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Guoman Hotels‏@GuomanHotels

Thanks @kateandchelsie for a great blog on our newest Afternoon Tea at The Royal Horseguards http://katieandchelsie.blogspot.co.uk/

 

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12:47 AM - 18 Oct 12

 

GUOMAN HOTELS: Luxury Restaurants & Bars

Luxury Restaurants & Bars: Luxury restaurants and bars in London Guoman Hotels - delivering the best in fine dining with AA Rosette or Michelin star awarded restaurants


Guoman Hotels‏@GuomanHotels
 It's one of those days, rain then sun, rain then sun! If you get caught in a shower, drop in for a coffee http://bit.ly/PFJ4s8  #Autumn



11:05 AM - 17 Oct 12

GUOMAN HOTELS: The Hallowe’en Tea

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Laura R. King‏@laurageneous
 Sticky Felchlin Chocolate Coffin cake for Halloween Afternoon Tea at @GuomanHotels? Okay! http://www.guoman.com/hotels/united_kingdom/london/the_royal_horseguards/hotel_offers/the_halloween_tea.html …

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15:52 PM - 16 Oct 12

GUOMAN HOTEL: Traditional Afternoon Tea in The Lounge

Traditional Afternoon Tea in The Lounge: Enjoy a Traditional Afternoon Tea near Embankment, the River Thames and the London Eye.


Guoman Hotels‏@GuomanHotels
 Everyone's going mad for the @BritishBakeOff final - get your cake kicks with The Royal Horseguards' afternoon tea http://bit.ly/TteXnm


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15:37 PM - 16 Oct 12

The Grosvenor Hotel, Victoria

The Grosvenor Hotel, Victoria: The Grosvenor Hotel London is a luxury 4 star hotel offering high class accommodation, elegant wedding venues, conference rooms and facilities and fine dining.


12 Oct  Paula Kelsey ‏@Cloud9em
Cloud 9 Venue Tip of the Day: The Grovesnor - An imposing London hotel from the Golden Age of travel http://ow.ly/dhuvd  - @GuomanHotels
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14:31 PM - 12 Oct 12

TWEET GH 12.10.12-13.08

12 Oct  Guoman Hotels ‏@GuomanHotels
As soon as the weekend arrives head to Reunion at The Grosvenor to sample the vanilla infused cocktail of the month http://bit.ly/ofDgGd 

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13:08 PM - 12 Oct 12

Cocktail & Cake Liquid Afternoon Tea at The Royal Horseguards Hotel

Cocktail & Cake Liquid Afternoon Tea at The Royal Horseguards Hotel

 

 

by Chelsea Girl on October 5, 2012

 

 

Given the option I tend to opt for a cocktail over pudding after a meal. But imagine if one didn’t have to make that choice? What if cocktails and sweet treats were one and the same, combined?

When I received my invitation to taste the Cocktail & Cake Liquid Afternoon Tea menu at The Royal Horseguards Hotel, I discovered that this was possible. Hallelujah!

The sight of cocktail glasses lined up at the hotel’s Equus Bar was heavenly. This was going to be an afternoon tea designed for me, or so it felt like it.
 

And as much as I adore traditional tea and scones, I realised instantly that this experience was going to be somewhat different from anything I had ever tried.
 

The tastings started off with canapés and were followed by food demonstrations …
 

The ice lolly machine was very interesting – and apparently, this iced platform is also great for carpaccio!
 

I tried the Long Island Ice Tea jelly shots … Yum!
 

And one of the Strawberry Daiquiri Macaroons … Delish.
 

There were also cocktail making sessions. This Lord Kitchener cocktail was to die for! – if you prefer martinis to have a kick, which I do.
 

After the demonstrations, we were taken around the hotel to learn about its formidable history as well as discover its hidden gems.
 

My favourite historical nugget is knowing that what is now the hotel reception used to be a bar where Winston Churchill spent much time as a young man when he was a Liberal.
 

But even as a Conservative, Churchill returned to this building which was and still is in part associated with the National Liberal Club. What would he make of today’s coalition? We can only wonder.
 

It’s also not a surprise that cocktails on the Equus Bar menu reflect not only Churchill’s association with the building but also its other past inhabitants: George Bernard Shaw, Lord Kitchener and William Gladstone. The hotel used to also be a block of flats.

The tour of the hotel was stunning. This really is a beautiful building and it didn’t feel as if we were in Central London but rather on some country estate far far away.

As for the tastings, what can I say? Each experience was full of flavour. Each of the canapés were a delightful surprise, including this fish and chips in a teacup dish – which is essentially creamy haddock soup with a potato chip carefully laid on top. Amazing.
 

The cocktails were stellar. The Churchill cocktail included a combination of bourbon, homemade tobacco syrup and aromatic bitters and I can’t recommend it enough.
 

But if you prefer something sweeter, the Sir Mansfield-Cumming is also a good option …
 

 

It contains a mixture of Scotch, Quince Liquer, fresh lemon and Whisky barrel aged bitters – with a maraschino cherry. Admittedly, I ordered this drink because I was thinking more about James Bond. Mansfield-Cumming had set up MI6. But I did enjoy it and again I was met with surprising bursts of flavours.

This Cocktail and Liquid Afternoon Tea menu is only available for a limited time: from 5th until 14th October 2012. And to book or for more information, you can click here.

If you do make it down, have a fabulous time. I’ll definitely be heading back because I hear Adrian (the principal bartender) makes a great Manhattan and I have yet to taste one that blows me away. I cannot wait!

 

5 Oct  Guoman Hotels ‏@GuomanHotels
Fantastic blog by @kingsroadrocks for the #cocktailscake event held at The Royal Horseguards http://bit.ly/QO0zWN  #london #food #cocktails

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14:09 PM - 5 Oct 12

Win a Downton-themed stay at The Royal Horseguards!

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Guoman






To celebrate the return of Downton Abbey we’re offering you the chance to win a Downton experience that’s fit for a Crawley at our luxurious Royal Horseguards hotel. Just tell us your favourite Downton moment to win a night’s stay, a scrumptious afternoon tea and your choice of a ‘downstairs master class’ with our head housekeeper, head chef, concierge or sommelier.

Just keep reading for more information on how to enter as well as some trivia around how the aristocracy would have spent a trip to London, and holiday as though you were a Crawley …

Our Competition:
 ■The prize:

To celebrate the return of Downton Abbey, we’re offering you the chance to win a ‘Downton experience’ that will give you a taste of life above and below stairs.

First, you’ll start off in style with a scrumptious afternoon tea and an overnight stay at the Royal Horseguards. This hotel won the TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice award for 2012 and is also a member of the prestigious Tea Guild – so you can rest assured, both your room and afternoon tea will be fit for a Crawley, even by Mr Carson’s exacting standards.

Next, you can step into the world of Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes with your choice of a special ‘downstairs master class’ with our very own hospitality experts. You could pair up with our head housekeeper and discover Mrs Hughes’ secrets; our head chef to pick up some tips on how to make a dinner fit for an earl and an afternoon tea to please a countess; our concierge to find out more about our gentleman’s library and how to be a gentleman’s ‘man’; or our sommelier to find out how to select wines for fine dining.

All you have to do is tell us your favourite Downton moment to be in with a chance of winning.
 ■How to enter:

We all have a favourite Downton moment – whether it’s one of the Dowager Countess of Grantham’s withering put-downs or the tender moment where Lady Mary asked Carson if she’d “do” on the morning of her wedding.

Whatever your favourite Downton moment is, we want to know. Just leave a comment at the end of this blog with your favourite Downton moment or tweet us with the hashtag #downtoncomp for your chance to win. Just make sure to get your entry in before our competition closes at 12 noon on Friday the 5th of October.
 ■Have you won?

We’ll be updating this blog post on Friday the 5th, naming the lucky winner and their favourite Downton moment – so please check back then to see if you’ve won.

Make every trip away a Downton experience with some 1920s travelling trivia

The latest series of the Downton Abbey is set in the 1920s – arguably one of the most glamorous eras in world history. During this time, manners and etiquette where still the order of the day, even while travelling or on holiday – but one knew how to enjoy oneself as hemlines began to shorten, jazz music became all the rage and the cocktail was born.

Here are just a few rules of etiquette travellers then would have abided by …
 ■Guests to hotels in the 1920s would be expected to add their name to the guestbook – which would often read like a veritable who’s who of society in grander hotels. The ‘done’ way to ink the guestbook would be to list every member of the party and to note the presence of serving staff like ladies maids, valets and nurses. A lady would never sign the register without using her title or a ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’ prefix, though a gentleman could sign using just his first and surname.
 ■Titled guests or well-to-do travellers would usually have been known to the concierge at their hotel – and they would usually entrust or have ‘their man’ entrust the concierge to reserve a table for them at a first-class restaurant where they could mingle with other fashionable ladies and gentleman of the day.  Some members of the aristocracy would simply have their London mansion ‘opened’ for them if coming for the season, but others would choose to take a suite at a grand hotel – particularly if the hotel’s smoking and drawing rooms were a favourite among other high flying members of society.
 ■When taking afternoon tea – even in a hotel – the hostess responsible for the gathering would make and pour the tea, handing each guest a cup and saucer.  Ladies attending afternoon tea would have been expected to wear ‘tea’ dresses, hats and gloves while gentleman would be expected wear a jacket and tie.
 ■Cocktails may have started life in the 1800s but gained in popularity as American speakeasies began to mix drinks to cover the sharp taste of bootleg alcohol during the ‘prohibition’ years in the 1920s – a trend that soon spread to Britain. Popular cocktails at the time included the Colony (a mix of gin, grapefruit juice and maraschino), the Mint Julep (mint, water, sugar and whiskey) and a French 75 (London gin, lemon juice, syrup and chilled champagne). Cocktails were particularly fashionable in London’s west end, but some ladies choose not to drink them at the time as doing so was often looked down upon (the Dowager Countess did think it was all a little vulgar).  Sherry and Champagne were much more socially acceptable after-dinner tipples.

Tell us – what’s your favourite Downton moment?

**Updated: We’re pleased to announce that the winner of our competition is Penny Grieve whose favourite Downton moment happened to be: “When Matthew Crawley was reported missing in action and then shows up just in time to join in with a good old sing song to melt Lady Mary’s heart.” Congratulations Penny – we hope you’ll enjoy your stay with us.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Terms & Conditions:
 1.One entry per person
 2.Entrants must be 18 to enter
 3.The Twitter account must be valid and established
 4.The prize is One night’s stay for two at the Royal Horseguards Hotel, including afternoon tea and an ‘etiquette’ workshop
 5.The competition ends 05.10.12 at 12pm and the winner will be chosen at random, then notified by DM or email and announced on the Guoman Blog
 6.There will only be one winner, if the winner is unavailable or does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen at random
 7.This competition is open to UK residents only


3 Oct  Guoman Hotels ‏@GuomanHotels
Tell us your greatest #Downton moment and be in with a chance to win a stay at The Royal Horseguards http://bit.ly/PKGYZ1  #downtoncomp

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18:48 AM - 3 Oct 12

THE ROYAL HORSEGUARDS: Cocktail & Cake Liquid Afternoon Tea

Cocktail & Cake Liquid Afternoon Tea

Cocktail & Cake Liquid Afternoon Tea

Offer: Dining

Valid from 05 Oct, 2012 to 14 Oct, 2012

Designed to coincide with the highly anticipated London Cocktail Week – in which the capital’s finest bars strut their stuff – The Royal Horseguards Hotel invites you to enjoy a tipple or two with the new Cocktail & Cake Liquid Afternoon Tea menu.
This specially designed alcohol-infused tea has been conceived by our talented head pastry, chef Joanne Todd, in collaboration with our talented team of mixers and shakers of the highly esteemed Equus Bar.
Menu

• B52 chocolate marquiseTriple layer mousses mimicking the classic shot with a luxurious addition of the finest Swiss Felchlin chocolates
• The Churchill smoked crème brûlèeA dessert inspired by The Royal Horseguards signature cocktail, incorporating Cuban cigar tobacco and Maker’s Mark whisky
• Strawberry Daiquiri macaroonsFilled with a velvety white chocolate ganache infused with fresh strawberries and a 23 year old aged dark rum
• Long Island Iced Tea jelly shot with Coca Cola foamA punchy soft set jelly of London dry gin, tequila, vodka, white rum, triple sec and a healthy dash of fresh orange juice. Topped with Coca Cola foam
• Mojito rum babaA rich butter dough soaked in a lime, mint and Havana Club 7 syrup, topped with a gel dome of lightly marinated pineapple
• Bloody Mary sorbetA two-tone sorbet consisting of a celery and vodka sorbet, and a spicy tomato sorbet served in a tomato cone
• A contemporary selection of finger sandwiches and savoury bites
• Warm freshly baked fruit and cinnamon scones, homemade fruit preserve and Cornish clotted cream
• A pot of leaf or herbal tea of your choice
• One handmade cocktail from a selected menu of timeless favourites:The Royal Horseguards signature Churchill cocktail
  Long Island Iced Tea
  Bloody Mary
  Cosmopolitan
  Mojito
  Daiquiri

The themed tea can be enjoyed in our lounge, out on the stunning sun terrace overlooking the London Eye or in the atmospheric Equus Bar, from which the tea draws its inspiration - the perfect spot for a cheeky prelude to an evening out or to wind down after a busy day.
£40 per person
To make a reservation please use the booking calendar below, by clicking 'view all available offers'.

Joanne Todd‏@jammiejoanne

Cocktail and cake tea started this weekend @royalhorseguards @guomanhotels any excuse for cake and tipple ;-) http://www.guoman.com/hotels/united_kingdom/london/the_royal_horseguards/hotel_offers/cocktail_and_cake_liquid_afternoon_tea.html …

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8:54 AM - 7 Oct 12

The Royal Horseguards Hotel | Liquid Afternoon Tea & Hotel Tour

The Royal Horseguards Hotel | Liquid Afternoon Tea & Hotel Tour

posted in events, food by Yang

Last week, we were invited down to the 5 star complex that is The Royal Horseguards Hotel. We were invited to sample their new liquid afternoon tea menu (available for a limited time) designed for London cocktail week as well as take a tour of the hotel. Read about our experience complete with photography from Yin after the break.

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The hotel which has been a landmark for well over 100 years is situated a stone throw from Embankment station overlooking the Thames. I was already taken aback by the how big the complex is- the hotel also boasts some amazing architectural detail before you even get inside.

The Royal Horseguards Hotel
2 Whitehall Court
London
SW1A 2EJ

 

 

 

 

When we arrived, we were promptly greeted and shown to the Equus bar where we were given a brief tutorial on the hotel’s signature cocktails: The Churchill and The Lord Kitchener. Each made intricately at the hands of a drink connoisseur. Collectively we preferred the latter cocktails should have a kick!

 

 

 

After trying one or two drinks, we were ushered over to try a contemporary selection of finger sandwiches and savoury bites all freshly made right before our eyes. We looked on longingly as the chef talked us through each canapé; and with a considerable amount of self-control, none of us drooled… I think.

Before our tour of the Royal Horseguard Hotel, we tried a range of mini ice lolly’s and other sweets including strawberry daiquiri macaroons and long island ice tea jelly shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liquid Afternoon Tea Menu

The tour of the complex was really interesting; my inner historian was listening intently as our tour guide gave a run-down of the hotel’s incredibly long history dating back to the 1800s. Before it became the iconic landmark it is today, part of the building was a block of flats whilst other parts were associated with the National Liberal Club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were guided down to the lower levels of the complex to an old cellar where William Ewart Gladstone (then prime minister) laid the foundation stone in 1883… madness!! There were plans however create an underground railway system which would have ran through this exact spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall we were captivated by the hotel’s amazing architecture and formidable history, walking around in some parts of the hotel gave me chills… in a good way. You can find out more about the hotel on their website. However the Liquid Afternoon Tea menu is only available until 14th October 2012. For bookings, again head to the website.

 

 

Guoman Hotels‏@GuomanHotels

Thanks to @erniedoto for a fantastic blog on our #cocktailscake event last week http://bit.ly/Q7ILHD #London #food #cocktails

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12:40 PM - 8 Oct 12