Today Tom and I took his parents to afternoon tea at the Grand Hyatt on Collins Street here in Melbourne. Recently refurbished and looking very posh, they do a daily afternoon tea which is $40 for the set tea (scones, sandwiches and a cake selection).
On the Scott Scale, I give the Grand Hyatt a 5 out of 10.
The room is a tad on the bland side and could do with a bit of colour to spruce it up a bit, although it is quite interesting to have a view into the totally open kitchen (although my back faced the kitchen). The service was fine, as were the sandwiches and the scones (although they only had plain scones, no fruit, which was a little disappointing). More disappointing was the limited selection of black teas. No Orange Pekoe, no Russian Caravan. How can I say this: two types of breakfast tea (especially the omnipresent "English Breakfast") is not really an appropriate tea to have for afternoon tea, and yet so many supposedly posh hotels seem to think otherwise.
The set tea was $40. This did not include a glass of champagne ($16 extra for a glass of Chandon NV)
Overall, it was a passable, but by no means superior, experience.
