In celebrating Christmas lastΒ year, we feasted on the dinner buffet prepared by Seasons at theΒ Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino in Manila. This hotel is just 11-minute drive from our home, so it’s very convenient for us to avoid the holiday traffic. I got two vouchers from Ensogo.com.ph and paid only half of the regular price per person. Neat!Β Spanking and sassy, Seasons is an “interactive lifestyle restaurant” that offers a dining venue where the worldβs most celebrated cuisines come together in one grand ensemble.
Review of Seasons Restaurant (Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino, Manila)
Ambiance:Β β β β β β
No doubt, the atmosphere at Seasons speaks of beauty, style, and class. The buffet tables are laid out close to one another and in an organized fashionβaccording to cuisine and type of food. The interior design and arrangement of dining spaces in the restaurant have not changed since our last visit (two years ago).
I love the play of wooden finishes and the deliberate use of illumination for aesthetics. Sleek chandeliers on a single row create a soft directional beam, and textured three-dimensional wall panelsΒ on oneΒ side makes a statement which can instantly draw attention.Β While everything looks posh in this hotel’sΒ gastronomic arena, it will be great to see nice modern changes to the scene as well.
Service:Β β β βββ
Thereβs a certain level of expectation that comes along with hotel restaurants from an overall service perspective, and Seasons didn’t come close to it.Β Service was slow and was not up to normal hotel standards.
At the onset, the waiter had me follow him walk through almost half of the entire dining area when asked where our reserved seats were located. Apparently, he was finding our table based on the name written on the “reservation name card” on top of each table when he could have noted the table number from the reception and directly pointed out where it was.
The second disappointing instance was that we were given drinking water that smelled and tasted likeΒ ZONROX Bleach (an agent for cleaning, deodorizing, and removing of hard stains on clothes). Good thing that my mom and sister were able to taste it and raise the issue to one of the waitresses, so the glasses of water were replaced with clean and odorless ones.
Thirdly, since we were seated in a corner that’s barelyΒ noticeable, gettingΒ the staff’s attention was as hard asΒ finding aΒ stud earring in the car. It was possible but hard. Fulfilling requests like taking out used plates and asking for tissue paper took longer as they should. I thought they’re understaffed because we saw quite only a few walking around and serving the needs of customers. It was not that they were not really paying attentionΒ or flirting with one another as if inΒ a high schoolΒ class without supervision.
For all it’s worth, I give credit to the restaurant manager who immediately gave my mom a new fork when he passed by and saw it accidentally fell off the table.
Food:Β β β β ββ
Seasons in Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino serves a range of classic Filipino food and some international delicacies. From breads, Chinese dim sum, DIY salads, and soups to main dishes and mouth-watering desserts, Seasons maintains its long-held reputation for elegant hotel restaurant dining in Manila.
Sadly, when compared againstΒ premium buffet restaurants in Metro Manila now emerging and battling to be the forefront in the food industry, Seasons takes a backseat, at least in our humble opinion.Β The food situation was averageΒ and thereΒ wereΒ no weird flavors that don’t belong, butΒ nothing about the variety and the tastes was memorable and there was notΒ much to get excited about either.
Price for Value: β β β ββ
As it turned out, Seasons at Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino was a letdown in terms of service and the food selection, hence it follows that my rating for the price for value is on the low side of the spectrum. Take one star down when basing it on the original price of PhP 1499 per person.
Operating hours:Β 6 AM to 10:30 AM (breakfast), 11:30 AM to 3 PM (lunch), 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM (dinner)
About Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco
Health and technology freak. Food and lifestyle blogger with a large appetite for food and travel.
The atmosphere of this restaurant indeed speaks of beauty, style, and class.The place is looking wonderful as well as the foods there.You also indeed made a great job by share such great quality pic to enlighten this post too,nice share.
Thanks, Debarpan! Apparently, we have dined here twice already. The first time was about two years ago. The food setup did not change and I think the management has to do some updating or it will be harder next time for Seasons to compete with other buffet restaurants that are buzzing in the city.
Great review here. Photos look great. I’ve been here a few times and back then, it was ok. Looks like stuff like service made a massive change. Thanks for sharing this review. Keep it up!
Thanks, PJ! More food choices will warrant a better rating for the review. I also hope that they offer more international cuisine to cater to foreign palates. π
The restaurant looks bright and relaxing. But it’s really the food that will be remembered at the end of the day. Given the price, there are many buffet restaurants around the metro that are equally competitive. It’s a must that in order to keep up with competition, they should have better tasting and wide choices of food.
My thoughts exactly! π
The place looks really elegant but with that kind of service, I wouldn’t even try dining there. I’ve only been to Manila Pavilion once and it was quite hard to go to especially when commuting.
When commuting, I think the best way is to ride the LRT and alight at the UN Avenue Station and walk towards the end of the street.
I think I ate at Seasons at Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino before. There are lots of varieties and the food is great too.
Good for you! I’d also love to try out the other restaurants inside the hotel. We saw like a bakery and a bar.
I love the way that every thing is laid out in the hotel!! The furniture is very elegant looking and like a nice place to grab dinner! All of that food looks so good, I would have to try so many different things. Great hotel!
Not a huge fan of Chinese food. Those look nice though. The setting is a bit traditional which works for a lot of people I would guess. It’s a bit disappointing that you didn’t enjoy their service and their food.
I love trying out buffets. It’s sad though about the service, it makes or break your experience in a resto. Wish they can do something about that.
The ambiance looks elegant and classy. Just opposite with the service, though. They probably served a Tap Water and not a drinking one. Their food doesn’t look delicious to me as well.
The place looks elegant but the food was average and the service was terrible. I guess with so many premium restaurants now they should upgrade their service.
Great review on Seasons! It’s too pricey based on the food selection.
I really love the interiors of this place and the food looks fantastic as well! Hope to visit Seasons someday π
Okay. If the service sucks, I might not allow myself to experience it. π Too bad. Nothing pisses me off than a poor service. And allowing me to walk have the dining area while searching for my name would a great OFF for service. π
Wow! I can’t believe it wasn’t that yummy because it looks pretty good. Just goes to show you that appearances can be deceiving. I’d like to hear about the food at the other hotel – that you mentioned was better!
The food looks amazing and I love the look of the restaurant! What a nice meal – if only service had been a bit better!
Looks posh indeed. Its sad when restaurants that look sophisticated and stylish, lack in service. Sometimes I’m ok with not-so-great food, but never ok with not-so-great service!!!
Wow I had high expectations of Seasons. Too bad the service wasn’t that good for a hotel restaurant. They should really be treated as separate entities so that they can be a stand-alone go-to place
We are not fans of buffets so this one would be a pass for us. Now even more because of your middling assessment. Hotel buffets should be worth their exorbitant prices.
I couldn’t agree more on you giving them 5 star in their ambiance, but it a shame that their service is really poor, I hope that will read reviews like this for this restaurant, and try to improve on things that the customers was not satisfied with.
this looks like a good place to relax. though because of your review i’m not hundred percent sure now.. i’ll have my own feedback probably when i am visit the place π
I realised we tend to be wowed by the variety of food, but when we look carefully to see what are the food we will want to have, there’s actually only a few… interesting huh?
I love the setting in the restaurant it looks so grand and elegant. It is always great to see what other nationalities eat too, very different to the UK.
Great food choices and goid service should go hand-in-hand in premium buffet restaurants. There are a lot of less expensive buffet joints out there that fare better.