Michelle Holloman

Review of The Elms Resort and Spa

This marks the third experience we ve had at The E...

This marks the third experience we ve had at The Elms. Our first trip was full of issues. The quality of the food and service was below acceptable for the cost. We were even overcharged at checkout. However, when we shared our complaints with the staff, they quickly moved into action and ensured us this wasn t typical. We received a night stay to come back and give it another shot.

When we returned several months later, it was pretty delightful, honestly. The hotel is full of history and charm. The Spa was beautiful and extremely relaxing. The food and service was, again, not stellar but it was overall nice.

So, this year we decided to come back for their New Year s Eve party. When we checked into the room, it was small and quaint but we quickly realized there was no closet or wardrobe in which we could hang our clothes. Inconvenient but not worth getting upset about. We went downstairs to for dinner we were sat under the stairs by the window. The restaurant was freezing, even with a blazing fire. When I looked at their thermostat, it was set to 65! Burrr! They moved us upstairs and dinner started with several well-intentioned staff, fumbling through a service the management had clearly not prepared them for. Again, mistakes are forgivable but it just didn t stop there. The service lasted longer than it should have and the wait between courses was confusing. The food here tastes like something that would come out of the kitchen at a culinary trade school. It s trying so hard to be special but lacks finesse and more importantly, quality. I ate two bites of my chicken and couldn t even finish the mashed potatoes. My husband ordered medium-rare steak and it came well-done. I am (by no means) a food snob, either. We left dinner and moved on to check out the parties. The bar had a one man band. He was terrific! Best part of the evening!

The next morning, we went to our scheduled breakfast buffet. It was freezing in the hotel lobby. I understand this time of year is cold and I m sure old hotels are tricky to heat but there was not additional thought to ensuring comfort. The buffet was okay, not great. Our waitress was less than accommodating. However, we drank our coffee and after all, caffeine is the best part of any breakfast. That was good! We spent time in the Spa, after. It was fabulous. After lounging, we started feeling hungry. I know, if you re still reading, I m sure you re asking yourself why we went back. Well, there aren t any other options really. We went into the restaurant and were given the menu for those eating between lunch and dinner. The same waitress from breakfast walked in and told us they weren t serving (in a less than apologetic tone). At this point, we re we re annoyed but thought The Cafe might still do the trick. I started dreaming of a latte and was okay. However, The Cafe was also closed! We were bothered by the realization that the place we d planned to spend a couple of days hadn t completely prepared for the experience they d promised with such an occasion.

This is where it ended. We packed up early and chose not to stay our last night. Once again, my husband shared our disappointments and the team at the front desk worked hard to keep us, offering to open the restaurant and make us whatever coffee drink we chose. It was very helpful but too late. I m left feeling for the staff. Where s management in quality control? It s lacking desperately in almost every category. This hotel has a great deal of unrealized potential. I hope they work it out but we will likely never return. We gave it a chance and I leave this review to be helpful to those who might be able to make appropriate changes.