Breakfast at the US Grant's "Grant Grill"

The US Grant in San Diego certainly has a great reputation and is part of  Starwood's "The Luxury Collection" of hotels. It also came recommended by our American Express travel counselor.

When we arrived on Saturday, the service quality was excellent - from the valet staff to the front desk to the concierge, the hotel lived up to our expectations. The hotel has undergone substantial renovations a few years back, and the lobby is extravagant, yet inviting. The rooms have been redecorated in a stylish way, although it appears that a fashion statement was more important to the interior designer than the comfort of guests. The sofa in the above picture is opposite the TV in the suite, and it is perhaps the most uncomfortable sofa I ever sat in. Also, the choice of fabric does no accommodate high traffic use, the settees look stained. We know for sure that the rooms are being cleaned, because a dirty rag was left on our suitcases.

For breakfast we went to the Grant Grill in the hotel. The breakfast menu was well designed and the Wedgwood china, silverware, and table setting looked promising.  

Imagine our surprise, when we were told upon being served our coffee and tea  that they were out of English breakfast tea. But this was only the foreboding of things to come. Even though the restaurant was only 20-25% full, it took forever until we were served. When the food finally arrived, the pancakes that my daughter had ordered were covered with blueberries, but once she pushed those aside, the entire stack turned out to be severely burnt. Needless to say, we sent them back. One would imagine that an egg over-easy is one of the more-easy items on the menu to get right. Au contraire, the egg was undercooked and covered with grease. Likewise, the "Gold Yukon Potatoes" turned out to be hash-browns that were raw on the inside and burnt on top and bottom.

This was also the point in time, when service quality went downhill. Not only did we have to wait for the toast and pastries for another 10 minutes, by which time the eggs were already cold, but we were also confronted with an empty salt shaker and no sight of the waiter for those entire 10 minutes. When the pastries finally arrived, they turned out to be soaked in fat to the point where a huge grease stain was left behind in the bread basket. Upon serving the check the waiter asked if everything had been alright, and instead of waiting for our answer concluded for himself "All is well, that's good to hear."

We respectfully disagree...

Our rating: ♦ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ (1 out of a possible 5 diamonds).