Hotel Afternoon Tea Services We Love
Millennium Biltmore
Los Angeles, California
Even the land of the permanently tanned and casually attired has a truly elegant tea service. Held in the hotel’s Rendezvous court beneath a ceiling painted with real 24-karat gold accents, the weekend-only service includes the standard cuppa, along with special desserts (such as pistachio-currant scones) and even a glass of bubbly, if you’d like. Culture vultures might recognize the room from its numerous appearances in TV and movies, including Chinatown, Ghostbusters and Mad Men.
The Drake Hotel
Chicago, Illinois
Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth and the Empress of Japan have all been spotted in the Palm Court, where the Drake’s traditional tea service takes place. The custom-made Palm Court tea is the one to try, blending Indian Assam, Chinese Keemun, Ceylon, and a Formosa Oolong. On Wednesdays through Sundays, a harpist provides musical accompaniment.
The Palace Hotel The Palace Hotel
San Francisco, California
Afternoon tea here is held in the Palaces’s Garden Court beneath a stained-glass dome, making it one of the prettiest settings for a sophisticated tea service. Grown-ups can enjoy traditional bites like scones with Devonshire cream and tea sandwiches, while kids are treated to the Prince and Princess tea service, which comes with a crown or tiara and scepter.
Courtesy The Plaza HotelThe Plaza
New York, New York
There are many places to take tea in New York, but only one where you can tap into your inner Eloise. The Plaza embraces its reputation as the spunky, fictional heroine's home with a tea service inspired by her (featuring Eloise Shortbread Cookies and Pink Pink Jello). That's not the only themed tea service here: The Plaza also offers one inspired by F.Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, with a menu that includes a deviled quail-egg salad sandwich, and a pate de fruit with Gin Rickey sugar. (Champagne is, of course, on offer.)
The Langham
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston may have a historic disinclination toward tea parties, but all traces of that contention are absent from the Langham’s afternoon service. (The hotel even calls it the Boston Tea Party—get it?!). Guests can sample four signature blends, along with sandwiches (one comes on brown bread, a New England specialty), cherry scones, and—of course—Boston cream pie.
The Peabody Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Southern hospitality meets English tradition with this legendary hotel’s afternoon tea, which includes tea sandwiches, pastires, and apricot scones. It’s worth it to arrive early or stay late to watch the Peabody Duck March: Every day, the hotel’s famed mallard residents ride the elevator from their penthouse home to the lobby to take a dive in the fountain. In their honor, a caffeine-free Duckie Tea is available for children.
Hotel du Pont
Wilmington, Delaware
The hotel’s daily tea service features specially created tea blends made with help from the neighboring estates of the Brandywine Valley, including a Gun Powder Mint from the Hagley Museum and a Black Sallow Thorn mix from the Delaware Art Museum. The menu includes elegant bites, such as truffled egg salad sandwiches, currant scones, and a traditional sponge cake.
The Four Seasons
Atlanta, Georgia
Served every Saturday on the terrace of the Park 75 restaurant, the Four Seasons tea offers some decidedly Georgian touches, including a “Southern shortcake” with peach chutney. But some traditional elements remain, including a Coronation Chicken Salad served in the shape of a cone (signifying the Queen’s crown.) During the holidays, be on the lookout for a kid-friendly Nutcracker Tea, which includes a performance of the ballet.
The Willard InterContinental
Washington, D.C.
Peacock Alley at the Willard has as much history as our nation’s capital itself: High-society women used to make their way to tea via a separate entrance, so as to stay out of men’s affairs on the lower floors. Thankfully, times have changed, but the Willard's elegant tea remains. The Willard’s tea season begins in October, with special services throughout the year, including a Cherry Blossom Tea and a Holiday Tea.
