According to The New York Times today, afternoon tea has again been embraced by the fasionable set. The Times article mentioned the Berkeley Hotel -- $58, $78 with champagne; Tea Palace -- $22, $33 with champagned but no tea; and The Four Seasons -- $44, $60 with champagne.
Has anyone -- MK2, perhaps -- tried any of these locations? Please report.
Bearing in mind that I'm an old Brown's afficianado, what other suggestions have you for an afternoon's indulgence this fall?
Virginia

I haven't tried the places you mentioned in your post.
I , too, was an aficionado of Brown's Hotel for afternoon tea and was disappointed when it closed for renovations. The surroundings there were cozy and the tea service was lovely.

Last year I booked Claridges for a Fodorite afternoon tea and while I preferred Browns, I would recommend Claridges.
We dined in the Reading Room. There was a large selection of teas and one could also order champagne.
The selection of savories and sweets was more than adequate. There was live piano music.
I booked a table in the Reading Room, well in advance , online.

I also like the Savoy. Tea is served in the Thames Foyer . I have always been the guest of a friend when I have dined at the Savoy so I have no experience making reservations there. However, I believe it is possible to book online.

Mariage Frères in Paris is not to be missed for tea.

I remember a thread a little while ago in which mk2, making his usual sweeping generalisations, claimed that no British person ever takes tea.

On what may have been the same thread, a visitor described trying tea at several London hotels in one trip, and I remember that she liked the tea at the Lanesborough best.

I think there are some ceremonial or pleasant but tourism-oriented activities in every city that the locals generally don't spend their time or money on. New Yorkers don't take Central Park buggy rides and generally don't go to Tavern on the Green for dinner, Londoners don't go to the Changing of the Guard or have a formal/expensive afternoon tea. These are not bad things to do, just not the sort of thing a jaded local would usually choose to do.

As someone who has visited London often, and especially with the pound to dollar ratio, I'd be unlikely to plan a formal tea in London myself, having done it in the past. There are lots of places I can have a good scone and a cuppa without spending much money or time on my usually-short visits. That's not to say I won't ever do it again.

By the way, the afternoon tea at the Dorchester is lovely.

We liked the Lanesborough also but it is very expensive. We had the version which included strawberries and cream and a glass of champagne and it cost about the same price as a moderately expensive dinner. They serve on a pretty Wedgwood china. Some people like Fortnum and Mason for afternoon tea. Tried Harrod's for tea once and it was okay except the china was a plain and unattractive white pattern--looked like hotel dinnerware.