1 /5 Rachel Kim: I visited this hotel for an afternoon tea in January during a short birthday trip to London, after my brother booked it as a gift. Unfortunately, the experience fell far below what one would expect from a five-star hotel.
Service was disorganized from the start. A senior staff member (I suppose she was, as she was wearing a long black dress, different from the rest of the staff’s outfit) seated me, explained the tea theme, and said she would return shortly to take my tea order, but disappeared for over 20 minutes, chatting with colleagues near the entrance of the dining room before leaving the room entirely without taking my order. After a while another waitress eventually approached and... repeated the same explanation of their afternoon tea, making the experience feel awkward and poorly managed.
The food arrived after about 40 minutes. Forty minutes! Although visually immaculate, it felt far from fresh.
The sandwiches were acceptable but mediocre, with slightly stale bread (particularly the brioche buns) and very basic fillings. The scones were the most disappointing: dry, dense and gummy clearly NOT FRESHLY BAKED, AND LIKELY REHEATED. The strawberry jam had a separated, watery yet clumpy texture, making it difficult to spread properly, though the clotted cream was smooth and well made.
Because the scones were so dry, I had to drink tea after every bite and quickly became uncomfortably full, asking for the desserts to be packed to take away. Sadly, they were no better: visually elaborate but overwhelmingly sweet, dominated by white chocolate that masked all other flavours. Several pastries also had stale textures, like the shortbread biscuit and the tartlet, suggesting they were not freshly made.
Service throughout felt cold and robotic. I was so uncomfortable that I called my brother on the phone just to feel at ease. While professionalism is expected, warmth and attentiveness are essential in hospitality and should not feel forced.
At nearly £67 including service charge, the experience was simply not worth the price and in hindsight, I regret paying the service charge at all!
What upsets me most was discovering after the experience that guests celebrating special occasions are often offered complimentary cake slices/treats, the very reason my brother chose this venue, and an option he specifically selected during the booking process (“special occasion: birthday”). Yet my birthday went entirely unacknowledged. What makes this particularly puzzling is that, when I declined the sparkling wine they offered me right after the theme’s explanation, they awkwardly remarked, “Ah right, it wasn’t marked in the booking.” If the staff had access to – and remembered – that level of detail, it is difficult to understand how the birthday note could have been overlooked by all of them.
The only genuinely kind person I encountered was the Filipino concierge, who warmly welcomed me and even stepped outside to assist when he saw me struggling with Google Maps on my way back to my hotel.
I will not be returning, nor would I recommend this afternoon tea to anyone.
Thank you for making my birthday memorable… in the worst possible way!
