Five Star Belfast Hotel Getting Plenty of Flack for Selling $42 Bottles of Water

Gallery_-_Hotel_Waring_Street_Facade

A five-star luxury hotel in Belfast is getting flack for their newly launched water menu that features dedicated water butlers and prices a single bottle of Canadian iceberg water at $42.  Last week, the Merchant Hotel invited members of the press to sample the first dedicated water menu in Ireland.  It has been curated to feature “exotic” waters sources from Canadian Glaciers, Fiji, France, and Ireland.  Needless to see it did not get a warm reception.

The idea of the ludicrous plan is to elevate water into the status of fine wine and spirits.   The hotel even hired trains water butlers (water sommeliers) to help patrons choose the right water for their meals.  However with prices ranging from $8 to $42 a bottle, the hotel was quickly ridiculed on the internet and elsewhere.  Critics called the new service “disgusting,” especially in light of water scarcity issues around the globe.

Despite getting heat for its premium water menu, it’s not the first time a restaurant has tried to upsell water as a premium beverage.  In 2013, LA restaurant Ray’s & Stark Bar at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art launched a 23-page menu featuring bottles sourced from 10 different countries. Their most expensive bottle of water is a $20 brand called Berg, sourced from meltwater from a 15,000 glacier.

Glass-of-Water-600x337

Would you pony up over $40 for a bottle of water?

Written by Worthly