Gretel Y.
Yelp
I really, really wanted to give this place more stars. I heard/read wonderful things about Half-Mile Farm from several people including a local radio host and a couple of famous fashion bloggers on Instagram. I will say, the farm is absolutely beautiful. Our guest room had a romantic, rustic-luxe decor, and our balcony had a view of the courtyard and lake. The updated bathroom included a large, gorgeous marble shower. It was equipped with soap, shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, bath salt, etc. but only ONE toilet paper! We requested for more and they brought us more within minutes.
The staff members were pleasant and friendly for the most part. We experienced this upon arriving. A nice young gentleman, Yuan helped us during check in and brought our luggage to our rooms. We caught the tail end of the complimentary hors d'oeuvres reception/social hour, but were able to try each food item. The Main House's dining room had a nice spread of 2-3 different baked brie cheese dishes as well as mini quiches, fruit, dip, and crackers. They also had a small selection of white and red wines. The baked brie cheeses were delicious. I especially liked the one with brown sugar and another one with fig.
However, we experienced less than 5-star service on a couple of occasions during our stay. Yuan informed us that the front desk can help us make dinner reservations off site since they don't have a dinner restaurant onsite. He gave us a list of maybe 10 restaurants and highlighted the restaurants that were available that night. Since we arrived after 5pm, we had limited options so we decided to take advantage of their offer to make a reservation for us. We went back and forth with the lady at the front desk for a while because the majority of the restaurants were either closed for the season or fully booked for the night. She finally informed us that our only options were a grocery store and a pub. My S.O and I were not satisfied with that, so I took it upon myself to call other restaurants in the area. I was fortunate enough to get a reservation at Meritage Bistro, just a couple miles away from the farm. Meritage was NOT busy that night. Hmm... When I checked the restaurant list we were given, Meritage was one of them. That led us to believe that the lady at the front desk did not exhaust all our options and decided to just give us the pub or grocery store option. I guess it was too inconvenient for her.
The following morning I wanted to sleep in. My S.O. woke up early and offered to get me Nespresso coffee offered from 7am daily as listed in their activities sheet. He went to the front desk to inquire and the lady (not the same as the previous night) told him that they do not offer Nespresso there, and that we had our own Nespresso machine in our room. We did have a Nespresso machine in our room, but we were under the impression they listed Nespresso on their activities sheet for a special reason. Otherwise, we would have just used the machine in our own room. He called me from the front desk and told me what the lady said. I reminded him that it was listed on their daily activities sheet. After going back and forth for a few minutes, the lady at the front desk finally said, "We do have a Nespresso machine in the Garden House." That was the answer he was searching for this whole time! We expected a "luxury country inn" to have their staff trained and informed on their own daily activities. By then, I was was wide awake and decided to go to the Garden House with him for this Nespresso "event." That turned out to be a waste of time. The Garden House did have a machine, bigger than the one we had in our room. That was it. There was no attendant available. It was self serve. No milk frother machine or special additions. To top it off, the machine was jammed by the pods. We couldn't even use it. What was the point of listing that on the daily activities sheet? The Garden Room was nice. I liked the fireplace and the beautiful seating and decor. I just wish we could have enjoyed a cup of Nespresso by the fire. We decided to go to the Main House for breakfast and hopefully some fresh coffee.
We returned to the same dining hall we went to the night before. The tables were set up nicely. One of the staff members greeted us, explained the menu items, and took our drink orders (fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and coffee, finally!) The chef prepared a Mixed Berry Clafoutis as a starter and a Spinach Shiitake Mushroom Quiche with Cured Ham and Homestyle Potatoes for the main entree. Both were fresh and absolutely delicious! The clafoutis was like dessert and I will take my dessert first ANY day! Satisfying breakfast. We had exceptional service in the dining room both times. Staff there were knowledgeable and helpful.
We asked to check out later, at 2pm and were granted that. Check in and check out went smoothly. I would like to return again, but not anytime soon. I am hoping their service and employee training will improve with time.