When an invitation to attend afternoon tea arrives at the offices, mine is the first hand in the air. On this occasion, I was fortunate to get the chance to visit the Laura Ashley decorated Tearoom, located in the Burnham Beeches Hotel.
Burnham Beeches is near Slough and Windsor, just off the M4, so it is very easy to reach from London or the South and West of England. Located on large country grounds, this 18th-century Georgian manor house is surrounded by trees, bushes, and flowers.
It is part of the Corus group, which has a number of its Hotels decorated throughout by Laura Ashley’s designers. Burnham Beeches is the third hotel in the group to have this redecoration.
Back to the afternoon tea and eating. We were greeted by the Restaurant Manager, Fernando, who was so helpful and professional. He sat us at our table, made sure we liked the position, and then took care of any of our requirements.
The whole room is beautifully decorated and furnished, and the tables are dressed immaculately with Laura Ashley plates, glasses and cutlery. Very elegant and luxurious.
Fernando explained the menu along with a choice of wines which can be added to the standard afternoon tea for an extra cost. The Hotel changes the menu and wines seasonally and also monthly to keep it fresh and to allow frequent visitors to experience new options each time they attend.
He took our drinks order from the large options list of hot drinks, especially varieties of teas. We then scanned the menu and started to get hungry.
The standard tea is £24 per person and includes sweet and savoury treats. Fernando suddenly appeared at the table with an English sparkling wine for my mother and me. He said we deserved a little extra treat. Very nice.
For our menu selection, we had a selection of sandwiches, on a variety of bread, which include Loch Duart smoked salmon on rye, Wiltshire ham on onion, and Montgomery cheddar on tomato.
The Hattingley Valley sparkling wine was going down well when our hot drinks arrived. Large clear teapots with piping hot tea inside. Just what we wanted.
We got through the sandwiches and contemplated what we tucked into next. Would it be the scones or the fancy cakes? Fancy cakes it was.
They were delicious, and you will see from the pictures, beautifully created. You get four each, which is a good number and proves too many to eat in one sitting. A takeaway box was ordered to allow us to enjoy the cakes later that day.
The two scones each also proved a match for us, so we saved one each, too. The Hotel has its own Laura Ashley takeaway boxes, so I would assume many others are defeated by the generous amount of food served.
Drinking our tea at leisure and taking in the lovely room, our hot drinks were refreshed regularly, and we were encouraged to relax.
After about an hour and a half, we had to leave, or I think we would have stayed a lot longer. We departed with our takeaway box and full stomachs.
I really enjoyed the experience and would recommend the Tearoom and a visit to the Hotel. It offers great value for money, and the staff are superb. You will have a lovely day out.
Burnham Beeches’ – where and how
Grove Road, Burnham, Slough, UK, SL1 8DP
Tel: +44 (0)16 2842 9955