August

My husband specifically booked a table on the terrace for my birthday on October 3, 1993; we chose this restaurant because of the terrace, as we wanted to enjoy the warm weather—and the terrace there is truly beautiful. We traveled all the way from Amsterdam! Yet, upon arrival, we were told the terrace was closed. We didn't make a scene and went ahead with the evening anyway. However, it was unpleasant sitting indoors on a night like that; the area felt like a thoroughfare, with people constantly walking by carrying suitcases. At the end of the evening, another waiter came over and asked if we had enjoyed everything. My husband said no, explaining that the table had been booked for the terrace. The waiter acknowledged that the booking had indeed been made for the terrace, meaning we had ended up sitting inside due to a mistake by a different waiter. This ruined the celebration. The pricing was baffling, too: €7.50 for an espresso is excessive, and €16 for a Fever-Tree tonic is absurd. We were unpleasantly surprised. Even after providing feedback via the restaurant's automated email follow-up, no one apologized.

The hotel itself is beautiful, with a lovely ambiance, but the service falls well short of what I’d expect from a luxury property. My biggest complaint is the handling of late checkout. On the morning of our departure, we called to request a late checkout and were told we could stay until 2:00 p.m. Unfortunately, we then received multiple calls throughout the day asking us to leave earlier - first 12:30 p.m., then 1:00 p.m., then 1:30 p.m. Whatever convenience the late checkout was meant to provide was completely undermined and spoiled. To make matters worse, we later discovered we had been charged a fee for the late checkout, despite never being informed there would be one. I have no issue paying for a late checkout, but charges like this should be disclosed upfront. It shouldn’t come as a surprise after the fact - it felt grimy. Overall, I’d recommend visiting for dinner or coffee, as the property itself is lovely. However, I wouldn’t recommend staying here if attentive, transparent customer service is important to you.

My experience wasn't great. We wanted to have a bit of a lie-in in the morning, so I asked the receptionist if we could have a late checkout until 2:00 pm. She said, 'Of course you can.' I thanked her. But when I checked out, they charged me a late checkout fee. So my question is, why didn't they mention that fee when I asked? If they had, I wouldn't have taken the late checkout. Don't I have a right to be told about charges upfront?"

Beautiful setting, spotless rooms, soft lines and comfy bed. The quality of the food and wine is outstanding. The compete let down is the service though. The staff is slow and incompetent and a very poor understanding of what is good service. No apologies for wrong orders or long waiting. Better staff at restaurant, bar and reception would make this place a real gem.