Jota at Royal Isabela — Restaurant in Isabela

A genuinely disappointing experience. We had reservations, you have to check in with the guard up front, and when we did he said we had to park at the bottom of a hill and they would send a golf cart to pick us up. We waited and waited and finally hailed a golf cart going by and he took us to the top of a hill to the restaurant. We ordered an underwhelming appetizer of a charcuterie board and a round of drinks. We went ordered dinner and then we waited and waited and waited. At least an hour for our food to come out. In that hour not ONCE did the waiter come out to refill our water, see how we were doing, clear our plates, or offer another drink. Finally our food arrived. The food was ok at best. I had the risotto with fish but the fish was tough and chewy. You can tell when a fish is fresh; it’s crumbly and tender- this was not the that. My dad had the seafood mofongo that was fine, my husband had the pork chop which was also fine, and my mom had the curry which was inedible from how spicy it was. We had to actively flag down one of the waitress’ who asked how our food was, and we answered sincerely that it was only so-so, which she offered zero solutions for. My dad asked her for a glass of wine as she was trying to rush away. She did bring him the wine but didn’t ask anyone else at the table if they would like anything else. And then we were on our own for more than an hour. We never had our water glasses refreshed, asked if we wanted another drink, or anything else. Our dirty plates sat in front and of us for more than thirty minutes before I had to get up and stand next to the kitchen door to ask for a to go box, and our bill. It was my mom’s birthday and this place, the average plate is about $45. We could have gone to Chilis or Applebees and paid a fraction of the cost for exponentially better service. Frankly an embarrassment for the sort of establishment that this is supposed to be. After I had to stand up and wait by the kitchen to ask for our bill it took another FORTY MINUTES to receive our bill and our food to go. All in all we were at this “five star” restaurant for four hours, our waitress checked on us exactly one time in that entire time frame, the food was as good as any food you can find on the street and pay $14 for the plate, and zero apologies or acknowledgment was made from staff or management. So. Yeah. Don’t come here

*The managers' response is incorrect. We did have a reservation, they don't allow you past the front gates without one. We did receive a complimentary glass of champagne which I completely forgot about because we were so miserable by the time we left. We did NOT receive a complimentary dish, our bill was...

We came here for an upscale dining experience. I will start by saying the food (once we finally received it) and ambiance was good.

Unfortunately that is the only nice comment I can say. We were sat almost immediately and looked over the menu.. ordered waters, alcoholic beverages, and two appetizers for the table. One person received their drink… shortly after the two appetizers arrived … we asked about the other drinks and were told they had two people call out and that there was only one bartender (the manager on duty) who was VERY backed up we finished the appetizers. Still no drinks for the other members of the party until about 40-50 minutes after ordering them. We immediately placed our food orders. again.. we sat for almost 1 hour and 30 minutes. No manager or employee came to apologize for the wait. I finally got up to ask how much longer it would be as we were all frustrated and ready to leave. We were brought 3/4 courses we ordered. Finally the last of the meals we ordered (a pizza) came out 15 minutes after everyone else’s. No refills on drinks no more water was offered with our meal.. everyone’s cups empty. We asked for the check. No discounts, no apologies. We paid. After I asked to speak to a manager. I will not name any of the staff because they were clearly stressed out. Audibly complaining to one another about how bad the service was that night and in front of their patrons. All of them looked defeated. The person I spoke to said he was a manager of a different department.. I explained everything above. He said it was unacceptable and that if he had the power he would’ve just shut everything down and closed. He asked us if we had paid. I said we had.. and the only thing he offered was an apology and additional food or beverage. Absolutely insane. Nearly $300 dollars for a meal and not an...

We have been members of Royal Isabela, and were married there, so we obviously are very fond of this special place. But the service at the Jota restaurant was horrific in our visit last weekend . We had lunch there on Saturday with only a couple other diners, and it took an hour for our food, and thus we were late for our tee time. Then the coup de grace was our dinner on Saturday eve at Jota which we were so looking forward to - but the service was absolutely horrific .. First off they could not manage to get 3 cocktails to us. One at a time came out, over a span of nearly 20 minutes. I am not kidding when I say we had to ask 3 waiters and finally the manager to get the last cocktail - and it was the same as one already served?!? Why wouldn't they make 2 at once and bring them both out?!? Incredulous to say the least.

Then, it took nearly an hour and a half for our entrees to come out. And then only 3 of the 4, with mine the one missing. I kept waiting to see if our waitress would come by so I could let her know, but she never did.. And nobody else for that matter. What fine restaurant in the world doesn't come after serving the entrées to see if anything else is needed? This is the only one I can think of. Finally, I went into the kitchen to notify them I hadn't received an entree. Mind you this is two hours after our initial order. At that point I had already shared my wife's dinner, and canceled the order. ... What a travesty for what used to be a...