(but not the funny kind)
When my friend wanted to celebrate her birthday with an Afternoon Tea party, complete with a cute painting activity, we thought it would be a perfect mix of elegance and creativity. The original plan was to book at Cobbler’s Cove(which was our first choice), but unfortunately, they were fully booked. So, we turned our attention to Fairmont Royal Pavilion. Big mistake? Oh, you have no idea. Grab some popcorn because the tea gets hot.
trying to plan with Fairmont Royal Pavilion 🍵
We first reached out to Fairmont Royal Pavilion on August 30th, 2024, and by September 2nd, a representative named Danielle finally replied with the available packages. A bit delayed for a hotel, but okay—we figured they must be busy. My friend quickly responded on the same day, asking for some clarification. From September 2nd to September 20th, we waited… and waited… with no response. We sent follow up emails, we called, and it was brought to our attention that Danielle was the only one who could help us. Seriously, what is even going on?!
By September 24th, Danielle finally responded with an apology, explaining that she needed to discuss the painting activity with her team and would get back to us ASAP. Ma’am… what were you doing for the last few weeks? 😒
Of course, the worst was yet to come. Danielle never got back to us, so we followed up again on October 8th, only to get an automated email saying she’ll be on vacation until October 25th. You can imagine our horror—the booking was set for October 20th! Sighh.. we were redirected to contact Tonisha (a manager), who thankfully replied quickly and finally confirmed everything by October 16th.
the event day disaster 🎉
October 20th finally arrived, and we were excited. But upon arriving at Fairmont Royal Pavilion, no one knew about our booking. Literally, everyone seemed confused. The host, Ashlee, was polite and directed us to a table but had no clue about our reservation or the painting activity. When I asked about it, sis looked at me like I was speaking chinese.
Ashlee tried to salvage the situation by fetching our tea while she looked for the manager. Mind you… Tonisha and Danielle were both MIA that evening. Instead, a manager named Berkley (who seemed equally out of the loop) showed up, apologized, and eventually extended our table time to 6:30 pm. At this point, we thought, “Well, at least we’re here. Let’s make the best of it.”
the service? painfully awkward 🥴
As soon as we finished our tea and started setting up for the painting activity, we realized things were only getting worse. No one offered to help us set up, and we were still missing one friend who had her own challenges with the service. When she finally arrived and ordered her tea, they brought it over but didn’t even pour it for her. Like… are we guests or staff? 🙃
And it didn’t stop there. We hadn’t received the refreshments that were supposed to accompany our tea, so naturally, we had to ask for them too. Then we noticed a small oversight that hit us hard—no one came to check on us the entire time we were there. Every interaction felt like we were pulling teeth. Like… should I change my name to ‘PEASANT’ ?! because I must be one. In fact, we must have all been some that evening.
the cherry on top 🍒
The last straw came when my friend asked for a drink menu. After much effort to actually get the menu, no one returned to take her order. Keep in mind, the restaurant was basically empty, so the “we’re too busy” excuse was notgoing to fly here. Then, to our surprise, when the bill arrived, we were livid and called Berkley back to sort it out. He apologized and said he’d handle it. He even offered to move us to another table where we could further enjoy our evening, but the frustration was so real that we had to leave. Staying would have been like begging for more problems. We never even finished our paintings. Here’s a sneak peak of mine.
Tonisha’s empty promises
After all this, Berkley managed to get Tonisha on the phone, and she apologized and promised my friend that she’d handle everything first thing Monday morning. She also assured her of some form of compensation and promised to call back. Well, Monday came, it’s been five days since, and guess what? CRICKETS. 🦗 Who knows? Maybe Tonisha never even communicated the booking to the restaurant staff, hence the entire mishap and why she can’t get in contact with us after all.
ending on a high note at QP Bistro 🍹
After escaping from Fairmont, we headed over to QP Bistrofor drinks. The service was professional, the staff friendly and attentive, and the ambiance absolutely inviting. At QP Bistro, we finally felt like valued customers. I’d return there in a heartbeat.
So, there you have it. If you’re considering afternoon tea at Fairmont Royal Pavilion, proceed with caution. And if you want a smooth, enjoyable experience? Head to QP Bistro instead!
