My second special birthday treat of the weekend was a Sunday Afternoon Tea at The Ritz. The Ritz is London’s most iconic five-star hotel in Piccadilly and is renowned for its Afternoon Tea experience that takes place in the impressive Palm Court.
The Ritz Hotel was opened by Cesar Ritz, a Swiss hotelier, in 1906, and is a Grade II listed building. It has 111 rooms and 25 suites that start from over £1000 per night – so get saving! The hotel also boasts a grand Michelin-starred restaurant, a gym, a spa, and a hairdressing salon.
The Palm Court is opulent and elegantly decorated – you could almost imagine dining here many years ago alongside British aristocrats in extravagant dresses, mingling amongst the embellished tea sets. An Afternoon Tea experience here will cost you £75 for an adult and £53 for a child, and service charge is included!
The whole Afternoon tea experience was truly captivating. The dress code is smart with the emphasis on men requiring a shirt, tie, and jacket – no sportswear or jeans are permitted. The cloakroom even provides ties and shirts to anyone not having one on arrival, which I thought was good. Staff here are wonderfully attentive, so you are guaranteed to be in good hands.
There was a good range of loose teas to choose from – I chose the passion fruit and orange which was lovely. There was also a good variety of lovingly prepared sandwiches that were cut to perfection. Different breads were used to bring out the flavour, and sandwich fillings included egg mayonnaise, cheese and chutney, Scottish smoked salmon, cucumber and cream cheese, and ham with grain mustard. Warm fruit and plain scones arrived after a short while, accompanied by cream and jam. Two large cakes: rum baba and chocolate were also doing the rounds on silver trolleys. I was starting to get quite full after all the sandwiches, scones, and mini desserts: rhubarb, banana, and a profiterole. I must mention that the tea was changed so far through the afternoon and the sandwiches were replenished. Champagne was also available to accompany your sandwiches and cakes at £25 a glass.
The whole experience lasted for around one and a half to two hours and was thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable. I didn’t find either of these two hotel experiences in the least bit pretentious and all the staff treated everyone with the utmost respect. I felt that The Ritz was grander than The Savoy, and of course has a smarted dress code. The other lovely thing about The Ritz is the souvenir box that you get prior to the experience that tells you all about the hotel and makes a beautiful keepsake of your day.
So, all in all, another great and memorable experience. Oh, but I nearly forgot to mention the toilets again – beautiful! I was even greeted by a smartly dressed attendant on entering. I’m not sure what she thought about me going around taking photos, but then I’m sure they are used to it!
