The St Regis DC - Afternoon tea

Review summary

1. J

   Jennifer

   VIP

   New York City

   28 reviews

   2.0

   28 reviews

   Dined on 2 February 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   This tea for two ended up costing me close to $340 with tip. For four pre-made tea sandwiches on stale toast and a variety of mini-pastries that tasted like they were defrosted that morning after spending a while in a freezer. Tasteless. The place was lovely, but super disorganized with no one to receive you when checking in for tea. My party of two ended up ordering a wine and iced tea from the bar while we waited. I think I accidentally tipped 25% on the check on top of service being included because I cannot figure out how I spent $350 on a paltry variety of sad sandwiches and pastries. Insanity!
   

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2. J

   Jennifer

   VIP

   Washington DC

   17 reviews

   5.0

   17 reviews

   Dined on 26 January 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We do this tea every year and it's fantastic! The service is fantastic and the food and tea are delicious! They are great with food allergies as well! Highly recommend to celebrate a special occasion!
   

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3. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Washington DC

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on 23 January 2025

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 1

   This used to be the most beautiful hotel in the city of Washington. I arrived , couldnt pull in to the front entrance becausee of black lives matter plaza and eventually found street parking. I walked in and met my friend and we were seated at the entrance. In the middle of our tea a homeless person wandered to our table and wouldn’t leave. He came back again and then we stood up and moved tables. then the bill came and it was triple the cost that anyone would expect for tea. No one had explained the menu and no one apologized for allowing a homeless person to sit with us. It was the worst experience in my lifetime of living in Washington.
   

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4. C

   Claudia

   Washington DC

   2 reviews

   4.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 17 January 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We were treated with incredible kindness and thoughtfulness for our granddaughters who are picky eaters. But I must say that the cost of the tea service was extreme, even for Washington DC. I have lived in the city and in NYC for a very long time and I was startled by the pricing. But we were treat3ed beautifully!
   

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5. J

   John

   VIP

   Dallas

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on 10 January 2025

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Wow. Just wow. Went there once and had a great time with great service and ambiance. It was so good I wanted to come back with my daughter. (We've been to a number of afternoon teas) The second time was nothing like this. I went with my daughter, and it was unbelievable. Jammed in a corner with sun in our faces, we were basically ignored the entire time. Also, we were seated 10 feet away from the conference table for a funeral, which was super awkward. Food and service took forever, and even after I spoke with the manager, we were still ignored. I had to chase down the server to get my check after waiting forever. The manager took 20% off the bill, but it didn't make up for the lousy experience. The experience was so bad I don't even want to stay at the hotel anymore as I don't want to be reminded of it.
   

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6. A

   Anthony

   VIP

   Washington DC

   5 reviews

   4.0

   5 reviews

   Dined on 1 January 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   At $120 a person without a tip, this was a treat for me and my family. I'd only booked it because I had seen that the experience also came with a white house ornament and I was disappointed to see that they no longer include this as a benefit. Moreover, they seated our group right by the main entrance to the hotel, which would be fine had it not been winter and being met with a rush of frigid air every single time someone entered or left the hotel (which happened without fail at least 1-2 times every five minutes). A member of our group even wore her heavy winter coat the entire time because it was so cold where we were seated. Finally, at times the wait staff was nowhere to be found, so there were a handful of times throughout the evening when I needed new silverware or waters and had to wait an unusually long amount of time. The space is stunning but this is absolutely not worth the expense or the physical discomfort and inattentive service.
   

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7. H

   Heather

   Washington DC

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on 27 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 4

   This was the worst $560 I've ever spent in my life. Mediocre food and pretty terrible service. Lovely old hotel, but paying that much for dry scones and tea for 4 people made me feel like a sucker.
   

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8. B

   Brooke

   VIP

   Washington DC

   12 reviews

   4.0

   12 reviews

   Dined on 25 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   Really nice tea experience with great food and sweets. The only complaint I have is that it’s in the hotel lobby so half the time there were guests standing around our table waiting to be checked in…not quite the ambiance you want for something that’s over $100 a person. But the lobby itself was gorgeous so do what that what you please
   

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9. J

   Joshua

   Los Angeles

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 25 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 2

   The single most disappointing afternoon tea service I’ve ever had, mostly because of the incredibly steep price point ($120). It comes with 4 savory bites, but there’s nothing special or interesting or creative about those bites. It's probably just my preference, but I didn't like that the cucumber sandwich was filled with asparagus. This added a heaviness and earthiness to something that's meant to be light. The cucumber was very much overpowered.The Christmas sweets were cute but sorely disappointing, again given the $120 price tag. One of the sweets is a sugar cookie, which is fair given it’s a Christmas staple, but I think some of the other sweets should’ve made up for that one’s simplicity. The rest of the sweets consisted of a cupcake, a cream puff, and chocolate mousse. There’s no way these even remotely warranted a $120 price tag. I’ve been to several afternoon tea services at various resorts and hotels around the country (and at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC), and this was easily the most disappointing one. On top of that, maybe it’s just my preference, but I enjoy steeping my tea myself. I also prefer steeping loose tea rather than tea bags. However, they serve the tea pre-steeped. I like making my tea super bitter and dark and looking at the loose leaves. I was disappointed that they took this entire part of tea consumption out of my hands by serving tea kettles with only tea inside. The vibe in the lobby was cute, but there was very little going in terms of ambience. I believe they might’ve been playing live jazz, but it was only playing in the ballroom for the brunch patrons. We, afternoon tea folks, were only left with echoes of music traveling from the ballroom through to the opposite side of the lobby. Again, there’s a thoughtlessness to the experience here. The service was excellent, but I told them it was my birthday and they didn’t do anything special. The table next to me was offered free champagne, but not me. Wouldn't recommend
   

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10. C

    Chris

    Washington DC

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 24 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Great time for afternoon tea. Food and service were both very good. If it is cold out, recommend getting a spot away from the door, it can be drafty. Looking forward to coming back for drinks and dinner.
    

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