Tea at the Savoy

Last Thursday, as a treat for graduating from uni, I went with my parents to have afternoon tea at the Savoy Hotel. The hotel has only recently opened after a multi-million pound refurbishment, so I was very eager to see what it looked like. The Savoy is essentially an Edwardian hotel although it was heavily remodeled in the 1930s, and was famous for its beautiful art deco interiors. When the new owners bought the hotel a few years ago and announced that they were going to refurbish it there was quite a bit of excitement, until they started ripping out its art deco features. There was a bit of an uproar, as the Savoy is seen as very much of a London icon. I, for one, was angry that the history of the hotel was essentially being destroyed (especially as I had never seen inside the building :) ). I truly thought that the new hotel would look awful.

I was pleasantly surprised though. Not only are the new interiors beautiful and really tastefully done (apart from a rather disgusting animal print sofa), some of the new decoration is even better than the previous one.

This is definitely the case in the Thames Parlour, where the tea was held. It used to be very dark, but now it is beautifully light and the perfect place to spend the afternoon drinking copious amounts of tea and eating cake. :)

The beautiful glass dome in the ceiling of the parlour

The pagoda - odd structure to have in the centre of a room - it was where the pianist played (30s music :) )

Our table

I really like the design of the hotel's china. Tis so pretty. :)

Beautiful!!! :)

Now on to the food - which was delicious, but of course I ate way too much and felt sick afterwards!! :)

Scones and sandwiches which they constantly replenished (really dangerous!!! lol ) (oh and my darling Mama :) )

Second course - pastries. Yes they are all mine!!! :)

Third and final course - We had a choice of 3 cakes carrot, banana, and fruit. You could have a slice of each. I had one of banana and one of fruit. By this time I was close to bursting, but it was so yummy I couldn't stop! :)

Afterwards we went to the Savoy Museum (one room in the hotel). It isn't big but it has some lovely items and photos that are from the hotel's past.

A beautiful fan depicting life at the Savoy in the '30s.

Some of the hotel's original china

A beautiful fan case...

...and the fan that goes inside it.

The only bad thing I would have to say about the tea was that my seat had a few stains and crumbs on it before I sat down (picky I know, but you would think a 5 star hotel would be a stickler about cleanliness!). Anyway all in all it was a fabulous afternoon :) .

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the scones were the most delicious scones I have ever tasted, and so light. :)