Deep in the mountains of Sri Lanka is Nuwara Eliya, locally known as ‘Little England”. It is aptly named; the weather, scenery and even architecture (minus the odd Buddhist and Tamil temples) are strikingly similar. You even have Victoria Park here, named after arguably the most famous British Monarch’s Diamond Jubilee. Of course, you can’t have Little England without featuring high tea and, rumour had it, that the Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya did it better than anywhere else.
Obviously, in true-British fashion I was keen to test this out. Here is what we found out and what you can expect. Enjoy!
High Tea at the Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya | Your Quick Guide
The Grand Hotel – Location and Background
The Grand Hotel is a luxurious hotel in Nuwara Eliya; it also one of the most expensive. However, it is laced with a really rich colonial history and boasts some incredible restaurants dotted around the site. Additionally, the gardens at the hotel are some of the finest in Sri Lanka and have even won awards in the past.
The hotel is in the middle of Nuwara Eliya (on the edge of Victoria Park) and is really easy to get to. If, like us, you caught the train to Nanu Oya and had a private chauffeur, then the drive will take about 15 minutes. The station also has plenty of tuk tuk and taxi drivers who could take you here too. If you are staying in the town, then it will likely be walkable.
Costs and Booking
Even if you are not a guest at the Grand Hotel, you can easily book a high tea experience. The easiest way to do this is through the gift voucher section on their website. You can book the experience for however many people you need, along with the time and date which best suits you.
Where it gets tricky is that there are two options to choose from. We went for the ‘Royal High Tea’ instead of the ‘Sparkling High Tea’. The only difference is that, with the latter, you receive a glass of sparkling wine. Of course, the cost reflects this and it is Rs. 7,500 (£18.75) per person for the basic package and Rs. 9,500 (£23.50) per person for the sparkling option.
Our Experience
Before we get going, just to forewarn you that I’m going to split this into two categories. Firstly, I want to talk about the food and tea and then I’m going to talk about the setting.
Food at High Tea in the Grand Hotel
The food selection is really good and I loved every second of it. Not only was the presentation superb (akin to top restaurants), but the flavour combinations were perfect too. I’m not going to explain every single dish that we had (here is the High Tea menu at the Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya), but I wanted to mention a few stand-out heroes.
The savouries platter (the first plate) was probably my favourite. The shrimp-croquette and the mini scotch eggs were sensational and really wetted my appetite for the sandwiches. I again loved these, but I was most surprised by the cucumber sandwich – it looked better than any other I’ve seen and it tasted fantastic.
I’m a sucker for cakes and I was delighted by all of them. Whilst the fruit tart fell behind slightly in comparison, the other cakes were great. And, of course, you can’t go wrong with scones and jam anywhere.
Considering that all of this was less than the equivalent of £20.00, I thought it was fantastic value. Especially when you consider it was all served with different varieties of fresh Ceylon tea.
The Atmosphere at the Grand Hotel
When you arrive at the Grand Hotel, you’ll be taken to their Grand Veranda. This is an exceptionally stylish indoor-outdoor space and you’ll instantly feel cooler and posher. You’ll be met with calm music and some of the most professional service you can imagine.
Even though Nuwara Eliya is significantly colder than the rest of the island (bring a jumper for this part of the trip), the hotel have plenty of heaters so that you really don’t feel it. In fact, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that you were outside.
The best part about the Grand Veranda though is that it is right by the garden. After our meal we had an explore of these and were blown-away by how beautiful they were, as well as the care that had gone into them.
Final Thoughts | High Tea at the Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya
Our experience at the Grand Hotel was really good and I would recommend the experience to anyone. It was different to everything else that we did on our trip and was certainly a far throw from the other food experiences we enjoyed in Sri Lanka. However, when in Little England it is a must-do for anyone who enjoys tea and cake.
