GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP – The Marriott Seaview Resort & Spa has all the fancy décor and cuisine one might expect in its main dining room – but that’s not what it trumpets.
Management would prefer that customers feel comfortable rather than intimidated by the expansive room and elegant historic setting.
“We pride ourselves on making things personal,” said Jay Jones, director of restaurants for the nearly century-old property. “We make people comfortable. Our restaurant ranks number nine at Marriott in customer satisfaction. That’s what we strive for. It’s what we do.”
He said that credit for the popularity of the main dining room goes to hostess Donna Ragone, who has been taking care of clientele for 10 years.
“The word hostess doesn’t begin to describe what she does here,” Jones said. “She visits each table, talks to people, asks how everything is; answers questions – and people always have questions about this wonderful building.”
The dining room is the most visible of the seven restaurants and lounges on the famed property that was established in 1914 by an iron magnate who wasn’t satisfied with the golfing at the Atlantic City Country Club in Northfield, Ragone said.
“Clarence Geist could never get the tee times he wanted,” Ragone said. “So he built his own country club here.”
Gazi Moin, supervisor of restaurants at Seaview, said that the club is a place people can feel relaxed.
“People come here for their 60th birthdays – and their 80th birthdays,” Moin said. “They come back and they remember how it used to be.”
And for those visiting for the first time, the staff is happy to share details of the club’s rich history.
“We have staff who’ve been here 27-28 years,” he said. “When someone asks them how Seaview once was, they can tell them.”
Ragone said the history is part of the dining experience at the Seaview.
“As you stroll around the hotel, you’re surrounded by memorabilia,” Ragone said. “There are pictures of Sam Snead and all the great old-time golfers. When people come to eat here, we welcome them to share our great history.”
And people do come to eat. Ragone and Moin both work weekends and barely have time to say “hello” except to room guests. And those guests are treated to tales of guests from the earlier days.
“Grace Kelly had her 16th birthday party here,” Ragone said. “She also had her engagement party here – when she was engaged to the Prince of Monaco.”
The Wednesday night dining room menu is titled “Romances of Italy” and for $35 (children under 12 are half price) one gets a choice of breads, salads, five pasta selections and a choice of three main courses.
Friday nights are also special at the Seaview Marriott. The feature in the main dining room is the Ocean Harvest, a six-course, fixed-price menu that costs $55 and includes the Chocolate Insanity Station, which is also available individually in the lobby for $12.
Main courses include lobster, king crab legs, grouper and filet mignon.
“We change our menus roughly every season,” Jones said. “We’ve been doing different things in the dinner hour, trying to get a little different flavor.”
He said the staff members are conscious of the room’s tradition.
“We try to be pretty traditional,” he said. “This room is the same room that has always been the main dining hall of the building.”
But for Jones, it always comes down to the person who runs the room.
“Donna won the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority Atlantic City Host Award for outstanding hospitality and service,” he said. “There were 400 nominees and all the casino rooms were entered. This was huge for us.”
As it appears to be for the guests who see daily why she won.