Ipswich Turf Club — Local services in Ipswich City

Well - what can we say - what a disaster!!

First time in a private marquee - most likely never again, if Saturday is an indication of what to expect. As a business we will be reviewing if we would even attend the race day again. Our spend of over $23 000 would get a spectacular event elsewhere.

When we first arrived I made myself, as the organiser of our team event, known to the bar staff, asked who was the supervisor etc. The staff has no idea & one in particular was quite unhelpful then & through the day.

Our understanding and your coms advised food & beverage package for 5 hours & private marquee area suitable for the number of guests.

Marquee Area: 3 bays for 110 people was not sufficient space to easily move around the area. No outside tables & umbrellas - this was expected as tables & umbrellas are available in the general area such as Festival of Horsepower. ( which have a lower cost per ticket) There was no security or checking of people entering the private marquees - people were entering any marquee there wanted looking for drinks & food.

Drinks: Service did not start until 11.30 - 1 hrs after the gates opened within 15 minutes - drinks had run out - the bar staff had no idea who was in charge, how to get more drinks or even if drinks were available. by 12.30, there was Vodka, Lime & Soda, no Gin & Tonic, No Vodka & Raspberry. by 1.30 - no bottle beer, no ginger beer or rum for extended times the only non-alcohol drink was lemonade throughout the day - no water!!!! -

Where is the responsible service of alcohol when you can't provide water & non-alcoholic drinks and the food provided is not sufficient for the period you are serving alcohol??

Food Well - this is an embarrassment for the catering company & Ipswich Turf Club

There were 2 small platters delivered at approx 12 noon containing approx 5-8 pieces each of the following Assorted sushi rolls Rare roast beef on croutons with horseradish cream. Assorted mini quiches Chicken and mushroom filos How was this to feed 110 people I would never know?

From 12.45 we received the following - in small platers 2-3 times. Satay chicken skewers - no peanut sauce Lamb koftas with minted yoghurt Later the Aussie beef pies were received, again in small platters with insufficient food for the number of people.

Chicken and mushroom filos were not received at all.

We have been to Ipswich for over 10 years and never had complaints from our team about the food or drinks.

The private marquee was supposed to be something fancy & more upmarket than the general marquees.

We had to purchase food from the vendors to ensure our team had sufficient food to eat!

We spoke to guests in numerous other private ways, who all have the same issues we did. As did other guests based on online reviews.

How can ITC justify the ticket cost of $200+ per head for a private marquee and not provide sufficient, good quality food & the drinks as advertised.

One star because I can...

Great venue but I strongly recommend not hiring the function room for a private function. We received a quote via text and then a verbal agreement and proceeded to arrange our function. The invoice then arrived for $650 more than agreed price. This was quickly rectified but the staff on the night either had a bug to bear or simply should not be in the hospitality business. The manager obviously had somewhere else to be so hid behind falsified interpretations of the liquor license rules and closed the bar an hour before the agreed hired time. At 8pm and with well over $1,000 of spending money burning a hole in our pockets, we were welcomed elsewhere. Members should be disgusted with the staff behaviour and loss...

I booked a function room at this place a few weeks back and am so glad I did!! I have been dealing with the same person in the lead up to the event who was very helpful and helped me arrange the perfect day for my Nana's 80th! he even changed the menu to cater for different people without the extra costs!! We had the function yesterday and was so so happy with the service we received.... the staff went out of there way to make our day perfect. A huge thanks to the bar man Jack for helping with music and our slide show, as without him this would not have worked. Can highly recommend this place to anyone looking at holding an event within the...