Willard Intercontinental Hotel - Afternoon tea

Willard Intercontinental, Washington, DC, December 2013

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Willard Intercontinental is a beautiful, historic hotel, located in Washington, DC on Pennsylvania Avenue, a few blocks from the White House.  Two friends and I went for the holiday afternoon tea in late December.  Overall, we thought it was outstanding.  The only reason we didn’t give it 5 stars was because the service was spotty.   

Atmosphere.  It’s hard to beat the elegant atmosphere at the Willard Hotel, with its spectacular marble pillars, high ceilings, and chandeliers.  The hotel is especially pretty in December during the holidays, when it is filled with lights, poinsettias, and a large decorated tree in the lobby.  This year, they also had a wonderful, large gingerbread house of the U.S. Capitol.

The tea service is held in “Peacock Alley,” a long hallway that runs through the lobby level of the hotel.  Small tables with white linen tablecloths and comfortable chairs and couches line both sides of the hallway, allowing for intimate conversations.  The downside is that, because Peacock Alley is one of the hotel’s main hallways, there is a steady stream of people walking past you while you are having tea.  All this activity was a little distracting and made it a less peaceful environment.  Despite this, the sound level for talking was fine, and the background music played by a harpist during the tea buffered much of the external noise.

Tea/Food Quality.  The tea and food were terrific.  Guests can choose from several different types of loose tea.  We ordered the Earl Grey, the custom Willard-blend, and Chamomile.  Assorted tea sandwiches were listed on the menu, and the staff was very accommodating about letting us make substitutions.  They also said they could make us vegetarian sandwiches, but we didn’t take them up on this offer.  We tried the following sandwiches: chicken salad (everyone’s favorite); salmon (very good); goat cheese and caviar (needed more cheese); and cucumber (too plain).   

The scones were the real winners.  We received two kinds (cranberry and nutmeg), and we all thought they were the BEST scones we’ve had in a long time -- perfect texture (not too dry), and accompanied by crème fraiche, lemon curd, and jams.  The bite-sized desserts were good, too, including crème brûlée (really good), pumpkin tart, peppermint profiterole, and a gingerbread cookie.  The chocolate crème log was just so-so.  

Service.  Here is where they fell short.  The staff took a long time to take our order, which was understandable because it was crowded.  However, there was little follow-up after we were served.  When our desserts arrived, there was not enough room for all of them on the three-tiered plate stand, and we were told that we would receive the remainder of our order on another plate.  We gave up waiting for the additional dessert plate (we were there almost two hours), and it arrived right before we received our check.  We ended up taking them home.

Cost.  It was $48 per person for afternoon tea service, and an additional charge for a glass of champagne.  This is expensive, but in range of afternoon tea services at other similar hotels.

Would we go again?  Absolutely.  The Willard Hotel tea is in a beautiful environment and the food is excellent.