Jeanne Tuckett

Review of Ryland Inn

New Year's Eve at the Ryland Inn's Coach House cou...

New Year's Eve at the Ryland Inn's Coach House could have been magical if only they had changed a few things The cocktail hour has a lovely ambiance, unbelievably good food and an atmosphere for socializing. However, the mix of ages of the patrons can assure you that ladies in high heels are not comfortable standing for a long time, holding a purse, an appetizer, napkin, and drink. There was only one small table with four chairs which was taken immediately. The piano player was wonderful but so loud, one had to shout to the person standing next to them. Talking is an important part of a party and this was not possible. I and other ladies were complaining about standing so long and were relieved when we could finally sit down at our tables.
The dinner hour was in an equally beautiful room with a champagne bucket with a bottle, of Veuve Clique at each table , wonderful, a magnificent fireplace with a roaring fire, another great idea. BUT, we were unable to enjoy it because the DJ played music so loud that we had to shout to the people at our own table to be heard. Yes, we danced but the music being so loud for a room of that size gave me and one of my friends a headache and a resentment that dinner conversation was impossible. The DJ was playing music that it seemed he liked, and he wanted to play. I don't think he even considered his audience. He should have read his audience and even asked for suggestions. AT those prices and given that the guests would be there for a while, it would have been appropriate. They were not all old but not young enough to want an almost full diet of disco music. A few Frank Sinatra songs for the older people, a couple songs from and sixties and seventies music for the majority of patrons from this era and the rest was disco which would appeal to only a few. Even if this poor selection had been played in a lower volume, it would have been OK. My guests hastily ate our dinners and then watched the DJ miss the countdown, all of our phones had the countdown to midnight and he kept playing through it and then tried to cover it up by having his own countdown to midnight after the fact. Very poor form. There isn't a TV they could have had turned on to assure the we wouldn't miss the ball dropping?. My guests and I left right after midnight. SOOOOOO disappointing and could have been fixed with a just a few simple changes.