Who ever said afternoon tea couldn’t be rock n’ roll? In honour of the 46th anniversary of David Bowie’s iconic album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’, the K West Hotel & Spa in London has launched a rock n’ roll experience – and we went to check it out.
The experience involves a Glam Rock Afternoon Tea for two followed by a two-hour Rock Cab Tour. You can even get booked into one of the hotel’s Executive Guestrooms (including breakfast) if you want to make a proper splash of it.
The K West is the former home of the BBC Recording Studio Kensington House during the 70s and 80s, and was where a number of iconic stars stayed, played and misbehaved. Former guests include the likes of Bob Marley, The Kinks and, of course, Bowie.
The tables are glammed up with the food trays balancing on the vinyl of a retro briefcase record player (although not spinning!), with the menu printed inside the lid. The plates and teacups are coated in shimmering multicolour and the tea is served to a soundtrack of classic rock.
The food, however, is more traditional, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Highlights included the crab and avocado sandwich (made with basil bread), the rye with blue cheese and grapes sarnie, and the coconut pudding with mango sorbet.
Drinks-wise, our favourite tea blend was called Tea Rex. It smelled like smoked mackerel when you put your nose in it, but it tasted surprisingly sweet. There was also loads of prosecco on offer, so you can booze it up if you so groups can get boozy if they want to (they will).
Once the eating’s done, cab tours for four (or five if they’re happy to sit next to the driver up front) are a really fun extra. With nine stops at various renowned music destinations across town (we especially loved the Rolling Stones’ 1962-63 flat on Edith Grove), it was a jam-packed two hours. No official drinks or snacks were provided, but this is rock and roll, so there’s a BYOB and BYOS (bring your own snacks) policy.
The overnight package costs £315 based on two people sharing, with the option of getting a second bedroom for two at £195 extra. Without the overnight stay, the experience is available at £212 for four people. Both packages are bookable only when requested via phone (020 8008 6600) or on the
website.
Rock on!