Carleigh B.
Yelp
I was visiting Delray with a friend and we wanted to spend the day by the pool at Delray Sands Resort. I called in advance to make sure they offered a day pass to use the pool and spoke to Nicholas, who told me they did ($89 for 2 people) and that we didn't need to book in advance. When we arrived and mentioned we wanted to purchase the day passes, the front desk told us that wasn't available. I asked to speak to Nicholas who came out and set us up with the passes no problem.
The towel boys were very friendly and helpful in getting our chairs set up. It took a very long time to flag down a waitress, Sarah, to get a food/drink menu. We put in our order....my friend ordered the bloody mary, and the wedge salad; I ordered a decaf iced coffee, and a lobster roll. Sarah left to put in the order and came back and said they were out of lobster because lobster was out of season. There are multiple items on the menu that include lobster, so that makes an issue for anyone who orders any of those items. I ordered the blackened Mahi sandwich with seasoned fries on the side instead.
The drinks came out in plastic cups with lids and straws. I wasn't offered any milk/cream or sugar for my coffee so she had to make a separate trip for that, and my friend's bloody mary did not come with any of the garnishes listed on the menu....rosemary skewered olives, celery, celtic sea salt, cherry tomato, spicy pepper. When my friend asked Sarah why none of it was included she said it was because we were at the pool and she then brought him 2 olives in a cup. Unacceptable. There's no reason why those things shouldn't be included, no matter where you're sitting. If you order something from the menu, it should come as listed on the menu. Period.
Our food came in to-go containers with plasticware packets and in plastic bags. Listen, I get the no glass by the pool thing, but the amount of plastic bags and containers that were being used for food ordered at the pool and beach was insane. Not environmentally friendly at all, and can't be cost effective as opposed to just getting some reusable non-glass cups/plates.
My sandwich came out cold and sad-looking, with plain (not seasoned, as listed on menu) fries. My friend's salad was mediocre at best. Reminder that the chef of Latitudes (the restaurant) is a James Beard award winner. I was annoyed at that point and went to speak to Nicholas again. He was very kind and asked what he could do to help make things better. He had my sandwich remade and it was much better the second time around. Things were looking up.
After some time, we finally got Sarah's attention to order drinks. Had the waitstaff been more attentive, we would have spent more money. In all fairness, there was only 2 servers and they were serving both the pool and the beach.
When we got the bill, nothing had been comped. Not even the round of club sodas or anything else that we had ordered. I thought Nicholas would have done something for us in that regard, considering all the issues we expressed to him. He also never came back out to check in with us. We then had to pay $10 for the valet, which you can't pay for outside at the valet stand if you're paying with a credit card. So back into the front desk I went to pay.
It's safe to say we won't be returning.