My friends recommended me this site after attending my wedding and knowing my experience with Pan Pacific hotel. I will like to share my "bittersweet" memories of holding my dinner there and wonder whether those couples who recently had their wedding dinners there feel the same way too.
A few months (i believe should be three to four months) before our wedding dinner, we received an email from our new wedding coordinator informing us of a coming renovation in end 2004. Based on the email, we got the impression that the renovation would not affect the overall image of the hotel drastically. The short time frame also made it difficult for us to reconsider a new venue given our tight working schedules.
Nothing could prepare us for the shock we had when we came down to the hotel a week before the wedding dinner. The whole lobby was demolished and there was a night stench (thinner smell in the air). The ugly sight that had replaced the major part of the hotel lobby dismayed us. It was certainly not a pleasant task explaining to our guests that night why we chose Pan Pacific even though it was undergoing a major renovation.
Pan Pacific may be undergoing some changes lately to meet the future needs of potential customers. However, in its bid to improve, it should not neglect the needs of the existing customers. The catering team should inform us prior to our signing of the contract that the hotel would be undergoing a major renovation. As a wedding is once in a lifetime event, I believe one will not decide to hold a wedding dinner there if one is informed of the renovation beforehand.
Though we were pleased with our banquet coordinator, Johnson, who was very attentive and experienced, we could not say the same for some of the waiters/waitresses.
One waiter/waitress dipped his/her thumb into the bowls when he/she was handling the bowls to sccop the Eu-fu noodles into. Another took away the bowl of shark fin without asking the guests whether they have finished the portion even though there was a substantial amount in the bowl.
Our Muslim friend commented that when he tried to ask for more white rice, the waiter/waitress replied curtly that he was only entitled to a plate of rice and there was no more rice in the hotel! I suppose he/she was referring to the fact that there was no more “halal” rice provided. This incident left a negative impression on us as we felt that Pan Pacific should be more flexible and proactive to anticipate that the portion of rice might not be enough for a Muslim guy. What happened if a waiter/waitress tripped while serving the Muslim food that night? Does it mean that there will be no Muslim food available?
To conclude, it's certainly a memorable wedding for us, a mixture of happiness and disappointment.
I hope that my feedback will not be swept under the carpet by Pan Pacific Hotel.