AttractionsGifts

Buyagift The View from the Shard with Luxury Afternoon Tea for Two Review

ShardTeaThe View from the Shard with Luxury Afternoon Tea for Two

www.buyagift.co.uk

Reviewed by Amanda Hayes

Our Buyagift vouchers for The View from The Shard with Luxury Afternoon Tea for Two in London arrived in a lovely little tin around the size of a CD and looked the perfect gift.

Inside our gift tin was a 2 page leaflet describing the experience we had received, the terms and conditions on one side and a gift card style plastic voucher on the other side. It was a little confusing as the paperwork stated that there should be two vouchers and there was only one gift card so we were unsure if we had everything that we needed. We noted the card had a chip in it though so assumed they would scan it at both places.

The instructions in the box are very clear, they describe how to activate your voucher and how to book. I just typed in the voucher code and pin number provided in the Smartbox into the Buyagift website and it brings up a more detailed description of the experience on offer. I wrongly assumed that the afternoon tea was at The Shard itself but it’s at a choice of 7 separate locations across London.  The locations were listed out and most were in hotels but there is also the choice of Searcys Champagne bars. On closer inspection there was only one very close to The Shard, Hotel Chocolat at Borough Market, but is is only open for afternoon tea Fridays & Saturdays and gets very booked up. We decided to take tea at Ambassadors Bloomsbury as its near St Pancras Station where we would be arriving, then travel across London to The Shard and go home via London Bridge, hence showing my 3 year old son some sights on the way. I phoned Ambassadors at short notice to book and they were really accommodating and sounded very friendly, we booked for 3pm hoping to then get to The Shard as the sun went down as my son loves to see the twinkling night lights.

The following day we arrived at Ambassadors Bloomsbury, which is a short walk from Euston or St Pancras stations, to a friendly welcome and they quickly changed a table for two to accommodate my son and seated us by the window. The restaurant was just the right side of full and as such had a lovely ambience about it. There is a menu on the table with a very good selection of teas to choose from but it took a long time for anyone to take our order, but as soon as the order was taken the tea and food came out very quickly. There was a selection of sandwiches, beef, cucumber, egg and smoked salmon, scones with two flavours of jam and clotted cream, two macaroons and 3 other types of pastries. They were all very tasty but we all felt the sweets overpowered the sandwiches a little and more balance towards savoury would have pleased our palette more. If you have a sweet tooth though you would be in your element. The service throughout was excellent. The waiting staff were attentive and very friendly, providing more drinks quickly and efficiently. On arrival, I had given one of the members of staff the BuyaGift gift card and assuming I needed it I asked for it to be returned on completion of the afternoon tea. This was done with a smile and an explanation that yes, we would need to take it to The Shard and have it scanned which put our mind at rest.

You cannot book The Shard in advance with the voucher so after a relaxing afternoon tea where we didn’t feel at all rushed we headed over expecting to wait a long time. We arrived around 4pm which must have been the perfect time as there was hardly any queue. We passed over the voucher at the ticket desk and they quickly exchanged it for two adult tickets. Luckily it was five days until my son is 4 years old as the price then goes from zero at 3 to £24.95 at age 4 which did seem a very big jump. I was expecting a much greater discount for such a small child. Before entering the elevators that take you up to floor 69 you have to go through security checks as you do at the airport. You need to remove coats and belts and scan your bags. It definitely made us feel more secure and didn’t take too long. We then transferred down a corridor, via a booth where you have your photo taken, they are for sale when you return back to the lobby after your visit, and then into a lift up to floor 33. You then transfer to another lift to floor 69. Level 69 is the internal viewing gallery which as expected was very busy but we found plenty of places to get to the front and look at the amazing view. Luckily the rain that we had in the morning had cleared so we had a clear view over all the famous landmarks, St Paul Cathedral, HMS Belfast, and Tower Bridge to name just a few. We then headed up to level 72, the skydeck, what a change in temperature. The roof is open to the elements in places so you can feel the biting cold but are shielded from the wind. Up at Level 72 it was much quieter and the views are better so it was definitely worth the two flights of stairs. There is a small champagne bar up there and a bar selling snacks and hot drinks, there were certainly plenty of people partaking in a glass of champagne whilst they took in the view. After a good look round we descended back to floor 69 to get the lift back down where we found a much bigger queue to get down than there was to get up. Luckily it was reducing fairly quickly so didn’t take too long but I could imagine at peak times you could have a long wait. Once in the lift we were back in the lobby in no time and realising our return train was due in ten minutes we gave the photos and shop a miss and made the quick two minute hop to London Bridge station for our return journey, tired but with full tummies.

We had a really enjoyable day out on the View from The Shard with Luxury Afternoon Tea for Two package and although it doesn’t offer a massive saving from buying tea and The Shard tickets direct, it does make a lovely gift for a special occasion. It would be lovely for a couple celebrating an anniversary for example.

This is a gift package that I will be definitely be recommending to friends and family for those hard to buy for special occasions (especially with Valentine’s Day approaching).

Rating: 4.5/5

Price: £99 (was £123.90)

Available to buy from Buyagift here.

4 half Star

Show More
Back to top button