Bar Helios Review: My Worst Experience at the Helios Grand Hotel

Today I’m reviewing Bar Helios, which I visited while staying at the Helios Grand Hotel. To be honest, this post is less about sharing information and more about getting something off my chest… so please keep that in mind as you read.

✔ About Bar Helios

The Helios Grand Hotel sits right in the middle of the park, so I splurged and booked a park view room.

I also visited Bar Helios, the lounge bar on the hotel’s top floor. It serves cocktails, beer, whiskey and other drinks, along with light bites.

You can book through Resy.

The Resy app

Install the Resy app and search for Bar Helios, and it comes right up. Choose the number of guests, date and time, then book.

The Resy booking page

Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before; after that, a fee of $25 per person applies.

✔ My actual visit

I booked through Resy about a month in advance. In the special requests, I clearly wrote that I’d like a “window seat.” But when I arrived on the day of my reservation, even though two window tables were empty, they deliberately seated me at an inside table. So I asked, “Why are you seating me inside when there are window seats available?” and the server’s answer was unbelievable:

“Those seats are all reserved already, and the people who reserved them were waiting in person as soon as the bar opened at 4 p.m.”

If there’s a rule like that about waiting in person, shouldn’t they have told me when I booked through Resy? When I said that, the reply was even more absurd:

“Window seats are assigned by the restaurant, and no restaurant gives notice in advance to guarantee a window seat.”

They just stuck to their position like this and showed no consideration at all for the guest’s request. I had already booked a park view room, so if this was how it was going to be, I could have just had a drink in my room. There was no reason to come all the way up here.

I was completely upset, so I just ordered the cheapest drinks.

We didn’t even order any food, and the bill came to $69.1 in total (about ₩100,000 KRW). I was already in a bad mood, and on top of that it felt like a waste of money, which left a really bitter taste.

✔ The moment that made it even worse

About 30 minutes later, some American guests were seated at the table behind me. They also complained, “Why aren’t you seating us by the window?” And then the same server seated those guests at the window. When I arrived there were definitely window seats left, and I had written “window seat” in my request, yet they told me to the end that there were no seats available. Whether it was because my English isn’t fluent or because I’m a foreigner, I strongly felt that I had clearly been discriminated against.

I was in the middle of a happy trip with my family, and this one experience at Bar Helios really spoiled my mood for the trip. I’ve never once been treated like this at Disney, but here I came away with nothing but an unpleasant experience.

I don’t want any of you to be treated as unpleasantly as I was, so I sincerely recommend choosing a different restaurant or bar.

I hope my blog helps make your trip a little more magical ✨ If you have any questions, please reach out through the contact page. Thanks for reading!