This weekend my sweet hubby surprised me with an overnight stay at The Diplomat in Hallandale Beach. To say I was excited would be an understatement. I mean, look at the website! Those photos make it look so enticing and exciting. Anyway, so when we arrived our room was not ready. The staff at guest services were amazing and even found us a better room with a wrap around balcony that had a partial ocean view and a view of the canal (see photos below).
While waiting for our room we decided to eat dinner at Point Royal. The food and waitstaff were on point. The people visiting the hotel and restaurant, not so much. I was surprised at how many did not seem to understand the difference between Hallandale Beach and Miami Beach or a family resort versus a party resort. But I digress, the food at Point Royal was everything I expected from a restaurant that Geoffrey Zakarian is a part of. The snapper crudo was sublime with a little citrus, olive oil, micro greens and thin sliced jalapenos, the oysters fresh and bright and the branzino delicately flaky, perfectly moist. We both had a Lambrusco spritz, which I highly recommend. It was refreshing, balanced, and perfect for a humid afternoon.
From here we made our way out to the bar but, at that point it started to go downhill. The bar staff were reserved and a bit disorganized, not your typical engaging peeps. They were unsure of their scotch selection and failed to provide a listing. So we made some selections based off what we could see, my husband had the Glenfiddich (we don't know the year unfortunately) and I had a Macallan 18 year. Now, I'm a girl who knows her spirits and her pricing so let's talk pricing. We each had a single dram (1 oz pour in the U.S.) and to say that I was a bit upset when I saw the bill would be an understatement.
Let's break this down a bit. When you buy a Macallan 18 year in South Florida, you will pay between $288.97 to $299.99 depending on where you buy. What you don't expect is to pay $75.00 for a 1 ounce dram. Doing the math, I essentially paid for a quarter of the bottle and received less than that by a long shot (they are not generous with their pours, very precise).
We had a similar experience with room service and our wine which I will get to in a minute.
So we chose to stop at one drink at the bar and make our way to our room on the 21st floor. Room was beautiful and views were spectacular, especially at sunset. From our room we could see Ft. Lauderdale, the new Hard Rock Casino being built, the canal, ocean and all the ships that were coming and going on both sides. We even got to see a dolphin playing in the canal. The room was tastefully done and spacious. The bathroom was very oddly laid out. The toilet was in a "closet" which took up a good bit of floor space and the shower seemed to be an afterthought. There was a large tub but, it lacked an overall cohesive feel. We also noticed it lacked bath towels. We had to call the front desk and request them. When we finally received our towels, they were pool towels. We also requested a room service menu that was missing from our book, which we never received.
This is where I decided that looks will not make up for questionable up charging. I know my wines. A bottle of Chateau St. Michelle Indian Wells Merlot cost $13.97 at my local store. At The Diplomat it will cost you a minimum of $90.00. That's right folks, $90.00. Let me back up for a moment. We are trying to have a nice, romantic getaway. It's spontaneous and fun, right? Not really because you not only have drunk adults behaving horribly all over the restaurants, lounge and pool areas but you have room service staff who do not know anything about what wines they carry or wines in general, nor do they know what foods they offer. My poor hubby finally gave up and went to the little snack store to get us something because room service was OBVIOUSLY not happening. He came back with a cheese pack (thankfully it was a Manchego that went well with the wine) and a chicken salad sandwich that costs us a total of $27.00. Did I mention there is no free wifi, not even for Hilton Honors members? You have to pay a minimum of $9.95 for standard and $14.95 for premium.
To say that I am sorely disappointed in Hilton and in The Diplomat would be an understatement. This resort is also a conference center and has a residence side. They are not hurting for business or funds. What they are doing is questionable practices that clearly take advantage of vacationers and conference attendees alike. While the facility is beautiful, these business practices and lack of staff training in basic hospitality knowledge really ruined it for me.
댓글