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Review: Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Macdonald
I had the pleasure of spending a weekend in Edmonton, Canada. I had no idea what to expect, really, and was so pleasantly surprised with the beauty of the area and the friendliness of all of the people. Although…it is Canada – so YA KNOW PEEPS ARE GONNA BE NICE =) Anyways, I had some free time and decided to mosey on over to the 101 year old, grande dame of Edmonton, the Fairmont Macdonald. Fairmont has some of the most beautiful hotels in the world, in my opinion, andThe Macdonald is no exception. It as just my luck they were having ” Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Macdonald.” and there was a spot open for this monkey =)
The Deets
- Where: Fairmont Macdonald, Edmonton Canada
- When: September 2016
- Occasion: Afternoon Tea “High Tea”
- Cost: 49 Cad with Champagne and a tour
The setup for tea:
The Fairmont Macdonald advertises their afternoon tea with an accompanying tour of the building. I mean, for a hotel nut, and especially a tour of an old Fairmont, this was cheese on the cracker! 
As you can see we were supposed to have a tour of the Queen Elizabeth II Suite, but alas, there was a wedding and the honeymoon couple took it. UGH!
The Fairmont Macdonald Lobby
The Harvest Room:
The Harvest room is just inside and to the left. I was able to nab a last minute table, but if you were to make a reservation ( which I highly recommend), request one near the window. The views are amazing…especially in the fall.
This is actually the first time Miles and I have done a tea alone. It was the two of us, several large groups, a bachelorette party, and lots of ladies who do tea time. I absolutely loved the looks we got =)
I chose one of the loose teas and it was delicious.
Since Miles and I eat only fish and veggies, they tailored the food to suit our needs. I was very thankful, especially because we were walk ins. In fact, this was the first time I’d ever had a felafel with High Tea and it was unexpectedly very good.
Overall:
I would highly recommend The Royal Tea at the Fairmont Macdonald. The service was prompt, attentive, and extremely friendly. Annnnndddd they Loved up on Miles. The food exceeded expectations and the ambience was HIGH TEA WORTHY! 😉 The hotel itself is very cool as well. If you’re looking for hip and modern…uhhhh you’re gonna be very disappointed. If you’re looking for traditional, regal, and historic – this is your spot. I can imagine this would be a great spot to sip cocktails on the veranda during the warm summer months.
The tour of the hotel was great as well. Our guide, who I believe was managing the Harvest Room, was informative, knowledgable, and had a great air about her. I would highly recommend doing it. And if you go and get pics of the QUEEN ELIZABETH SUITE…send them and i’ll credit you on this post =) I was so jealous I couldn’t see it. I love a good penthouse 😉
Here’s some more hotel shots
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
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 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, 2024
- $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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