Brightwater Hotel — Restaurant in Sunshine Coast Regional

I recently had the opportunity to dine at this hotel with my family, and unfortunately, it turned out to be a series of disappointments that I feel compelled to share. The evening started with a seemingly innocent order of a lemon lime bitters and vodka for my wife, only for her to refuse it due to an unpleasant taste. To make matters worse, the kilpatrick oysters I ordered, as well as the natural oysters my wife chose, both turned out to be well past their prime. Upon closer inspection, it was evident that the oysters were expired, leading to a rather unappetizing situation.

After bringing this matter to the attention of the manager, I was informed that the chef was unaware of the oysters being off, and unfortunately, there were no alternatives available as the entire stock needed to be discarded. While a refund was issued, the incident set a disappointing tone for the evening.

The disappointment continued when I ordered a pina colada, only to find it surprisingly weak. Upon expressing my dissatisfaction, I was told that it was company policy to use only 40ml of alcohol in each cocktail. Seeking a stronger drink, I attempted to order a double shot of makers mark on the rocks, only to be informed that spirits on the rocks were not served, and double shots were not an option. This limitation forced me to settle for makers mark with coke.

By the time our mains arrived, we were quite hungry, having skipped any appetizers due to the initial disappointment. I ordered the poke belly, expecting a satisfying meal for $40, but to my dismay, it comprised three small pieces of pork and a meager portion of sides, leaving me unsatisfied. Adding to the ordeal, my wife's eye fillet, ordered medium well, arrived medium rare. At this point, our overall dissatisfaction with the food, drinks, and experience in general had reached a peak, leaving us with an overall sense of hunger and disappointment.

Attempting to address the situation, I called over a staff member and requested a full refund for my meal, explaining the unsatisfactory experience. However, the response was far from accommodating. The staff member, instead of addressing the concerns, offered a free garlic bread, which I found unacceptable. When I insisted on speaking to the manager, a lengthy argument ensued, further diminishing our dining experience.

Eventually, the manager offered a $40 gift card as compensation, which I found insufficient given the magnitude of the issues encountered throughout the evening. The manner in which my complaints were handled, argued, and dismissed was disheartening. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this venue based on my experience, and I hope this review serves as a cautionary tale for others...

I really enjoyed my time here. It was a little on the expensive side for meals, but for the most part they are well prepared.

My two criticisms from my dine in experience was that my pork wasn't cooked well enough, the skin was very rubbery in the center but the edges were crackled perfectly - I would have loved to have seen this across the whole skin. Dining in was very very busy, so I'm assuming that this was simply because the chef was rushed with the peak hour dining in. The other issue was with drinks, it took me three times for my drink order to be done correctly. I usually request no ice with my drinks as my teeth are sensitive, and I had to ask the staff three times to get this followed. In the end, they got it right, but it was a bit frustrating to have that happen.

Despite these issues, the staff were mostly attentive and friendly. When we wanted to order extra drinks, the staff members were available, and food for our group came out mostly at the same time with a focus on getting the kids meals and appetisers out first which we appreciated.

The waterfront view here is absolutely stunning. It was such a relaxing afternoon to enjoy drinks and lunch near the deck. The positive thing we saw as well is that they also had a seniors menu too, which was lovely to see.

Apart from the issues I mentioned earlier, it was all in all, a great experience.

FACILITIES: Parking: Yes, onsite Wheelchair Accessible: Yes, ramp available from carpark to front door Toilets available: Yes

PAYMENT: Payment via Mobile/Watch Supported: Yes Card Accepted: Yes Cash Accepted: Yes

COVID SAFE: Hand Sanitiser Available: Yes on entry COVID Check in: Yes via QR code. Private Details Handled Correctly: Yes, the QR check in wasn't working so a staff member handled data collection and kept it out of sight from the public so only staff members could see visitor details. Great to see how...

Aside from the slowest entry to a venue I've seen since covid, it then took 40mins before someone came to our table of 11 to even begin taking our orders! You are not given a cash option anymore, they just hold an eftpos machine up, it doesn't matter that you check it has the correct amount before presenting your card because when you then remove it the amount quickly changes to add a fee once it's already charged. That would be illegal aside from unethical. Not only have they not warned of a fee, the whole point of the digital screen is to show what you are about to pay, yet it changes during the process! I requested a receipt but it did not turn up until someone brought them all out over an hour and a half later when most people had left. As for the food, my dish was fine, but the friend to one side of me had terribly overcooked stringy calamari which she couldn't eat - I tried one and agreed, and the friend on my other side had a spaghetti marina which was full of smashed clam shell she had to keep picking out of her mouth. Appalling. All this, after a most unfriendly booking experience in the first place! They no longer take phonecalls re bookings, I booked our table online, but despite offering a modify button it does not work. So it was just pot luck that our extra person got a seat due to someone being unwell and staying home. Brightwater Hotel is a pathetic place which rides on the fact it has a great position...