Crowne Plaza Ballroom Buffet - Albuquerque

The buffet has definitely improved. The staff was professional. We were relaxed and enjoyed our meal.

As a family we usually go out for Mother's Day Brunch. We have found this place to be really wonderful. When we come the entire room is beautiful and the tables are set very lovely. The food was also good. Thanks.

Way to over priced for what’s offered. The mimosas are gross and tiny, the food was not as elevated as they made it out to be. Service was just waiters on their phones in the corner. Not going again! Way way way too much money for what you get!

We don't go to brunch very often so we were really looking forward to this. I checked many other venues and decided that the ballroom buffet would probably be our best bet. Unfortunately for me, I made our reservation at 1:45PM not realizing the venue was closing at 2PM. We were seated at a quiet table for two in the corner which I initially thought was great but the table was so wobbly we could hardly balance our plates and if we accidentally put our elbows on the table it was treacherous. You could tell the staff was tired and the food looked tired. We had to ask for our table to be set since it had been started but not completed. We had no napkins - no knives, etc. I lost interest in the food as I had to wait for the carver to return to the carving station. I decided on dessert and there was a lot of tiramisu and brownies. The apple pie tasted very strange and mushy and the bischotti was very stale. I asked for the chocolate cake that I had seen others bring back to their table and was told there was no more. On our way out the GM asked us our brunch was and we hinted at our disappointment and that we wanted chocolate cake. He was kind enough to send us home with a beautiful piece of cake and brownies from the Rancher's Club. We were so appreciative. He really cared about our experience. Thank you.

They didn't have our reservation - or couldn't find it. A lot of the food was cold but there was a variety. Cake was dry because it was all cut and lying on table. But it was pleasant.

Everything was very nice, except some of the food was cold and the prime rib was very rare, with sour cream sauce.

I always enjoy coming here for holiday celebrations.

Generally this special buffet is outstanding. We have been there in the past for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year it was not as good. They seemed to have kitchen and server issues. I was a bit disappointed.

The food was cold partly due to the type of containers used in which some of the lids were not attached thus resulting in people not bothering to put them back on food.

While not as festively decorated as past Christmas buffets (which may slightly affect the food rating also), the food was good, and the service was friendly . The live music, which in past years has made talking a challenge, was good, but in the background. The music added atmosphere, without being intrusive. We will go back next year, and I recommend it for anyone wanting to get together with family and friends (without cooking!)

We were placed at a table for three, right by the entrance and the servers drink refill table. The table could have been placed where it wasn't in the "traffic pattern". Although the salads and main courses were very good, and of a wide variety, I was very disappointed in the desserts. Only three main desserts (there was some chocolate covered fruit) were available, and they were all pies. What happened to the cakes and mousse? Not having something other than obviously "store-bought" pies, really dampened the experience. The live music was nice. Our family has been going to your brunch for over 20 years, and still miss the carved ice sculptures, lavish decorations and Hector Pimentel. ;)

I attended the Christmas buffet on Christmas day... I was terribly disappointed. The selection of the food was good and decent
However, the food temperature was awful. 8 out of 10 food selections were cold not even lukewarm.
Most of the food containers and pans were left wide open and there was no quality control to keep them closed to keep the heat in.
We had to literally get up and leave and go elsewhere to have Christmas dinner. How disappointing it was for us when we were so much looking forward to having Christmas dinner at the Crowne Plaza buffet.
I spoke to a manager who took my plate away and said he would bring me hot food from the kitchen . He returned with a plate of honest to God, "LUKEWARM FOOD"... It was not even hot from the kitchen. Imagine eating lukewarm mashed potatoes and room temperature gravy. Totally disgusting and disappointing. There were at least two managers in the room and not one of them thought enough to keep those food Containers closed in order to keep the heat contained.
Needless to say, the Crowne Plaza is not ready for prime time when it comes to Holiday buffets.

I truly hope you will give my comments some serious consideration and attempt to do something about this so it does not happen again. We also heard other people at nearby tables complaining about the same thing.
As you well know, many people do not complain audibly... They vote with their feet by not returning to a restaurant the next time.

Thank you for your time.

Mike Santullo
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Email: radiomic@comcast.net

Tel. #: (505) 839-0000.

I do not live in Albuquerque. I was in town for the Christmas Holiday to see my 88 year old mother who lives alone. Rather than attempt to prepare her a Christmas day meal at her home, I took her to the Crown Plaza for their Christmas brunch-buffet. The atmosphere was quiet, calm, and very relaxed. The food qulity and selection was very good - much better than I expected for a hotel brunch. Everything was well presented. The food was plentiful, fresh, hot, and tasty. The wait-staff were extremely friendly and attentive. The overall experience far exceeded my expectations for such a large scale buffet. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a Christmas Day dinner away from home.

The service was superb. Enjoyed our time!

The Crowne Plaza Christmas Buffet is superb - from the ambiance to the quality and variety of the food as well as the attentive service.

Repeatedly had to ask for iced tea. Very poor service. No mashed potatoes.

I have had the buffet at both restaurants in Albuquerque, and both times I along with family and friends experienced terrible service. I suggest in the future, do NOT include the gratuity. I feel that is where the issue is. Wait staff knows regardless, they are getting a tip, therefore, they seem to disappear. I had to ask where our waitress was to get tea, and later I had to remind her to get our champagne. This takes away from any great food experience. Our table was no. 15., at 12:15

It’s not as good as in years past although the price is reasonable. I had turkey pieces and sweet potatoes from the buffet and they were a little on the cool side. The eggs from the buffet were cold. It was only later that I found out they had turkey at their carving station which looked nice and hot. I never did find mashed potatoes. They no longer have Bananas Foster and champagne and I always looked forward to both. The ambiance is very nice with a duo playing good background music. Overall the previous years were better although I had terrible service last year. I went at 11:30 and business was light although it had picked up quite a bit when I left. I think no later than 12:30 would be the best bet to avoid the crowd.

I've eaten the Holiday Buffets many times in the past years and the food quality and service is generally good. That's why i come back. The Thanksgiving buffet was good, but had to ask for bread(rolls) and the salad buffet was good(considering the lettuce scare), but there was no cheeses, salami, meats, etc.. We noticed that the wait staff also had been reduced which resulted in asking for refilled drinks, and empty plate removal. The wait staff that was there did a GREAT job considering this. I don't mind paying a quality price, but i do expect quality in return. I still do have faith with the Crown and will return again.

Service was great, wait staff was courteous and food was great. A bit pricey though.

We have eaten at the Crowne Plaza for many years for Thanksgiving. The food was excellent. The only disappointment was there was not any mashed potatoes. I believe they were replaced with cauliflower. Other than that turkey was great!!! Everything tasted great!!! We will be going back.

Where were the mashed potatoes? Many people asked for them.

The food was outstanding, especially crab legs and the turkey/gravy. Breakfast offerings were also good. More vegetable dishes would have been nice. The servers are outstanding, and this year we had plenty of room at our table for four. (In the past, it has been crowded.....)

Excellent Thanksgiving Day Brunch -- live music, good traditional food, and great service!

A very enjoyable time with family. The music was a terrific addition.

The ballroom was set up very nicely. The guitar/keyboard combo was an unexpected pleasure -- wish they had played longer sets or more sets.

Food was very good -- nice selection; it was good to see attendants stirring things, adding more, etc. I would do it again -- My Mom loved it! First time in years we've been out for a Mother's Day Brunch.

Yes we went to the buffet so very very dissapointed. The shrimp were tiny and slimy and brown ! Their was no flambe! No crab legs most of the breast breakfast stuff was cold and old our table wobble all over it was ridiculous your place used to be five stars I would call it 6 Stars before but now I can barely call A 1 star ! The only thing good was prime rib. And Carmel cheese cake rest of deserts were dry and lousy. I'm a sea food lover and wow what a let down and disappointment! Shrimp were horrible yuk ! I did not eat them ! I've come their for years and years my whole family ! We will go to the casino next mother's day and easter ! Get a new chef! A new manager and bring back the big shrimp crab legs and flambe thank goodness I was refunded half my money almost half. You get a very sketchy one star. I would not have come had I known this. So very very disappointed. Ty

Wonderful food in a lovely atmosphere with attentive waitstaff.

the employees were great, the service we received was great, the food was terrible. We used to make the Crown Plaza (Hilton) our place for Easter celebration with friends and family. I won't do it again and I would not recommend to anyone we know.

The variety of food has continued to decrease. Despite attending 3-4 special event buffers a year for several years we are considering trying out some other options.

We got there at 1:30 on Christmas Day. I got an Eggs Benedict and I couldn't cut the muffin. You were out of carved turkey in the tray when we got there. I asked an attendant for some and he said you were out. The enchiladas were so dry that you could hardly eat them. The tamales looked over cooked and weren't even tempting. The mimosa was good.

We have been going for Thanksgiving , Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day several years now and the food gets worse each year. We kept thinking it would get better so we continued. Not any more. The green beans were mushy, the turkey was swimming in so much juice it was disgusting, dessert selection consisted of pecan pie or pumpkin pie. The food we did serve was cold. Coffee was lukewarm and the cream must have been sitting for hours since it was going bad. This used to be a wonderful place to enjoy a holiday meal.

I would have preferred the turkey you had for thanksgiving instead of lamb. You also need better desserts

Staff could not find our reservation but gave us seats anyway.
Food was good, but lukewarm. My son had the prime rib and said it sure was tasty...but too bad it was cold. But those of us who had omelets were very pleased.
One cup of coffee had to be sent back as it was served cool.
Desserts were all very delicious.
Great staff.

Did not have bananas foster! Disappointed!!!

Not a very good experience. They allowed us to book our Thanksgiving dinner at a time when they were about to close it down, if we new that we wouldn't have made reservations earlier. The food was cold, some food was out, we had to ask for crackers for the crab, asked for cranberry, bread rolls, dessert was out, prime rib severely overdone and nobody at the carving station, coffee was cold, had to ask for eating utinsels, just poor service. A very expensive meal that sucked. Never again.

We attended the Thanksgiving buffet. The food was fine. Considering they add the 20% tip and it was a buffet, it was amazing how difficult it was to find someone to get tea or water. Also the desserts were not at all impressive....a tart shell with a blop of the fruit compote that was the same as what they served with the waffles. I think they need to work on service (maybe just have water and tea out so people could get it themselves) and the desserts.

Our server was openly HOSTILE to us. Our reservations were for 1:30 pm, wine had to come from the bar which took a while.

This restaurant was extremely disappointing! Once our table was set, the Flatware was dirty, all glassware was horribly water spotted, and we had to ask for napkins. Food on buffet was cold, crab legs were frozen solid, you couldn't break them open. Minimal dessert selection, pecan and pumpkin pie were not to be found on Thanksgiving. We won’t be back, we were very disappointed!

We had a terrible experience. We arrived at reservation time at 1:00PM. To our disappointment we were seated at a half setup table we then had to find a wait person to get flatware, water, and coffee. Even though this was a champagne brunch we were never offered any champagne nor any more coffee other than the first cup we had! OThe presentation of the buffet food as well as the quality was very poor the buffet was Picked Over not refreshed and selections advertised were not were offered. Overall this Holiday Buffet was a waste of time and an absolute waste of money.