Royal Niagara Golf Club — Restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Customer service is not their strong suit.

Show up at 8am thinking that I should be able to get some form of breakfast sandwich, bagel, banana, something you would normally eat for breakfast. Nope sorry he says with a look like what did you expect at 8am. Alright fine, what do you have I ask... We have tuna. Yummy.... Exactly what I was hungry for at 8am🙄

Ok fine settle for the tuna, try and take my cart to my car and dig around for leftover anything to eat. Nope, can't take the carts to the parking lot... Only GC in Ontario that you can't do it in. SMH. Fine, walk back to car and back to carts. It's 845, our tee time is 912. Only one teen time between 830 and 912 at 850. The twosome isn't at the course , we the foursome that has been at the course since 8, hit balls on the range and sitting waiting are told nope, have to wait. WHAT??? Wait for what we ask?

Have to wait for the twosome to go out first.

They finally show up two mins before they are to tee off, 850, ask where the range is and proshop. Again ask if we can go since the twosome is clearly not ready. Again nope...

WTF, seriously.

The starter finally asks the twosome while they are walking to the range of it's ok that we head out ahead. SMFH at this point.

Finally on the course, and you can see they have maintained it really well, weeds in the fairways bunkers that have sort of been converted into grass bunkers but not really.

Stop after 9th hole for a beer, surprise surprise it's a sh$t show as well. Debit credit machine doesn't work. Ok here's a $20. Nope...sorry we don't take cash.

Three guys waiting and the twosome right behind us. 10 mins later the guy says stop in here after your round. On the 10th chased down like I robbed the place for two budlights.

Oh we found the portable debit machine. What a novel idea. A backup to the wires machine you knew wasn't working two customers ago.

Let's just say I and the other three will...

I have golfed Royal Niagara before, I won't again!

Since the last time I played in July of 2019 the course has gone downhill significantly. Yes, Covid probably plays a part in that, but we are at a point where that can't be an excuse anymore.

It has not rained in 3 weeks, we tee'd off at 8:30 am and the first 5 holes or so were SOAKED with standing water in the bunkers.

The bunkers were not groomed or taken care of at all, 3 of us all ended up in the same bunker around the 16th hole and messed up our shots due to landscape fabric being about an inch under the sand thus now allowing us to get under the ball.

The driving range was absolutely covered in Canada Goose Fecal Matter and it was almost impossible to find a spot to warm up (these things happen on the course.....they are wild birds....but clean your range area).

To finish it all off the starter was rude plus a few sentences google won't let me post. If I am paying $100 with cart for a course that is very badly maintained, and does not have a cart person on a WEEKEND....maybe don't be a total (words I can't say) before we go out.

This used to be a $100 course with cart. At best it is now a $65 course with cart that still would be a 4th option if tee times were limited elsewhere.

Royal Niagara is at best Mediocre Niagara with Royally AWFUL customer service!

If you are reading this do yourself a favour and find a place anywhere else to play. You will save money, play a better manicured course, and not start the ground grumpy because the starter has some sort of god complex and 70 years of chips on...

Here's the truth about Royal Niagara. The course is great, not top notch but still a decent track. However the staff and starters is where the issues are. They don't make you feel welcome and look down on you and make it seem like once they have your money they don't care about the experience First off, you check in. Then you have to sign a waiver and wait a few minutes for the person in front of you to do all that first. And don't even think about taking your cart to your vehicle to get your clubs. The starters only give you a key to your cart less than 5 minutes before your tee time. So you're walking back to your vehicle to carry your clubs, walking to the putting green that isn't near the clubhouse, and you get your cart 5 minutes before teeing off. Then if your lucky your electric cart won't run out of battery on the back 9. Both our carts dies on the 11 and 12 hole and had to wait to get other ones brought out. Again, the course is decent but it's run like a dictatorship. Go play Legends On The Niagara, Whirlpool, Rockway Vineyards or Peninsula Lakes. These courses are just as nice or nicer and they care about...