Grand Hotel Marriott, Fairhope

I am a Fairhope Resident and thought I would try the Grand Hotel for Thanksgiving dinner. Needless to say, I was looking forward to an exceptional meal in an elegant setting. The last seating time for Thanksgiving meal was 2pm, which is the time I reserved. Would have liked a later seating option however, I took the latest reservation I could get. Prior to our arrival time, I reviewed the published menu and again looked forward to all the Grand had to offer. We arrived a little before 2pm, waited in a line for some 10-15 minutes, not what I expected, but, ok..am sure the wait will be worth it. As we waited in line, a strolling band came through playing Dixie style jazz, thought it was a great touch! We chose to sit outside, very pretty view, was met by a very inexperienced waiter, am thinking serving is not his normal area of responsibility, we had to ask several times for Mimosas, to take our dirty plates, etc...Now to the food, some was cold, meat dry, the quality, (except for the crab legs) was far below standard I expected from the Grand. About 30 minutes into our dinner, the band wrapped up, waiters started clearing tables around us, they closed one side of the food line....talk about feeling rushed! Had to ask for a couple of the desserts to be refilled, bananas foster was served, somewhat cold, previously prepared, from a large bowl....thought bananas foster was always served piping hot, freshly prepared. All in all, I was VERY disappointed! I will not put the Grand on my future list for Thanksgiving meals. The costs for 3 of us $178.00.....based on the quality, total bill should have been about $30.00. Do yourself and wallet a favor, skip this Hotel if you are looking for an exceptional meal.