Waterhouse - Brighton and Hove

My daughter saw the advertisement in the elevator to our room. It is £24 plus VAT £27) per person. I knew this when I told her we could go as I knew she really wanted to do a nice tea. The breakfast at the 1890 was incredible, why wouldn 't the Waterhouse where the tea is served) be equally fantastic, both restaurants are in the Hilton. We entered the restaurant and were completely ignored. After waiting 10 minutes we track down a waitress at the register. She sat us at a nice table and we mentioned we were here for the tea. She handed us menus and left. The menus had nothing what they advertised in the elevator. It was all pub fare. 20 minutes later she came back to take our order. We asked again about the High Tea. She mumbled something about the kitchen and left. After another 15 minutes she returns with a small book with 2 menus for two different style teas. Yeah, we 're on the right track. After another 10 minutes we confirm we still wanted the full experience. She asks us if we preferred tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. At this point we think it will not be too long, we 've invested almost an hour and nothing to show for it. Another 40 minutes later, the food arrives. The tea arrives some time after the food. The bottom plate had finger sandwiches. The sandwiches all appeared to be pre squished literally the bread was paper thin), and the few that were not, were on stale bread. The sandwich fillings were tasty though. The middle plate we 're scones. Again very stale, even for a scone. Clotted cream and jam helped a lot. The plum one was the one exception, it was cold, but actually tasty. The top plate was desserts. While they all looked extremely inviting, they were uninspiring in flavor. So uninspiring other than the fancy chocolate adornments, I do not recall much. Most looked/tasted as if purchased at the grocery. The tea that was provided for two was not even enough to fill both our cups. We had hoped she would come back and we could obtain a second pot. After our waitress brought us the teapot. We never saw her again. I mean never, unless you count her hanging out in the corner near the bar. We were obviously done. Sent my daughter to the room as I waited for the bill. Never came. Made eye contact on two occasions with our waitress hiding by the bar. Finally was able to have the other waitress get our bill. I was ready to leave after many hours and shall not recommend this restaurant. I tried to keep the experience light for my daughter, but it was very much a downer!

Whilst in Brighton, we decided to visit the Hilton for a cold drink as my boyfriend is Hilton honours team member. We went into the Waterhouse restaurant. We walked in and made our way to a table. We eventually got given a menu. After waiting for 15-20 minutes, we asked if we could order, she responded with 'back in a minute ' in this time, she was cleaning tables and collecting empty glasses. We were totally ignored. We then asked another young girl who said she will come back but never did. 3rd time we asked, we had been there for half an hour but no one came to us even though they kept looking our way! Poor!

I sent this email to the hotel 8 days ago and I haven't had the courtesy of a reply just goes to show how much they care about there customers! Yesterday afternoon at 3pm I brought my family to your Waterhouse Bar as we were celebrating my daughter's 22nd birthday. To say that I was disappointed is a huge understatement. The seats were very uncomfortable, but as its an old hotel that, I guess could be expected. The tea itself, when it finally arrived, was a disappointment the smoked salmon was vey chewy but most upsetting, all the cakes, including the scones were not home made!! This was very surprising and not at all what we were expecting. I had to keep asking for drinks, as nobody came and asked us and then when the coffee arrived I had to try and attract the attention of a waitress to obtain some milk. A glass of water I asked for never materialised at all. The hot chocolate wasn't hot, but luke warm so again I had to attract the attention of a waitress. It was not the enjoyable, relaxing afternoon that I and my family had anticipated, instead, it was an expensive mistake and one that I will not be repeating. I certainly will not be recommending the Metropole Hotel to my friends and family

We waited 20 minutes to place a drink order and another 10 minutes for it to be served. There were several staff members standing around chatting, unaware of the customers' needs. The food was mediocre and the side of chips was cold. The staff acknowledged the issue and promised not to charge us, but we were still billed. The restaurant has a great location, but could benefit from improved customer service training and higher quality food.

Stayed in May during the conference so very busy. Staff cope well under pressure, must be Marks driving influence