The Ritz London — Hotel in London

We went to London for 5 days, and for me personally, this Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Ritz was the highlight of our trip. I booked the Christmas Afternoon Tea in advance as a surprise anniversary gift for my partner. He loves afternoon tea but had a somewhat bad experience before, so I wanted to gift him a better experience with me.

I have never really been into high teas before and have only experienced one in my own country. So I did my research and looked up some other high teas like those at The Langham, Claridge’s, and The Savoy. I initially made a reservation at The Langham because I liked their collaboration with Hamleys this year. However, I decided to look online to see what the Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Ritz was like, and I immediately fell in love. I canceled my reservation at the other hotel and booked at The Ritz. I was lucky that a date (22-12-24) was available during our stay and that it was also the day I wanted to have the high tea. The timeslot was perfect too—the first sitting at 11:30.

From the beginning until the end, everything was wonderful. It started with getting out of our cab and being greeted by a kind doorman. He immediately made us feel welcome by having a friendly chat with us. Once we were inside the hotel, we saw this big and stunning Christmas tree. It had everything I wanted to see in a Christmas tree: lots of red and gold, big bows, and decorations like nutcrackers, bears, and gingerbread houses.

When you walk further past the Christmas tree, you see a hall fully decorated as well. You can CLEARLY see that they put a lot of time and effort into their decorations. It was STUNNING—unlike anything I had seen before. When we walked to The Palm Court for the afternoon tea, the server brought us to our table and mentioned that she gave us this table because it was our anniversary and we would have a good view of The Palm Court from that spot. I was so happy they listened to my request. I had written an email mentioning that it was our anniversary and asked whether it would be possible to be seated in a nice spot IF available (I understand that every spot in the venue is beautiful). I did not get a reply, so I didn’t think they would honor my request—but they did! We were delighted with our seating arrangement, as it gave us a sense of privacy and made the experience feel even more special ✨️

The waiter was so nice and helpful as well, explaining everything to us. We enjoyed the food and the different kinds of teas. Asking for a few pictures wasn’t a hassle either. There were also 2 additional slices of cake to choose from which they served on a cake trolley. We ate everything, and my partner even asked for an additional scone, saying it was the best scone he had ever tasted. The live music was lovely as well (first the violist, later pianist). At the end, we were surprised with a small cake from The Ritz for our anniversary. I was completely taken aback—it was such a thoughtful and sweet gesture. Maybe I’m just an emotional person, but I felt a bit teary-eyed at this moment. This extra service really made our day, and both my partner and I felt incredibly happy during the afternoon tea. This is a memory I will never forget.

There was just one tiny thing I did not like as much. When I went to the powder room, during that time, three different people came to my partner to settle the bill, even though we still had time left (it was nearing the end of the first sitting). It felt a bit rushed, especially because there were still quite a few tables occupied. The bill was supposed to go to me after I came back from the powder room. Except for that situation, everything was great. This was a wonderful start to our day, and we enjoyed the rest of it.

Also worth mentioning: Yohan (hopefully I’ve spelled his name correctly), who was at the front, was really kind and friendly. We were taking pictures next to the tree after finishing our afternoon tea. He noticed and offered to take pictures of us. He took a lot, from the best angles possible—so incredibly kind.

Thank you...

Afternoon tea at The Ritz London. A long-treasured dream come true! What more can I say? A lot more actually. Entering the hotel lobby is not just going from a cold street into a golden aromatic (thanks to a cigar lounge close by) cocoon, its the warm greetings from several perfectly liveried doormen that precedes it. They're ready with a cordial welcome, one holding the doors of our taxi, another helping the ladies alight whilst others hold both of the large main doors open as if to say: Welcome, we were waiting just for you. You're now well and truly ensconced in a world gone by and can't help but gaze all around you, trying to absorb the beautiful interiors, the aromas wafting around, the moving melodies from the trio seated in one corner just outside The Palm Court. There are liveried and uniformed staff everywhere ,gently guiding you towards the cloakroom for taking your coats/scarves, to discreetly and ever-so-softly checking reservations and showing you ceremoniously to your table, helping you get seated and comfortable, always with genuine smiles. Staff seemed genuinely pleased to be there and went out of their way with being attentive to each person ,on that olde worlde magical island called The Palm Court. The chandeliers spread this celestial glow to an already luxuriously appointed room in gold, buttery yellows, whites with green, peachy pinks and pale blue highlights (the ONLY needs-to-be-improved is fresh upholstery on some chairs please). As you exhale, the reality cascades over you - you're here at long last, understanding why getting a table is a feat in itself and worthy of celebration! Our attendants, crisply liveried in tail coats, Brian and Gabriel made us feel very special, like we were the only ones in that room with their greetings, explanations about the afternoon tea and in what order delicacies would be served, requesting that anything we need they'll be only too happy to serve. The champagne we chose was ceremoniously poured out for each one and we were left to raise our special toast to mark this special occasion. Then just as soft-footed, our tea selections appeared, lustrous silverware sets per person to compliment the fine porcelain and beautiful sparkling glassware. The delicacies arranged beautifully were served on a large silver 3-tiered stand. After checking our champagne and teas were to our satisfaction, we were left to savour each delicious layer from savoury to sweet. We began with the freshly-cut, wonderfully combined finger sandwiches, that quickly most were polished off accompanied with sips of our teas. Brian, ever-attentive ,soon sashayed up to our table with a salver of more scrumptious sandwiches to our delight. Just as we felt indulged and spoilt, he reappeared with warm buttery scones of both fruit and plain variety, crumbling into soft halves that we enjoyed with the clotted cream and strawberry preserve. The pastries were exquisitely proportioned and prepared , delicious morsels of fruity flavours, almond sponges, chocolate and coffee. As if this wasn't enough, trolleys were wheeled around in pin drop silence with a proffering of slices from very moist rum baba and light sponge cakes encasing quince and topped with cream. Ah! now THIS is the great traditional English afternoon tea. Our request for a fresh pot of hot water for the teas was met with a smile and efficiency. When we requested the remains of a most generous repast to be boxed they happily did so, returning with a clutch of the elegant black and gold pastry boxes. We ate, sipped, chatted, swaying to classical and familiar melodies from the performing trio, as we celebrated not just our special occasion but the presence of this haven. as did all the others from what I could see. This haven of peace, nostalgia, elegance, refined etiquette, kindness and attention that not only The Palm Court has come to define, but The Ritz itself. In todays times, for me its like a shining star to know this haven exists and can be entered every now and then. Thank you Ritz. Don't...

This is the worst afternoon tea we have ever had and we have had many around the world.

It was super rushed, the service and food was subpar compared to Claridge's which we often frequent. We decided to give the Ritz a try because of the famous Palm Court but were left disappointed.

We arrived on time but were told no sneakers allowed. Which was an oversight on my part, Claridge's and other establishments had no issues with this so it completely slipped my mind. Due to this, we had to rush out and buy a pair of dress shoes just so we could go in. This delayed our start time by 40 minutes.

The seating was very odd as you sat facing the hallway, like you were on display. Perhaps this was the Ritz style but it left us feeling rather uncomfortable and exposed, not relaxed and taking tea as one should.

The speed to which the server took our order was standard. He explained everything and served tea as usual. At no point did anyone mention the time limit to which we should finish our tea. Again, not something we were used to at other places which allowed for ample time. Yes, they mentioned the time limit on the reservation that was made months ago, but a friendly reminder when arriving on the day would be a smart thing to do as well.

The table we sat at was at the very front of the entrance, which meant everyone who wanted a photo of the Palm Court had us photobombing them. It was not our intention but it was unavoidable as our seats directly faced the entrance. It was very uncomfortable.

The servers looked as rushed as the people having tea. It took the server a while to come back to check on us. No offers of change of tea, we had to ask. No offers of cakes on the trolley to us while all the other tables had it. At one point a server dropped some porcelain which had scattered pieces all over, including close to our table. But everyone was too busy to clean it up.

Then as we were having the scones, the server came and asked us if we would like to pack up the rest of our food. We said we would like to finish it here, which the server looked startled then turned to talk with the hostess. He then turned to us and said we had 8 minutes to finish. We were definitely shocked by that and if we were not disappointed before, we were definitely disappointed now.

We still had scones and cakes left to eat. Since the experience had turned into a quick tourist turnaround rather than proper afternoon tea, we might as well just wolf down the remaining food and leave.

The whole experience felt mechanical and factory like but also chaotic. We noticed most tables had to take a doggy bag. Perhaps they were full or perhaps they were rushed like us. The food portion was quite small and even after finishing everything, we didn't feel full, which was a first for us at afternoon tea.

You can definitely find much better places to have afternoon tea for the same high price range. Claridge's remain my favorite place from going over the years. The quality remains consistently good and the service fantastic. Never felt rushed and always left...