Afternoon tea in London at Christmas
 

Hi My parents are going to London weekend before Christmas. I want to organize afternoon tea for them as part of their christmas present. Any recommendation on where to send them both in their early 70's and they love anything Downtown abbey.

Cannot help with the tea but there are plenty of bus tours available with Downtown Abby theme. For example check out Viator london tours.

We have enjoyed tea at Brown's on several occassions. Looks like they are doing something special for Christmas tea.
http://www.brownshotel.com/christmas...lish-tea-room/

We have also enjoyed tea at Claridge's.

Have a look here for or afternoon tea experiences

http://experiences.lastminute.com/af...-tea-in-london

The two listed above are great for an upscale afternoon tea. You might also check out Fortnum and Mason.

"there are plenty of bus tours available with Downtown Abby (sic) theme."

Really? At Christmas?

Highclere's closed then - and glorious though Bampton (where the exterior scenes are shot) might be, few would bother sitting in a coach in midwinter for 90 minutes to gawp at a medieval church no different from the other 8,000 in England.

If Viator really is offering "Downton" tours at Xmas, they're defrauding customers. But I think you'll find it's not.

BUT, if "weekend before Xmas " means December 21, how about tea in the House of Lords? Gastronomically underwhelming, and it's available only as an add-on to a Parliament tour but it's real, the fictional Lord Downton would have eaten there, and he wouldn't have had to entertain the Party faithful who'll make up most of your aged P's fellow tea-ers ...

http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/vi...summeropening/

Unlike Julian Fellowes' dreadful soap opera, 'Jeeves & Wooster: Perfect Nonsense' is a spectacularly brilliant piece of scriptwriting (by a couple of serious dramatists, adapting the greatest 20th century master of English prose), acted by people with real talent. Roughly set in the Downton era, in a Downton-style country manor house, it's the perfect antidote both to the soaps - and to earlier, lesser Wodehouse shows.

From Oct 30 (I saw its regional tryout) to March 8 at the Duke of York's

Lovely idea

Check out www.afternoontea.co.uk for ideas and bookings.

My favourite is the Mad Hatter Tea at Sandersons

Afternoon tea at Brown's is a real treat.

Thanks a million for your replies. I will check them all out and let you know how I get on. x

You might look into the Covent Garden Hotel.

Flanner - I'm in London for Christmas and New Year and Jeeves and Wooster is a definite go to! Can't wait to see it and I think both actors look perfect for the role...

PS! I think Browns is a great tea option...very nice surroundings...but the Goring also looks good

My Aunt Judith lives in North London and she likes Brown's.

My sister, born in London but now in Boston, likes the Goring.

I like the Connaught, but I detest fancy tea. I just like to sit on an old sofa with a glass of claret.

As my Uncle Terry of Stepney would say, the Connaught is very oldy-worldy.

Thin

Friends gave us a voucher for afternoon tea at The Ritz and we loved it. It was very expensive and I doubt we would have paid that much ourselves but turned out to be a really memorable occasion. I was a bit concerned it would be pretentious but the staff were friendly and we really enjoyed it. Lots of food and different teas you could choose from. The room the tea was served in was really beautiful - and so was the ladies room :-)

The website given above by Jamikins will give you an idea of what's available and prices etc. By the way, we had to book quite a few weeks ahead for The Ritz so don't delay.

Kay

Sign up for discounts through Groupon.UK an Amazon.UK

I got some great deals for a recent trip including a 2 for 1 Chocolate themed High Tea at the Hilton on Hyde Park.

Think about booking soon - I've just been trying to book afternoon tea somewhere special for friends coming over from Germany. Several of the places on my list of "possibles" were already booked out!