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Tags: Pacific Northwest Hotel Guide / High Tea Hotels / Victoria Hotels / British Columbia Hotels / Fairmont Hotels / → All Tags

Pacific Northwest Hotel Guide :: Bubblegum Tea at the Empress in Victoria

Where: 721 Government Street , Victoria, BC, Canada, V8W 1W5

HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is moving around British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, seeing the hotel scene from a family travel perspective. All prices are in Canadian dollars--which currently trade slightly higher than U.S. dollars. Enjoy.

Where would the original grand hotel in the most British town in British Columbia be without high tea in the afternoon?

The Empress Hotel opened in 1909 in the style of an Edwardian chateau and hosted a steady stream of British royalty and celebrities. It went through several rounds of additions and renovations and became part of the newly formed Fairmont chain in 1999, when the Canadian Pacific railway company spun off its hotels and rebranded them.

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Tags: High Tea Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Chicago Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / → All Tags

Hotel High Tea Death Match: The Ritz-Carlton Greenhouse Trumps The Drake

Where: 160 E Pearson St. Water Tower [map], Chicago, il, United States, 60611

[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven and High Tea enthusiast JetSetCD gives us her recommendation for Chi-town's finest tea hour. Enjoy.

Indeed the master of the Chicago institution of Hotel High Tea is, surprisingly, not The Drake. Only a few blocks away and tucked just off Michigan Ave sits the Ritz Carlton (which is actually a Four Seasons property), and at its 12th Floor Greenhouse you can expect the best High Tea in the Windy City.

Set at $27 per person for a complete service of seasonal pastries and choice of tea, they also offer a selection of rare and iced teas for a little extra $.

The Ritz Carlton service absolutely requires reservations, as the seating is true English style in arrangements of plush floral-print chairs and couches around a quiet fountain, and the staff is strict on the number in your party so as to seat you best. Settle in and you'll note the Frette linens, Wedgwood China, and silver service stamped with the Ritz Carlton insignia.

No skimping on the "proper way" here.

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Tags: Hotel Restaurants / High Tea Hotels / Hotel Bars / Luxury Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

Cheesecake $17. Pancakes $26. Tea for Two $173. A Meal at the Plaza? Pricey

Where: Fifth Avenue at Central Park South [map], New York, ny, United States, 10019

We just finished reading about the lavish new Palm Court Restaurant and Champagne Bar at the Plaza Hotel, wherein the Bloomberg review by critic Ryan Sutton left us gasping for some free-er air.

Having completed the $1 billion re-do of the 1907 landmark hotel, the folks at Fairmont decided to drop another $400 million to open the new restaurant and bar. While Plaza condo residents including the likes of a Kuwaiti billionaire and Faberge Egg-toting realtor may well afford these menus, Manhatten travelers opting to dine better be packing fat wallets.

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Tags: Hotel Happenings / High Tea Hotels / Standard Hotels / → All Tags

Weekend Hotel Happenings: Poolside Tea Party at the Standard West Hollywood

Where: Sunset Boulevard [map], West Hollywood, CA, United States, 90069

Hotel: Standard Hotel West Hollywood

When: Sunday, May 6th: 4-7pm.

Where: Poolside.

What: Tea, Tinis, Tails and Snacks. The Standard's unique take on the traditional English tea launches this Sunday, featuring appetizers, a selection of tea and martinis with DJs spinning some tunes.

Tags: Tips / High Tea Hotels / → All Tags

High Tea at the Palace Hotel in SF

Where: 2 New Montgomery Street [map], San Francisco, ca, United States, 94105

LiveJournal member jazzxine is lookin' for folks who have been to high tea at fancy SF hotels.

She isn't looking for hoi-polloi, but she wants a fancy setting for her tea party.

Fellow LiveJournal member notbob suggests the Palace Hotel might fit the bill:

I've been to the tea at the Palace Hotel several times. it's fantastic, mostly because of the location. you sit in the glass-roofed atrium full of light and greenery. the scene is very grand. the sandwiches, sweets and tea are all very good, though the price is a tad high. but it's a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. i highly recommend it.

Anything to add Hotel Mavens?  Tip us, or comment below.

Related Stories:
·   High Tea in San Francisco [LiveJournal]
·   Palace Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]

Tags: Hotel Heaven / High Tea Hotels / → All Tags

High Tea at the Sheraton in Addis Ababa

Where: Woreda 14 Kebele 24, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

[Publisher's Note: Hotel Maven ananda k lets us in on her stay at the Addis Ababa Sheraton. Enjoy]

We ate three different kinds of cake iced in butter cream, sipped Earl Grey tea with milk, sat across the table from an executive from the African Development Bank. We attended high tea in a room full of international dignitaries in the decadent Sheraton Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Ethiopia? Yes. Just days before checking in, Brad, Angelina and new baby Jolie checked out of a poolside villa. With a winding heated swimming pool, lavish Italian style décor, as in huge stone columns and marble floors, its no wonder Ethiopia's upper crust and celebrity guests frequent this place.

Here's what other guests have said about the place:

Apart from the very beautiful surroundings and the good food the staff could not be more accommodating. On a recent stay I requested my favorite dish by room service which was only available at the pool restaurant, so there was a very slight delay on the arrival of my food.

A few minutes later the manager himself brought my food up to me on a table and arranged it so beautifully with flowers and candles. He could not have done enough. I can only hope this sort of behaviour is recognised and rewarded by top end managers. People like this are NOT trained or managed by high ranking mangers who desparately want to claim credit for the success of a hotel rather these people are born.

The level of service from the staff at the Sheraton can only be partially credited to hotel. Ethiopian people themselves are truly a warm people that understand that class has nothing to with material wealth but rather in the strength of character.

Related Stories:
·   Sheraton Addis Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]

Tags: High Tea Hotels / → All Tags

Five-Star London: Champagne wishes and afternoon tea

Where: 6 Waterloo Place, London, United Kingdom

[Publisher's Note: Hotel Maven ananda k is back with her take on a London property.]

Luxury is nothing to run from when in London, a city plagued with over sized broom closets disguised as hotel rooms, or worse still, the city B&B. The St. James Sofitel just off Picadilly Circus is walking distance from every tourist trap on the west end but just paces from of its world renowned theatre district. And the rooms... big enough for a small man to run a bed and breakfast in one of the broom closets. Well maybe not that big.

The décor of white linens and shades of grey is tastefully colorless, otherwise known as monochromatic, sleek, or minimal. It is lovely.

London's legendary highbrow service of discreet excellence is in many cases just that, a legend, but when my husband and I checked in blurry eyed from a delayed flight we arrived to complimentary strawberries and chocolates, last minute dinner reservations and after saying the magic words, "we're on our honeymoon", presto, a fabulous room upgrade.

Hotel Review Continues Post Break

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