserable excuse for service we were afforded. A quick trip to the kitchen (apparently, the manager/owner is also the chef, but he was "too busy" to bother to come out and speak to us) resulted in the removal of the service charge.
I have to say that, if we were not as nice people as we are, we probably could (and should) have announced to the people who were waiting for tables that they were taking a significant risk by staying.
The "funniest" part of this is that a couple of friends who were at the resort with us also confirmed that they had previously received bad service at Saratoga, and they were not particularly inclined to go back.
Needless to say, we will not be returning to Saratoga, and we feel justified in recommending to others that they avoid it (or consider very carefully before choosing it).
In an environment where good restaurants abound, it is unbelievable that an experience like we had should be tolerated or kept a secret.
I'm sure that others may chime in to recount good experiences at Saratoga, but, at the prices they charge, there is no reason for a bad experience, particularly when it relates to service. You may or may not like the food, but the service should always be stellar.
Tom
Having had at least one good experience over the past several years at Saratoga, my wife and I opted to go there to celebrate our anniversary this year. BIG MISTAKE!!
I must say that the food was pretty good, particularly if you don't count the cost (it's not cheap). However, a restaurant. particularly an expensive one, is about three things: ambiance, food, and service. And that's where our evening turned from a pleasure to a nightmare.
We had made a reservation well in advance, and we were told that we would have no trouble selecting the table of our choice, since we were arriving early, which we did. When we got there, one other party was seated, and there were several tables available. As we were being seated, the hostess told us that they had put our name on a particular table, not the one we really wanted. After giving us a little "grief" (was that necessary?), we were seated at the table of our choice.
Our server appeared to offer us water and drinks, and a Mango Martini and Saratoga Punch were actually quite good. Off to a reasonable start.
We had a bit of conversation about our appetizers, and we wound up asking our server whether the mussels could be made without lemon, since my wife is allergic. Off he went to the kitchen to get an answer for us. Meanwhile we were looking over the menu and the wine list. Anyway, he returned to say that there was no problem with the mussels, but we had decided to shuffle things around a bit. My wife had originally told him she would have the Lobster Bisque and I would have the Gazpacho. When he returned with the answer on our mussels, we said that we did not want the lobster bisque, we would have a tomato/mozzarella, and the lobster risotto instead of the mussels. Still going along pretty well. Our server indicated that "he would send someone over for the wine", but we told him the bottle we wanted. Here's where things start going south.
Our first round of appetizers (tomato and soup) arrived fine, but there was no offer of fresh ground pepper (which is generally a standard in any of the better restaurants we have eaten at). That was OK, but on the next round, lo and behold, an order of mussels appeared. When we informed our server that we had actually ordered the risotto, he told us that we had canceled the lobster bisque, but not the mussels, and we hadn't ordered the risotto. I suppose that should have been a harbinger of things to come, but we were still trying to have a good time, and the issue with the mussels (other than the "debate") was not worth fussing over.
Meanwhile, note that no one ever appeared to take a wine order, the hostess came over and asked what bottle we had ordered, and no wine appeared through our first two rounds of food. Since our server was not particularly handy, the party at the table next to us informed their waiter that we would really like the bottle of wine we ordered some time before the end of our meal. He came over and asked us what we wanted and went off to get it. When he returned, we told him that we were not particularly pleased with our server, and he informed us that our server was really a busboy and not a waiter. Needless to say, that did not go over terribly well, including the waiter saying, "he's doing the best he can". At the kind of prices Saratoga charges, "the best he can" is really a pretty lame statement.
At this point, we are not terribly happy, and this is compounded by our "server" returning to give us a hard time about the fiasco with getting our wine ("I told you I was going to send someone over", but NO ONE CAME). Can you imagine any of the serving staff in a classy restaurant anywhere else engaging in a debate with the diners defending the inadequate service (or lack thereof) and errors with the order (by the way, there was NO offer to replace our incorrect appetizer)????
On to the main course. Not a big one here, but my wife's salmon was dressed with a lemon sauce, which was not mentioned on the menu. By this point, she is completely upset and not taken with the idea of trading her salmon for my tuna, which was quite good. We briefly entertained the idea of sending hers back, but given our experience with appetizer and wine, we thought that was a hopeless cause. We decided to try to make the best of it, but we found ourselves having to pour our own wine, while no one bothered to stop by to ask us how our food was.
Finally, at some point, our "server" cleaned the dishes and dropped the dessert menus on our table, with no so much as a "how was your dinner".
By this point, the evening was completely ruined, and we were left to walk up to the hostess to ask for our check. Of course, we were asked how things were, and we informed them that our anniversary dinner had been completely ruined by the horrendous service. Their "gracious" offer was to ask us to sit by the bar and have a complimentary drink while they prepared our check. Right!! What we should have done was to walk out and let them figure it out for themselves.
When the check arrived, we were a little "non-plussed" that the obligatory 15% service charge was included, and we promptly told them that we would NOT pay for the miserable excuse for service we were afforded. A quick trip to the kitchen (apparently, the manager/owner is also the chef, but he was "too busy" to bother to come out and speak to us) resulted in the removal of the service charge.
I have to say that, if we were not as nice people as we are, we probably could (and should) have announced to the people who were waiting for tables that they were taking a significant risk by staying.
The "funniest" part of this is that a couple of friends who were at the resort with us also confirmed that they had previously received bad service at Saratoga, and they were not particularly inclined to go back.
Needless to say, we will not be returning to Saratoga, and we feel justified in recommending to others that they avoid it (or consider very carefully before choosing it).
In an environment where good restaurants abound, it is unbelievable that an experience like we had should be tolerated or kept a secret.
I'm sure that others may chime in to recount good experiences at Saratoga, but, at the prices they charge, there is no reason for a bad experience, particularly when it relates to service. You may or may not like the food, but the service should always be stellar.
Tom
