The National Hotel — Restaurant in Victoria

Hi there,

I would like to please share my experience about my Birthday dinner booking last Saturday the 10th July 2021 so that it might not happen to anyone else and that management are made aware of how their staff handle the reservation process.

I made a reservation for my Birthday dinner 6 weeks ago for 15 people in the upstairs dining room . I specifically requested the upstairs dining room and made sure I made my booking early so not to miss out on the upstairs dining room. I was assured by the lady taking the reservation that upstairs was free and that they would confirm final numbers on the day – 10th July.

I had a missed call on the day with a voice mail ONLY asking we confirm numbers. I arrived with my guests on the night on July 10th , we then grabbed a drink at the bar . One of the bar staff ladies asked that we take to our table, I said no worries we have a table booked upstairs and that we will head upstairs now.

The lady advised No, you are now booked in the table in the corner downstairs . I said no there must be an error as I have upstairs booked. She said no there is now a function in the upstairs space and we had to put you downstairs.

I said if I wanted to book a pub table in the corner, that is what I would have booked. Instead I wanted to book an elegant , intimate Dining space in a more refined area. Myself , my guests were all very dressed up as this is where we thought we going . Other people around us, had more casual clothes on which is fair enough as they were in the more casual downstairs dining space. This was my special Birthday night, no phone call prior to the night was made to specifically to me to let me know that The National Hotel wanted to use the upstairs space for more people in a function.

Every Birthday is special no matter if it is a 18, 21, 40 , 50th or any year. I make my birthday dinner special every year no matter what the age. My night was somewhat spoilt, there wasn’t any communication , or discussion prior to my night to me , if I had been advised I would have booked another venue elsewhere. But the National wanted to keep my booking and the 15 paying guests so they didn’t miss out on the funds on the night. In the end I didn’t make a scene, I didn’t ask to speak to management , I did not want to embarrass my guests, or embarrass the girl at the bar as it wasn’t her fault she was just advising us n the night our table was in another space.

We ended up staying, ate a lot, drank a lot and would have spent over $1000 dollars on the night. The food on the night was great and everyone enjoyed their meal , but clearly the reservation service is lacking, also the way staff handle such as my issue is clearly lacking. No one came to our table from management on the night to see if we were happy or ok. This isn’t customer service ,it is a poor example of what not to and what should be done.

I have been coming to the National Hotel for the past 25 years , right from when it was a grungy band venue, to dim sim night, to trivia on a Wednesday night and now that we are older to a nice dining venue. Unfortunately I will not be back to the National Hotel and neither will any of my guests , we will celebrate my birthday, or another special occasion at another Geelong Local business that will look after their customers a lot better with more professionalism , transparency and...

We were called twice about underage people. First call no underage people aloud, second call underage people aloud but wrist bands would be given to people overage and there had to be enough adults to make up for the underage. We get to the venue and once again they have changed the rules. When me and my friends arrived the manager acted rude and stuck up, a friend brought me a bottle of Jack Daniels and the manger took it off her and told her she couldn’t come upstairs even though her id clearly said 03, each guest that came upstairs spoke to us about how rude the manager was to them and how unwelcoming it was at the door. I had family arrive late and once again the manager tried to tell them they couldn’t go upstairs. Luckily the bar staff were very nice and catered to everyone very well, even offered a cocktail to make up for their managers poor behaviour and attitude. Food was nice but was brang out right at the start so by the time more people got there it was cold. My nanny was looking to book her birthday there but after seeing what it was like she changed her mind. Over priced and frankly wasn’t worth it. I would suggest Hiring...

We recently used the National Hotel to celebrate the end of the financial year with a staff function, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience. We booked the second-floor dining area/function room, which was the perfect space for our event.

From start to finish, the communication was excellent. Liz was incredibly helpful in the planning stages—friendly, responsive, and made the whole process smooth and stress-free. On the night, Mat was amazing and made sure everything ran perfectly.

The function itself was flawless. The meals were fantastic—generous portions, beautifully presented, and enjoyed by all. The staff were so attentive, friendly, and accommodating throughout the evening.

We’ll definitely be back. Highly recommend the National Hotel for any group event or...