Penelope Alice lives like royalty at The Ritz London

I adore the fact that afternoon tea comes in so many forms, but the nice traditional option will always appeal to me. Few can argue that there’s a better traditional offering than that of The Ritz London, one of the capital’s most prestigious and beautiful hotels.

I joined my fellow PA Life Club members for afternoon tea in one of the fabulous private meeting rooms inside William Kent House, a stunning Grade II-listed 18^th-century mansion adjoining the hotel. The property has an exquisite collection of five private meeting rooms, with an additional space within the main hotel and a beautiful garden for outdoor events. All of the rooms have wifi and innovative audio-visual technology that’s cleverly hidden amongst the architecture of the room.

All five of these rooms have been lovingly restored to their original features, including the absolutely amazing hand-painted ceiling in the William Kent Room – famous for being one of the locations of the documentary The September Issue starring Anna Wintour herself. Plus, the Queen Mother had her birthday party in the room once so we all had a chance to sit in the same seat as royalty.

In the Burlington Room (also known as the pink room for its rosy colour scheme) we all sat down for the world-class service The Ritz London is known for. Our immaculate waiters in their crisp uniforms presented tasty finger sandwiches and scrumptious pastries on fine chinaware, with the hotel’s speciality Ritz Royal English tea served in silver teapots. The best bit by far was the fresh warm scones brought to the table straight from the oven; I of course smothered mine in clotted cream and jam, as a lady should. And who could forget the Ritz branded champagne?

The Ritz London offers an experienced, professional and welcoming events team that are available to answer any questions regarding events at the venue. There’s something for every budget here, from standard room hire to half and full-day delegate rates, which include hire of the space and refreshments throughout.

Have a look at the luxurious spaces yourself at theritzlondon.com/events-weddings/business-meetings.