Amanda P.
Yelp
I chose the Windsor Arms for afternoon high tea to celebrate Mother's Day this year. This was a BIG MISTAKE. Unfortunately, lots has changed since the last time I was here for the same thing a few years ago.
First of all, there were weddings going on at the same time, making the lobby crowded and chaotic, and the staff, overworked and visibly frustrated. Not a calm, relaxing environment that you would expect during an afternoon high tea.
When my mom and I arrived, nobody paid any attention to us. I had to talk to 3 different staff members to finally find the person who could check us in. They were polite, but inexperienced and not confident in their roles, especially given the chaos of the wedding in the same area. We ended up waiting on the second floor just to get out of the crowd while we waited, and they were unclear about when our table would be ready, so I kept having to go up to them to ask. There is also no washroom for guests of the tea rooms on the main floor. You need to take an elevator (there is no non-emergency staircase) to go to the second level and use the washroom there...the same one that people from the wedding parties were using. Again, very crowded.
Once they were ready to seat us, they walked us to a table that was crowded by other tables and pushed right up against a stained, dirty counter that had empty bottles and used dishes on it. I expressed my dissatisfaction with that table, and the server said that he would clean the area up and it would be better. We waited a few more minutes, and he tried to seat us at the same table, where now, the items from the counter were gone but the counter itself was still stained and dirty. It frankly made me lose my appetite just standing there and looking at it. I went into the other tea room, where there were several empty tables, and asked to be seated at one of those. He agreed and got it ready.
After a very stressful introduction to what was supposed to be a high-class, elegant, mother's day celebration experience, we were finally seated. The spot was fine, but the ambiance was still very loud, and we could feel the draft of cold air as the front door of the hotel opened and closed as the bridal parties took photos outside. The stench of cigarette smoke also polluted the tea room. As non-smokers, this really bothered my mom and I and further turned off our appetites.
Onto the tea and food...everything was explained well by our server, who was very kind and trying to accommodate us. It was not his fault that the food was low quality, the bread of the lobster roll was stale (it was probably made in the morning and left to sit until 5:30, when we had our seating), and the overall vibe was anything but high-class and elegant. The tea was good, that's about it.
The fixed price of this experience was $125 each + tax + gratuity (which I only left because our server, Jordan, was very kind and accommodating, and it wasn't his fault that the quality of the food was so low and the ambiance was stressful). As if in a mocking fashion, the experience came with "a special gift" of 2 tiny macarons to take away.
I paid $324.88 in total for an experience that was stressful, frustrating, extremely disappointing on every level, and worst of all, that was meant to be a special gift for my mom. I felt like I got completely robbed. The actual value of what was consumed today (NO alcohol, by the way) was probably closer to $30, being generous. I understand that you pay for an experience when you do these things, but nothing about the experience was enjoyable or classy whatsoever. It actually felt dirty, and my teacup was even chipped.
If the hotel can't handle hosting weddings and high tea at the same time (which is obvious), they shouldn't. The thing that makes me the saddest is that this was my mom's mother's day 2024...and you can't turn back or buy time. I just hope that in writing this review, I can save other people from falling victim to this place. GO ELSEWHERE!