London

Luxury Afternoon Tea at the Dorchester

Last weekend I went on a walking tour to discover more about London’s Art Deco past and indulge in some very fancy afternoon tea at the Dorchester. 

Art deco walking tour

 
We started off the tour at the Sheraton Grand Park Lane Hotel. Our tour guide explained a bit about Art Deco and showed us some photos of the ballroom at the hotel. The interior looks amazing, if you get the opportunity to have a look inside the ballroom then definitely pop in!
Art deco London walking tour
London walking tour
We then walked round the corner to where Down Street tube station used to be, they got rid of it as it had a lift so was quite time consuming and most people just walked down the road to Green Park tube or Hyde Park Corner as it was quicker. After this we strolled around admiring some old Art Deco buildings before heading to an area where Coco Chanel used to stay with the Duke of Westminster. If you take a look at the street lights around Mayfair you’ll see the iconic gold Chanel signs on them. 
Chanel sign London
pretty flowers London
London walking tour
Strolling through London on a warm and peaceful Sunday was lovely. It was nice visiting areas I hadn’t seen before and I was so surprised at how quiet the areas were. We ended the tour down a side street near Oxford Circus at Brown Hart Gardens and it was so relaxing there. It also made me appreciate how amazing the architecture in London is and half the time we don’t really notice as we’re all rushing around. 
 
Some highlights of the tour were seeing the stunning Art Deco Hotels in Mayfair such as Claridges and the Beaumont, both recapturing the spirit of old world luxury. My favourite part of the day was visiting the iconic Dorchester hotel.
 

The Dorchester Afternoon Tea

 
Upon entering the hotel we were blown away by the beautiful interiors and flowers. We headed to our table which was laid out with pretty blue china and mini knives and forks. We browsed through the menu of teas, they have a large selection with lots of herbal ones and some caffeine free ones, as it was my first time at the Dorchester I went for the Dorchester afternoon tea, a black tea with a hint of orange, this went perfectly with the food.
The Dorchester London
 Our table was next to the pianist who was playing modern songs and Disney, this was the perfect accompaniment for afternoon tea! We were then offered a glass of Laurent-Perrier champagne which was definitely the best way to start our afternoon of indulgence. 
Pianist the Dorchester, London
As there was a large group of us the afternoon tea came out in courses rather than on a stand. The first round was sandwiches, we had egg and cheddar, chicken mayo, cucumber and cream cheese and lastly, salmon and beef. Vegans and vegetarians also had a good selection of sandwiches. The egg and cheddar and the cucumber ones were delicious! They even came round again with more sandwiches, which I loved as sometimes I find afternoon tea can be too much sweet food for me. 
 Dorchester afternoon teaDorchester afternoon tea sandwiches
After our sandwiches we tried a blooming floral tea, it was very pretty, smelt amazing and tasted good too! Then came the second round which was the scones served with clotted cream, strawberry jam and an unusual rhubarb and basil jam. The scones and strawberry jam were very tasty. 
Dorchester afternoon tea scones The final round was the cakes which all looked incredible. All the cakes had a floral theme, my favourite one was orange with a chocolate base, I also enjoyed the other cakes which complemented each other well. After all these courses and plenty of tea I was feeling very full and ready for a nap. 
Dorchester afternoon tea cakes 
We had such a lovely time at the Dorchester and I’d love to visit again! Our waiters were so attentive and always came round to see if we needed anything else and nothing was too much for them. There were lots of different allergies that they catered for, which is good to know for anyone who has specific dietary requirements. 
*The tour and afternoon tea were complimentary but all opinions remain my own*

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