Grand Hotel Healesville

I have always wanted to eat at this grand old lady but unfortunately my experience was disappointing. My husband and I were welcomed, order taken and mains delivered very promptly. After that it all went pear shaped. The main course was tasty and we looked forward to our desserts. After 30 minutes of waiting my husband approached the waitress and asked her to check on our order. At this stage the dining room only had 2 other tables filled, a total of 9 people including us. After patiently waiting another nearly 10 minutes during which time the waitress had not returned with either our desserts or an update, my husband again approached the order desk to inquire about progress. It turned out our order had been delivered to the dining room, to the wrong table, and the patrons at that table had accepted the desserts and ate them!! When our replacement desserts finally arrived it was clearly obvious that my apple and rhubarb crumble had been zapped in the microwave for far too long as it was mouth searingly hot and the “crumble” was a soggy goopy mess. The rhubarb appeared to be missing in action and although the menu quoted butterscotch ice cream to accompany the crumble what I received was vanilla. All in all a very disappointing end to what was expected to be an enjoyable experience. I understand mistakes happen in hospitality but this was a fundamental error by the waitress in giving the desserts to the wrong table and when asked about the missing dishes, I did not feel that the staff gave adequate attention to our concerns.

Our family enjoyed a lovely meal here. The waitress was kind and attentive. Meals inc special carbonara pasta and roast vegetable risotto were delicious. The dining room is well presented. Beautiful historic hotel.

Needed a night of fresh air and quiet, jumped on the bike and headed east. Following Whitehorse road out to the hills after dozens of world class wineries you hit Healesville. Pub’s prominent, parking out the back. Guiness on tap devine, enjoy a couple on the front porch.