This review is only for the afternoon tea service located in the hotel's lobby lounge. At $300 plus a night, It doesn't look like I'll be staying here anytime soon.
Pros:
Excellent service
Food was well done and presented
Extensive selection of teas
Cons:
desserts were not proportioned per person
I had the day off yesterday and decided to take my GF to afternoon tea here. Reservations are required and they will need a credit card to hold the table for you. There is a 1 hour and 30 minute seating time limit but it's really on enforced on the weekends if they're super busy. Being held in the lobby of the Shangri-La, it's a very upscale feeling experience.
The afternoon tea is set up right in the lounge of the hotel. They have chairs and tables available, but there are also couches and tables set up as well. I actually prefer the tables to the couches. While the couches appear more cozy and comfortable, they just weren't comfortable at all for me. To sit and have tea as well is touch when you're not comfortable. My personal opinion here
You're presented with a menu right at the beginning that lists all the teas they have. They have a huge list to choose from. My GF says most places only offer about 15 teas to choose from. There must of been close to 100 teas to choose from here. If you're a tea buff, you love the choices to choose from. The teas range from $15 to $70. The $15 teas are all included, the more expensive ones will be an added charge.
The food quality here is excellent. It was well presented and tasted good. The scones were freshly baked. They were soft and warm on the inside though not as good as my GF's. (sorry everyone, I had to put this in for my own good.. lol) The sandwiches were all very unique and again well done. The dessert were the stars of the show. The only problem was they don't give you one of each for every person. We got 2 of only one of the 4 items on the menu. We were only given just one each of the other 3 items. Little weird. You will need to share some no matter how many people you come with.
The service was excellent. The servers were all very nice in answering all of questions. My tea was iced and as soon as they saw the glass was empty, they came by to make me a new one. They were very knowledgeable about the items offered and it was a great experience overall.
I like this place. It was a much better experience than my last afternoon tea adventure. I'd recommend this place to anyone who hasn't given it a try. At $40 a person, it might not be something you do all the time though.