Jun 03, 2011 04:04 PM
5438 Views
Last night we went to the new Hilton in town. I had seen the building come up and friends had told me that the hotel was now functioning and then I saw an ad in a national magazine that said ‘we are open!’ So there we went.
You have to admit the hospitality is warm at the Hilton. From the guy at the gate who checked under the car and inside the dickey to the valet who parked the vehicle to the people who rushed to receive us at the lobby (and what a lobby – that’s another plus) to the captain at the restaurants and the waiters and the singer at the bar – all were so friendly! The warmth of the people and the decor are top class.
There is a beautiful metal lace that hangs all around the lobby that is stunning and the easy chairs in the bar and the paper mach chandeliers in the restaurant are lovely. The colour combination is soothing and subtle.
But we had gone there to have dinner. The magazine ad had claimed there were 5 distinctly different eating choices including a barbeque on the roof but on enquiry we were told that apart from the coffee shop only a multi cuisine restaurant on the 3rd floor was functioning. After that it was a constant tussle between one disappointment after another and the sweet curtsy of the people who work there and I think, unhappily, the wrong side won.
When we entered the restaurant, the guy who received us smiled sweetly, bowed and asked, do you have a reservation? No, we said. He nodded and passed us to the captain. He asked, do you have a reservation? No, we said. He nodded and asked; what is your name? Then he led us to the other side of the room – where you have to pass through the bar (the décor of this place too was nice. Softly lit and comfortable chairs) –and shown a table by the window. The view outside was marvelous and we felt nice that we were not in that traffic jam on the road at the bottom!
The waiter came and asked; do you have a reservation and then wrote down my name & telephone number! Then she said we were now seated at the buffet tables and the a la carte menu was not very comprehensive! It seemed now we had landed, totally unprepared, at a buffet.
So, reluctantly, one by one, we got up to check the spread. At first glance it looked quiet elaborate but soon it dawned on me that the items on offer were just basic. Chicken biriyani (too many elachi), mutton curry, dal, panner sagwala (all bland), continental (mostly cold cuts), pizza crust tasted like papad, gilab jamun & bread (for some reason it was called chocolate) pudding were not very sweet, the fruit salad and ice cream tasted mild and the pineapple left a zing in my mouth. And finally even the coffee tasted like what my wife makes at home.
My stomach was full and the bill came to less than what we had expected – but still we were left wondering if we really had had a great meal in a 5* restaurant! We actually were not looking to eat home cooked food at the Hilton.
