Today we had the worst meals and service I have ever had on st. Maarten. Lunch at Harbour queen, 2 hours for cold French fries and fish bites that I wouldn't feed my dog! Oh and we were the only ones in the place. Next was dinner at the Refuge, again 3 dinners brought out while 2 of us waited another 1/2 hour. The food we got was awful and trying to pay the bill was a nightmare! They did take off for the 2 late dinners though!!!

This is the 2nd recent negative report regarding Harbour Queen. No idea on the Refuge but the past few times I have been at Sunset, service was poor both for food and at the bar. No excuse for what you described.

Every time we've passed The Refuge and thought about eating there, we've hesitated and not done it. Glad we did. Last night our dinner plans went awry so we ended up at Rialto Pizza again and had pizza, pasta and salad to go - very good food.

We have been here 2 1/2 weeks and have had a lot of poor service. I thought the unemployment rate was high. My theory is they just don't care because they don't think you are a return customer but all us timeshare owners and TTOL members are return customers. Must say the best service we have had was at the Greenhouse and we have been there three times.

Surprised to hear you say that you have had a 'lot' of poor service. As far as the Greenhouse, we have enjoyed it since it opened up in that location in Simpson Bay, and before that in P'burg. On the other hand, the service and food next door at Buccaneer has declined, such that we have not been there in a number of years.

Why care about giving good service when you know your job is secure and tips are already added on to your bill on the Dutch side anyway. Not all service people feel that way but a lot of them do.

It depends on the restaurant. Not all restaurants add service charge onto the bill automatically, although it is becoming a lot more common, unfortunately. I don't know whether I am just not that picky or what, but we rarely get bad enough service that it even registers with me by the next day. I'm just happy to be on island and it's pretty rare that service is bad enough for it even to really tick me off.

I can't say this with certainty, but it is my personal belief the poor service at many of the Dutch side eateries these days is directly akin to the almost universal inclusion of the forced 15% service charge routinely added to dinner checks at so many of the restaurants these days.

We have always been fairly generous tippers when good service was given, with 15% given for just average service, and we had no qualms about rewarding our server additionally when it was our choice to do so. I've developed the attitude of late that so many restaurants include that 15% and if that's what they think their staff is worth, why should I argue with them and give more? And of course, there is always the exceptional occasion when the servers turn themselves inside out to make your experience memorable and it's always reflected in the additional tips we happily give them..

Of late, I'm not totally certain some places/servers are even worth the mandatory 15%. When we were on island in January we had a meal where the service was horrible, the food was just okay, and the attitude of the service staff was, "oh, well!!" The gratuity was automatically included in the check and there was no way I was going to add to the amount and in fact, if my spouse had been agreeable, I would have disputed the charge with the management because the service was soooo bad. Fortunately for the staff he was not agreeable. Management doesn't always see what's going on and sometimes it needs to be brought to their attention.

I really think the servers now know they're going to get a tip so there is no incentive for them to do a better job and we've seen this happening over our last 4-5 trips. Not in all places, for sure and not all the time, but often enough that we've noticed it. Years ago, before this practice became so widespread it seem to me the waitstaff tried a little harder to make an additional effort towards making their meal service more personable and more precise and we were always okay with a twenty percent plus tip. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

So far all meals in past years that we've had on the French side have been great. Not so on the Dutch side.

In fact, we return this March and plan to eat only on the French Side with exception of Mark's and Lagoonies.

Sorry to hear of your poor experiences. We recently returned from a 10 day trip. We stayed on the French side but ate at many locations on both sides. Other than mediocre food and service at Layla's (but acceptable, still enjoyed ourselves), we all commented how good the food and service was everywhere (including a great time at Buccaneer with nice live music). I don't expect that everyone will always bring their "A" game, but this year was consistently excellent for us.
Scott

I haven't heard anything late about Izi's? Still good?

We go to Izi probably once per week. Food and service are excellent, however they could ease up a bit on the birthday celebrations.

We went to Izi's years ago when it first opened and was not impressed. Our daughter wanted to go last week so we gave it another try. It was excellent, food and service. We will definitely go back. We thought GEBE was going down but it was a birthday celebration. LOL

Unless you are in a party celebrating a birthday and that is why many people go to Izi.

Well run restaurant with very good food and a nice celebration for special events.

Same story with us....we were at izi when it first opened....and for the life of me couldn't understand why so many people kept on raving about it...we thought it was mediocre at best. TWO years ago, we decided to give it another try....and LOVED it!!!!!! We went back twice last year as well...and am sure to be there next month!!! Service has been GREAT along with the food.

Hmmmm, food for thought re Izi. We went twice in its earliest days and to say we were less than impressed is almost being complimentary. I've often been surprised at so many I know offering so many positive assessments. Maybe it's time for us to give it another try and just pray there won't be a birthday celebration happening. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for volunteering Pat so you can let us know if it has changed. Two terrible visits there and we vowed never again!

Personally, I enjoy Izi and Davide runs a good operation. If everyone perceived them as "terrible", they would not stay in business very long.

Izi may not be to everyone's liking. Kind of like the lolo's in Grand Case, personally, I think they are way over-rated and I avoid them.

I have always enjoyed our dining experiences at IZI. Have gone there since they first opened and have always had excellent food and service. I quite like the birthday celebrations as it makes me happy to see other people being happy and having a good time! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Many of the reasons above are why we enjoy the French side restaurants. There are some good restaurants on the Dutch side like Greenhouse and Toppers. However, the list is long on the French side. Great food, service, and atmosphere. In my opinion, a whole different experience.

Toppers. Greenhouse. Lot better choices then those on the Dutch side. Time to branch out.

Can highly recommend new restaurant Rum and Peas. Past Pineapple Pete on same side. Caribbean dishes. service good and special drinks very good. Been there 3 times in 3 weeks.

Maybe because we have such good Italian food in the Federal Hill area of RI and the north end of Boston our standards are high. When we went to Izi's hubby thought the sauce tasted like canned tomato soup undiluted.

We love Spiga.

Wow! That was pretty much our assessment, too. And the sounds of the shrill sirens along with the strobe lights as they celebrated someone's birthday, coupled with the closeness of the tables, and we just couldn't wait to get out of there. I will say, though, one time we were with a family from the island and someone we'd met at a wine tasting came in and because the tables are so very close, we were able to visit with both groups which was kind of nice. We'll be there longer next trip so perhaps I can convince my DH to return and give it one last try. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />