The Lounges at Eastwell Manor

Review summary

1. D

   DEE

   Kent

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   Had booked Eastwell Manor for afternoon tea at 2pm and arrived on time, but no staff member knew what was going on. Left to sit in reception for over 30 minutes before getting to our table! Waitress asked us what we wanted even though we had booked traditional afternoon tea! Manor house is nice but room tea was served in is poor, random low seating/sofas and coffee tables to eat from. Also random side tables with no tablecloths alongside which they put the afternoon tea on. Food was very skimpy and poor. We received our tea and had finished drinking it before our food arrived, only 4 finger sandwiches per person with boring fillings for the price paid. i.e cheese and pickle, egg etc. The scones were OK but one tiny pot of cream and jam for the 4 scones!! Assortment of cakes was OK but nothing special. Having experienced many afternoon teas including London Ritz and Claridges, various hotels around the country and local garden centres, I can honestly say that this was the worst we have ever had!! It is totally overpriced at £34 per head, and was shocked to find they then added a 10% service charge making the total £74.80. I have never had a service charge added on to an afternoon tea. Even the top London hotels do not do this!! Certainly would never go to a Champneys hotel for afternoon tea again and will put it down to a bad experience.
   

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2. l

   lauren

   Kent

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 4 days ago

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

   Very slow service. Food was good. Got forgotten about when we got seated. We ordered pur tea and then disnt receive it. The lady said she forgotten us. Good start.
   

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3. D

   David

   Kent

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 19, 2024

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

   All was good except the scones which to be honest were very poor for a place like Eastwell Manor, the service was good, even the staff were apologetic for the scones. To be fair I was only charged half price
   

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4. J

   Jo

   London

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 18, 2024

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

   Service was poor, had to get up 3 times to find staff. Ordered a bottle of champagne and charged the equivalent of 30% more compared to a glass with afternoon tea. Sandwiches were bland and didn't have all fillings. Given wrong tea so had to be replaced along with all cups. This was for our mum's birthday and was very disappointing.
   

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5. K

   Kathy

   Kent

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 14, 2024

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

   The setting is the draw. One can get better value and quality in many other locations. Champeneys have commercialised cream teas. Before they took over cream teas at Eastwell Manor were very much customisable. One could swap sandwiches with cake for instance. Now they are rigid. If you don't like it hard luck. We were disappointed the last time we visited and this trio was no different. If you are not in a position to compare to the pre Champeneys era then you may have a different view point. Compare it with other offerings and I'm sure it will rank very average.
   

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6. E

   Emma

   Kent

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 14, 2024

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

   Absolutely lovely afternoon tea in a beautiful setting. The Christmas decorations are beautiful and the panelled lounge is a delightful setting for an elegant afternoon tea. Would highly recommend.
   

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7. J

   John

   Kent

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 13, 2024

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

   Great Location, very impressive surroundings, worth a visit
   

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8. V

   Vanessa

   Kent

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 11, 2024

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

   Having had afternoon tea at Eastwell many times, this was by far the most disappointing experience. Seated in the coffee lounge rather than the dining room, trying to reach the table from a sofa is not easy when administering scones with jam and cream! (The jam and cream was in short supply for 3 people and we got fed up waiting for a further supply.) The most disappointing aspect was the gluten free tea provided. Four small sandwiches, a small slice of carrot (?) cake and a muffin! Really, is that the best that could be offered? And at the same price as the usual tea. When asking for another pot of tea, the same pot was refilled with hot water producing an extremely weak brew. The staff made no attempt to ask how things were and it was difficult to catch anyone’s attention to ask for anything - like four teaspoons for the cups and saucers! The fire was just alight when we arrived but went out quite quickly, no one attempted to keep it going. Eastwell Manor is in a beautiful setting and is nicely kept. The Christmas decorations were stunning as usual. It is just a shame that the afternoon tea was a letdown as we had really been looking forward to it.
   

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9. M

   Mike

   Kent

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 6, 2024

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

   Wonderful setting, really good service, the young lady was very helpful very informative. Afternoon tea was excellent, food was very nice.
   

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10. I

    Iain

    Kent

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on November 28, 2024

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

    Arrived early and seated quickly - the server was lovely - very polite and quick Nice setting especially on sunny day and Christmas decorations looked great Food very good
    

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