Red Apple Inn & Country Club — Hotel in Heber Springs

We were very excited to celebrate our anniversary dining here as we had been told it was the nicest restaurant in town. We arrived early as it was first come, first serve seating and with it being “the nicest in town”, we didn’t want to be unable to eat due to wait times. We explained we knew they didn’t open until 6, that we had a few questions and were happy to wait. We were asked if we were members of the club or a hotel guest, we were not, and were promptly told we could eat but not drink. We understood as it was a dry county. I asked about a day membership as I knew we didn’t need to purchase a membership to the country club but restaurants in the area had memberships running around $10-$15. We were then asked if we knew anyone from the country club, we did not. Which gave us the answer “well then it’s $50.” We were told they could CALL someone we knew who was a member, if we knew someone, and could order drinks but if not, it would be $50. Which we didn’t understand how a phone call from a member bypassed dry county laws or why by simply being from out of town required a fee $50. No celebratory drinks, no big deal, we’ll still have dinner. The food should be amazing! And we can ignore that the “customer service” woman, host and server did not even acknowledge that we said it was our anniversary, but made sure we knew we were there early, would not be seated yet and could either call a member we know or pay $50. My husbands tea was sweet instead of unsweet, no big deal, happens all the time. Our crab cake (mini crab balls) appetizer was slightly over cooked but tasty. I ordered a Caesar salad for my salad that came with the meal. I was brought a mixed green salad with what looked like a Greek vinaigrette with feta. When I told the waitress I had ordered Caesar she told me “that is a Caesar salad, the dressing looks different but it tastes the same.” I explained that Caesar dressing is usually thicker and includes anchovy paste she quickly responded “yes I know that, this is a Caesar salad.” It tasted nothing like a Caesar salad, but it did taste like a Greek vinaigrette with feta. Luckily I also like that so ok the entrees are going to be great! I ordered the lemon pepper trout which came with wild rice and asparagus and my husband ordered the ribeye with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled corn. The trout was almost rubbery and had very little flavor. The burnt skin did give it a very smoky flavor, however if that was their intent I would assume “smoked or smoky” would have been in the description. The rice was luke warm and looked like it had been scooped on to my plate out of a school lunch line. The asparagus could not be cut or bitten into as it was quite mushy and somehow charred at the same time. My husbands medium steak was actually medium rare, his potatoes also looked like they were scooped from the lunch line and had little to no flavor. He was very excited about the corn as it was an ear of corn however the larger end was “fridge cold” as he described it. I will say the best part of the dinner were the yeast rolls. Sister Schuberts are my favorite! You know, the ones from the grocery store in the tin pan? So good! Out of all the restaurants we visited while in town, this was the most...

Very disappointing. we are visiting Heber Springs for the eclipse. Our Vrbo host (and others) recommended RedApple Inn as the best restaurant around, and one of very few that served wine. However, our experience was bad on multiple levels. I called in advance to ask about reservations and was told “oh no, honey, you just come on.” we arrived arrived I saw lots of empty tables but we were told there would be a 15-20 minute wait. about 25 minutes later, we received the text our table was ready. Then we were asked if we were members or guests at the inn. we were not. The hostess hurumphekd and placed us at a table in the corner. When I asked the waitress for wine and she informed us that we wouldn’t be served because we were not members or guests. we ordered our entrees and choice of salad dressing. There was a pretty long wait for the salads to appear. we had butter on the table but no bread. Salad was just a mix of lettuces with 1 slice of cucumber and a piece of bell pepper. we ate all we wanted of those then had a very long wait for our entrees. A couple at the next table ordered after we did but had already received theirs. our waitress was nowhere to be seen. finally the food, including warm rolls, were brought to our table. but our discarded salad plates were not removed. Those rolls were delicious but we never had a chance to ask our MIA waitress for more. My duck appeared as it had been cooked correctly, cut and plated then re-heated or left for way too long under the warmer. The flavor of the duck,mushrooms and sauce were good but the duck was dry, both duck and mushrooms were tough & difficult to cut. The pasta with shrimp was only warm at first & cooled quickly; shrimp was also tough. we were anxious to pay the bill and leave but we had to wait again for our waitress to return. overall the service was slow, non-responsive. we felt like we were looked down on for not being members or guests, and treated as second class citizens. the food was not worth the wait or the trouble. Might have gone down better with a nice bottle of wine but we were denied that.

I will never go back and could not recommend...

The rooms are gorgeous, the exterior and interior design is gorgeous. The bar is romantic and also serves food along with the full dinning area with a beautiful overlook. There is a fitness center with an indoor pool and changing area which is lovely along with the golf shop and golf course. I have stayed multiple times and the only complaint is the customer service. It’s been consistent through the years to not expect the friendliest of guest services over the phone and to avoid the front desk is in best interest. I just called to ask a question and I stated I had a question, stated my name and said good morning…as I will be checking in today, and the response I received was a stern “what do you want.” I had this call on speaker phone in front of family that have spent many joyous occasions here over a time span of decades and this call led to mouth drops from loyal guests. I hung up as I will not entertain being spoken to in such a manner. Seems odd that a guest services staff member would have such lax phone etiquette. Coming from someone who has worked in marketing for decades, I am aware of the importance of proper customer service , which should always be professional, warm, friendly, helpful and inviting. Poor customer care can ruin a business…also from a guest that has business management experience. Thank you, warm...