THEIR big day turned into a big embarrassment.

All because of a power outage at the Hotel Royal@Queens in Bras Basah, where Mr and Mrs Lin were supposed to hold their wedding dinner on Saturday.

Some of the 200 guests who arrived early waited up to two hours in the dark and stuffy Chinese restaurant, before they were diverted to the affiliated Hotel Royal on Newton Road.

There, a buffet replaced the original multi-course dinner as the kitchen staff were unable to cook up a storm, given the short notice.

Shark’s fin was on the original menu.

But fried e-fu noodles was served in the end.

Mrs Lin, who did not want to give her full name, told Shin Min Daily News that some guests arrived as early as 6pm, although the banquet in the hotel’s Fu Lin Men Chinese Restaurant was to start only at 7.30pm.

She knew that a power outage had occurred at 5.30pm, but did not see any workers fixing the problem.

As the lights in her hotel room could not be turned on, Mrs Lin could not apply make-up.

In the end, the make-up artist took her to the corridor where there is light to doll her up, reported Shin Min.

Mrs Lin said torchlights had to be used and guests were sitting in darkness in the restaurant. Some guests became so uncomfortable without the air-conditioning that they walked out of the restaurant.

At 8pm, hotel staff announced that as they were unable to restore the power supply, the banquet would be moved to Hotel Royal. Some guests made their way there, only to find the food was not ready.

One guest said: “The staff at Royal@Queens told us a buffet would be prepared in the other hotel. But when we got there, only bread was available.”

When reporters arrived at Hotel Royal at 9.30pm on Saturday, hotel staff were heating up bread to relieve the guests’ hunger. The buffet was not ready.

It was only around 10pm that the buffet spread was laid out.

By then, guests were unhappy with the dishes and the delay.

One guest fumed: “It’s no different from an ordinary meal in a restaurant. With the food ready only at 10pm, our dinner had turned to supper.”

To the newly weds’ dismay, the four-tier wedding cake that they requested was not available for the substitute dinner.

Mrs Lin said: “Not only did we not have a wedding cake, but we also didn’t get to toast our guests. It’s so unforgettable and embarrassing.

“I have not thought about seeking compensation from the hotel. I just want an explanation.”

Her husband said he is unhappy as he has not received a satisfactory explanation from the hotel.

Hotel employees told The New Paper yesterday that the main power source had failed and that guests who had checked in were transferred to Hotel Royal on Newton Road for the night.

One of the staff members said: “We were able to make the arrangements because the hotels are sister establishments. But there wasn’t enough time to prepare another banquet at Hotel Royal.”

Power restored

The hotel was unable to say how many guests were affected, but confirmed that power at Hotel Royal@Queens was restored at 2pm on Sunday.

Another family holding a birthday celebration in another function room was more understanding.

The Chens were celebrating their mother’s 80th birthday when the power went out.

Mr Chen, 58, a sales manager said that while his family understood the hotel had not expected the outage to happen, they hoped to be compensated.

Like the Lins, the Chens were diverted to Hotel Royal but the food there was below their expectations.

But they went ahead with the birthday celebrations as they had prepared a cake and birthday peaches.

When told about the complaints, hotel employees told The New Paper they could not comment further as their general manager has gone on a working trip.

This article was first published in The New Paper.