Diana R.
Yelp
My wife and I are guests of the Hotel Kindli for three nights, at a rate averaging $383 per night. Walking home to our room after dinner at 22:45 on 21 June 2017, we thought to stop by and check the hours of the Restaurant (which had several customers still enjoying drinks on the outdoor patio), seeking a nightcap with maybe a light snack. The waitress we approached was visibly annoyed by our "intrusion," since the restaurant was already "closed," which was not at all apparent. A second waiter -- unsolicited by us -- shortly joined our conversation with the first waitress. To our complete astonishment, he immediately offered a dismissive statement about the prohibitive expense of the menu, suggesting that "if finding something cheap" were our "main concern," we ought to look elsewhere, beyond this restaurant and surrounding neighborhood. The issue of cost had never been mentioned by us -- if we can afford to book a room at the extravagantly expensive hotel above, we can manage to purchase a glass of wine at the restaurant below. As we are two women in our early thirties (married to one another), absent a man, dressed only semi-formally (in the heat of summer), the waiter made an inappropriate assumption about our available budget, condescending to us by insinuating that we ought to seek a drink elsewhere, not offering us a seat or even a look at the menu at our own hotel's restaurant. We are extremely offended and consider this a discriminatory incident. When I am out with male friends, even those younger than myself, I often find myself treated more deferentially by waitstaff than when I am with my wife, whom others assume is merely my friend, on account of our common gender and different race. (People also mistake us for teenagers or young 20-somethings when we are young professionals a decade beyond, with doctoral degrees between us). Restaurant Kindli owes us an apology for the dismissive attitude of their waitstaff and the unpleasant interaction it caused, which has left us in an annoyed mood, especially given the small fortune we are spending as patrons of the Hotel. They've also done themselves the disservice of sending away willing customers, for no reason besides their own arrogant assumption that their upscale offerings were beyond our means. This experience only adds to our disappointment with this staid, old-fashioned, and (indeed!) egregiously overpriced city, on the heels of our delightful visit to Barcelona.
