The Stigma of the Hotel Restaurant

If you were bored… and I mean really bored (like, maybe I should clean out the cat litter on this hot day, bored…), and were to Google “Hotel Restaurant Stereotypes” you would find a slew of articles and reviews on café’s, diners, and bars that fall under the disappointing headline of “sadly living up to the stereotypes”. But why is it that hotel restaurants get this bad reputation? It seems to me that somewhere along the lines, maybe 3000 years ago, maybe earlier, some hotel had a really terrible restaurant attached to it and henceforth the rest of us hotel restaurants are forced to carry the burden of that bad experience.

But I say Nay! Nay!, no more – I am starting a revolt against the stereotype and I’m starting it with the Justamere Café and Bistro! We are proud to be attached to the Claymore Inn and Suites, and refuse to fall victim to any stereotypes associated with our location. Just like we shouldn’t judge people by their appearance, or books by their covers, we also shouldn’t judge restaurants by their proximity to hotels… and I’ll tell you why…

1. Team work: In any “normal” restaurant what you see is what you get. However, in a restaurant attached to a hotel there is so much more going on behind the scenes. Not only do we have a wonderful staff in the dining room and kitchen, there is also a supportive and hardworking staff attached to us through the Claymore Inn and Suites. Behind our kitchen doors there is a network of people working together to not only make sure that you have a fantastic experience inside the restaurant, but that you also have a wonderful experience inside the hotel. The bathrooms and hallways and meeting rooms are always kept up with, and the front desk can help you with anything you need. The Justamere is really only the tip of the hospitality iceberg when it comes to dining with us!

2. The Pool and Hot Tub: Yeah that’s right, our restaurant is attached to a pool… You eat too many fries, or you regret that second Panko Breaded Fish Burger then just take a trip for a dip and head down the hall to the pool… but just remember to wait 30 minutes. The Justamere Cafe is not responsible for any cramping that occurs while swimming.

3. Greater Customer Feedback: Not only can the Justamere Cafe and Bistro hear feedback from their own webpage, Facebook or Tripadvisor… we also get to hear feed back from the hotel and their own affiliated sites. We are constantly checking reviews and comments on both our webpages and the Claymore’s… the more feedback we have, the better we can make your experience!

4. Diverse Guests: One of my favourite things about being attached to the Claymore Inn and Suites is the diverse clientele that we get coming in from the hotel every day! We see everything from church choir groups to motor cycle groups decked in leather. No day is ever boring, and if you come to eat with us you could be dining with people from all over the world! We always love to ask our diners where they’re coming from and what brought them all the way from Europe, the States, or even just New Glasgow to dine with us or to stay at the hotel.

5. Word of mouth: It took me quite a while to think of this one, but it more or less encompasses all of the previous points. If someone has a positive experience in our restaurant, or inside the Claymore Inn, then word spreads and a reputation is born. Our reputation is contingent on the hotel, and the hotel’s is partially contingent on us. Together we support each other. When guests are pleased they return, when locals are pleased they send new guests. Being a hotel restaurant isn’t a negative at all, contrary to what the internet tells me… it’s a wonderful thing.

Like I said, the Justamere is only the tip of the hospitality iceberg (should I include another picture of the iceberg, or do you think we all get it?)… and the iceberg can’t stay afloat without a strong and solid base. Don’t get me wrong, the Justamere is independent and self sufficient, but we wouldn’t be as strong or as stable as we are without the hotel. We wouldn’t have as much customer feedback which makes it easier for us to serve you, and we wouldn’t have the feeling of community and support that exists throughout the whole hotel between our employees and theirs… oh yeah, and we wouldn’t have that sweet hot tub.