My sister and our partners decided we would go out for New Year’s this year. Being from out of town we unknowingly booked VIP tickets for a gala at one of Halifax’s big hotels. We soon realized that we may have made a mistake when we were the first people to arrive at the club and they had to put a table together at the last minute for us. We then realized this was not our age group, but not thinking we were too ancient, we were determined to make the best of it. Within the first hour my partner and I were sooked down with a beer that the waitress spilled on us and her embarraassment must have been the reason why were not waited on for the rest of the evening. We had to ask the bouncer and manager to clean the mess, which involved crushing the glass with a foot and kicking it under the table. We asked the manager if our table could be moved out of the walkway and fountain spray and we were denied. So at midnight we noticed other tables recieving their bottles of champagne and appetizers(crackers and cheese), we requested ours, we recieved not the bottle but 4 glasses. We understand shit happens but when a fight broke out and my purse was ripped off my back, later to be recovered from the bar minus my money and cigarettes, we could take no more of this $300.00 per couple Gala. In addition the dry cleaning bill was as much as the tickets.
This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2008.
The only thing I have to say is: Better Business Bureau oh and small claims court
Matt– we try to tred lightly on editing posts. I generally let almost all of them go on as written. I do have a responsibility to protect The Coast against the possibility of libel charges, and we try to be fair. Obviously, there is some subjectivity to that. Again, most posts go on exactly as written. I’ve withheld only three posts over the past month– two explicitly made allegations of criminal wrongdoing against named individuals, and I simply didn’t have the time to fairly assess those allegations, so I withheld them. The third I was just late to, and you guys had the whole discussion in the comments section anyway, so I let it be. There’s a middle ground of posts that name places of business. It’s a judgement call on my part, and I doubt anyone would make the same call– some would be tighter, others looser. On occasion– maybe three times, total– I’ve replaced the name of the business with something more generic. In this case, it seemed the point of the post was age discrimination, which leaves plenty of room for further discussion in the comments. (For the record, we keep a strict separation between the advertising and editorial departments of The Coast, and I have no clue if there is an advertising relationship between The Coast and the hotel. I didn’t check, and no one pressures me on these issues.)And, I have never, and never will, withheld a post solely because I disagreed with it.I realize that not everyone will be satisfied with this explanation, but there it is.
On second thought– you’re right. There was nothing to fear in that post. My apologies. It was the (is this name right?) the Four Corners, downtown.
I’ve submitted bitches before and no you’re not supposed to specify names. If you have ever submitted a bitch Matt – you’d know that it says no names or specifications (something along those lines).I certainly hope it wasn’t the Westin??? I know they had a big bash for $30/person.
I personally thing our city has by far the crappiest new years eve celebrations known to man kind. Get this. A restaurant on quinpol road, called Mezza, advertised the following: 2 parties going on, one starts at 5:30 i believe until 8pm, includes dinner, dessert, some belly dancing, $40, another from 8:30 to 11:30, notice the 11:30 end on new years eve. same as what they offered in the first party with soup and sparking added, price goes up to $75, i had no idea a bowl of soup and a glass of sparking cost $35. Not to mention they end celebrations at 11:30, it hasn’t even hit the new year yet!! For the original comment there about the incident, I completely believe that happening because something similar happened to me 5 years ago. At around 11:30 the place turned into a zoo. around 12:15 i was out the door and since that night i made a promise to myself that i would never leave my apartment on new year’s eve. I think all Haligonians should do the same. Because of all the people the go out on new year’s eve, 31 yr old ended up paying $300 a couple. For downtown pubs and clubs, some don’t even have cover charge and they ended up charging a min of $25. Rain’s club VIP, which honestly there is no VIP there if you think about it, was $125 per person and that’s just for a seat, nothing included, well aside from the glass of sparkling. Same as pacifico. Other hotels we charging $100 per person at least for something you usually pay about $50 for a couple. For the original post. It’s not your age, it’s just bad management and having no shame. There isn’t a place that’s worthy of going to anymore in this city. Most of them don’t care about customer service anymore and don’t want to care. they mainly care about your wallet. They got that $300 out of you, once you buy the tickets, they’re non-refundable, they don’t even have to serve you anymore!. New Year’s eve functions are by far the largest scam next to insurance.
I may be going a little off of the NYE topic here..But I can think of one restaurant in particular that is worthy of going to for the service alone. Tarek’s on Robie St. has the friendliest staff and most outstanding service by far (I’d even go as far to say in the entire city), not to mention the food is amazing. If you’d like to eat out and have a dining experience worth leaving a generous tip, I suggest you try it.
I would also recommend Opa, mainly for the food. You wanna laugh, go to seven and laugh. I wish they would make Hamatchi sushi house a little bigger. I would go regularly. The food there is awesome. Service it terrible. Not enough space there, so not many people can fit in there. Fast? Hell no, Takes almost an hour to get your food, and take about 20 mins for the staff to recognize you’re existance. Anatolia turkish cuisine is good. Awesome food. True Middle eastern style and taste. Unlike other restaurants that claim that. Believe me, i’m from there, i know how our food is supposed to taste! Most of them cook plastic and call it mediteranian. Also Picolo Mondo, let’s just say you walk in there as if you’re buying a shirt, but you have to buy the body, the sleeves the collar and the buttons seperately. That’s how their dishes work. I ordered pasta there. I only got the pasta. a lil bit of sause on it. If I asked for more sauce, Extra, Veggies, Extra, Meat Extra. It’s like buying a car without tires and glass. went only once. Never again. Some restaurants in the city i just walked out of. Anyway i’m not sure if this would be published or not since i mentioned restaurant’s names. But truth be told and that was my experience at those restaurants. Oh almost forgot. What’s with the coat check for a $$ now!!!.. where’s this trend coming from? they charge us to get in, for drinks, and now for coats??!!!! Like fuck off! If that’s the case, I should be allowed to bring my own drinks!!!!
To the original poster & anyone who makes reservations:If you are willing to spend $300 on a reservation, wouldn’t it also be of interest to atleast research what it is you are buying?Just my opinion