USVI-On-Line

Don't let Kelly drive the boat! Have a great time. We are very jealous.

Cheers, RickG

Give Syd a big hug and a kiss from ME!! And tell her I'll be waiting to pick her up at Dulles on Sunday! Flip Flop is gonna come too!!

Rick - You beat me to the punch!

kellyanna wrote:Just got back to the boat, after a great forum gathering at the beach bar. Drinks were good, company was great, food sucked!!!!

Sydney for Kellee

Alright I have to add to the "Food Sucked" part. I didn't post anything about this yesterday because I was still mad and didn't want to sound to negative. I have to say over the years I have posted good things about the beach bar and tuna there in particular. No more. Apparantly Red is the only one there that can cook it. He no longer works on Sunday. No Red no Tuna Down or Tuna bites unless you want it to tast like Long John Silver's. On top of that when we sent it back we got nothing but attitude. The place was packed and way understaffed. Two bartenders that are experts at ignoring everyone and everything around them. I went back to the bar three times trying to return the tuna down that Deb and I ordered the bar tenders wouldn't even make eye contact. Finally Kellee took it up stood at the end of the bar and held it over her head like the statue of liberty, they couldn't ignore that. So the bartener gave Deb and Kelly lip and ate one and wanted to know what was wrong with it.
Given this level of BS I will have to strongly consider how much and how often I will spend money there. I actually got a little pissy so I am sorry if I offended anyone, except the staff.
Jay

Alright I have to add to the "Food Sucked" part. I didn't post anything about this yesterday because I was still mad and didn't want to sound to negative. I have to say over the years I have posted good things about the beach bar and tuna there in particular. No more. Apparantly Red is the only one there that can cook it. He no longer works on Sunday. No Red no Tuna Down or Tuna bites unless you want it to tast like Long John Silver's. On top of that when we sent it back we got nothing but attitude. The place was packed and way understaffed. Two bartenders that are experts at ignoring everyone and everything around them. I went back to the bar three times trying to return the tuna down that Deb and I ordered the bar tenders wouldn't even make eye contact. Finally Kellee took it up stood at the end of the bar and held it over her head like the statue of liberty, they couldn't ignore that. So the bartener gave Deb and Kelly lip and ate one and wanted to know what was wrong with it.
Given this level of BS I will have to strongly consider how much and how often I will spend money there. I actually got a little pissy so I am sorry if I offended anyone, except the staff.
Jay

Thanks for the blurb on the Tuna at the Beach Bar...since we have young ones we've only had occasion to stop at the Beach bar a few times (maybe 2) in the 10+ years we've been visiting. I looked forward to getting to meet some of my fellow STJ lovers which I did...(seeing you, your wife, bug, bugs' dh, Kirk, Ruth and the even "anonymous posting" couple was great! it's so nice to put faces to people)

I looked forward to the Tuna which I'd only read about as a STJ legend. I drove my DH crazy about for months before we came down. I couldn't wait...I'd seen pictures of it here, I'd seem mention of it in numerous posts, all glowing recommendations. So I was beyond excited to try it. Imagine my surprise when what appears before me is a plate with 10 tiny little dime sized shapes and a tiny pile of salad to the side. My thought was...this doesn't look like any of the pictures. DH was saying...ok, what is wrong with you, all you talked about was this, aren't you gonna eat it. Eat WHAT??? Little DD had a taste, they were tastes. I tasted, it was a hint of what it coulda been. You couldn't call it anything else. Could of stacked the little dimes up into an inch maybe. No, we didn't send it back. Dh had a decent cheeseburger, kids had super chick strips with fries. Biggest food disappointment ever for me. Bit of background is we live in the quasi-sticks so I might get a hint of tuna once a year or so...LOL, so therefore it was a BIG deal.

Other than that, we thought service was as expected when the place is jammed on a Sunday evening. We thought the bartenders were slamming busy and did what they could keep up with orders. Sorry, you got the attitude Jay. That was rotten.

Maybe it would behoove us to give the Beach Bar folks a heads up when we know a LOT of forumites are going to be doing a gathering there on a specific date -- since no doubt this may have added to the normal crowd. Maybe Ruth could help out in that regard since she's practically right upstairs?

Personally I have never thought one way or the other about the Beach Bar-- it's simply an FDS: Forumite Delivery System. I know for a fact that June 21st s also going to be a banner BB Forumiite gathering.

I've never thought much of the food or drinks there but the location can't be beat.

So maybe a little heads up might help them prepare a bit better?? Maybe they can make sure there's enough staff?

Another option would be to identify some other location for said gatherings. The beauty is that there's enough folks generally to make or break an event at any location.

These days I'm guessing that any one of those restaurants/bars would LOVE to have our business.

Just a thought...

OK, Captain Jay,

You made me do this

The last two times we have been to the BB for the gathering the service has sucked in more ways than 1. Now I am not a food person, but others we have taken have not been overly impressed, this past Nov the bartenders made up the cost of your drinks as you got them. Each time hubby went up, they charged him a different amount for the same drinks I think after the first couple f times he said something & I beleive they said something about there being entertainment....WHAT IS THAT CRAP.....

Grommit, We let them know back in May & Nov that there would be a large group, in Nov I beleive there was almost 50 of us, so that they would maybe have a little extra help at the bar & kitchen so that the staff were not over extended. They did nothing

I feel the only thing going for them is the location, but I bet if we approached High Tide, they would certainly be more friendly, with the prospect of the business they would be getting.

Sorry to rant, you would think in this ecconomy they would be glad for all the business that is brought to them.
I'll shut up know

The Shopper

Maybe we should take our June 21st gathering to High Tide. It's human nature to take things for granted when they come so easily. The BB gets a TON of free press and business from the forum. Can you imagine the $$ lost if we all took our business down the beach. I'm not saying we should do that, but it does kind of put a perspective on how important good service is in a business like the food industry, where quality and serviece is all you are selling. Like if a villa management co. made you wait at the ferry dock for an hour, took you to a villa that looked nothing like what was on the website, etc. etc. We would have every right to post that and their business would suffer. I'm just saying, it's our vacation and our money. There's a huge difference in island time and bad service with a side of bad attitude.

I'm game for switching to High Tide... I'd even be willing to contact them and try to see if they'd be interested in having all of us.... I'm not willing to pay them extra but I'm thinkiing with enough of us having a good time there, spending tons o money on food and drinks and then hyping up their business on the forum... they'd be Ok with that.

Just sayin...

I'm sure they would love that idea. They'd probably even get some plastic tables and chairs to set up on the beach.........I mean for 30 or 40 people who all like to drink and eat, how can they not be thrilled.

Pianogrl~
Any interest in moving the Sun, May 10th forum mtg to a new venue?

Unfortunately I will not be attending any forum gatherings until May 2010. During my last visit to the Beach Bar May 2008 I also was very unhappy with the service at the bar. The service was very slow and my family and I experienced Bar tending with attitude! I have waited tables and tended bar in the past and I am usually very tolerant of waiting when a bar is real busy but there is no reason to be rude to your customers who are patiently waiting a drink. As I have mentioned in many past posts, my family and I start every trip off at the High Tide and are never disappointed. The staff and drinks have always been great. I am sure if someone made them aware of the reason for making a switch and a heads up about a large group they would be happy to please. Good luck everyone and have one for me wherever ya end up!

I have to chime in on this one seeing that it seems to be turning into a BB bash.

I can’t compare the Beach Bar to any other year seeing that we were only there in 2008. From our experience at the Beach Bar during the time we were there I rank it as one of my favorite “bars”. I am not naming any names of the staff but we found them to be great. Sometimes we hit a few points when it took a little longer to get a drink, but I chalked it up to island time and that they were a little busy. We still kept in touch with a couple of the bartenders throughout the year and find them to be friendly and pretty cool people.

I’ll agree you’ll probably find a better meal at the High Tide. We ate there several times and enjoyed it. We also ate at the Beach Bar several times, but that was more of a quick bite to eat or a last minute thing. In my eyes I look at the Beach bar as a bar and not a restaurant. If I want a full meal I’ll go elsewhere. I go to St. John to get away from the everyday rush around world we live in, not to be a part of it.

Besides, there is nothing like standing around chatting with people on the beach with easy access to the bar and some jazz playing in the background.

No bashing intended here. Had a small situation that left a bit of a sour taste. I am sure that I would go to the BB again. I do love High Tide!