I had a bad experience at the St Regis in Miami fo...

I had a bad experience at the St Regis in Miami for this Thanksgiving.

My son and I went to 2 x of the restaurants in this hotel, as external guests. We ate our main meal at the burger place and then on to the Greek restaurant for dessert. Since we re in Miami on holiday and don t know anyone here to spend Thanksgiving with, I wanted to make it a special day for my young son and I.

When I came to pay for the ice creams we had had at the Greek restaurant, instead of the $26 I had been given a bill for (which is already pretty expensive for 2 x ice creams), I realised I had been charged $150! The money had already been taken off my account, and when I checked with my bank I discovered that not only had they now taken $150 for ice cream, but that I was charged twice for 2 x main dishes at the burger restaurant, an additional totalling $130. I alerted the restaurant staff right away and was assured the manager would come and help. I waited for over 15 minutes and watched while the manager fussed over new - and evidently, richer - guests. In the end I took the bill and told the staff I would talk to the hotel manager instead.

In the lobby, I was directed to the food and beverage service manager. He apologised but explained that it happens a lot (what?!) and when I asked him if this had happened with 2 x different restaurants in the same night, he said yes, a lot. This was not much comfort. He also insisted that the money was not taken from my account, but merely on hold for a few business days which was, again, little comfort when it s Thanksgiving, we re on a limited budget for our holiday and we were now almost $300 down due 100% to their 2 x errors within the space of one hour. The food manager was cordial, and kept saying he wished there was more he could do but still didn t offer anything above a glass of champagne (with a tired toddler and much fewer funds for our holiday, I was hardly in the mood for that!) and stating that the money would eventually be back on my account. I realise $300 may not be a lot to some people - clearly, not to the hotel staff - but it is to me. I m a single parent and wanted to spend a special Thanksgiving meal with my young toddler at what is meant to be one of the best hotels in Miami, but I walked away with an ok meal and over $200 poorer for the duration of our holiday.

I am underwhelmed by their commitment to make amends for their 2 x mistakes (aside from a free ice cream and valet) and total lack of empathy for how their errors have frankly ruined our holiday. I d also advise caution for future restaurant guests as these errors - evidently, according to management - seem to be common.