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Review: Balmoral Afternoon Tea Edinburgh
The Balmoral hotel flanks one end of the Princes Street Gardens, just below the Edinburgh Castle, and is the epitome of 5 star regality. We didn’t stay at the Balmoral, but the hotel just makes you feel like you’ve arrived and that you are truly their guest. If I’m ever back in Edinburgh I’d love to stay here, even for a night, just to experience it fully. If the tea is any indication…it’s pimp. I MEAN look at our server pouring that tea! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! After a dreadfully disappointing high tea at The Caledonian we didn’t really have high expectations going into Balmoral Afternoon Tea, but OH MY GOODNESS, was it incredible! Review: Balmoral Afternoon Tea Edinburgh:
What is Afternoon Tea/High Tea?
I mean…Look at this bad boy: The Balmoral
The Balmoral Afternoon Tea review is part of the NFL in London, Scotland, and Dublin Trip Report:
- British Airways Club World A380 LAX- LHR
- London Edition – A Ritz Carlton Hotel is SOHO SEXY
- Marriott Park Lane, London
- Intercontinental Park Lane, London
- Virgin Train First Class Lounge King’s Cross
- Virgin Train First Class King’s Cross London to Edinburgh
- Caledonian Edinburgh, A Waldorf Astoria Property
- Caledonian Afternoon Tea in Peacock Alley
- Balmoral Afternoon Tea in the Palm Court
- No. 1 Lounge at Edinburgh Airport
- Aspire Lounge at Edinburgh Airport
- Intercontinental Dublin
- Lufthansa First Class Ground Services Frankfurt
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Frankfurt Terminal 1
- Lufthansa First Class 747-8 FRA-LAX
The Balmoral Afternoon Tea is served in Palm Court
Go straight through the lobby and at the back you’ll find Palm Court. You’ll laugh, you’ll sip fine teas, and you’ll do it all seated in the round, under a gorgeous vaulted ceiling
The Palm Court
It’s a circular room, not large, but feels luxurious, and the staff are extremely well trained. This is the type of service I’d expect if dining at a Michelin starred restaurant.
The setup
We ended up in a corner booth with a great view of the room. I’d highly recommend requesting a corner table vs the center purely because of the view.
The Balmoral Afternoon Tea menu and Deets
- Served from Noon to 5pm
- £35 per person – alcohol is separate
The Experience
The Balmoral Afternoon Tea is one of the best I’ve ever had. This isn’t hyperbole, it’s really that good. From the moment you are greeted you just know you’re in for a treat. You can see from the Featured Image of the post, also seen below, it’s just an incredible experience. I always choose the tea associated with the establishment I’m trying out, and The Balmoral KILLED it with their Royal Scottish Balmoral blend. In fact, it’s so good that they have to pour it from feet above the pots because anything less baller wouldn’t do it justice.
The Tea starts out with an Amuse Bouche – this is very rare and it was outstanding. A tomato based consommé.
We had requested vegetarian options
Unlike the Caledonian, The Balmoral was incredibly inventive with their vegetarian options. You can see a felafel, cream cheese filled puff pastry, egg salad, cheese and chutney, etc. The sandwiches were outstanding. I also really appreciated the serving order. A lot of Afternoon Teas will serve sweets, scones, and sandwiches at the same time, which is fine, but this was more akin to a multi course meal. So smart.
The Service was impeccable. I find the biggest differences between 5 star and 4 star is anticipation and execution. The Balmoral staff could anticipate what you MAY need before you even knew you needed it. They also executed their job with discretion, blending into the environment rather than making you aware of their constant presence. That is a very fine line and they walked it to perfection.
The Scones – some of the best I’ve ever had
I also loved how they had Palm Court butter coverings.
Dessert
I love the experience of Afternoon Tea, more so than probably the tea, and certainly more than the desserts. I often find the desserts to be overwhelmingly sweet. The Balmoral doesn’t hit you over the head with their desserts. They were perfect. This is the first afternoon tea I’ve ever had where I actually finished everything. These were by far the best desserts I’ve ever had at High Tea.
And then to top it off
We each got a mini ice cream cone, piece of chocolate, and collectible Balmoral tin filled with Royal Scottish Balmoral blend tea. CAHMON! This is RIDICS! I was in love with this experience and it was amazing to share it with my parents. It’s been almost a month since we enjoyed this tea and we’ve brought it up so many times. My parents are crazy for Afternoon Tea, and I think they did half dozen on this trip and the Balmoral couldn’t even be mentioned with the others…it was just in a league of its own.
I would highly highly highly recommend going here for Afternoon Tea if you’re in Edinburgh
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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