High Tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel
Cape Town’s Favourite Afternoon Treat is Good Value for Tourists
Sep 13, 2008
Situated at the top end of Cape Town's Company Gardens, the Mount Nelson’s central location makes it an easy outing for visitors looking to experience the luxuries of old world colonial style.
Things To Do in Cape Town
Tourists to Cape Town looking for a value for money afternoon in beautiful surroundings should not miss High Tea at the historic Mount Nelson Hotel in Gardens.
The Mount Nelson Hotel was Built to Service Luxury Liners
Back in 1899, shipping magnate Sir Donald Currie built the Mount Nelson to accommodate wealthy travellers who sailed to the Cape on luxury liners. He ordered everything to equal – or even surpass - the luxurious standards of London’s finest hotels.
Favourite Haunt of Celebrities and Movie Stars
Bought in 1988 by the Orient-Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises, the Mount Nelson has retained its discreet and elegant colonial atmosphere. It’s the favourite place to stay for movie stars and celebrities visiting Cape Town, with its luxury suites, and beautiful gardens set on the slopes of Table Mountain.
Conde Nast Europe’s ‘Best High Tea in the World’
Afternoon tea is open to the public. Booking is essential as the High Tea is very popular with hotel guests, tourists and locals celebrating special birthdays or anniversaries. It is served every afternoon from 2.30–5.30 in the formal lounge, terrace, or in the garden around the Lord Kitchener fountain. A pianist provides background music while waitresses hover discreetly, waiting to whisk away dirty plates and refill cups.
Forty Different Kinds of Tea
The beverage menu contains a range of 40 different kinds of loose-leaf tea, from Earl Grey and Lapsang Souchong to South African speciality Rooibos, known for its anti oxidant properties.
Best Restaurants in Cape Town
The Mount Nelson boasts one of the best restaurants in Cape Town, and the pastry chefs excel at the tea menu. An enormous table is laid out with a help-yourself buffet of salmon and cucumber sandwiches, mini quiches, cheeses, scones - and that’s just the savoury side.
Round the corner, and a range of delicious cakes is laid out on cake stands, silver trays carry rows of bite size tea cakes for those who want to try a bit of everything, and, in winter, traditional Cape puddings wait for those who want something warm. Homemade fudges, coconut ice, and meringues tempt the sweet tooth, and chocolate profiteroles spiral in creamy towers, begging visitors to spoil their symmetry.
Good Value for Tourists
Because the rand is weak in relation to overseas currencies, the High Tea is exceptionally good value for tourists. Visitors are advised to arrive early. Once settled in the comfortable linen sofas and armchairs, enjoying the three times awarded Conde Nast Europe ‘Best High Tea in the World,’ it is very hard to leave behind the relaxed and pampered world of the super-rich.
Phone 021 483 1948 to book.
Adams Cottage, in Harfield Village, in Cape Town's Southern Suburbs is a comfortable, well equipped self catering cottage ideal for tourists and holiday makers.
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