"At the bar, drinks were being poured and the girl mentioned that the cocktail would take a while to be brought to the table. There were a total of 9 people in the bar/lounge area with three servers. After 15 minutes, I noticed the bartender folding napkins and asked for the cocktail. He gestured towards the bar where the girl had been standing before serving other customers. The bartender seemed disinterested and gave me a look as if to say, "How dare you ask?" In the restaurant, which had 5 dining tables, my daughter requested a Hendrick's gin and tonic but the server had never heard of it. She suggested a Bombay Sapphire instead, but they were out of that too. My wife asked for black pepper, but the server claimed they only had white pepper in the shaker on the table. Midway through the meal, the restaurant managers ran by and inquired about the missing black pepper. Eventually, a server brought a pepper pot to the table and mentioned that it took so long because they didn't know how to open it, but it turned out to be a pepper grinder. Despite the food being good and the service friendly, the staff seemed to have no idea what they were doing. This particular location, the Marriot Highcliff Hotel in Bournemouth, does not live up to the standards of the Marriot Group. It lacked a sense of responsibility and interest, giving off a poor impression overall. A bizarre and disappointing experience."
