Claridge's Hotel, Mayfair, London

An exceptionally stylish hotel in the heart of Mayfair.. A mixture of beauty and comfort.

Went back for the Upteenth time most recently on our Annual December Winter Holiday Glutton-fest, this time with elderly friend as a guest.

She’s blind and barely ambulatory, and the staff deserves huge applause for being so wonderfully accomodating. Waitstaff in the Reading Room fluttered around to sit her comfortably on a throne of pillows, and sent her away with a lovely Claridges gift bag of petit fours as a perfect wrap-up of her 90th birthday lunch.

Thank you, Claridges! Deserves each of its 5 stars.

Looking for the ultimate afternoon tea experience? You've found it. There are afternoon teas, and there are Afternoon Teas, and Claridges definitely deserves the capitalisation treatment.

It's the epitome of luxu-tea. You are waited on hand and foot and you never want to (tea) leave(s). Pouring your own tea is unheard of here, and the servers are constantly on hand to ensure your dainty cup is never empty.

The sandwiches and cakes are magnificent, but what really blew me away were the scones, which were baked to crumbly perfection. The clotted cream was like heaven in a pot, and the posh preserves were the tastiest jams I'd ever put into my mouth. Yum yum YUM. And you get a little tin of tea to take away with you as a souvenir.

Obligatary toilet comment: THERE'S A LADY IN THERE WHO TURNS THE TAPS ON FOR YOU AND HANDS YOU A TOWEL. The things she must have seen...

Claridge’s totally lived up to the high expectations and high cost when I stayed here for one blissful night recently.

The service was excellent from the off, with complimentary champagne on arrival and free pre-dinner cocktails. Oh, and a free room upgrade.

The room was as luxurious as you’d expect, and quite a lot bigger than I’d come to expect from central London hotels. While it wasn’t quite a suite, there was a separate dressing room and opulent bathroom.

Parking here is pretty easy to find, by the way, and free on Saturday nights and all of Sunday, so if you don’t want to slum it back on public transport after your stay, it’s easy enough to take the car.

Combine a stay here with dinner at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s, and you can’t fail to have a really special time.

Used the ballroom for a special event, and though filled to capacity, it was all done very well. A minor slip up was the Canape’s did not make it across the packed reception room, but that was the only fault.
The dinner menu was 'simple’ but absolutely first class. Who says you can’t do mass catering to the highest standard.

Walking in it was almost like seeing The Ritz all over again. Afternoon tea at Claridges has a fairly similar set up to most afternoon teas.

We were taken to a room off to the side of the main room where the decor was much darker. Both rooms were equally full with patrons and I guess thats to do with the fact that Afternoon Tea is offered only once daily where The Ritz offered five sittings a day.

The tea menu offerred a variety of black, green, and herbal teas plus coffee. I tried two sorts of tea including a green tea which had a very strong taste of popcorn and a black tea that tasted of cinammon.

The food consisted of finger sandwiches (pretty much the same as what I had at the Ritz: Smoked Salmon, Egg Mayonnaise with Cress, Ham, Chicken and Cucumber with Cream Cheese), desserts (much better variety than the Ritz) and Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream and preserve. All very good and all very tasty.

The Claridges experience was a lot of fun even though I felt like a fish out of water amongst all that finery!

We visit this hotel every year for afternoon tea. We have Lawn Tennis Tea, and just revel in the beauty of the surroundings. It is art deco splendour - with a Dale Chihuly sculpture to top it all off.
There is always music playing (musicians playing), and they are brilliant with babies and toddlers.