Aqua Star — Restaurant in Savannah

Date of “service” - 12/31/21

Absolutely disappointing.

My wife and I made reservations for New Year’s Eve to ring in 2022. After looking at the scheduled menu for Aqua Star, I was looking forward to the dining experience and I didn’t even mind the $110 per person price tag. We arrived on time at 8:30pm and were added to the “Arrived” list. We sat and waited for our table to be prepared while listening to two gentlemen that were playing live music there for everyone’s entertainment. The person who greeted us (whom I’m told was a manager (Charles)) was very friendly and courteous. After a short wait, we were led to our table.

After being seated, I noticed the families to our left and right both appeared frustrated. Each set of parents were occupying their children’s attention with iPads. This should have been our first red flag. It took half an hour before we were served at water or acknowledged in any way. We weren’t even asked if we’d like anything aside from water by our waitress. I finally flagged her down and ordered a drink for both me and my wife. Shortly afterward, I heard both couples on either side of us making comments about the food, drinks, and service. I learned that the family to our left had been there for two hours and had only received their second of four courses. The family to our right had been there for over an hour and were in the same position, having only received two of four courses. Right around 9:15, we were served our first course, a small bowl of bisque. After a few minutes, I was able to flag down a separate waitress so that I could receive a spoon to eat it with. The bisque was pretty good. It came out hot and filled me with anticipation for the food yet to come. I was grateful that we’d only had to wait 45 minutes after our reservation time to start getting food compared to the other families. My wife and I chalked it up to it being a “special event” and that maybe the kitchen was just then getting all their stuff in order properly.

The next two courses, a salad, and our respective main entrées were slow to come out. We received the salads and ate those. We still hadn’t received the drinks we ordered and our waitress seemed to have vanished from existence. I went to the bar myself and ordered the same drinks that I’d ordered from the waitress. There was one bartender there and she was courteous and efficient. While waiting for my order from her, I looked around to see if maybe my order drink order was waiting around somewhere to be picked up. Nope… no luck. I received the two fresh beverages from the bartender, closed my tab with her, and walked back to my table to find my wife seated there with our main entrées that had finally arrived.

For our main course, I ordered the beef and my wife ordered the lobster ravioli. Both were underwhelming. The ravioli was bland and undercooked. The beef, while tender, was drastically under-seasoned and was garnished with what seemed like a butternut squash purée that was gummy, clumpy, and overall unappetizing based on its flavor and texture. It was like they took a squash, tossed it in a blender for way too long, tried to smear it on a plate, and then cover it up with some beef and potatoes they found in a crockpot. I ate the beef, simply because I wasn’t going to pay $110 for my meal and then have to go to a fast food place directly afterward.

By now, it was about 10:15 and we hadn’t received any desserts (or drinks). Our waitress came by again and asked if we had gotten our dessert yet. I told her no. She left and came back another 15 minutes later with no dessert and asked us the same question. I again told her no and asked that they be packaged for us to take with us. I also requested the check. She asked how we liked it and I told her I was disappointed in the food and service. She then became argumentative with us and blamed her lack of attentiveness on the impact Covid-19 has had on the food industry. Huh???

Whatever. Lesson learned. Poor service and lackluster food. I’ll never go...

We have stayed at Savannah Harbor Westin every Mother's Day weekend for the past 10-years. Each year we book 6 or more rooms. We have dinner at the Aqua Star restaurant, usually the first day we arrive. For the past two years we have encountered a very rude, Black lady named RENAY. Last year we gave her the benefit of the doubt and concluded that she may have been having a bad day.

This year (2022), we can not give her that pass. She is inherently a rude and hateful person. Her disposition when she arrived at our table was harsh and cringe worthy.

I asked her about the salmon sliders in an attempt to get a good understanding prior to placing my order and she replied, "Why are you asking me that, You can't read?" I was appalled, in fact I was speechless. My son, jumped in and clarified what should have been a simple question. She sucked her teeth and walked away, leaving the six of us sitting at the table trying to figure out what just happened.

We decided to leave. Upon leaving, I asked to speak with the Manager. Kenyatta Hodges, the person to whom Renay was whispering as we leaving, reported that she was the Manager. I explained our experience and she listened and had nothing to say. She just stood there looking at me. I was confused, why a Manager would react so nonchalantly to such behavior? Therefore, I asked her what Renay told her. I was convinced that Renay must have given an alternate version of the facts. Kenyatta said, "She told me the same thing that you just told me." So, it appeared that Kenyatta was covering for Renay.

I expressed to Kenyatta that I would be speaking with the Hotel Manager. All of a sudden, Kenyatta became responsive. "How about you all come back and have breakfast on us tomorrow?' I told her that we would think about it, as I did not think that she handled the situation well. And, we would much rather have good service than a free meal. We have decided that we will NEVER go back to AQUA STAR and are not certain if we will book the hotel next year, because of our...

This restaurant is not following the typical high bar Westin sets for hospitality. We went there for breakfast. There were not many customers there but we still waited at the hostess stand for quite a while before it was noticed we were there. The table and placemats were not clean and our silverware was laid straight on the unclean surface. The silverware and glasses did not look clean either. The food at the buffet was dry, looking like it had been sitting under the heat lamps a while. The lady was training another employee at the omelette station. She was talking about not letting the customers get away with special requests. The trainer at the omlette station was unfriendly and short with customers, a poor model for training a new employee. I guess the customer is the enemy! The omlette station was not set up in a very eye appealing manner. Later I got to see the cook digging food out of a container with his bare hands. The staff was also very loud, slamming food containers around and talking loudly. It ruined the ambiance and view. The waitress was very nice and attentive, the only redeeming part of the entire meal. Her name began with a "Z". My suggestion would be for the staff of this facility to visit and train with the Hilton Head Resort restaurant staff because their facility...