gillp299
8.0Mixed experience
Liked mostHaving stayed at the MO several years ago, we decided to return for my birthday weekend. We had a lovely 3 nights in a mandarin room which was spacious with great river and city views. Unfortunately, we were disappointed on our first morning when we went for breakfast. The MO were hosting a large Chinese company event for a month which resulted in an overcrowded, chaotic breakfast area. This had a significant impact each morning of our stay. There were a lot of people at all the stations (no queueing, but a lot of pushing), at times the staff struggled to replenish food such as the roast meat counter. I asked if they had any more and was told it had all gone. Considering the MO has a reputation for having the best buffet breakfast in the city, based on our experience, we would not agree with that. Furthermore, one morning I asked for freshly squeezed orange juice I was told it would be brought to our table. What arrived was the concentrate off the buffet, which was very disappointing. I asked staff what the best time would be to arrive for breakfast, I was informed ‘after 10.00.’ Considering it closes at 10.30, it would leave little time, and I doubt there would be much selection of food left by then. Breakfast aside, we never had a crowd problem at the other dining options. We had dinner at Terrace Rim Naam, which was a lovely way to spend the evening. We had drinks in the Bamboo Bar on two nights, which was good. Although, the dress code is not enforced which was unfortunate; people were wearing jeans, sports clothes etc. We also had lunch at Verandah, which was good. Of note, we also dined at Le Normandie which I have reviewed separately (very disappointing experience). Service was good in all eateries and generally throughout our stay. We booked the Evening for the Senses tour which was excellent; we will do this again if we return to the MO. Our guide was Or, she was very good. We also booked the limousine pick up service from the airport, which was a nice and convenient way to begin our holiday. On the whole, we had a mixed experience at the MO. In future, if we decide to return, I would check with the hotel if they were hosting large events in advance of our stay so that I could make alternative plans if needed.