Afternoon Tea at Hotel du Vin

I've been a bit of a lucky girl this week, Simon treated me to an afternoon tea and provided me with the opportunity to tick another place off my list.  I decided to opt for the Hotel du Vin, another of Newcastle's top hotels that I was yet to have a nosy in.

Yet again we had a beautiful sunny Sunday so we made the most of the nice weather and strolled to the hotel to get some fresh air.   The hotel is situated on the City Road, just up from the Quayside so it was a nice walk with some lovely scenery.

Hotel du Vin is the former home of the Tyne Tees Shipping Company, a beautiful grand red brick building.  The hotel boasts a lounge, cosy bar, bistro and courtyard which I am definitely adding to my list to try in the Summer - with plenty of outside sitting it'd be the perfect place to drink cocktails in the sunshine.

The good weather meant that I happily put on a dress without worrying about being too cold or turning up looking like a bedraggled rat.  I opted for my Primark finest with my favourite comfy boots.

 
We had our afternoon tea in the lounge, a room full of comfortable plush red sofas, leather chairs and a welcoming fire.  It was one of the nicest rooms I've ever had afternoon tea in and we had a really enjoyable few hours chilling out in the peace and quiet discussing holiday plans, family news and obviously talking about our favourite afternoon teas.

  
 
The menu offers a variety of afternoon choices including G'n'T, fizz and cocktail options.  We decided to go for the traditional, costing £13.75.   Whilst this is a little cheaper than other hotel afternoon teas we were left a little disappointed.  The afternoon tea wasn't as lovely to look at as a lot of others we've had, the top tier of cakes were very beige and whilst we enjoyed the Victoria Sponge the toasted coconut and flapjack style biscuit weren't very exciting or colourful.    We were also a little surprised to see only one scone each.  Whilst it was nice not to leave totally stuffed, part of the joy of afternoon tea is the moment you first see your cake stand crammed full of cakes, and unfortunately this one didn't really deliver.

That said the food was perfectly nice, the room was cosy and comfortable and the staff were really friendly.  So whilst I don't think we'll be returning for our cake fix, we'll definitely be giving the Bistro a go at some point.

There are 15 branches of Hotel de Vin across the country including some of my favourite cities - Edinburgh, Bristol, York and Cambridge.  I'd be really interested to hear if any of you have visited any of the others.

I leave you with a beautiful photograph of the Tyne Bridge from our walk home.  I'm usually stuck in the office when the sun is setting so don't often get to experience it.   What a beauty!