Why I'm Never Paying For Fairmont High Tea Ever Again

I’ve enjoyed countless afternoon tea experiences, including three Fairmont afternoon teas. And I’m never over paying for a Fairmont high tea again…

I always thought afternoon tea at the Fairmont was worth the price for their unique experience, and usually exclusive view. As it turns out, this isn’t exactly the case.

But I’ve been let down by the Fairmont high tea experience one too many times now…

Afternoon tea at the Fairmont costs way too much money for a sub-par experience. Most of the time, you could have the same, or at least very similar, experience for a quarter of the price.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Fairmont High Tea Is EXPENSIVE But Offer A Unique Experience

The Fairmont afternoon tea experience varies in price depending on the hotel.

Typically, the better the view, the pricier the tea.

From what I’ve seen, they range from $60 to $95 (as of 2024), plus tax plus tip in North America.

It includes a pot of tea, 2 scones, 3 savoury sandwiches, and 5 delectable desserts.

Your tea options will always be the same Lot 35 Fairmont teas. But the scone flavours will change, as well as the sandwiches and desserts based on the location and season.

P.S. Keep a logbook of every afternoon tea experience you’ve enjoy with my printable afternoon tea pocket journal!

fairmont high tea at the chateau lake louise. seated at a table in the third row, you can see two rows of tables in front with large rounded windows behind. A lot of light is coming in, the outside is almost too white to see but you can slightly make out the mountains and Lake Louise. On the table is a three tiered afternoon tea plate filled with small desserts, tiny sandwiches and 4 large scones on the bottom. There's a blue and white victorian style teapot.

The more expensive price doesn’t have to do with what they’re serving you though. Rather, it usually has to do with the exclusive view.

For example, the Fairmont le Chateau Lake Louise is the ONLY hotel on Lake Louise. If you want to sit and enjoy the view of the emerald lake and Victoria glacier, your only option is the Fairmont hotel.

But what they don’t say is that you don’t need to book afternoon tea to get that view with a cup of tea…

P.S. Save Costs On Fairmont Tea By Splitting The Tower

It seems that you might be able to split the tower at select Fairmont hotels to reduce the cost of their afternoon tea.

The Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa gave us the option to order one afternoon tea tower between two people. At the time, the tower was $75, and for an extra $20, they gave us two extra scones and a pot of tea for the second person.

So instead of paying $150, we only paid $95.

We did only have one set of desserts and sandwiches. But if you’re okay sharing, you can save a lot of money on the cost of Fairmont afternoon tea.

The only problem? So far I’ve asked for this promotion at two other Fairmont afternoon teas, and have been refused. So it seems like only select Fairmont hotels offer this option.

rundle restaurant at the fairmont banff spring hotel. There are only a few seats by the giant windows overlooking the view. Otherwise youre seated at one of the other table behind.

The Problem: You’re NEVER Guaranteed The Exclusive View At Fairmont Hotel Afternoon Tea

The reality of going to afternoon tea at the Fairmont is that you are never actually guaranteed the view AT ALL.

Even though that’s essentially why you’re booking the overpriced tea in the first place (let’s be real, it’s not for the bite-sized sandwiches that still leave you hungry afterwards!).

And how could you ever be guaranteed the view, there’s only one row of seats by the window. And by the way, you don’t get a discount if you aren’t in the obviously superior window seats.

Give The Gift of Afternoon Tea!

Surprised your loved one with the gift of afternoon tea with my printable afternoon tea voucher! See it on Etsy.

a couple seated by the exclusive seats by the window with a teacup in their hand lookout out through the giant rounded window at the view of lake louise. You can see the empty seats all around them in the rest of the grand room

To make matters worse, you can even get stuck with no view AT ALL!

I’ve seen tables behind pillars, or in an entirely separate room!

And the restaurant seems to have a seating system of who gets those seats but there’s no way to know where you’ll be sitting until you arrive.

When I went to the afternoon tea at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, I was seated in the second row… but I walked by at least 5 empty tables by the window.

When I asked if we could switch seats, the wait staff said that they were all reserved… so how do they decide who gets those coveted window seats in the first place?

second row empty seats in front in dufferin place fairmont facing the window looking out onto dufferin terrace. People are walking by in winter coats

Apparently, it depends on how early you make our reservation… not the time of day, but how far in advance you make it.

At least this is what the staff told me at the Fairmont in Quebec City… and there’s no way of knowing if it’s actually true, and if it carries over to all Fairmont hotels.

And if it is, there’s no way of knowing how early in advance is enough in advance to get those coveted window seats. So as I said, you’ll only know when you show up and have to pay full price for clearly inferior seats.

At least if they gave a discount, it would be a different story but you pay the same price whether you have a seat with a view or not…

green and pink argyle teapot and matcha cups at place dufferin in quebec city. the table is the second row of seating wtih people in front looking out onto the window — *My view at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac of the people dining in front of us!*

Tea At The Fairmont Hack: Get The Views Without The High Costs

This Fairmont tea hack might not work all the time, but so far it has worked at every Fairmont hotel I’ve been to.

You can almost always get the same exclusive view without paying a premium for afternoon tea at the hotel.

You can either go to a different restaurant at the Fairmont hotel that offers a similar view. Or go to the SAME restaurant but at a different time (for breakfast, or dinner).

The benefit of going outside afternoon tea hours (besides for it being half the price) is that you can often get the best seat they have. If they’re full, you can always wait for a table to open up.

Or at least now if you don’t get the prime window seat, it’s not such a big deal because you don’t feel like you’re paying for it.

enjoying breakfast at dufferin place in quebec city with the best seats in teh restaurant. We have cups of coffee, a menu that says place duffering, a can of maple syrup with flowers and a man sitting across the table looking at his menu. The table is next to the window thats letting un sun glares. Outside is place duffering you can see the tent with a canadian flag on top

I’ve Done This Hack Three Times…

I’ve done this Fairmont hotel hack three times!

Different Restaurant At The Fairmont, Same View

The first time, we simply at lunch at the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel on the terrace. Instead of going for afternoon tea at the Rundle, we simply enjoy the incredible terrace view for half the price.

For some reason they didn’t actually let us order tea on the terrace, but we were still able to enjoy a delicious lunch for half the price!

Related

5 Tips For How To Afford The Chateau Frontenac Quebec City?

an outdoor terrace surrounded by mountains and blue skies. On the table is a burger with a salad

SAME Restaurant, Different Time

But I have eaten at the same restaurant, ordered tea, and had the exact same view… TWICE (at different Fairmont hotels).

The first time I was at the Chateau Lake Louise in Banff National Park, and the second time I was at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.

Both times, I had actually booked the afternoon tea at the Fairmont just to be completely let down with a second row seat and a partially obstructed view… despite countless window seats being seemingly available.

At the Chateau Lake Louise I went back to the same restaurant (Fairview) the following day for lunch. I was seated in the first row on the outdoor terrace with an amazing view, and ordered the same tea I had the day before.

At the Chateau Frontenac, I went back to the same restaurant (Place Dufferin) the following day for breakfast. Once again, I was seated by the window without even asking! Typically they serve a buffet breakfast, but we were able to ask for their a la carte menu. Once again, we ordered tea and breakfast, for a fraction of the price!

Of course, you aren’t served in a fancy tea pot or tea cups. But I’ll take simple tea ware any day if that means I can enjoy the exclusive view at half the cost!

chateau lake Louise tea at fairview restaurant, sitting at an outdoor table, two white tea cups and a silver teapot . Theres a planter behind it with bright pink flowers. Behind that you see the priceless lake Louise view. Giant snow capped mountain on bright blue glacier water

All This To Stay, Fairmont Afternoon Tea Is NEVER Worth The Price…

If you want to enjoy tea with a view on vacation, NEVER book the exclusive Fairmont high tea. It’s almost never worth it.

If you get seated in a window seat, consider yourself lucky. Those are only a handful of seats in the entire restaurant that you’re never guaranteed.

It’s always better to dine at a different restaurant at the Fairmont hotel with a similar view. Or head to the same restaurant outside of afternoon tea hours.

This will save you money, and you’ll more often than not get a better view!

top down view of a three tiered afternoon tea plate. You see all ten desserts on the top plate. On the table is also a teacup filled with tea and a teapot. Theres also the fairmont afternoon tea menu

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