'There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation.'
- Lin Yutang
Anyone who knows me, knows just how much I like a good cup of tea. I can't go a day without one, or five haha. So obviously if there is an opportunity to have a cup of tea in a place with an amazing view, then you've just got to do it!
So that's brings us to my post. I guess this one is a mix of telling you about my day and a mini review. You'll probably get a review of my experience through the main post but I'll put some key things down towards the end.
If you read my engagement post you'll know that I visited Cloud 23 back in February with my now fiancé. I obviously went on to tell friends and family about our night but one person in particular got a tad jealous haha, my Father.
My Dad is really into photography, he has been doing it many years and for anyone who knows a photographer, you will know how much they love a photo opportunity and to my Dad being 23 floors up, looking across Manchester's city skyline, it was an opportunity he really wanted. So as his birthday was this month I thought I'd treat him to afternoon tea at the Hilton's Cloud 23 as a belated birthday present.
I'm not someone that you would class as 'posh' so going to somewhere that is expensive (expensive to me anyway), I did get a tad anxious about visiting. The usual, what do I wear? Will I fit in? Will it look super obvious that I don't usually visit places like this? So I was pretty nervous about going.
My Dad and myself arrived at reception. I walked on over to ask where we go. A very nice man behind reception walked us to the lift that goes directly to floor 23 and wished us a good day.
Once on level 23, Cloud 23, we were again greeted by another lovely man who took our names and gave us a few options of where we would like to sit. It was nice being given the choice of view. He handed us the menu for the Afternoon Tea options and left us to it.
It was pretty simple. We had 2 options, the Traditional Afternoon Tea or the Champagne one. Given I can no longer handle even one glass of bubbly since having my youngest son, we opted for the traditional.
The view was amazing, I don't think anyone can argue with that. I think the majority of the world looks pretty great from high up.
As predicted my Dad soon pulled his camera out and started taking pictures. He was in his element.
I was so pleased we were able to have a Father Daughter Date and celebrate his birthday. As most know I am pretty close to my Dad but it's usually just cups of tea at home and general chit chat. Having the opportunity to actually do something together is always great.
Our Afternoon Tea was brought to the table by a very friendly waiter, he went through each tier and explained what we were having. The tea was pretty nice too.
The next 2 hours were as expected, talking, taking pictures, sipping tea and nibbling on our food. Over all it was a great day and a nice experience. My Dad was happy and to be honest that's all I wanted.
Unfortunately I'm now going to get to the harsh but honest bits of the day.
Traditional Afternoon Tea at this particular Hilton was priced at £23 each (correct price on 18/04/2016) This did include unlimited hot drinks, there were different types of tea on offer, coffee and also regular hot chocolate and white hot chocolate.
We received a selection of sandwiches -tuna, ham, cucumber & cream cheese, roasted pepper and a mushroom pastry, these were on the middle tier.
Bottom tier - jam, fruit scones and clotted cream.
Top tier - a rocky road dessert, a raspberry trifle and a banana bread.
I'm going to sound super mean now but I am being honest. The sandwiches were simple but nice, although the mushroom pastry did seem stale. The scones were lovely, I don't like fruit scones but I picked out the fruit and ate them. Super yummy. The rocky road dessert I didn't try as I found a hair in it when I went to snap a bit off. The trifle was yummy but definitely could not of eaten a bigger one. Last but not least the banana bread was to die for. It was delicious and I'd love the recipe!
The staff were so friendly, made us feel welcome and comfortable. They were happy to help and always provided us with a smile. I believe nice staff really make the difference whenever you go anywhere. Many times I have been somewhere and hated the food but because the staff were wonderful always left a nice tip.
Speaking of tips! They did add a service charge. In the UK it is not common practice to add a service charge anywhere, unless there are more than 6 people dining. So I was not impressed when I went to pay the bill and it had been added to it although there were only 2 of us.
Although I am far from rich, I am always generous with tips, if, someone provides great service and I've had a nice experience. Even though majority of people do not tip in the UK I nearly always do.
I bet you were wondering now why I'm complaining about a service charge when I tip anyway?
Well, it really annoyed me simply for the fact they have put a price on their service. Surely I should decide how much I think their service was worth? I don't know why they do this at this hotel but I wasn't happy. Is it because most people who eat or drink there are rich but tight with their money? Or is it simply just random Hilton policy?
If anyone is reading this and now wondering what the service charge was, it was 10%.
I may have missed the note about this charge when booking but for the record I'd of tipped more than the 10% but expecting the tip just annoyed me and if I'm honest ruined it a little bit.
Conclusion...
It was a wonderful experience, the staff were awesome, you definitely are paying for the view not the food and the service charge annoyed me.
Would I go again? Probably not.
Did I regret going? Not at all, just to see that view does make it worth going at least once and my Dad had a great time so over all I was a happy girly!
Not the most exciting blog post but it was an experience I wanted to share and also review. Thanks for reading and now I'm off to make myself a cup of tea ;)
I'm not someone that you would class as 'posh' so going to somewhere that is expensive (expensive to me anyway), I did get a tad anxious about visiting. The usual, what do I wear? Will I fit in? Will it look super obvious that I don't usually visit places like this? So I was pretty nervous about going.
My Dad and myself arrived at reception. I walked on over to ask where we go. A very nice man behind reception walked us to the lift that goes directly to floor 23 and wished us a good day.
Once on level 23, Cloud 23, we were again greeted by another lovely man who took our names and gave us a few options of where we would like to sit. It was nice being given the choice of view. He handed us the menu for the Afternoon Tea options and left us to it.
It was pretty simple. We had 2 options, the Traditional Afternoon Tea or the Champagne one. Given I can no longer handle even one glass of bubbly since having my youngest son, we opted for the traditional.
The view was amazing, I don't think anyone can argue with that. I think the majority of the world looks pretty great from high up.
As predicted my Dad soon pulled his camera out and started taking pictures. He was in his element.
Our Afternoon Tea was brought to the table by a very friendly waiter, he went through each tier and explained what we were having. The tea was pretty nice too.
The next 2 hours were as expected, talking, taking pictures, sipping tea and nibbling on our food. Over all it was a great day and a nice experience. My Dad was happy and to be honest that's all I wanted.
Unfortunately I'm now going to get to the harsh but honest bits of the day.
Traditional Afternoon Tea at this particular Hilton was priced at £23 each (correct price on 18/04/2016) This did include unlimited hot drinks, there were different types of tea on offer, coffee and also regular hot chocolate and white hot chocolate.
We received a selection of sandwiches -tuna, ham, cucumber & cream cheese, roasted pepper and a mushroom pastry, these were on the middle tier.
Bottom tier - jam, fruit scones and clotted cream.
Top tier - a rocky road dessert, a raspberry trifle and a banana bread.
I'm going to sound super mean now but I am being honest. The sandwiches were simple but nice, although the mushroom pastry did seem stale. The scones were lovely, I don't like fruit scones but I picked out the fruit and ate them. Super yummy. The rocky road dessert I didn't try as I found a hair in it when I went to snap a bit off. The trifle was yummy but definitely could not of eaten a bigger one. Last but not least the banana bread was to die for. It was delicious and I'd love the recipe!
The staff were so friendly, made us feel welcome and comfortable. They were happy to help and always provided us with a smile. I believe nice staff really make the difference whenever you go anywhere. Many times I have been somewhere and hated the food but because the staff were wonderful always left a nice tip.
Speaking of tips! They did add a service charge. In the UK it is not common practice to add a service charge anywhere, unless there are more than 6 people dining. So I was not impressed when I went to pay the bill and it had been added to it although there were only 2 of us.
Although I am far from rich, I am always generous with tips, if, someone provides great service and I've had a nice experience. Even though majority of people do not tip in the UK I nearly always do.
I bet you were wondering now why I'm complaining about a service charge when I tip anyway?
Well, it really annoyed me simply for the fact they have put a price on their service. Surely I should decide how much I think their service was worth? I don't know why they do this at this hotel but I wasn't happy. Is it because most people who eat or drink there are rich but tight with their money? Or is it simply just random Hilton policy?
If anyone is reading this and now wondering what the service charge was, it was 10%.
I may have missed the note about this charge when booking but for the record I'd of tipped more than the 10% but expecting the tip just annoyed me and if I'm honest ruined it a little bit.
Conclusion...
It was a wonderful experience, the staff were awesome, you definitely are paying for the view not the food and the service charge annoyed me.
Would I go again? Probably not.
Did I regret going? Not at all, just to see that view does make it worth going at least once and my Dad had a great time so over all I was a happy girly!
Not the most exciting blog post but it was an experience I wanted to share and also review. Thanks for reading and now I'm off to make myself a cup of tea ;)
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