Do you agree that a true lady should treat herself to some royal afternoon tea or high tea from time to time?
So being true ladies (now this reminds me of Emily Howard of Little Britain – I’m a lady! I’m a lady! Haha), that’s what Blondine and I did at the plush Amstel Hotel (now Intercon) and luckily we were blessed with a beautiful day that afternoon in unpredictable weather Amsterdam.
The afternoon tea (or as popularly known here in the Netherlands, High Tea) at the Amstel Hotel is served at the Amstel Lounge which is an elegant glass conservatory with period style furnishing, however, since the weather was lovely, we politely asked if we can sit outside on the terrace instead. This was actually Blondine’s brilliant idea which turned out to be the best decision. Because the terrace at the Lounge was not ready for clients, the wait staff secretly spoke to their colleagues at the adjacent A Bar if they can accommodate us, and well, they were fine with it. Thank you very mucho =)
You know, the ‘A Bar’ at Amstel Hotel has won the ‘2013 Best Terrace in the Netherlands’ award from Dutch lifestyle magazine, Talkies. Like I said, it was the best decision!
Royal Afternoon Tea for 2
We had 4 different types of tea to complement our cakes, pastries, sweets and sandwiches. They are: Darjeeling GFOP from the Himalayas (India), Lung Ching from the province of Zhejiang (China), Oolong Fancy from the island of Formosa (Taiwan) and China Jasmine Chung Hao from China of course. I am not into flower teas, I much prefer leaves.
Fortunately the cakes and pastries were not too sweet for my liking. The quality is superb. I can be very picky when it comes to sweet stuff (because I have a salty tongue) and so far I have only snobbed the lolly.
Hmm, I am beginning to like this afternoon and high tea (girly) thing…
Quick Facts (excerpt from the Amstel Hotel website):
“England has been renowned for its tea tradition, however the first actual tea leaves were imported into Amsterdam in the early 15th century. In 1610, the ‘Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie’, first presented the first precious tea leaves to‘t Huys van Oranje, the Dutch Royal family. The appreciation for the elegant beverage quickly spread, and ever since, drinking Afternoon Tea has become a symbol of distinction and hospitality.â€
Amstel Lounge and A Bar
As I have mentioned earlier, the afternoon teas are served at the Amstel Lounge and not at the A Bar. This was a special one-off request from us which they granted. Thank you once again, we appreciate it very much. This is what customer service is all about.
The Amstel Hotel
Trivia: Did you know that Amstel Hotel is the oldest luxury hotel in Amsterdam? InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam holds a special place in Dutch history and hearts. The hotel was the very first example of a Grand Hotel as we know them today. Before the Amstel Hotel opened in 1867, Amsterdam did not have any guest accommodation of international standing.
Read the rest of the colourful history here: Amstel Hotel History
Head of states, dignitaries, celebrities and famous people come to stay at this hotel when they are in Amsterdam.
As we walked down the stairs of the hotel’s front doors, Blondine and I were welcomed by a crowd of media, paparazzi and eager spectators. Unfortunately we were not the ones they were expecting, lol. It is Barbara Streisand. She is in town for a concert in Amsterdam.
Hoge Sluis Bridge
The Hoge Sluis Bridge from A Bar. Isn’t she just beautiful?
I had to take a little walk to take this picture of the Amstel Hotel from the bridge.
The next bridge further north of Amstel River (to the direction Centrum) is the Magere Brug (Skinny Bridge) which is a typically Dutch drawbridge for bikes and pedestrians only. They say this is the most romantic bridge in Amsterdam.
Visit Period: June 2013
Destination: Amsterdam Centrum (North Holland), The Netherlands
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)