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Bad Event at Las Caballerizas today


ladybee

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Went out to the "Freedom & Brotherhood" (in honor of brotherhood between Canada, U.S. and Mexico) celebration at Las Caballerizas (Raquet club) today, started at 1:00p.m., expecting to have a good time, some good food and some good entertaiment. Well, wrong on all 3 accounts. The tickets and posters read "Hispanic and Folkloric Music, American and Mexican snacks and drinks, 200 pesos per person." Assuming that the entry fee included all these items, only to get there and find that, yes, there was music, but all food and drinks were not included, you pay for whatever you want, and this place is not cheap. We talked to the owners, complained, they said that the publicity did not say that all this was "included" in the price. Well, the music was provided, why not the other things they are promising you? In addition, there were other patrons coming in, who had not paid for tickets, but were welcomed to come in, "enjoy" the same entertainment as those of us who had bought tickets in advance, and dine off the same menu we were invited to use.

The Tall Boys were supposed to be performing, in addition to mariachi music and folkloric music, and they were all set up and ready to go, expecting to start around 1:00-1:30 and play a set for an hour and a half. By 3:00 all we'd had was some not great mariachi music. Friends who stayed later than we did said the rest of the afternoon's entertainment consisted of a beer-drinking contest between an American, a Canadian and a Mexican, and some other not too great silliness. By later afternoon, the Tall Boys still were not on, and it was time to leave for other evening events.

These people who own this place are great promoters, but it appears that all they want is your money. They don't understand that you don't promise things you're not going to deliver when you are asking people to pay an admission fee in advance. They wanted the maximum in advance sales, and once they had you, they wanted your pesos for any food and drinks as well. Not even free chips and salsa, no free drinks to thank you for coming, nothing at all, and lousy entertainment to boot. They were simply after all the money they could squeeze out of their customers. They seem to have a real problem with gringos, as well, as none of the waitstaff speak even Spanglish, and you can watch the difference in service levels between the gringo patrons and the Mexican patrons. Unfortunately there were well-off gringos there, who, when told that, no, there was no free food and drinks, anted up without complaint, and paid 300-500 pesos for a meal for two. We could have, and have paid that at other restaurants, but not when the restaurant owners and staff have made it obvious that they don't care if you're there, and are not interested in giving you a pleasant experience.

All in all, a very disappointing day. We will never go back to that restaurant again.

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This restaurant has been here for a long time... don't know how long, but longer than we've been here (2 years). I don't know who the owners are, they are Mexican, speak excellent English, and are very well dressed, probably very well off. The restaurant is in Raquet Club, on the street going east towards the spa/restaurants at Monte Coxala, there are signs. It is definitely a Mexican restaurant, with none of the specialty items that usually appeal to gringos. It has a beautiful view, up on a point looking out over the lake, could be a marvelous experience, if the owners cared about attracting gringo customers. They attract lots of wealthy tapatios, especially on the weekends.

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Whoa there! Maybde they like their clientele just fine. Lots of expats know the place well and enjoy their offerings.

You are in Mexico.......remember.

You sound unhappy about that fact.

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This restaurant has been here for a long time... don't know how long, but longer than we've been here (2 years). I don't know who the owners are, they are Mexican, speak excellent English, and are very well dressed, probably very well off. The restaurant is in Raquet Club, on the street going east towards the spa/restaurants at Monte Coxala, there are signs. It is definitely a Mexican restaurant, with none of the specialty items that usually appeal to gringos. It has a beautiful view, up on a point looking out over the lake, could be a marvelous experience, if the owners cared about attracting gringo customers. They attract lots of wealthy tapatios, especially on the weekends.

Well this gringa has had marvelous experiences there and usually doesn't order items which would appeal strictly to gringos. And we've made it a point to get a tad dressed and prefer to go on the weekend when the place is busy and the well-heeled Tapatios are gregarious and friendly and the view is, as always, better than lovely.

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The restaurant has been there almost a year-it is just outside the Raquet Club. It, like the two other restaurants nearby and Monte Coxala Spa, are owned by Dr. Jorge Garcia. I had tickets for it and knowing that the fiesta was set to last 8 hours asked the manager what was the best time to go. He said 3. Boy was he wrong. I went at 3 and missed the mariachis which were probably the only good entertainment. The other 2 entertainers weren't very good and were much too loud. I has assumed from the advertising that for my 150 pesos (I paid early) I would get some food and drinks but you had to pay for everything. I had treated a couple to this event and was embarassed that it was such a poor venue. Over the years I have seen many fiesta type venues in Mexico and many of them were excellent. This one was poorly done and a real rip off. I live just up the hill from Caballerizas and swear I will never go there again.

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I'm glad to read that someone else was equally disappointed in the whole thing. Yes, I know I'm in Mexico, and I love it here. That's not the point. The point is that this event was promoted as an afternoon of entertainment, food and beverage, and that your admission price was paying for all this. It didn't. It only paid for the entertainment. Absolutely nothing was offered as complementary refreshments, it was all extra. After owning several successful businesses in the states, it blew us away that a business owner was so careless of his customers that he wasn't even interested in living up to his own advertising. And don't tell me that that's Mexico. The successful businesses here know that you keep your customers happy by providing a good product or service and by honoring your advertised specials. These people do well by the tapatios who go there, and that's fine. It's just not a place I will ever return to. There are plenty of good restaurants lakeside which enjoy having gringos as customers and make us feel welcome, and I'm happy to dine at them.

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Sorry for those who paid for something they didn't get at the big event.

However, it is a very good restaurant for grilled meats and also for a weekend breakfast buffet (has lots of substantial meat items making it more like a brunch buffet, really).

Everyone we have taken there has liked it very much; the mixed grill platter is excellent as is the service and the view.

It's a great place to take out of town guests.

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The Tall Boys were supposed to be performing, in addition to mariachi music and folkloric music, and they were all set up and ready to go, expecting to start around 1:00-1:30 and play a set for an hour and a half. By 3:00 all we'd had was some not great mariachi music.

I would have paid $200p not to see the Tall Boys.

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From what I hear, it's more a case of not promoting well enough: the fee was to cover the all day music, and the Tall Boys weren't even scheduled to go on until the evening. They eventually did, around 7 pm or so.

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