The Winter Garden

Earlier this week friends and I enjoyed afternoon tea at The Landmark, a luxury five star hotel located opposite Marylebone Station. The hotel originally opened in 1899 as the Great Central Hotel and designed by RobertWilliam Edis. It was built in conjunction with Marylebone Station, which was the last of the London main line railway termini to be completed. The building has had a varied history as it was requisitioned for military purposes in both World Wars and then later became offices and at one time was the Headquarters for British Rail. It re-opened as a hotel in 1993 and has been known as the London Landmark since 1995. 

Although we had booked for a birthday treat it was coincidently close to Valentine’s Day and we enjoyed their special Valentines Afternoon Tea, which is being served until Sunday 17^th February 2013. The three tiered cake stands arrived with finger sandwiches and beautifully decorated pastries. Warm scones arrived later served with a very generous helping of clotted cream, an extremely delicious home made strawberry jam with small chunks of fruit and lemon curd.

My favourite cake the swan was almost a pity to eat as it looked so elegant. 

Many of the pastries following the Valentine's theme included a very cute pink heart shaped macaroon.   

 The Winter Garden 

Afternoon Tea is served in the delightful Winter Garden. An impressive eight-story high glass roofed atrium complete with freeze dried palm trees. When the hotel was originally built this was an inner courtyard where horse drawn carriages would have dropped off arriving guests. Today it provides a striking and unusual setting for the hotel's main restaurant. 

The hotel's communal areas are beautifully decorated and retain many of its original Victorian features, such as the marble staircase with its stained glass.

The entrance hall has a magnificent fire place and plasterwork. Throughout the hotel are beautiful floral displays. Overall we enjoyed great service, afternoon tea was absolutely delicious and in particular we liked it charming location.

More information about afternoon tea at The Landmark can be found on their website here.

The author of this blog is a qualified City of London and City of Westminster Tour Guide who leads guided walks combining world famous landmarks with hidden treasures often missed by the crowds.

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