the drawing rooms - the ampersand hotel

being aâ londonerâ i don't usually get to stay in a london hotel, so when i was invited to take a look at some of theroomsat the ampersand hotel in london, i was pretty chuffed. like the rest of the hotel, allroomshave a theme that reflects everything kensington borough has to offer. for those of you not in the know: there a loads of museums in the area, such as the science museum, the victoria and albert museum and the natural history museum. also the royal albert hall is a short stroll away from the ampersand hotel. all of these famous london landmarks are represented in the hotel's decor.

one thing i've surely embraced since moving to the uk is afternoon tea and last week i was invited to try out this utterly english tradition at the drawing rooms. the drawingroomsis the tea room at the fairly recently opened ampersand hotel in the heart of kensington, and i couldn't think of a cheerier spot to indulge in tea, finger sandwiches and scones.

quite a small place, tastefully decorated with excellent service. went to have afternoon tea with a few friends for my birthday and it was all rather pleasant. the sandwiches and pastries themselves are good, the coffee is great. the science afternoon tea is a treat with the liquid nitrogen - who doesn't love a bit of ln2?

it won't be the best afternoon tea you will experience, you can pay a bit extra and go to one of the fancier hotels for that sort of experience, but the drawingroomsdoes not disappoint. the service really helps to make it a special place.

what. a. delight. the hotel is only inches away from south ken station and teas are served in the drawing rooms. theroomsare a quirky wonder, prints of zoo animals peering out from cocktail glasses, mix of vintage and contemporary furniture, relaxed and funky, not an ounce of stuffiness in sight.

i think it may well be one of the coolest hotels i've ever seen! we plumped for both the standard & xmas teas - a festive twist on the afternoon tea meant the usual tea included savoury gougeres, white choc scones & mince pies in the mix.

the gougeres and tartines were soft, melt-in-the-mouth taste explosions, the scones soft with lashings of jam & cream and the desserts, well the desserts were too many to get through!

for under £20 each and for the volume of food we had, this was a steal! my verdict: grab a friend, grab a lot of friends and check it out.

i was lucky enough to win a champagne afternoon tea at the ampersand hotel, kensington in a competition i entered through afternoon tea online  who kindly organised our visit.  the hotel has offered afternoon tea since opening only last  august  and i invited my mother to join me for the experience. and what an experience it was!  the hotel receptionist pointed us in the right direction towards the drawingroomswhere we were warmly welcomed. this room is lovely and light with ‘wacky’ bright paintings on the wall, large-print wallpaper, bird-patterned and stripy armchairs, comfy sofas and cushions. the room had a nice relaxed feel to it. we were shown to our seats, although if we wanted to sit somewhere else this wasn’t a problem as it wasn’t busy. we were lucky to be seated in front of the fire which was nice and cosy as there was still snow on the ground outside. once sat on the large sofa,  we were served with a glass of  moët  champagne before ordering afternoo

what. a. delight. the hotel is only inches away from south ken station and teas are served in the drawing rooms. theroomsare a quirky wonder, prints of zoo animals peering out from cocktail glasses, mix of vintage and contemporary furniture, relaxed and funky, not an ounce of stuffiness in sight.