Don't go anywhere near the corner of Pleasant and Main streets in Northampton MA without going to the Coolidge Cafe and ordering at least one of their Lemon Garlic Roasted Shrimp appetizers. That dish is the whole reason that Yelp even exists. We just popped in for a tide-me-over bite with a late dinner planned later that evening. First impression of the space was that physically, it was a bit disjointed. You enter from the hotel lobby, and there are a few tables on either side of a transitional passageway area which is transected by access to stairways to the downstairs bar area to the left and stairs to the Wiggins Tavern on the right. At the bottom of the stairs to the bar, the bar is sort of tucked over to your left -which feels a bit odd, but whatever... once you settle in there, the service is friendly and the space is quite comfortable. As we sat at the bar, we thought it would be a great cozy spot to drab a bite while Christmas shopping on a snowy evening... We tried the French onion soup and the shrimp appetizer. The soup was fine, but the shrimp was a superstar... snappy texture... nice light ocean flavor (but not the chemical saltiness you sometimes get)... and spiced wonderfully, with a savory paprika like taste with a little spice. The sauce comes off more like the liquid from braised short ribs but with nice chunks of sweet peppers or sun dried tomatoes... the croutons were more bready BTW... perfect with the sauce! In what turned out to be a great two day trip to Northampton-which turned out to be a fantastic food town (we also ate at Homestead, Toasted, and Wiggins Tavern), this shrimp dish might have been the best single dish I had. read more

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Went here for dinner and it felt like such an odd experience. There was only a couple tables occupied but our waiter kept saying they were busy and short staffed. Weird! Took forever to take our drink order. After those finally came we tried to order dinner and they were out of a few things we wanted. That was annoying. We finally ordered and never saw our waiter again. My friend finally went to the bar herself to order us more drinks. Food took a long time to arrive. 3 people ordered the salmon. One was maybe a 6 ounce piece and one was about 3 ounces. The person who ordered it to be added to their risotto probs got 8 ounces. This was very frustrating. I'm sure they have an amount that they are suppose to serve. Food was bland and nothing special. Atmosphere is nice but I don't think I'd hurry back. Do better! read more

A Pleasant Surprise So many recent reviews fault the service. We have nothing but praise for our server Tiberius. He was very attentive. We both had the French onion soup, which was a solid interpretation of this classic dish. We then both had a special--seafood stuffed shrimp--which was quite good. The shrimp were plump and properly cooked. The stuffing was flavorful. The rice was piping hot and nicely seasoned, and Brussel spouts they were soft enough to pierce with a fork but also still had a bit of bite. We went back for breakfast and had another great server. Yasmin was attentive, cheerful, and delightful to chat with. The omelets were overstuffed and the potatoes crispy and again--well seasoned! We will absolutely return next time we are in the Northampton area. read more

Coolidge Park Cafe - Ham and cheese omlet - Diners Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Love this place for their onion soup. Not much more than 3 stars. Always virtually empty. Wait staff not attentive. Napkins had been laundered in fabric softener which is a no for any establishment. Always clean. Hasn't recovered since COVID. Won't be returning. Hit or miss if you go. read more

Coolidge Park Cafe - Onion soup - Diners Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Very dissapointed with our dinner on Tuesday night. The short ribs were so undercooked they were pink on the inside and hadd to be cutt with a steak knife. I has asked for tarter sauce for my fish and it didnt come out for 25 minutes...by then the fish was cold. There were only a few people in the restuarant so the poor serviced was unexpected. read more

Very disappointing. Very few tables occupied but a very long wait - 30+minutes for lunch to arrive after ordering. I had the day's special strawberry salad, and added grilled chicken. the chicken was burned to charcoal on both sides - crunchy ash. when I pointed this out to the server, there was almost no reaction. another meal at the table included French fries that were very minimally cooked, and only warm when served. a huge disappointment after many very good lunches in the past. I'm in no hurry to return. read more

Outstanding breakfast! Their western omelette is the best I've ever tasted. A beautiful setting.

This was a great spot for a drink at the bar. The bar is open bright and cheery, with huge windows facing the street. The wine list is AOK, with very reasonable by the glass prices. Breakfast,on the other hand, is a choice between buffet (included in your room price) and order off the menu at a la carte prices. The buffet was truly continental with fruit pasties, yogurt, juices and coffee.so we chose a la carte. My breakfast consisted of an over oiled egg white omelette with the extras simply folded into the middle of the folded egg white. Lazy and sloppy. Service was good and the space is nice and bright, but the kitchen need to kick it up a notch or two. read more

Coolidge Park Cafe - Bar - Diners Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

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Food is good. Highpriced burgers and sandwiches at lunchtime Ambience: somewhat cavernous, very loud when you are sat next to a cackling crowd. Too bad people have no respect for other diners in a place where echoing is substantial. We had a noxious group of spanish speakers speaking english or english speakers orating in spanish. And barrels full of belly laughing Since we heard Every word a level away, we didnt find anything funny. But who knows. The germans sitting at quite a distance were actively discussing the tamil tigers in Sri Lanka. Quite loud The service. Well, we have been here several times before and had spotless service. This time our server Owen clearly had less interest in our table (of course we werent talking loudly, so maybe it was our fault) He brought an open bottle of wine to the table (while it was what we had ordered, most wait staff open your bottle after showing you the label, to confirm your choice) He set the bottle on the table gave a smart-aleck smirk and walked away. Usually after opening the bottle the waiter pours a bit into the glass of the diner who ordered the bottle for that diner to taste test. Not Owen. smirked and walked away. He brought our food order, smirk firmly in place, and asked if we needed anything else, broadened the smirk, spun around on his heels and walked away without awaiting our answer. Yes. We did want some mustard (for some reason mustard had to be requested at many restaurants). So when I called out above the spanish german competing din, he spun back around and glared back at me incredulously - a kind of "how dare you" look, the smirk dissolving. It took him quite a while to bring the mustard After watching his smirk around the room, and his ignoring us, I decided we didnt need dessert, coffee, liqueurs and he fidnt need a tip read more

Wonderful bar staff, food was great and reasonably priced and very pleasant ambience. Bar tenders were very attentive and I highly recommend the salted caramel cake for dessert read more

Walking around Northampton and the outside seating area at the Coolidge Park Cafe looked so lovely. Perfect tables and nice shade for a hot summer day. They have a menu up at the entrance, however, I think that was more for dinner as we were presented with lunch menus. Seating was a breeze and we had two really nice waitresses (who were the only ones working and the bar tenders so kudos to them for a great job taking care of everything and everyone!) who seated up promptly and never went by without checking on our water, drinks and food. Excellent service! They have a nice selection of cocktails. I ended up trying a Turkish vanilla martini (so good!) and then a caramel cheese cake martini (good but the winner with the Turkish vanilla). My dining partner had two beers and no complaints from him (poured from a bottle not on draught). The menu had a huge selection. I went with the turkey club BLT and woah, that thing was huge. It was delicious. The fries were just okay and the slaw wasn't that good but the sandwich was just off the charts huge and tasty. For the other meal, he went with the Calvin which was a sandwich with avocado and brie, and some other interesting flavors. I thought that was tasty as well. He ordered the truffle fries but they tasted like the regular fries to me, just a bit saltier. We had no left-overs so we were pretty happy with the food. Price was good for the quality. Overall, it was a really nice visit. I liked sitting outside near the small park and people watching and we really felt taken care of by the waitresses. Would definitely stop in again! read more

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Let me start by saying my wife and I really enjoy an occasional summer lunch outside on the Cafe's patio. The food is usually quite good and the service is usually fine. Normally I would rate it 4 or 5 stars. But yesterday was a fiasco. We had an unusually long wait to get seated even though the restaurant wasn't even close to crowded. It seemed there were only 2 waiters for the whole place. After waiting to be seated, we had to wait even longer for a waiter to take our order. And then we waited some more. People at a table near us were waiting far, far longer than us until the same waiter came over to them and apologized that the kitchen had lost their order. Even while we were waiting to be seated we saw this poor waiter literally running around the restaurant to bring another table drinks. With that in mind, after waiting over 25 minutes for our food, we decided to leave. In the midst of all that chaos, this usually delightful place became intolerable. Of course, when I went in to say we were leaving the very flummoxed waiter told me 'but your food is just about to be plated.' We like this place so much we will return again but we will now check that there are more than 2 waitstaff working. I know staffing is serious issue in the hospitality business but seeing a waiter literally running thru a restaurant was just too much. I suspect the poor guy was new and had little training or experience. But this is a fine hotel and someone should have approached us to explain why they were having so many problems. Also, for what it's worth, we have often been served by the other waiter on staff quite professionally but he too seemed overwhelmed. It was a beautiful afternoon and we were really looking forward to a nice al fresco lunch. Too bad it didn't happen. read more

We visited this lovely place just after COVID phase II had been implemented. We were very impressed by their efforts to make guests as comfortable as possible - to help return to a semblance of normalcy - while strictly adhering to safety guidelines. We had no reservation. Nonetheless we were wait-listed with an estimate of only 10-15 minutes. Their shrimp cocktail is superb. Each one is a perfectly cooked U-11 sized beauty. They're pristine and flavorful - the poaching liquid must be fragrant with spices. We enjoyed the whimsical way they served this appetizer for two. Fried cod was delicious - crispy light batter enveloping moist, plush fish. The fries were tasty but not house-cut. Homemade Cole slaw was delicious but there wasn't enough of it. The (promised) malt vinegar never materialized. A "Canadian Breakfast Burger" was cooked perfectly. Best buddy ate it all (burger with Canadian bacon, cheddar and poached egg). I couldn't have risen to the task. It was accompanied by the same fries, and the scrumptious Cole slaw. Coffee was so good I drank it black. Cocktails were reasonably priced and well-made. I recommend that you dine here. The patio is old brick with handsome masonry. The tables that're not shaded by umbrellas are shaded by mature trees. The property adjoins Northampton's Coolidge Park, which adds to the civility and charm of this outdoor venue. Service was efficient - but when we dined there were only two in service. Management should've scheduled more workers. We didn't mind the wait, but others didn't share our patience. Lunch for two with shrimp and five cocktails was only $60. A great value. We will return - many times, hopefully. read more

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My guest and I waited over an hour for a simple breakfast order....mind you when we arrived there was only one table occupied...If this wasn't bad enough other patrons were served and left while we waited and waited... no explanation or apology was offered...needless to say we are not returning and we do not recommend.... read more

Long waits for a half full restaurant. 60 minutes to receive our food. I received the full salad instead of the appetizer version I requested . The salad did not come out before the meal like I asked. The pesto linguine was bland. And the wait to receive my check was just too long. Nice views of the downtown area though. But not coming back. read more

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Our bartender Dory suggested wonderful drinks! Dory guided us through the draft list and seasonal offerings. Definitely will be visiting The hotel Northampton Coolidge Park Cafe again! read more

What a disappointment. The food was ok but the service was simply bad. And when it was all said and done when we got the check I said thank you and the waitress's response wasn't, "thank you for coming in" or " have a good night " or something else you might expect, but was "mmhm". We always thought it looked like a nice place but we won't be returning. read more

The Coolidge Cafe features a really wide and great menu. They also feature really top notch service. Over all inside and out they offer an excellent ambiance. In fact what I really loved was the outdoor seating. Although I did not partake the indoor seating features many giant sized windows so you feel you are outside! I had a tuna melt and it was delicious. There were many things on the menu I was totally ready to select though. I had a subpar capairiha ...but maybe it was the bartender, and not the place. Anyway, really happy I was here on a perfect June Saturday! I would be happy to go back. read more

Coolidge Park Cafe - Outdoor seating .... - Diners Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

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An absolutely beautiful atmosphere, an historic old hotel, it's lovely eating inside or al fresco. The service was excellent, the old fashioned wait-service in which the waitress actually waited for us to notice her without interrupting our conversation. The manager, wearing a suit, checked up on us once, the bartender fixed me a cocktail and put it in the proper glass, no hidden up-charges. Prices were high, but reasonable for a hotel like this, maybe a little less than I've paid at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago (an historic old hotel with similar classy service). I thoroughly enjoyed my clam chowder and fish and chips, the Chief of Staff liked her lobster roll, we want to go back and stay in the hotel next time. read more

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We went there for my husband's 30th birthday lunch. Late afternoon, cafe was very quiet. We ordered coffee & tea. I had a salad of lovely greens, a few pieces of goats cheese, fresh, sliced strawberries & grilled salmon on top. Dressing came on the side (in a plastic container- not very classy). My husband had a southwestern panini with fries & a bowl of clam chowder to start. All of our food was really delicious. The chef came out at one point to explain to the only other man that the seafood stew wouldn't be ready until dinner serve as octopus takes a while to cook. Our waitress was nice enough, but you can tell they haven't worked in food service for long or haven't worked in fine dining before. It was a lovely day out in the beginning of April & we could look out on the church's lawn & Main St. If it had been warmer, we would have definitely sat out on the terrace. As regulars to Noho, it was nice to try something new & have hotel dining be not only enjoyable, but have great food as well. read more

Coolidge Park Cafe - Southwestern Grilled Chicken Panini - Diners Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

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Drove through Northampton today and stopped by the Coolidge Park Cafe for a drink on the patio. They have a great spring cocktail menu! Our waiters, Adam and Emma, were very pleasant and we can't wait to come back! read more

First time coming there for dinner tonight and it was horrible, ordered steak medium rare and came out well done, wait staff wasnt really attentive to the customers and very unfriendly.. was there around an hour and waitress never came and asked if I needed a refill or anything like a waitress always does at any other restaurant I ever been at when they notice my cup empty.. than at the end of the meal the waitress came and stated the desert part is closed because the staff that does deserts left already than my gf asked for one last drink and the waitress said ok no problem and came back a minute later and stated the bar was closed.... very unsatisfied with my visit and I should of stayed with my gut instinct and should of went to KFC instead because I know I would of at least got food I ordered and would of been treated properly read more

Giving it three stars because you'll wait at least 15 minutes for a server. Food is good prices OK but better places within a five minute walk of the hotel. read more

Coolidge Park Cafe - Diners Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

My two friends and I decided not to venture outside of our hotel for dinner the night that we stayed in Northampton. I perused the Yelp reviews for the Coolidge Park Cafe prior to heading in there. Any negative reviews seem to have been based on brunch experiences, so we figured it was worth a shot. We were greeted by a friendly waitress who took our names and told us that it would be about five minutes. We chuckled a little bit because there were obviously empty tables in the restaurant - but of course it wasn't a big deal to wait. When we were seated we were tucked into a corner that felt a little cramped. My friend had large plant hitting her in the head for a big part of the meal. The service was pretty slow, but the waitress was nice and was good about checking on us to see if we needed anything. My friends each got the grilled cheese in different iterations and seemed to enjoy it. I had chosen the grilled portobello sandwich - but then it came with some sort of hummus, cheese, sprouts, roasted red pepper and tomatoes on focaccia - and it just had way too many different flavors going on for my personal taste. Sweet potato fries could use more salt, but the regular french fries were seasoned well. The prices were reasonable and the overall decor of the restaurant was nice - it didn't feel like a cheesy hotel restaurant. I'd say overall, as far as hotel restaurants go, this one isn't bad at all. If you're staying at the Hotel Northampton, I'd say it's worth a try. Otherwise, there are way more appealing options in the area. read more

Coolidge Park Café is one of the two restaurants attached to the Hotel Northampton. Overall my feeling towards CPC is - indifference. They stuck us in cramped corner with a possibly carnivorous plant that I'm convinced was attempting to eat me. If it was summer, and the windows were open it may have actually been a nice table with a bustling street view and little more room to breathe. Their hotel grilled cheese sounded like heaven on a plate -- brie, asiago, bacon, tomato, and guacamole; but somehow it managed to be more 'meh.' than 'OMG!' Service was fine, and completely forgettable. The Riesling I ordered was excellent. Prices were a little cheaper than what I expected, but frankly I'd rather pay a little more if that meant stepping up the quality a notch. read more

Don't go if you are dining solo. I'm traveling on business and from the time I sat down I was virtually ignored. The staff seemed to be happy to serve groups but this solo diner was an after thought. Everything I ordered from drinks to dinner was delayed while I watched tables of 4 and more be well attended. My server was kind even though she seemed to have drawn the short end of the straw. 30 min after finishing my salad my baked Lobster, Mac and cheese arrived and it was ok. The quickest service of the experience was getting the check and having my cc ran. read more

We tried to eat here at 5:00 pm on a summer Saturday night. We were seated outside quickly. We waited for 15 minutes. No one brought water, said they'd be right with us, made any attempt to acknowledge we were sitting there. Wait staff would go to tables already established and back inside, never looking up. Two other tables had been sitting waiting as well. I think one complained to someone... and they got a waitress. But just them. We left without ordering at all. Since we were staying at the hotel, we tired again for Sunday brunch. The buffet was breads, juice and coffee. Waitress said, "anything on the bar is covered by that card (our continental breakfast with our stay), anything on the menu is more." Then never returned... what if I did actually want something on the menu? On our way out, stepped aside for a waitress carrying food from some other part of the hotel. She didn't say, "thank you," nor smile nor even make any sign she saw us. Very disappointing. Won't make the effort to stay nor eat here again. read more

Coolidge Park Cafe at the Hotel Northampton is a pleasant and unchallenging lunch experience. The food is reliably good, not great, and very familiar and accessible without any unusual ingredients or creative twists; I guess that's what I mean by "unchallenging"...an easy choice for conventional out of towners and business lunches. At our most recent visit, the lobster bisque got rave reviews and had large chunks of lobster and a rich seafood fragrance that filled the air. The caesar salad, caprese salad and veggie burger also went over well. The rest of the table, myself included, had the warm lobster rolls. These were very good with large portion of buttered (not mayonnaised) lobster chunks piled into a toasted, buttered roll. They came with a choice of plain or sweet potato fries and coleslaw, and my one complaint was that no substitutions were allowed. I found this to be a bit of a surprise considering we were spending $20-$30+pp on a weekday lunch in an otherwise empty restaurant; a small tossed salad in place of the fries and slaw would seem like an easy accommodation, no? No, apparently not. Anyhow, decent food, good service, pleasant atmosphere. read more

Very unhappy with the quality of the Mother's Day Brunch. There were almost NO vegetarian/vegan options except salad and homefries, which seems hard to believe in a place as progressive as Northampton. The highlight of the brunch was when a kind waiter brought our table almond & soy milk for coffee. At least they had one thing we could eat! read more

Nothing special here --- not what you'd hope for in what could be or maybe once was a higher end experience associated with a higher end hotel. It's "do you prefer fries or ..." type deal. Hire a chef and upgrade the experience, please! read more

Last night we had a very good dinner. Everyone in my party was pleased. Never know what to expect from a hotel restaurant. I had fillet. Someone else had the shrimp basil dish. Both were excellent. Somone else had the lobster roll. It had onions in it which was unexpected? Nice to sit outside and people watch. A little pricey though. The two entrees were around $28. The lobster roll was $16. read more

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Well, the food was fine. I ordered a grilled cheese that was tasty, but not as flavorful as I would have hoped. There is also a really nice patio. However, the service was fairly slow. I place that onus on our waitress as I noticed another waitress was much more helpful, from what I could observe, and actually graciously assisted us when our waitress was MIA for a while. Another issue with the experience was that we ordered drinks (two mojitos and some sort of spiked iced tea). We were excited to enjoy these cocktails but as soon as they were walked out, I knew we'd be disappointed. The mojitos tasted like soda water and had limp, gross mint floating at the top. The spiked iced tea just tasted terrible. Our group of three all hate to send back, but we couldn't NOT with these awful drinks. On a positive note, the drinks were removed from our tab. read more

Not super cheap, but the food is quite good. I always thought everyone went to Wiggin's Tavern downstairs but I like the ambiance and views in the upstairs restaurant. Classy but not pretentious. I had lobster ravioli once that were very tasty and a good beef stew, don't know if they still have it. And we sat next to Kurt Vonnegut. He was wearing orange socks. read more

Food is par for a hotel restaurant. Nothing overly impressive with regards to entrees. The service is friendly and attentive. Ambiance is great for hosting a business or formal event. read more

I came here once for dinner on Saturday june 17th at around 8:45pm and the bartender was extremely rude and made me feel very uncomfortable. I took one sip of the drink that the bartender made for me and did not like it. So I politely asked him if he would remake it. The bartender came out to my table, buffed up his chest and stated that he made it the right way and would not remake it and that "I was paying for that drink." I have never heard of any professional establishment treating their customers this way and insisting they are right and i was wrong in not liking the drink he made. Because of that I will not be returning. read more

A friend of mine took me to this cafe along with two of her female friends. The wait staff was excellent, very attentive. (In case management reads this review, your staff on July 11, 2010 at 4:46 pm should be commended for their performance. My server was Rachel and the bus boy was also excellent.) The 4 of us had various giant salads and breads. And 3 great desserts that we shared. We also had wine, Mojitos, and Shirley Temples. We ate inside, in a corner looking out a beautiful bay window at street level. We had a great meal in a lovely relaxing setting. It wasn't busy so we stayed for over an hour just talking and sipping drinks after dinner. All of this, for 4 people, for under $85 Not sure when I'll be back in Mass. again but I will definitely go there again when I do. read more

Amazing food, and great environment. Our waitress, named Liz, was incredible-- funny, sweet, and so helpful! Stopped as a halfway point for lunch on a roadtrip, and were so glad we did. Thanks Liz! read more

If you are thinking of going our for dinner or drinks in Northampton....DO NOT GO HERE!! Besides the low-quality food, the service is the worst I've ever witnessed. The servers and managers are incompetent. We have been here dozens of times over the years and each time we try to give it another chance and are less and less impressed. We recently worked with them for a year and a half to have our wedding after-party here. We were absolutely SHOCKED when our shuttle buses dropped all our guests off and the cafe had closed down before 11pm on a Saturday night when we had scheduled a party there over a YEAR in advance. We were humiliated and appalled as our guests waited in the lobby. Many guests left as we pleaded with the manager to open the bar for a short period (although the bar is advertised as being open until 1am on weekends!) They finally opened the bar for about 30 minutes and after double charging our credits cards (which we found out later), they abruptly shut down and very rudely addressed our guests, so we took our business to another bar in town. We spoke with management several times after this incident with NO SOLUTION and we will never, EVER, give our business to this establishment again. We asked to speak to the manager when we checked out the next day and were told the General Manager, Essie, would be sent down. After the front desk manager went up to talk to him, he REFUSED to come down and speak with his unhappy customers! We waited another 15 minutes and one of the people we had been working with throughout the 18 months finally came down and said that there was "no record or report" of the bar being closed early on Saturday and said she had no idea why the night manager would be so rude to our guests or shut the hotel's restaurants down early on a weekend night. She promised to do her "due diligence to find out what happened" and get back to us that week. We NEVER heard from her again. We finally followed up a month later, as it was a VERY EXPENSIVE stay, and all she had to say was that it was a "simple miscommunication" and that was the last we heard from them. It was the most embarrassing end to our wedding night having all of our guests sitting in the lobby waiting for the bar to open - many people ended up leaving or going to bed. We had a similar experience when we rented out a room for our grandparents 50th wedding anniversary and showed up with our guests and NO STAFF to wait on us!! They are completely unapologetic and we have heard from so many people that their customer service is the worst they've ever experienced! NO respect for the customers keeping them in business and completely unapologetic and unwilling to fix any mistakes they make!!! It is such a shame as the building is so beautiful and has so much potential in Northampton, too bad nothing will ever come of it with the current management. Our wedding guests have not stopped talking about how horrible their stays and the after-party were there. read more

Mediocre food, terrible service. Their staff has a high turnover rate so everyone who works there seems to be new and doesn't have a clue about how to manage or serve in a restaurant. Just plain bad. read more

A friend and I stopped in for a drink and dessert; both were blah. I had some sort of chocolate martini that tasted watery and had globs of Hershey's syrup floating in it, and the red velvet cake was dry and just tasted generically "sweet." The windows looking out over King Street could have used a good cleaning, and in general the hotel is in need of some interior updating. The bartender was nice. read more