I arranged to have our hiking group eat lunch here on a Saturday. Called in advance and the events manager was very nice and helpful and set it up. When we arrived we were all seated promptly in a beautiful semi private room. Our two servers introduced themselves and took our orders right away. The problem was with the time lag between our orders going in and the food coming out. We waited for a good 45 minutes to an hour and the plates were brought out one at a time so that we had several people at a table eating their lunch while others had to wait another 10 or 15 minutes to get their food. The quality of the food was sub par. A couple of people in our group complained their meal was served cold. The servers did their best and we do not want to convey that we had problems with the wait staff - it seemed to be a problem in the kitchen and timing the food to come out at once. Granted a group of 30 is a lot of people but an established historic hotel like the Blennerhassett should be able to handle it better than what we experienced.
The is a lovely and very elegant restaurant in the hotel by the same name. We were on our way home and stayed one night in nearby Parkersburg. I started out with a Martini that was on their cocktail list. It was Vanilla & Lavender, very nice. My husband started with an Old Fashion to go with our Appetizers. I ordered the Smoked Salmon Carpaccio (smoked in-house) and my husband had the French Onion soup which he loved, it was that good. The smoke Salmon was very nice. We then order glasses of sauvignon blanc to go with our salads. We shared (recommended by the server) the Caprese Salad that was HUGE and made with sweet cherry tomatoes. It was really tasty. For our main course, I ordered a bottle of Spanish Cabernet to go with my husband's Steak Diane and my Winter Black Truffle Twin Filet. They offered a small plate and that was perfect for me. We ended our meal with Créme Brûlée for Karl and the House made Ice Cream for me with 2 double espressos (these were doubles and great coffee). The service was superior and the evening was wonderful to end our short vacation.
We stayed at the Blennerhassett hotel and while there one night we went to the Blennerhassett lounge for dinner. They had a happy hour starting at five and it came into the lounge which the decor was very masculine in taste. There are two parts of the lounge one where you could sit at a few low tables in leather bound chairs and the other side of the lounge it was a full bar with high top tables. We sat at the high top tables for dinner and ordered off the bar menu and there weren’t that many choices however we found something we liked and unfortunately the service was very slow and not attentive. The bar manager did come over and apologize for the slow service and the non-attentive service of which they served us our meal at the high top table but then forgot to give us silverware so we waited a while until we were able to eat. Overall it was a passible evening for dinner.
I took my mom for Mother’s Day, truly wanting to treat her to something special. I asked about the menu when I made the reservation, so I knew it was going to be a buffet. Sixty dollars per person for a buffet seemed a bit much, but it set my expectations high. The Hotel lobby was beautiful (which is why there are 2 “stars” and not 1). That is where the “good” ended. The hostess and her crew were confused and disorganized. We were the only folks waiting to be seated, but they couldn’t find the seating chart. She went off to look for it and one of her “helpers” offered each of us a carnation. He pulled them out of a vase of water…no less than 20 inches of wet stem and leaves, and handed one to each of 3 ladies. Water dripping on our clothes and shoes. Nice try… The hostess finally comes back, grabs 3 warm towels…no sushi on the buffet…another attempt to be “classy”. Then she also tried to give us dripping carnations never noticing that we already had them. We were taken to our table in a large banquet room completely devoid of decor. Our waiter came to fill out water glasses, which was one of the TWO times we saw him. He didn’t not introduce himself, or tell us what was on the buffet or offer a “Happy Mother’s Day” to my 86 yo mom. He said “do you want something to drink?” No wine menu, no explanation of what kinds of drinks they offered (coke or Pepsi products), nothing. The buffet was truly awful. There were no dinner plates for the main meal, only 7” desert plates. The roast beef was overcooked, dry chipped beef with canned gravy and canned mushrooms. The salmon and chicken were dry and all the vegetables were frozen not fresh, mushy and lukewarm. The lobster bisque was pasty and void of lobster. The deserts were either from Sam’s or Walmart…pies served still in the foil pans and breakfast danishes!? My family has been in the restaurant business our entire lives. We just could not believe that such a lovely venue could miss the mark so severely. I looked around for our server when I accidentally dropped my knife. He never came. I finally flagged someone else to replace it for me and had to ask them to clear away our plates so we could get desert. Our server came to drop the check…not ask us how everything was, not ask if we would like coffee or tea…just dropped the check. When I saw that 20% had been added for essentially no service, I was furious. I asked to speak to the manager. Supposedly met the owner (Lee Eric Rector?). He treated me with such disdain…interrupted me several times when I tried to voice my concerns, had a sarcastic smirk on his face and offered no solution or recompense for our disappointment. When the server came to collect my credit card to pay the bill, I told him that he did not earn the $30 + dollars that were added for his gratuity and explained that we have owned restaurants and have all been in food service and haven’t seen such poor service. He dared so say “maybe that’s why you don’t own the restaurants anymore!” Never mind that I chose to put myself through medical school instead of continue to wait tables into my 50’s. Worst $195 ever spent for 3 people to leave hungry. I don’t mind paying for good food and good service. This was neither. Will obviously never go back.
Nothing could top the way we were treated from the moment we walked in the door. We didn’t know they had valet, but we were greeted by the nicest gentlemen who took my coat and brought coat check ticket to our table and brought our vehicle from the back parking lot to the front curb before we were leaving. He was perfect in every way. Our waiter was wonderful. The valet told our waiter we were going to a show at the Smoot Theatre and he made sure we had everything in plenty of time. Staying on top of all our needs. Since I didn’t drop off my coat off at the coat check, I wasn’t sure where it was, the host went and got my coat and helped me put it on. Nothing could beat the 5 star ambiance of the restaurant and service. The food on the other hand was far from 5 star. We had the New York strip with mashed potatoes and snow peas with side salad. Everything tasted fine not Wow or great, just fine, except the steak. It was very low star. My husband had the peppercorn and I had regular grilled. Both were grisly and the flavor not remarkable. We enjoy a medium cooked steak, it was a bit more towards med well. And thin like it came from Ponderosa. And $55. Darn dear choked on the bill for the food quality. Side salad not included with meal was $8. Since it was a dinner special we didn’t ask price beforehand, and honestly would not have thought twice about the price if the food was worth the inflated pricing. Food needs to match the ambiance and service of a 5 star establishment. It very sadly does not. I can’t go back because the service is wonderful. The overall package has to meet together. So, the food gets 2 stars, the service and setting get 5 stars.
My husband and I went out to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. The service was very slow and the food was even worse. We both ordered the special, a Delmonico ribeye steak. My husband ordered his steak medium and came out rare/medium rare. Our server never came back and checked on us or to check how our food was. Finally he came back and we told him our steaks werenât cooked right and asked to speak to the manager. The manager came over and agreed that the steaks werenât cooked right and said sorry and walked away. We paid full price for something that wasnât cooked right or edible with no offer to remake or discount our food. Very disappointing night for a special occasion. We will never be back.
I have booked the same suite for the last 3 to 4 years n this was the worse stay I have had there....the TV in bathroom did not work..among other things...paid 400 for one night n the only nice thing was the flower arrangement n the strawberries...they have lost our business..when check out told the lady about the problems what we got was oh sorry good thing maintance is here...like really....we got the valentine package n only got a 20 dallor gift card no dinner
Very disappointed with the Valentine brunch. Waited over an hour for food to be served. This brunch was by reservations. Poor planning by staff. Was not a good experience.
Absolutely the BEST dinner and service I've received in the past 25 years. From the mixed salad to the airplane chicken and beyond, the reasonably priced meal was OUTSTANDING! My guests were very pleased as well. Looking forward to entertaining more friends next weekend.
We had the best waitress and Martha was so sweet. Loved everything about our brunch. The piano player, the food the ambiance of this beautiful hotel are unbeatable.