A Relaxing Day and Afternoon Tea at The Landmark London

One thing that I love about London’s luxury hotels is that many of them are intrinsically linked with the history of the city. The Landmark London was one of London’s original Victorian era railway hotels and during the First World War it was used as a place for officers to convalesce, and at the end of the Second World War it was where former prisoners of war were debriefed by M19.
With such a long history behind it, The Landmark London still stands proudly near to Marylebone station and is one of London’s leading luxury five star hotels. I was visiting today for a spot of relaxation at the spa and later a catch up with a friend of mine over afternoon tea.
I headed down to the basement where I was quickly checked in to the spa with a chance to try out their orange infused water before making my way to the changing area, popping on some slippers and relaxing into a robe. Of course, I wouldn’t be me without a really good nose around the spa before my treatment….
There’s a really gorgeous and chilled out 15 metre pool which is actually chlorine free and to the left of the pool is a sanarium. A sanarium is less intense than a sauna and you can sit and enjoy the gentle warmth on your skin and listen to relaxing music in there before enjoying an invigorating shower. There’s also a fully equipped gym and the cardio machines have integrated TV’s with over 65 channels to take your mind off the pain…With personal trainers on hand too, the guests will definitely be able to burn enough calories to make afternoon tea guilt-free.
When it was time for my massage the spa therapist led me into the relaxing treatment room leaving me to get prepared for what was to come. The Landmark spa offers every treatment that you need including facials, massage and body therapy with specially designed treatments for pregnant ladies and for men seeking some relaxation. There’s also a medi-spa so guests can address issues such as rosacea, acne, cellulite and pigmentation problems.
Many of the treatments use the spa’s signature Germaine de Capuccini products which combine top quality products with cutting edge technology and innovative techniques. My candlelight massage started off with the opportunity to choose the scent of my oil, I chose the calming scent of lavender to ease my highly strung self. As I lay on the heated massage bed, thoughts of spreadsheets, upcoming presentations and huge amounts of photo-editing melted away…
The therapist applied semi-precious crystals to particular points along my back in order to release my Chakra energy and instil a sense of harmony into this crazy type-A. The oil was heated in a candle which also emitted the fragrance of lavender as it burned allowing the room to become diffused with scent. The hot oil felt delicious on my skin and I lay comfortably as the therapist applied light pressure on my back, legs, arms and neck easing any built up tension from stresses. With the aromatic scented oil on my skin it was a shame to wash it off but I was headed up stairs to meet my friend Alisha for afternoon tea.
Afternoon tea takes place in the Winter Garden, a gorgeous conservatory-like space with a soaring eight-storey glass roof allowing natural light to flood in, illuminating all the beautiful fresh flowers.
It’s an incredible space and very unique in London, though I think the chairs could do with modernising in keeping with the otherwise stylish environment.
I hadn’t seen Alisha for about six months, since she and her husband welcomed baby Daisy into their family, and we were excited to toast their new addition with a glass each of Champagne de Castelneau Brut Reserve. We were asked if we’d like the classic Winter Garden Afternoon Tea or the Chocolate Afternoon Tea. The answer of course was both.

Both teas start with a very classic selection of sandwiches, including cucumber, egg mayo and mustard cress, chicken with tarragon creme fraiche in walnut bread and Lapsang Souchong smoked salmon. The bread definitely passed the fluffiness test, these weren’t sandwiches made this morning and left to go stale, plus they gave me a couple more smoked salmon. Win!
We were able to choose our flavour of jam from a good selection and the accompanying scones were the perfect size with the right amount of bounce in the dough. The classic tea came with plain scones as well as raisin and apples, and rather excitingly the chocolate tea arrived with chocolate chip and orange scones!
Both teas came with a beautiful selection of cakes including mango and mint mousse on a flourless mango sponge (my favourite – so light and airy), banana, pecan nut and milk chocolate cake…
Carrot, raisin and cinnamon cake with cream cheese icing – not my cup of tea but Alisha loved it – pistachio and chocolate Opera gateau….
Raspberry and lime macaron, of course another favourite of mine, as well as a coconut and chocolate macaron.
And finally dark chocolate choux with Valrhona chocolate custard and blood orange and white chocolate mousse. There’s also a selection of teas or herbal infusions but we enjoyed coffee instead as we ate all the delicious treats from the gorgeous gold-trimmed plates. The perfect afternoon and a delicious tea for two.