Vista Sky Lounge — Restaurant in New York

Came here for my sister’s 21st birthday which happened to fall on father’s day so I understand that the lounge was busy but what was so disappointing is the service and lack of communication. We were a party of 6 and arrived at 8:08pm and had reserved a table so we were seated immediately. From there we ended up putting our orders in around 8:30pm and our initial waitress was busy but never followed up with us. Around 9:10pm another waitress came to us and asked us if we needed anything else (we were just having our drinks) and then I had mentioned we were waiting for our order for the past 40 mins.

Our appetizers didn’t arrive till another 5-10 mins later. We didn’t even have plates or utensils to eat with. We were hungry so we just started digging. we had to communicate that we needed plates and utensils to eat with. One of our appetizers were wrong so the waitress took it and went to replace it with the right order, and by the time we were done with our appetizers, the waitress had brought out the plates and utensils. I had called the manger and explained to him we were disappointed with the service and the delay. I mentioned that it’s my sister’s 21st birthday and I’m pregnant so we are quite hungry and the least we expected were our appetizers. He mentioned that a chef was out and that it’s been rough for him the entire night because it’s so busy and everyone is waiting for their food and he would try to take care of us. (Normally in this case as a customer you expect either some things complimentary or a small percentage off for the inconvenience). I understood what he was trying to say and gave the lounge the benefit of the doubt.

My husband had also ordered another beer (bottled drink) which he didn’t see until another 20-30 mins later. We received our food by 9:30pm. Food was pretty good hence the 2 stars (would give it a much higher rating had the service been better) but definitely over priced. The remaining of our appetizer came out after we were done eating and then another waitress who had taken over and served our food asked us if we wanted the bill and we said yes. When we saw the bill, we were quite shocked with the pricing of the drinks and how the restaurant automatically charged us a 20% gratuity! The service was extremely below average! Even the drinks were served in plastic cups, water was tap water and we had to pour it ourselves! We were never asked if we needed anything, never was apologized for the wait, never was followed up with, nor did the original waitress even acknowledge us after.

After we paid the disappointing bill the second waitress had come out with shots and mentioned it was on the house which was a nice gesture and appreciated except it was wrong to assume that the entire table would take shots. I had to let her know I was pregnant. There were also people at the table who drove and also didn’t drink due to their faith. All we were looking for was some sort of follow up, an honest apology, and maybe something complimentary or even a discount for the extreme inconvenience, instead we were taken care of by “shots on the house”. Heck, even a dessert for the birthday girl would have been appreciated.

If you look at the picture attached you will get a full breakdown of our experience because nothing will explain it better than our bill. We don’t mind paying what we ordered but the expensive pricing must match the service which it did not unfortunately. Even a take out has better service than this place and this is why I give this place 2 stars & do not recommend this place. We will not be coming back. Hopefully this review helps shed some light on the staff and they understand that it’s ok to be busy, it’s ok to be overwhelmed but it’s not ok to attach 20% gratuity on mediocre service where there was zero follow up or an apology for the wait. Customer acknowledgment goes a long way, it would have saved this review...

On January 24, 2021, my friend and I visited Vista Sky Lounge for the first time. I found this establishment after a quick google search for restaurants with outdoor seating with heat and chose to book an evening reservation based upon the view and 4-star google review. Upon arrival, we checked in at the host stand and were walked to a two-seater table positioned in front of the bar in what appeared to be a rooftop enclosed area. This area was pretty full (considering the pandemic and rising numbers) and not quite what I expected (ie: physically outdoor with natural air flow as photos show). I mentioned to the man who escorted us to the table that I thought the table would actually be outdoors to which he suggested the available igloo. The gentleman (who I now believe to be one of the managers) stated that the igloo costs $100 dollars, to which we agreed, and my friend and I were escorted to the igloo bubble and seated. Our waitress was thoroughly attentive and throughout the entirety of our dining experience checked on us frequently. The waitress stated that we needed to purchase either a bottle of wine and at least an appetizer a piece as a condition of the igloo. We ordered a bottle of Malbec, two green teas, a bottle of Acqua Panna, mussels and a Greek salad as neither of us were very hungry. As we waited, we quickly noticed that the space heater was not sufficiently warming the igloo. When our cups of water and tea arrived there was a visible pink lipstick stain on the side of the mug (Strike 1). Our waitress expeditiously took the cup away and brought a clean one. The green tea bag was generic at best and the malbec was decent. When my friends mussels arrived they smelled raw and looked dried out with very little to no wine broth in the bowl (Strike 2). The waitress took the mussels away and my friend ordered a greek salad in lieu. On at least four occasions, the waitress tried her best to reposition the space heater, as it was freezing, but unfortunately the tiny size heater did not measure up to the frigid temperature outside coupled with the wind. My friend and I took turns placing it near ourselves leaving one of us to be cold until the other was somewhat warm (Strike 3). Our greek salads arrived shortly after and were just ok, nothing to write home about, just ok. Dinner concluded and the bill arrived and was a whopping $290 insert astonishing gasp. Our waitress stated that the igloo price was $200 because it was two of us patronizing the space. We requested to speak with a manager and the gentleman who seated us arrived a few minutes later. He had stated that he told us before seating us that it was per person which never happened. If either of us would have been told it would cost $200 to be sat in a freezing cold igloo on a roof in 25 degrees we definitely wouldn’t have chosen that option. The manager vehemently stated that he was clear about this price and I believe it was intentionally left out. As some sort of olive branch the manager agreed to “comp” the tea and Acqua Panna (*read: insulting). We paid the egregiously expensive bill and departed. I have patronized many rooftop establishments and outdoor igloo enclosures and this is the first time I truly feel robbed. Albeit we are mid-pandemic and restaurants are all struggling for patrons; Vista Sky Lounge should re-evaluate the way in which they communicate to patrons to ensure full transparency and not try to get over on new patrons. I have worked in public service for over a decade and I hold Customer Experience to a very high standard. Our time at Vista left us with a less than pleasant pallet literally and figuratively and it is my hope that the Four Points by Sheraton senior management as well as Vista staff take the suggestion to evolve your strategies and improve efficiency as it relates to improving customer satisfaction into...

I was invited to this establishment for a friend’s birthday celebration and it will be my first and last time going there! We ordered our food, which did not arrive till an hour later. No one had the courtesy to tell us anything about there being an issue in the kitchen about our food... I guess they just didn’t care to do so. We had to call our waiter over to ask what’s going on with our food and then he told us about the issue. Once he left to check on everything, we were already looking for somewhere else to go because that was a bit unprofessional and strike one. 10 mins later, he rushes over with the food, which was lukewarm or cold! We sent back a few plates and decided to try to make the best of it and eat what we could because at this point it was already 11:30 ish at night. With the complaints that we had, we asked to speak to the manager. At first he did not want to come over and sent every one under the sun to speak to us instead until we kept persisting to see him. Finally he walks over to our table with his assistant and the attitude is already written all over his face. My friends and I are explaining the situation and asking him as a manager is there anything that he could do to rectify the situation and make the birthday girl happy. He started talking and it was just down right nasty and as if we’re below his stature. A friend showed him that she noticed that there was a bug in her water AFTER she already took a sip of it. This guy told her that she’s at an outside venue and it’s to be expected. If she feels that there’s an issue, then to just ask our waiter for another glass of water. Really?!! As a patron to the establishment, helping your business and paying your salary, that’s really how to talk to your customers. Aside from that, his demeanor towards us was appalling. We all felt disrespected and unappreciated. Not one apology came out his mouth. And with knowing that they were in the wrong, him and his assistant tried to make accusations saying that we arrived late to our reservation and they had to wait for us. COMPLETE LIES!!! It’s recorded in their system that we checked in at 9:30, which is the time we reserved the table for, and were seated minutes after. Finally, on our way out, we paid the bill EXCLUDING gratuity because let’s be real, who would really pay a tip to them after everything that happened prior. And they insisted that we pay the gratuity for their “services”. We fought back and told them no and wanted to speak with the head manager above this guy because he was being a complete jerk! Our waiter told us that he was going downstairs to call his boss and we saw him take the elevator with a smug look and we all knew something more was to come and sure enough, he came back upstairs with SIX police officers, that after hearing the whole spiel, told us that we were free to go and the manager had no right to hold us because no where in any policy does it say that we are obligated to pay the gratuity. We all left as the classy ladies that we are and vowed to never go back...