Clearbrook Golf Club's The Grill Room Restaurant — Restaurant in Saugatuck Township

I sent the following email to owner Mr. Jeltema and NO response. I have worked in the service industry as a front line employee and a Senior Manager handling many situations over the years to ensure happy customers. I am very disappointed with the lack of response from the owner. This to me speaks volume.

Dear Mr. Jeltema,

My name is * and I wanted to share with you our first experience at your restaurant.

A local resident and Realtor we know highly recommended "The Grill Room" as a good place to take my husband out for his birthday. We made a 3 hour drive to celebrate his special day. I made a reservation to dine outdoors and noted in our reservation that we have a certified service animal that would be accompanying us.

As my husband and I entered the restaurant to check-in for our reservation, we were accosted by a very rude hostess who loudly yelled at us in front of guests she was escorting to their table. "What is THAT?" pointing down at our small (8 lb.) service dog (trained, certified, fully ADA compliant) in a discreet carrier that was totally unobtrusive. I continued walking in disbelief that someone would speak to a guest in such an unprofessional and demeaning tone. The hostess again yells out the same question. My husband who was behind me responded to her question, "that is our certified service animal". In her condescending tone, she responded, "PETS aren't allowed." My husband politely responded to the hostess that we have a SERVICE ANIMAL as noted in our reservation and we have an ADA card we can show as proof. Again, in her demeaning tone, she says "Yes, I want to see the card, Go take it to the manager at the host desk." I couldn't believe a seasoned employee in the service industry would speak to someone as she did to us in front of other guests. As we approached the host desk, I asked the man standing behind it if he was the Manager, but I couldn't quite understand his response as I was still very upset. I shared with him that we have a reservation and that a very rude woman told me to come and speak with the manager and show proof of our ADA Service Animal card. At this point, the rude hostess came up and stood right next to him. They were remarkably ignorant of the law, and she was quite insulting. As they fumbled through what appeared to be a policy manual, his response to us was that he knows that a "seeing eye dog with a vest" is allowed but nothing else. He also told us that "emotional support animals" were not allowed. We reminded him that the animal is a service dog, not an ESA. We had to explain to them the applicable provisions of the ADA and were finally seated.

Once at our table, our waiter, Steve, was attentive, professional, and pleasant. The food was excellent. Steve and another staff member who we believe is named Maddy turned around our initial bad experience with the hosts.

It is clear that your management/host staff needs training on the requirements of the ADA so that other guests will not be subjected to the terrible treatment we...

TLDR: a nice restaurant with good food and great service with a homey atmosphere. My 2 complaints: 1) the talking noise seemed either really loud or really quiet because there was either no music playing or the level was so low it was inaudible. 2) the lighting was a bit dark and I’m not THAT old -I’m still in my 30s, jeez! But I had a hard time reading the menu without my phone light 🤣 👵🏻

The place sitting was nice and the overall vibes were very relaxed and homey. We were hungry so we ordered almost immediately 🤣. They started us with a house salad which was very surprisingly tasty- the light dressing was delicious. They also brought some bread and butter.

My uncle ordered the CHAR-GRILLED ANGUS BEEF TENDERLOIN FILET* (8 ounce hand cut filet, maître d' butter, vegetable, browned Parmesan potato cakes) and he seemed to like it quite a lot.

I ordered the PASTA PRIMAVERA (tender cavatappi pan-sautéed with tonight's vegetables and sun-dried tomato pesto). It was pretty tasty as well. I added some sautéed shrimp for protein 💪. What I like about this place is they always suggest a drink pairing to go with the meal at the end of the meal’s description. With mine, they suggested the Alto Vento Pinot Grigio, so I had a glass of that and enjoyed the combo.

My uncle decided against the suggested Cabernet, and ordered a Bellaire Brown Ale which he said paired nicely with his tenderloin filet.

Overall, a nice place. I just wish there was music playing (or that it was playing a bit louder) and that the lighting was a tad brighter- both...

I play at various courses across Michigan, so my review of Clearbrook is based on comparing price, quality, and atmosphere with other courses at similar price points.

Clearbrook has a fun atmosphere and a decent grill, but at $75+, I can’t justify the cost for the overall quality of the course. I’d rate the course a 6/10. The fairways had inconsistent grass heights and a few muddy patches, while the greens were slow. The layout of the course is fairly average, with a decent placement of bunkers that add some challenge, but the holes are much shorter compared to other $75 courses like Stonegate in Muskegon. Stonegate is not only much longer, but it’s also much better maintained, with fast, smooth, elevated greens and challenging bunkers.

The only reason I’m writing this review is because of the course’s price. Clearbrook simply does not look or feel like a $75+ course. At most, it should be priced around $65 for...