Garden State Hotel - Melbourne

Magnificent renovation to create an almost rambling feel where you constantly discover new areas. Friendly bar staff, great menu, good range of shared nibbles and larger meals. And, a fireplace, wonderful on a cold winter night; but personally I can't wait to try this place (with its indoor/outdoor feel) on a long, lazy summer's evening.

Garden State Hotel is a huge space in the CBD. It has a variety of spaces - cocktail bar, atrium, function area. The atrium in the middle is the star attraction - a multi leveled, leafy, airy and bright area. A good selection of drinks available with a variety of menu options too.

Had dinner on a Friday night. The hotel was very busy. The staff were excellent and provided great service. The service at the restaurant, Rose Garden, was great. Nothing was too much trouble. An enjoyable evening.

I recently took clients to GSH, had a private room (The Observatory) overlooking the whole bar. Great service and perfect for 40-50 person presentation. Many little different areas to sit and have a drink. Architecturally brilliant!

Having had such a wonderful experience here once, I returned with a party of 10 for my mum's 60th birthday celebration. The long version of what happened is below but in a nutshell:- The restaurant assured me on 3 different occasions that they could cater for a seafood allergic and a diabetic.- I rang the restaurant on the day of the booking to confirm the above.- By the 3rd course, the seafood allergic was forgotten and we had to ask what the replacement dish was for a snapper. 15 mins after, a side dish of broccoli was served (hardly a worthy replacement for meat).- The diabetic was forgotten in the dessert course and again we had to ask about a replacement and again after a delay, some cut up strawberries thrown into a bowl was served.- After complaints about the above, the manager tried to tell us that we were only entitled to 4 courses despite it stating on the website that $75 would provide 5 course which is also what was agreed to when I booked. - Everyone was still charged the $75 despite the fact that the dietary requirements were barely adhered to. Before making the booking, I had rang the restaurant to ask whether they were able to cater for someone with a severe seafood allergy and a diabetic. I was assured there would be no problems with this. I then booked, agreeing to the $75 5 course chef's selection menu. I rang the restaurant on the day of our booking to confirm that they had made note of the dietary requirements and was assured it had been noted and would be adhered to. When we arrived, I was disappointed that our waiter asked if we had any dietary requirements as I would have thought she'd have known, so I reminded her that I had already advised these and mentioned them again. By the time the 3rd course came, which is the main course, the seafood allergy dietary requirement had been forgotten and we had to ask what replacement would be provided for the snapper that was served. The waiter had to go and check with the kitchen and came back 5 mins later to advise that a replacement dish would be coming in 10 mins. When it finally came, what was served was obviously a side dish made in a rush as the replacement dish for a large snapper was a bowlful of broccoli. When they served the dessert course and there was no diabetic option, I again asked what would be served for the diabetic and was advised that the diabetic would receive some additional cheese with the final course. I argued that if everyone is paying $75 then everyone should get 5 courses. Finally they gave in and returned 15 mins later with some cut up strawberries in a bowl. No cream or ice cream or anything with the strawberries. Just strawberries thrown into a bowl. During all of this, the manager tried to inform me that we were only entitled to 4 courses, They were clearly clutching at straws. It was so disappointing given my husband and I had such a nice experience the first time but we didn't have any dietary requirements, there was only 2 of us and it was a Sunday night rather than a Saturday night. Clearly the staff weren't handling the busyness of the restaurant as well as they should.