Being a fan of all great hotels my dear friend Cathy, a writer whos heart is born of all great American Hotels and their mystique promted us to go to the don last week. It was evning, place busing with activity as to be expected. The lobby bar was busy. the yound man behund the bar gave us a list of beverages, some new to me. He, tag name Danial...for give he spelling, We called him Dan. Not only was he most intelligent, but pragmatic, of which being from the North, Maine to be exact, we appreciated heart felt conversation. He was cutious, humble and to my amazement conversed and served drinks with the greatest of ease.. I use to own a resturant with two bars. My criteria was to "serve and entertain." it takes knowledge and capacity to do that. Cathy was surprised by the broad knowledge on many general life subjects. Maybe that does not mean much to most, but to a classy business, you need intellegent service staff. Well, Don CeSar, Dan was a good pick, not stuffy, straight-up, frank and...key word, SINCERE, as was the curtious service i recieve at the pool bar. Sincere is a word that we might embrace more often. Cathy and I look forward to engaging Dan again in the near future. James and Cathey, Swans Island, maine.

A recent six-day conference held at the Don Cesar was, as many of the participants would comment, the best in several years for our company. Although much of the hotel was under renovation, the guests could hardly notice.

The food and beverage operation was high on service, with sincerity at truly serving the customer. The doorman and bell team were always on cue with welcoming guests as they entered the front entrance. Even the housekeeping staff was extremely friendly and polite, with every member of the team seemingly focused on attention to detail.

An evening at the upscale, but comfortable in-house Maritana Grille introduced me to Sous Vide preparation, which was only one of many highlights of a very unique dining experience, without leaving the property.

If you stay, make sure to use the free Cab service, which runs north to Treasure Island (they work for tips, so don't forget)!

The beach to the south of the Don makes for great running or walking, due to the lack of commercial properties along the shoreline. Just an added benefit to an all around great hotel experience.

When we sat down at the bar inside the Don Cesar Hotel, the first thing the bartender said after handing us the specialty drink menu was, "Challenge me. I'm new and have only been here 5 days." He added something about learning to make the drinks and having only made each one once in training. This did not add to our confidence at going to this hotel for the first time.
I asked for a dirty martini, with extra olives which is not one of the specialty drinks. He made the drink and my friend was sitting closer to where the olives were placed and watched him as he picked up each one with his fingers, putting them on a long pick--except for the last one! He lost control of the last olive and fumbled with it trying to regain his clasp. As the olive rolled down his shirt and vest, he finally grabbed it and then said "got it", . . . put the fuzzy thing at the end of the olive pick and into my drink. YUK! I didn't see this or I would have refused the drink. My firend did not know I hadn't seen this, so did not alert me and thought I was just beiing polite.

Another faux pas as we sat ring side at the bar was that the bartender made all the mixed drinks by grabbing the cocktail glass and then re-positioning each glass by putting his forefinger and thumb deep into the inside and outside rim. So glad the Cesar took the trouble to wash the glasses before giving you your drink! My friend had ordered a specialty drink and it was made exactly to specifications, we were told, but I guess the finger and thumb print was a "signature" all its own.

Then, the waitress who was handling the tables, began talking to the bartender about another drink he was making for one of her customers: a Manhattan. She said, "I haven't made or tasted a Mnahattan since I worked at Friday's." When the bartender had completed the drink, the waitress looked at my friend and me and said, "I have to do a straw taste of this one." And, with that, she took a cocktail straw put her finger over one end, stuck it in the drink and then put the straw in her mouth. YUK!

Later, she opened a bottle of beer and dropped the whole thing on the floor and said about 50 times, "I can't believe what just happened." Another patron finally told her to get over it and she only repeated the phrase twice after that.

We were scheduled to eat dinner in the restaurant, but after our bar experience, we ordered an appetizer and had it delivered to the bar. It was an excellent scallop, high recommended. However, we cannot recommend the Don Cesar interior bar to anyone. Sloppy and unprofessional.

I came here for a conference and was blown away from the minute I set foot on the property. The bellman had a list of guests checking in and whisked me inside where the front desk greeted me by name. The rooms & bathroom is a bit unique, but I think they've done a wonderful job of updating a historic hotel without making it seem cookie cutter or losing any of the original charm.

I slipped away from the conference to snag a last minute massage and Dee Ann is the masseuse to ask for! She is warm, friendly, and more than that delivered a killer massage - just what I requested! The banquet lunch was fantastic - way better than any other conference food (or even some wedding food) I've had. The Don is a bit pricey and I don't know that I'd bring my kids here, but I could definitely see a short couples get-away.