A couple of weekends ago, Eileen and KP graciously took Reshmi and myself up to Banff for afternoon tea at The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Looking very much like a castle nestled amongst the pine trees, the hotel has a weird mix of old and new to please everyone. Much like the Fairmont Lake Louise, shopping is very much upmarket (who buys artwork in the $1000s when they’re on holidays in the mountains?) with a number of restaurants and bars to suit all tastes.

Although they stuffed up our booking, with the result being the four of us crammed on a small table perched a little bit away from the amazing views provided through the window, the company and food helped make it an enjoyable experience.

On their website, their menu lists afternoon tea as:

Our waiter, much like many of the staff around town, was an Australian guy (from Melbourne) and served plenty of tea to make up for the tiny little table. Considering how busy the rest of the dining area was, he did a pretty good job of keeping up glasses of water full, our cups of tea hot and made it a pretty pleasing experience.

Although afternoon tea is relatively expensive at $32 and unlikely to be up to par to many of the London based ones, the dining atmosphere and (potential) views are worth going at least once. Book ahead, and given our experience, it’s definitely worth confirming the details of your booking closer to your visit.