Misty S.
Yelp
Plain and simple, not returning. I had reserved in advance a wine tasting for my large group of friends, with half of them being from the service industry. Considering Swiftwater Cellars is located in Suncadia, we all naturally had a level of expectation for our experience, but from the onset, we were disappointed. The expectation: to have a proper winetasting as marketed. Keep in mind, you need to provide your credit card for the winetasting, so that if you don't show up for your reservation they will charge you $25 per head. So naturally, we expected this to be a big deal if they charge you for not showing up.
Upon our group being escorted to our table, the hostess walked us halfway to our table and pointed to it to inform us where it was at: there was no courtesy to walk us to our table.
Our server, started the experience to inform us that they didn't have enough wineware for our tasting, despite that the bar behind us had a full counter of wine glasses. The server also informed us that our party could only be split into two checks. I explained that we wanted the right side and left side separated into two checks.
We ordered our flights and food and that was it, there was no wine education, or explination of what the flights were and the difference, NOPE, the waitress served our flights leaving anyone with a House flight to receive theirs one glass at a time. So at this point, there wasn't a true wine tasting, but a regular dining experience. As we sat there, multiple times we had to grab our waitresses attention because she kept passing our table up and we naturally needed things as any customer. Again, a large party, which will be charged a 20% gratuity.
By the time we finished our food, those with the House flight still had not received the rest of their flight. I flagged our waitress and politely requested the check and the remainder of our flights because we had to leave. She told me she would have to ask, and I informed her, we were done eating and had to leave, so she shouldn't have to ask for something we ordered about an hour prior.
I then left to the restroom and came back and she had charged the entire table to my husband's card after I clearly asked she split the table into two checks earlier. At this point, my husband said he was over it and just wanted to leave -our entire table just flabergasted by the experience. When I confronted her about this, she simply questioned with an attitude, "Is there a problem?" I explained to her that I had requested two checks. Frustrated that not only was our service horrible but that I received an attitude floored me.
I wrote feedback on the receipt, "Worst service ever, the hostess needs more training, and the experience was horrible -never returning." I then spoke to the manager because I was appauled, this restaurant is located in Suncadia and we all expected a wine tasting experience with exceptional service. To put it plainly, I get better service at a brewery than here. I made it very clear, we would never return and I advise anyone looking for proper service to go anywhere but here.
As an experienced waitress and bartender, you don't treat the people who keep your doors open like your bothering them. You also don't market a "Wine tasting experience" when it's not a wine tasting experience. Had the gratuity not been forced, I wouldn't have left a tip and I'm not a cheap person when it comes to tipping. As a waitress and bartender, my friends and I typically over tip because we understand the value of tips, but this experience didn't warrant one.
$398 later and we were left irritated because we were truly excited for all of us to experience a wine tasting together. Later that day we saw someone with a wine collection at their home in Suncadia and we all agreed, we could've offered the residents the $398 and had a better experience.
Save your money and time and go somewhere where your money is well spent.