Afternoon Tea at The Empress Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia

?The Empress Hotel, part of the Fairmont brand of hotels, has long been the stately dowager of Victoria (British Columbia) hotels. The hotel, in all of its ivy-covered splendor, overlooks the city’s Inner Harbor, and captures the grandeur of a kinder and gentler era.

The Empress opened in 1908, and has long been a favorite of royalty, the blue-blood type and the Hollywood type. Stars of yesterday (Rita Hayworth, Douglas Fairbanks, Katherine Hepburn) and today (John Travolta, Barbara Streisand, Harrison Ford) have been guests. Oh, if those walls could talk!

Don’t let this prim and proper Edwardian look fool you! Although the various restoration projects at the hotel have not changed its original look, The Empress is a modern resort, with typical amenities of an upscale property.

Even if you don’t book a room, you can still get a taste of The Empress by attending Afternoon Tea. A tradition started nearly a century ago, The Empress has structured and designed Afternoon Tea to be as authentic as possible.

Here’s a sample menu (taken from the hotel’s website):

• Empress Blend tea
• Fresh seasonal fruit topped with Chantilly cream
• Tea sandwiches
• Traditional English raisin scones served with clotted cream and strawberry preserves
• Delicate pastries (chocolate truffles, tarts, eclairs, cookies)

If you’re not salivating after thinking about that menu, you have far more will power than I.

Reservations are required, and they book up fast. I have never been there when it wasn't fully booked. Seating for tea starts at 12 noon. The dress code is officially listed as “smart casual” but most who were there were far more conservatively, yet fashionable, dressed.

Put Afternoon Tea at The Empress on your “must-do” list for your next visit to Victoria.