Jass and I had champagne afternoon tea at The Langley hotel, followed by cocktails with some friends a couple of weeks ago. We spent almost eight hours relaxing at this stunning hotel, and even ended up with a tour of the spa! It truly is one of the best spas I have ever laid eyes upon.
In true British fashion, just as we turned into the property, it started raining heavily so we couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the parkland alongside the long driveway leading up to the hotel. At the entrance, we were greeted by a lovely doorman carrying an umbrella. He instructed us to park as close to the hotel as possible, before opening my door to hand me the umbrella. He whisked us towards the dramatic honey-coloured building, up the double staircase leading up to the front door and immediately into Cedar restaurant.
This hotel is part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection and the glamour immediately hits you as you enter and set foot onto the plush mosaic floor. The decor at this time of year; complete with a lit fireplace in the lounge and huge Christmas tree at the bottom of the stairs is incredibly festive; making you feel all warm and cosy.
Afternoon tea
We opted for the champagne afternoon tea so we started with a glass of fizz each. Alongside a huge tea selection, they also serve coffee and I was very impressed to find that they offer a selection of dairy-free milk, and not just soya.
While I’m happy to have soya milk as an alternative, it’s oat milk that I use on a daily basis. The waiter brought me out an Americano with a jug of oat milk on the side which was perfect!
The veggie sandwich selection was nice enough, but two out of the four were a bit of a cop out. Cream cheese & pickled cucumber? Egg mayo? These are pretty basic and I’d have expected something a little more original from a five star establishment.
The cream cheese and roasted red pepper sandwich on brioche was by far my favourite! The other three in our party adored the non-veggie equivalent to mine; crab and wasabi mayonnaise sandwiches on a brioche roll and ordered seconds of those. The fourth option was some type of aubergine and tomato mash on white bread which didn’t tickle my tastebuds either.
I’m not one for dessert, though I love scones with clotted cream and jam. (FYI – it’s cream first, jam on top) I must admit that these were underwhelming; nothing special and I really wasn’t keen on the peach and cardamom jam. Thankfully they also came with the choice of raspberry jam, which again, isn’t particularly exciting, but it was fine.
We all agreed that the sweet treats; while they were beautifully presented, tasted quite disappointing. The blueberry and hibiscus eclairs in particular almost tasted stale; they were crispy as oppose to being soft and didn’t have a cream filling – very strange.
Sadly, we missed out on the festive afternoon tea as they were serving it from the following day onwards. We weren’t told this at the time of booking and had naively assumed it would be festive themed throughout the month of December. It’s a shame, but we learnt our lesson!
Read my review of The Jasmine Indian Afternoon Tea At Taj 51 Buckingham Gate, here.
Afternoon tea (minus champagne) at the Langley hotel is priced at £40 per person, and with champagne is an additional £15 each. There’s also an additional 12.5% service charge on top.
Personally, I’ve had much better in terms of the food at other places for a whopping £55 a head. While the luxury setting of the restaurant is opulent without being stuffy, and the service is brilliant; attentive and not rushed, I don’t think the afternoon tea itself was worth it’s price tag. Had it been £45 per person including a glass of fizz, I think they might just be able to justify it.
Churchill bar
We then made our way to the bar for a drink; the Churchill bar is an intimate setting that offers a curated selection of fine spirits, cognac and cocktails, alongside a rare choice of cigars stored in a custom humidor.
The decor again is incredibly glamorous and luxe; with warm, ambient lighting, marble tables, high back chairs and a portrait of Winston Churchill hung above the fireplace. From a distance, the room looks incredible until you get up close.. The walls are lined with artificial books and you’ll realise that in fact, you aren’t in a library at all! That’s a bit of a faux pas, if you ask me.
Aside from that, it’s a warm, welcoming environment and a great place to relax for a few hours. Cocktails start from £16.50, as was my Aperol Spritz, but I must admit it was made very well! This is a pretty rare occurence, so there were no complaints from me!
Service
All the staff including waiters are notably warm, enthusiastic and engaging; nothing is too much trouble. The receptionist, Paulo even offered his photography skills when he saw my friend and I walking around the lounge taking photos of one another – and he did a great job!
The Spa
Paulo also offered us a tour of the spa and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it! It truly is luxury personified. It’s obvious that no expense was spared, and the interior designers clearly went to town on it.
Alongside an outdoor pool, tennis court and six seater cinema, the spa, which is entirely underground, has a jaw-dropping indoor pool, a multi-functional jacuzzi, two lounges that serve meals and drinks, saunas and two private rooms that are available to hire. There is also a Himalayan salt sauna, an amethyst crystal steam room, some ‘sensory’ showers and all the usual bells and whistles you’d expect from a luxury hotel spa.
The gym, which is usually an afterthought, has been designed by Matt Roberts (a well known personal trainer. Yep, I’d never heard of him either) and it features an amazing array of equipment – some of which you’d struggle to find in a luxury gym.
The spa alone is a good enough reason to book at stay at the hotel, but I’d skip the afternoon tea and dine elsewhere. I’m determined to spend a night here some day! I adore urban luxury hotels in comparison to the more traditional country house style ones – and this is just that. Prices start at £400 per night, but I believe, where there’s a will, there’s always a way!
For a closer look at our day at the Langley, including a tour of the spa, you can watch my vlog below.
I challenge you to find a better spa than this!
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