The Monarch Club — Restaurant in Detroit

I did an event here over the weekend. When i arrived to set up for my event , first my contact was not there, and the contact i had “helping” me was Lena, who turned out to be the rudest , most unhelpful person i have ever dealt with in event planning/service. When i arrived to set up there were a bunch of people in my space, when addressed this with Lena she was very rude and i was told my event started at 7, that’s when i would have the space to set up- mind you I was there at 6:40 to set up which is absolutely not unreasonable- when else was i supposed to set up? Not only would she not clear the space, she kept sending people out there. So, i was unable to properly set up and have even just the tables/chairs wiped down??! That was all done while my guests were there which is unacceptable- the space should be ready when guests are arriving. Every issue we had come up was met with extreme rude behavior from this woman- eye rolling, unwarranted attitude when she should have been trying to remedy the many issues that arose. She just couldn’t be bothered. We were promised things within our contract that were not met such as dishes that were never brought out, we were also supposed to have a cocktail hour from 6 to 7 inside the regular bar area, which I later found out was not possible, but I found this out at the event at 6 o’clock. So as the staff would not set up the space for my guests to go they also would not let them stay in the bar and not only as I’ve mentioned were extremely rude to me, but we’re extremely rude to my guests. If there was a miscommunication within the staff about a cocktail hour happening, that was never brought to my attention and to be honest, isn’t my problem that should be solved before I get there. It actually is in my contract that there was supposed to be a cocktail hour provided, which was not , so basically my guest had nowhere to go, and even when the space should have been ready , it still wasn’t ready because this woman Lena would not clear out the guests that were not part of my party, which gave me no time to set up, so it was not a good experience . we were supposed to be given bartenders for our event because we were told it would be a 40 minute wait at the bar per drink during our event which is fine, however, the bartenders did not know how to make the drinks or really even keep up with the demand for drinks so my guests had to keep going inside to order drinks which they were accosted for. And this is a place known for specialty beautiful cocktails. I understand mistakes happen and miscommunications happen, and I’m also willing to be flexible in those situations as I plan these events all the time, however, I have never ever been met with such rude behavior and such a person that was not willing to even try to solve the problem, which is her job. All I got from her, and all my guests got from her was attitude, eye rolling, this woman could not be bothered to help. She was more concerned with her ego. This is unfortunate because my guests Also stayed in the hotel, which is a beautiful space and the Monarch Club is a beautiful space with delicious food, but I would never ever recommend for an event. The way I was treated at the event and my guests were treated being at the event was horrific. Our original event planner ended up having to come down who tried to remedy some of our issues and was very helpful, and our server for the evening who took care of us, was also extremely helpful, and I feel like these two people took the brunt of the responsibility that should’ve been taken on by in fact, the...

I made reservations for a 40th Birthday Celebration for a party of 6 last night, 4/23/2022 @ 10:15p, Inside Tower Room. We waited 15-20 minutes from the time we were seated before our order was taken. There seemed to be confusion from staff whether we were "supposed" to be seated there, After we were seated we were asked if we were supposed to be in that area because it was closed...after we were seated in our area by your hostess. Staff just looked at us as they passed by without being serviced. We let staff know that we were supposed to be there in our reserved Tower Room. Some of the guests in our party were made to feel uncomfortable, and felt there was a racial undertone after being questioned. While we waited patiently for service we watched other parties inside and on the patios be served. Our server Ashley came and we were finally excited to dine, drink and celebrate our friend's birthday. Then we were told there was no food! The only food option available were beef brisket sliders. We were very disappointed and hungry! We booked reservations with the confirnation of full food menu and drinks. We were disappointed and ordered the sliders. Then more time passed and were then told there was no sliders, but there were wings. We were told the reason for lack of food was due to your establishment being "slammed." We were very disappointed as again this was a 40th celebration for our dear friend. While we were waiting for food and drinks we had other guests coming in our room and removed the barrier to try to go up the stairs. The guest was visibly intoxicated and didn't listen to staff initially to come back down. The guest eventually left after being told by staff to exit the stairs. There we a few guests walking in and out, and there was no staff to let them know that this was a reserved room so that wasn't very fun. Food and drink service was running terribly slow, however Ashley was pleasant. During the time a few guests of our party had to go to the bar themselves and order drinks to pass the time. We decided to peruse the patio and a nice couple invited us to sit with them after learning about our experience thus far. Our wings came and we dined outside. Ashley appologized and was accommodating. While the wings and drinks were appetizing, we left unfilled as we weren't allowed the full experience that we eagerly anticipated. No dinner and a lackluster experience. The beautiful weather and ambiance helped pacify our Birthday guest. However our party was overall very displeased that we didn't receive the full treatment we trusted your establishment to provide. We also had to find late night food options as some of our party could not eat the spicy wings we were limited to. I hope management really reviews last night and fixes the failures and hiccups that occurred. I would greatly appreciate a response as to how this situation can be resolved.

-Neeley Party of 6...

Really wish I'd checked the most recent reviews on this place, most seem to have had equally negative experiences.

We booked a reservation for pre-dinner cocktails last Saturday, agreeing to what I thought was a $25 no-show fee (was $25/pp). We planned our trip from Canada around using their valet service to park (on their 'plan your visit' part of their website) and even left almost 2hrs early in case of border issues. We get to Monarch just before our reservation, but couldn't access valet. Couldn't reach anyone at the bar, but the hotel front desk told us valet was unavailable and to find somewhere. What we didn't know is that there were 3 major events in downtown Detroit that day, and parking was impossible/double to triple the usual costs. This isnt Monarchs fault, but you'd think they'd post something on social media or notify their guests with reservations. After 20 more minutes in police-directed traffic, we gave up - but not before 3 calls (and a voicemail - all racking up roaming charges as I waited on hold indefinitely) to the bar, an IG message, and an attempt to cancel the reservation via their booking site (it was too late).

Further follow-up attempts made to ask for a bit of consideration for the fact that missing the reservation was not for a lack of trying (1+ hr at the border, tolls, etc) included an email upon being charged $70CDN, a few more calls, etc. I FINALLY got a reply after commenting on an IG post, asking me to send another message with contact info so they could follow-up with me... that was 3 days ago. Messages read, no response. At least 2 other people replied saying they also been trying to contact with no luck.

At this point, based on my experience and reading other recent reviews, this place seems outwardly contempuous of their own clientele. People cancelling due to power outages and dying pets have also incurred what should truly be a discretionary fee. I realize missed reservations can be a problem in the restaurant industry, but so does poor customer service and this seems like a good way to discourage clientele from ever considering them again. Circumstances should be considered, and even if they still feel entitled to collecting the fee - a response would have gone a long way.

Tldr; I tried for days to get this reservation, waited through covid to cross and check out the patio, spent an hour in border traffic... making literally every attempt to show up for a reservation I was extremely excited about. Came away spending over $100CDN to not step foot in the bar, and can't even get a simple response...