Matt Falter

Review of Homestead Resort

They asked me to post a review during their survey...

They asked me to post a review during their survey, so here it goes:

This was our first visit to the Omni Homestead, and while my wife and I enjoyed ourselves, it's unlikely that we will return.

First, our room was not up to the standard we would expect for the rate that we paid. We were in a Premier View Room, and while the view was certainly "premier" the furnishings were not. A lot of stains were on the sofa, tears were in the lounge chair, and several stains and areas of bubbling could be found on the desk and night stand nearest the door.

While the spa was okay, we've certainly had better service. We had the Romance Ritual, and there was this underlying feeling of having a schedule to keep. For example, when asked about where we could find the restroom stunned look came upon the face of one of the masseuses, as if we would throw off the entire sequence of events. During the massage, both my wife and I noticed that there wasn't any sort of questioning for any problem areas or places where we'd like to be focused on. And when they did come across an area during the massage, neither seemed to take time to work it out. As if there were only allotted so many minutes per body area.

The quality of the food and beverage was disappointing at best. After our spa service on Friday, we hoped to enjoy lunch by the Serenity Garden pool. Instead, we received an Turkey Club that had obviously been made a day or two before (as evidenced by the brown smudge of avocado and tomato that leached out all of its juice) and a cheese and fruit tray with fruit that was molded. Now, I can understand how a cheese tray may get assembled ahead of time, but we can't make a sandwich to order? And if you are going to make cheese trays ahead of time, perhaps a bit of QC is needed to ensure that they are still fresh before being served.

Dinner that evening was at Jefferson's, and was the most discouraging part of our stay. To start, the two of us were set at a table of two between two large groups (one above us and one next to us) it was impossible for my wife and I to have a conversation. Second, we sat there between the two parties waiting 10 minutes before our waiter arrived. We ordered, me a NY strip and mushrooms, her shrimp and grits and each a salad to start. The salads were good, but the mains left a lot to be desired. The grits were the consistency of spackling, the mushrooms were sad and rubbery, swimming in a pool of cream (I thought I had ordered roasted mushrooms, not cream of mushroom soup), and I've had better quality meat from Costco. A lousy meal that cost way to much. We don't mind paying a premium, but if you are going to charge a premium, you better deliver. Jefferson's, without question, did not.

You may ask, "Did you speak up and let the staff know about your concerns?" Typically, yes we would. However, the greater point here is that when the room is $450/night and meals are $30-50/seat, I shouldn't have to complain. A high quality restaurant knows not to place a table of two between large groups. A high quality hotel won't stand for stained and ripped upholstery. Why should we have to inconvenience ourselves by changing rooms after we've unpacked or asking to sit in another area of the dining room or sending back poor food? When paying that kind of a premium, it should never come to that point.

We came into this weekend, understanding that this was going to be expensive. But we wanted an experience where we didn't have to worry, just relax and be blown away by excellent service and enjoy the finer things in life. Instead, we found ourselves questioning our decision to stay at the Homestead and wondering if we were wasting our money.

I don't think that is the mindset you want your guests to have. And it's not the frame of mind we want to be in when looking for a kid free weekend getaway.