Sparkling Afternoon Tea for Two at The Cranley Hotel 10763178

Some issues booking initially (their system was down) but went back to them as other venues on offer in this area all seemed like very dodgy amateur outfits when I tried to book (staff very ill informed and unhelpful and didnt seem like they did afternoon tea very often!). The staff at this venue were happy to help and I got a same day booking on a bank holiday Monday. It's a small hotel. Nicely decorated and sweet but not opulent as some afternoon tea venues. The fizz and afternoon tea was pleasant - tasty and seemed nice and fresh. We sat on the little terrace out front as it was a lovely day and the waiter - who was also covering reception due to a staff shortage - was very helpful and attentive given the circumstances! Was well located for the V&A / Natural History Museum where we were headed after - a 12 min walk. A nice little treat but not an especially 'posh' aftenoon tea experience.

On arrival, the Receptionist pointed towards a room and asked us to take a seat, no escort to a table. The place was deserted, all of the tables and chairs very low and not comfortable for eating at. After a long wait, the waiter appeared and asked what type of tea we would prefer then disappeared for a very long while. Whilst waiting we observed the surroundings, the table cloth and napkins, made of manmade materials and not ironed, strange and coloured pottery plates and water stained/unpolished dinner (not tea) cutlery, cocoa pops on the stained carpet, crumbs from previous customers on the seating and thick dust on the surrounding cabinets etc. The tea arrived in pots that didn't match the crockery on the table, was lukewarm and we had to ask for one of the cups, canteen grade pottery, not china, to be replaced as it was dirty. The food arrived a while later on a tiered serving stand, another complete mismatch to the existing two ranges of crockery already on the table. The waiter didn't ask if we would prefer vegetarian or regular sandwiches, they were mediocre, and not suitable for the vegetarian "Birthday Girl". The scones probably shop bought and microwaved to freshen them up, the cakes were a few slivers of stale shop bought sponges, a hideous joke and not the artisan bakes one would expect from an establishment purporting to offer "Afternoon Tea". The prosecco was the only thing we could look forward to, however, the glasses were not polished and sparkling, but at least it was cold, we needed it by this point, knocked it back in one and left immediately. This experience was paid for in good faith and given as a much appreciated gift but managed to spoil the recipient's Birthday. My advice to BuyaGift.Co is to remove this establishment from your list of "experience providers" as you are failing miserably under the sale of goods act. Furthermore, the full purchase price and compensation should be paid to the purchaser and recipient.

Very dusky staff looked awfully presented.Ate a small sandwich but spat it out.Left the whole platter.Just drank the glass of Prosceco and left

Enjoyed the setting which was very comfortable, and the afternoon tea was lovely. Would have been nice to have had tea refills but this was not offered.

The room was pleasant but the service and food I’m sorry to say were not good, cakes and scones were just out of a supermarket packet, no jam or cream, had to keep asking for items, not even full glass of Prosecco, just end of a bottle, sandwiches were nice, staff didn’t seem to know what they were doing, was disappointed with my choice of venue from the list, as didn’t live up to the description.

I was really looking forward to this afternoon tea treat at the Cranley Hotel. My friend Claire gifted me the voucher for 2 people for my 30th birthday so we went together on Sunday afternoon. We really enjoyed the cakes and sandwiches, and the tea and prosecco was lovely. However, when I emailed to book, a staff member offered their congratulations and an additional complimentary glass of prosecco on arrival as it was my 30th birthday, advising I print and bring a copy of the email. Sadly the hotel did not follow through with this as that member of staff had left and they could not honour her promise. I was a bit let down but it didn't ruin the experience as the quality of the refreshments and Claire's company was so lovely. There was another issue on arrival whereby they apologised for the delay while all staff members available dealt with a taxi dispute. We waited 20 minutes without being offered a glass of water or anything, which was also not great. I would not go there again based on this experience but perhaps just unlucky on this occasion.

The hotel itself appeared to be really lovely with nice and sophisticated decor. We were however slightly unimpressesd by the quality of the food and the fact that we both forgot the afternoon tea was supposed to come with bubbly but we were not reminded/just given the pots of tea.

Service from staff were all lovely. Food was very average and I've had lots nicer.

Venue great as well as the food and location was really nice

The setting was amazing - like a front room but very newly decorated. It was armchair seating but with tables high enough to be comfortable to eat from which was lovely. The service was first rate and the food excellent. Would come back.