The Berkeley

Went here for an afternoon-​tea. It was okay. They have an interesting theme — which is high fashion of the season and they make pastry to resemble them. However, taste-​wise it was pretty average — a little bit too sweet and on the heavy side.

The best and certainly, most creative afternoon tea in London! Pret-​a-​Portea is everything afternoon tea in such a fashion forward city like this should be.
The Berkeley is everything you’d expect from a high-​class hotel, beautiful lobby entrance with friendly door men to welcome you. The staff are smartly outfitted and even if you can’t afford to be a guest in one of the rooms, you are treated exactly as if you were.
The dining room itself is beautifully furnished, with plush seating and high backed sofas for larger groups and the staff are extremely attentive and will go above and beyond to make sure you have a unforgettable experience.
The afternoon tea itself change each fashion season — Autumn/​Winter to Spring/​Summer collections are used as inspiration for the various cakes, mouses and treats on offer. We’ve visited a few times and eaten everything from green tea Chanel handbags, chocolate Stella McCartney boot shaped biscuits to Valentino gown inspired mouse. Everyone being as delicious as the next!
The presentation is beautiful, the drinks selection is wide and varied and all refillable at no extra cost — aside from the champagne. The plates of your afternoon cakes and savories are also refillable, and the staff will be on hand to ask if you’d like it refreshed once a plate it empty. Which I find excellent value for money — considering how beautifully crafted everything is and the amount of time you could sit and indulge yourself! Whatever you can’t manage to finish will be placed in cute little take out boxes for you to take home.
Be warned, the waiting list is months long to get yourself a table here but you won’t regret it! It’s an experience you’ll be hard pushed to ever beat.

Five stars. Impeccable service in The Blue Bar. A friend of mine recommended this bar because I only had one night to spare in town so I checked it out alone! There were two gentlemen working on a Tuesday night. I can’t remember their names but one was from Italy and another had dark hair as well, they were lovely. Drinks are fabulous and well-​made as well. I will be back.

Pretty disappointing experience and not what I would expect from a high end hotel in Knightsbridge.
I would describe myself as an Afternoon Tea aficionado and have been to the major players but had always wondered about The Berkeley so when a good friend suggested for us to celebrate our birthdays here, I jumped at the chance!
We were greeted in a lovely manner and one you might expect at such a place and seated quickly but then everything seemed to go downhill. It literally took over ten minutes for the waitress to come and take our order to the extent where we had to get their attention and another waitress actually really abruptly said yes in a minute madam! We were shocked to say the least! When our waitress finally came to take our order, we really struggled to understand her as her English was very bad and she spoke very quickly.
The Afternoon Tea itself was nice but not amazing and it was odd that a lot of the desserts/​cakes came alone so we had to share these and after doing so, another waitress came along and asked if we wanted more of anything! Why didn’t they just make this clear in the first place. The good thing is, they weren’t tight with the sandwiches and we loved the salmon, prawn and egg ones, not keen on the chicken one. Though quite how we ended up with a chicken one we were sure as my friend had asked the waitress for a veggie variety!
I wouldn’t return to The Berkeley but I’m glad I experienced it and can tick it off my list. Another issue we had was how dressed down a lot of people there, especially tourists, seemed to be which was disappointing too.
Conveniently close to Hyde Park and Knightsbridge for the tube and buses and a nice walk (especially to walk off those cakes and sandwiches but not a good idea after drinking far too much tea!)

This is a great hotel near Hyde Park. Very good service, clean modern rooms, plenty of US electrical outlets in various places in the room, solid shower (angled with good pressure and consistent temperature – not a rainshower head at least in my room). Maybe a tad on the dark side if you wanted to do a lot of work there but thats a nitpick – few hotels especially in Europe have well lit desk areas where you can really get a lot of work done. Would definitely stay there again

I love their Pret a Portea! Make sure to book a table for afternoon tea in advance as it’s pretty crowded on the weekend.
The variety of food and tea they have was plenty and the service was superb! They accommodated dietary restrictions in choosing finger sandwiches. They had some interesting fruit tea like Gorgeous Ginger and Pomelo & Melon tea where they had small chunks of candied ginger and fruits in the tea. And of course, fashion designer-​inspired desserts were so cute :)
What made it amazing was that they kept bringing food and tea until we said «no more.» They also packed the leftover dessert in a colorful box to take home (which we enjoyed the next day).
They even brought a special plate with fruits and chocolate to celebrate our anniversary. We felt spoiled!
I’d recommend afternoon tea at The Berkeley to anyone visiting London.

Love love love the Berkeley.
The fashionista tea alone is reason to come to Kensington. The only downside is that it’s sooo hard to make a reservation, which is obviously because it’s so popular. If you have it in your budget and you love afternoon tea, the Berkeley is one of the best in London.

Most definitely worthy of its five stars — five stars for a five star rating hotel.
My friend and I had fashion high tea booked here for the afternoon, and after arriving early we were shown to the powder room to freshen up.
The fashion afternoon tea was a real treat, and if you are thinking of coming here it does get booked up months in advance due to its popularity so book early!
We were greeted with a menu along with another booklet that explained what each of the items were and how the fashion collection for this season inspired the items we were going to eat.
The waiter was fabulous explaining each of the items on the tiered plates, and replenishing all items when they disappeared. I also had a glass of the house champagne which was recommended to me.
The sandwiches were delicious, with filings served on different breads and the cakes and cookies were divine.
A fabulous experience that I would repeat again :)

I am reviewing the outdoor swimming pool at the hotel spa (have not been fortunate enough to stay in the Berkeley) and the afternoon area
Starting with the spa– it is fairly easy to book a day pass (£150/​person) to use the spa, the gym and the outdoor pool
On a day as hot as today I decided to go check the pool out and pretend to be away on holiday (till the actual trip happens) two things strike me at first: how clean the pool area is and how relatively small it was — I arrived at 11:30 and could hardly find any sun lounger to lay on
But later in the day people seem to leave the pool so I was able to move to a prime (sunny) location
All I can say is I had a great day– swimming, tanning, eating, drinking, watching YouTube videos, reading
Everything was perfect at the Berkeley
The afternoon tea was hard to book but it happened eventually and we tried (mother, sisters and myself) the Pret-​a-​portea experience which is to anyone into fashion is magnificent — we ate a Prada bag, Gucci boots and DVF wrap dress biscuit
You can have excellent afternoon tea in so many hotels in London but only at the Berkeley is where you can get the wow factor with your tea

The pret a portea was so cute! I love that the collections change with what’s in season. The desserts shaped as shoes, bags and dresses were so detailed and pretty that we had a hard time eating them. Thankfully they were not only cute but also tasted great.
I came here with 4 girlfriends and we had such a fun time. It’s more lighthearted than the traditional afternoon tea experience (like at the Dorchester — which was also excellent). Also, I was a bit surprised that there were so many couples in here, Looks like it would be a great date spot!

Pret a Portea here is adorable! From the Paul Smith chinaware to the fluorescent colored desserts and the takeaway boxes of dessert, The Berkeley really makes an effort to create a one of a kind afternoon tea escapade. Because it is very popular, book at least a few weeks in advance.
We asked for the £39 per person afternoon tea (champagne will hike it up to £55), and loved the prawn and olive, the cucumber and cheese, the salmon, and egg salad sandwiches. Since I’m not the biggest fan of scones, I was relieved to see they had been replaced by little savory Hors d’oeuvres– gelatinous miniature cubes of meat and tiny tarts filled with cheese.
The obvious showstoppers were the amazingly delicate desserts: neon orange mousse, delicate macarons, fondant YSL inspired cakes, gingerbread cookies in the shape of stilettos, light chocolate sponge. And all the cuter, they make sure they send you away with a takeaway box of cakes.
It’s definitely a place to go with the girls or a begrudged boyfriend!

When I read the reviews for Pret O Portea, I got really excited and immediately tried to book a reservation. Finding out about it a little late, I tried only about 1 month a head of time and I guess I got lucky because found one date for the period that my wife and I were going to be in London.
This is definitely a bourgeoisie experience at a high end hotel with a high end afternoon tea experience. The pastries/​desserts were definitely delicious and cleverly designed to match current runway outfits from major designers. The food was unlimited (we got a nice «purse» doggy bag with some cookies and other desserts to go) and so was the tea (which was excellent, too bad we couldn’t get that to go!)
Overall, it was a fun experience, but VERY expensive which I knew in advance, but it kind of put me off to ever going back.

I absolutely HAD to have tea here after watching Giada’s Weekend Getaways and seeing her order the adorable Pret-​a-​Portea set. Got here five minutes before our reservation. Waited about ten minutes before anyone came to see us and seat us. The tea area was nice but a bit more crowded than at the Goring. The service was a little bit slow. The sandwiches were pretty good and the tea set was adorable. The handbag, the shoe, the jacket, it was all gorgeous and tasted wonderful. The savoury spoons were pretty nice too and different from what we’d had at other teas. The china set was brightly coloured and pretty cool looking. We ended up having to leave in a hurry so the server was kind enough to set up some take away boxes (shaped like little handbags) for us with treats inside. Great experience for a unique afternoon tea.

what a special treat!
we booked tea time here almost a month in advance.
we brought the kids to experience a true london tea time, and what a blast they had.
the service was impeccable, and the atmosphere was perfect.
we enjoyed the super amazing desserts, but especially am pleased with the gluten free option (thanks for being progressive!).
i live in california, but will bet you that i’ll come back for tea soon.

Loved this place! Not only do they have excellent services, with really weird outfits for all waiter/​waitresses, the interior design was welcoming and their afternoon tea was very different.
We arrived 15mins early but we didn’t have to wait till our booking was up before being seated down. We had a very long day of shopping so after being seated at these comfortable arm charis with cool air conditioning blasting (it was a very hot Sunday), it made us felt at ease.
We all had the Pret a Portea tea. The sandwhiches were no usual sandwhiches but we could tasted the fillings. To top it up, they had a chicken teriyaki wrap which made it more interesting and different. Our waitress reminded us that we can refill the sandwhiches but we were really looking forward to our cakes.
When it arrive, it wasn’t the typical scones and cupcakes. As it was the summer season, they had lighter desserts such as mousse and biscuilts. It’s theme was a fashion theme and so the mousse it was designed were bassed on different items of clothings, hand bags and shoes. I absolutely love this kind of creativity a chef would put into. The waiter who brought over the 3 tiers dessert also explained each dessert, what they are made of and with an illustration of the actual item of clothing/​bags/​shoes etc
We all had an amazing experience and cannot doubt the services or food. I would highly recommend anyone who enjoys afternoon tea to try it out at The Berkeleys.

«Madonna’s Favorite Hotel in London»
We arrived in London in the morning and when the cabby dropped us off at the Berkeley I knew we had arrived. As you go up the steps through and push through the heavy glass rotating doors, you’re greeted to entrance filled with over 30 vases of fresh flowers.
We followed the doorman over to the front desk. The lobby was full of elite business travellers and women dripping with fashion from all around the world.
Home of the famous Blue Bar, voted the top 50 bars in London.
The balcony from my suite had a beautiful view overlooking Knights Bridge and the lush Hyde Park. If you get a chance, you have to go down for breakfast. It’s one of the best that I’ve had in a hotel for a long time. All the things that you want, the tiny little miniature pickles, (cornichons), chatterie, egg whites, with Spinach, and of course when you’re in London, you have to have some tea. After you read the paper walk across the street to Hyde park for a morning run or a stroll. What a perfect way to start off your day!
If celebrity spotting is one your thing, you’ll definitely run into a few here. I ran into Goldie Hawn on my way in from dinner, as she was casually chatting it up with the hotel staff welcoming her back in her Uggs and designer bags.
Have a wonderful London Holiday…

After a 10 hour flight to London from SFO, the first thing I knew I was doing was having Pret a Portea at the Berkeley Hotel. It looked like the trendiest place to have tea and it was well worth it. Hey, if Victoria Beckham and Madonna like it, then of course it’s got to be good. Or at least fashionable. In fact, at the table next to me two women were reading out of a fashion book with pictures of designer clothing and looking at their autographs. Even their servers are dressed in cute dresses.
I tried their pear caramel tea, a recommendation from the hotel. Thank God they talked me out of just ordering the plain English Breakfast tea! You could smell the tea before it arrived at our table. Their fine china is gorgeous — trendy, modern stripes. When the food comes out, they bring out a little picture showing all the fashion trends and what each item represents.
The sandwiches are good, but the cakes and sweets are almost too pretty to eat. Where else can you say you ate a Zac Posen sponge cake shoe or a Christian Louboutin sparkly shoe? Take lots of pictures! I know it’s cheesy and probably annoying to the table next to you, but it’s something to remember. Not only do they look good, but they taste good, which is important.
Get your money’s worth — eat a lot and keep asking them to refill your plates (they’ll do it anyway since their service is also just as good at the food). The savouries are also delish. Make sure you ask for a box to take the sweets home. It comes in a pretty little box shaped like a purse.

PRET-​A-​PORTER AFTERNOON TEA! One word: Perfect!
If you are a fashion and food lover this is a MUST!
Sadly, I didn’t stay at the hotel. But the afternoon tea is a hidden gem in London! EVERYBODY should go experience this especially if they love tea, little sandwiches, and desserts inspired by fashion.
The tea is great too! I personally enjoyed the fruit-​flavored tea. It is a little on the expensive side but well worth the price because they refill for you.
I would definitely go back again and again and again!
On another note, its also an excuse to dress up. Plus, the service is spot-​on. Everyone is so friendly. We had a server that was such a gentleman and very easy on the eyes too!

Stayed here on business in early September 2010 for three nights. My company’s rate got me a small, traditionally decorated and unrenovated room on the 6^th floor. The wallpaper and drapes had an ornate, dark green fox hunting motif — I kid you not. That was certainly different. The room was clean and comfortable, and had the all-​important flat screen HDTV. The bathroom was a white-​marble wonder, beautifully lit and even had a bidet. The room, while elegant in that odd, British traditional way, could use updating.
The public areas of the hotel are quite elegant and the eastern European women at the front desk are über-​efficient and go out of their way to welcome guests and let them know how to make full use of this first-​class hotel. Next year I will try Claridge’s since we have a good rate there, too, but if it is not available I would be glad to come back to this hotel. Great location near the Knightsbridge tube station, incidentally, but area is overrun with tourists during the day and on the weekends.

I’m not staying here BUT I just got my nails done here, it’s my last day in London — had to do it. AMAZING!!!
If you ever want to get away from the London chaos, come here. The pool upstairs has such a beautiful view, and the echoes of the traffic and bustle is so quiet — it just reminds you of all that you get to leave behind in this little haven.
Service was fantastic, accommodating and just plain lovely. A brilliant way to wrap up my stay here in London! So sad :(