Newly Renovated Hacienda Hills CC
 

Has anyone been to the newly renovated Hacienda Hills CC, and if so would they like to give their opinion. There was a time when this was THE place to be in TV. You even had to wear a jacket to dine!

Hacienda Hills CC has a resort atmosphere to it. 27 holes of golf, tennis, restaurant, pool, and pool bar all laid out nicely. Even the drive up to the entrance has that country club feel. Glad it's open and will try soon.

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Brian West?????
 

Anyone know where Brian West, chef superior, went?

This shows the main room painted a sea blue. Isn't that new???

Welcome — Hacienda Hills Bar & Grill

Ate at Hacienda after golf. At 5 o'clock reservations were required, so we sat in the bar area. Service was good as was the entertainment. The decor has been updated with new flooring and tables. The layout was the same. The drinks were good pours; happy hour ends at 5. The food was average except
for the clam chowder which was really good.


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Four of us had dinner on Friday after golf. Three of us had the auce fish n chips & Tuscan pasta. All of us were very satisfied..place looks great & the menu had a nice variety of choices.

Last I heard, Chef Brian was working in Orlando. I do not remember where.

We went Sunday for brunch. The food was very good and the place looked great. The noise level however was awful. There is no soundproofing at all and it is big and open so the noise just echoes.

:ohdear: We use to be regulars at HHCC. Then the owners of WORLD of BEER took over. Place went down the tubes IMHO. Went back tonight to try it on a slow night with no entertainment. Wasted $62. Cold fish and chips for me and a prime rib sandwich my wife took two bites of and asked for a doggie bag. Will not be back til it changes hands again. You can and should make up your own mind about the place.:yuck:

Hacienda
 

We went to Hacienda CC this week to check out the new decor. We agree that since World of Beer took over, it hasn't been very good. The new decor was very sterile and not interesting at all. The service wasn't the best but our food was fine. The women's bathroom was very questionable. There were brown smudges around the stool of who knows what??? There were no paper towels so someone had placed a roll of toilet tissue on top of the towel dispenser with which to dry your hands. I mentioned it to the hostess but felt bad because everyone, including the manager, were very busy and obviously trying so hard.
I must say that I used to love going there because I felt like I was stepping back in time to a 1950s or 1960s Havana/Miami type country club. I loved looking out at the pool...again it felt like I was in a 1950s movie...and I loved it. It was a lot of fun. Now it is sterile and nothing special. We've been there quite a lot in the past but we will not be returning and I miss the vibe of the old Hacienda.

We used to be frequent flyers--loved the sunken bar aspect--too many friends have warned us that the food stinks and I mean stinks. since the new owners took over--no excuse for disgusting rest rooms, since the owner is a med professional. he's a cardiologist

Restaurants can be owned or invested in by anyone but only restaurant professionals should RUN a restaurant.

Went there for dinner tonight. After sitting at the bar for 15 minutes went to the host and asked if the bar was closed. No, she will be right there. 10 minutes later we received a draft beer and a glass of wine. We then attempted to order food. Wife ordered soup and salad. My first order was prime rib sandwhich,. Don't have any, I'll take the lobster roll don't have any. i settled for a flat bread, the dough they used sucked. The owner / manager should see that the bartender spends more time in the kitchen than tending bar. Since I have lived here 18 years, this is the worst

:yuck: You're lucky they didn't have your prime rib sandwich..... you would have tossed it in the trash like we did last night. We had a hard time with the barmaid also. When she was not in the kitchen she was making some kind of fancy shoots for a waiter who was downing them while working. The owner is a Doctor someone said, so I don't think he would be there. The manager is IMHO the problem with that place. I can't believe they call that a remodel. I hope they didn't pay much to have it done. New furniture ..... yes. It got so dark I couldn't see to pay my bill. Was told they can't figure out how to turn the lights on. No paper towels in men's room. No stock in coolers behind the bar. Beers kept in ice behind the bar.....nice and cold but that ice goes into drinks. They are not going to make it.barf

I hope they now renovate the food. We used to go to Hacienda three times a week and before that we went to El Santiago Restaurant before it closed. That's where Chef Brian worked his magic. Sorry he left. Heard he got sick for a while. I hope he is well. He was a wonderful creative chef. My son-in-law wanted his to come to NY and work in his restaurant. Never happened.

Was there Sunday and 2 of the 3 stalls in the ladies room were "out of order".

Curious who owns it. Hope he isn't MY cardiologist.

The owners are Mahesh Nomula, Smita Karkal & Revati Pothamsetty.

Hope the owners can "Make Hacienda Great Again" . Often successful people think that they can become successful in a totally unrelated business. Failure occurs more often than success.


Hope these owners can beat the odds. If not we will have another Havana (CC) episode

They are the ones that wrecked it!:mad:
Mahesh Nomula opened both World of Beers in the Villages. Took over Hacienda a couple of years ago and his "Bad" management people have run it into the ground IMHO. Doing the same with Glenview from what I hear.

Totally agree. I don't know how WOB at SS stays in business. Very rude bartender, and the highest priced beer (even a domestic draft) anywhere near SS. I've never seen the place even half full.

My trainer told me he went to WOB in SS once, never again

Maybe this thread should be renamed--the newly renovated La Hacienda Hills restaurant--the worst restaurant in the villages, now that Guy Fieri's is closed

So that is why Glenview has gone downhill. I used to love to go there, now it is very disappointing. They let go all of their great servers too. What else did they buy? Hacienda, World of Beer,(2) Glenview and Mallory? Or is Mallory the same?

What with the group that owns the other bunch of CC's south of 466A, things in The Villages foodwise don't look like they will change for the better. Thank heavens for Cane Garden. I see the Lighthouse not quite as good as it was. Some of our favorites are gone from the menu.. The Morses are the best people to run Restaurants here. I wish they still did.

I know it isn't like me to bash stuff here, but we had some decent stuff going on when we moved here ten years ago.

Mahesh Nomula, Smita Karkal & Revati Pothamsetty
Glenview CC
Hacienda Hills CC
World of Beer, Brownwood & Spanish Springs

Raymond & Cailey Ann Frederick
Mallory Hill CC

George (Mackie) McCabe
In Feb 2019, the plan is the current, long-time chef will become the owner
Cane Garden CC

Maureen & John McIntyre
Lighthouse Point Bar & Grill

Fred Karimipour, FMK Restaurant Group
Belle Glade CC
Bluefin Grill & Bar, Brownwood
Bonifay CC
Evans Prairie CC
Orange Blossom Hills CC
Scooples Ice Cream Parlor, Brownwood

David Suleiman
Havana CC
Johnny Rockets, Lake Sumter Landing
Legacy Restaurant and Oasis Bar & Grill at Nancy Lopez CC
Redsauce, Lake Sumter Landing

Chad Strausbaugh
Palmer Legends CC

FMK group- is used to the same cookie cutter food in their clubs south of 466a--will not knock Bluefin till I eat there

Hope its not the same--

:) Great info.

The problem is become TOO apparent, TOO few hands controlling TOO many restaurants here

Really? According to the Daily Sun, there are more than 130 culinary establishments in The Villages.

Yes, what is a culinary establishment? Any joint that serve what they consider as food is a culinary establishment-- people stop kidding yourselves --we are getting short changed as far as restaurants in TV 's are concerned--

At 120K population we deserve better, there are lots of "establishments to serve the lower niches here"--how about something above the mediocre

Nice summary - My group of golfers play three times per week and follow up with HH (happy hour) at one of the country clubs. Our favorites are down to two out of 12 now, Arnold and Tierra Del Sol. We boycotted the FMK group several years ago. We used to frequent Katie Belles all the time. It was our favorite. OB was great with the Tiki Bar and daily entertainment. We take turns going to each other homes often now. Probably us contributing to the rate hikes by not being the patrons we used to be. What more can I say. It's not a democracy here and we knew it going in.

I'm down to two--Arnold and the Cane

My mistake we like Cane also. A bit quirky sometimes getting past the lady at the door. She says if I need the table (outside) for dinner you will have to leave. 16 - 20 guys for drinks and she thinks there is more profit in dinner ? I smile and say most certainly mam. Shucks she is just chicken to say I'm afraid of you boys getting rowdy and upsetting the dinner crowd.

Part of the Morse Mafia?

Four are owned by the developer:
Amelia's, Waterfront Inn
Fenney Grill
Katie Belle's Music Hall
Tierra Del Sol Bar & Grill

They are all owned by the developer. Country Clubs, restaurants, shops etc. The developer then grants a lease to the concessionaire of developer's sole choice. You and I have no input to that process - outside of CDD's. But then again it all belongs to the developer and shame on you if you did not do due diligence before moving here. The golden rule - he who has the gold makes the rules.

Keep your gold spend it outside of most villages restaurants

You hear correctly. We used to love Glenview - the food was good, not great, but the ambience was our favorite. A real old money country club feel. The ambience is still great, the food not worth the effort.

It is time we make an effort to stop supporting these CRAP country clubs posing as country club restaurants--pass the word on to your neighbor/friends as to which restaurants that deserve to be put out of business

For the most effect and well deserved of a boycott start with the FMK group (Evans Prairie, Belle Glade, Bonifay, Orange Blossom). Basically same menu at all four places and a steady rise in prices since ownership. Remember the old customer loyalty cards? Me thinks the ownership was not so loyal. When our group of golfers did happy hour (no more) at these four establishments the bill was 2x - 3x over Cane and Arnold. Oh and the food at Cane and Arnold is heads above these places.

all the food of the above group comes from Gordon Food Services, its boil in the bag & microwavable--the kitchens in the above restaurants are way too small to have a real cook line--these places are good for draft beers and cocktails made from well booze-