Tea in Palm Court
From 12.30pm, £85 a head, £100 with Champagne; vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free menus, and a children’s tea at £50.
The Langham, London
The Langham, at the top of Regent Street in London, opened in 1865 as Europe’s first grand hotel, and in Palm Court it claims to have invented afternoon tea. Today it has 14 kinds of room and suite, Artesian and a pool in an old bank vault.
A week here, month by monthThe Langham suits tea, cocktails and Regent Street on foot, with nights from £389 for 2 in April 2027, the lowest price any seller showed on Google for one night. For several nights, skip the 28 m² Classic.
Langham afternoon tea: prices, times, children and dress code Book afternoon tea on the official site Check rooms and rates on the official siteDoes it suit you?
5 pairs of hotels, and the guide tells you whether this one suits you.Like a regular
The room to ask for
I would ask for a Club Executive Room, 41 m², with access to The Langham Club, where the hotel offers free-flow Champagne and breakfast. 4 guests who wrote between December 2025 and September 2026 praise the lounge.
The weeks that cost less
The cheapest even week is 19–25 February 2027: £394 to £418 for one night, 2 adults, the lowest price on Google, read 13 October 2026. The dearest week, 25 November–1 December 2026, shows £566 to £884.
On top of the bill
A discretionary 12.5% service charge is added to the bill at Palm Court and Artesian, on prices that include VAT. Valet parking is £75 for 24 hours, and the hotel lies inside the central London Congestion Charge zone.
Tea when the piano plays
Palm Court has live piano music daily from 1pm to 7pm, says the hotel. 5 guests who wrote between November 2024 and May 2026 name the pianist or the piano among the pleasures of tea.
What the Langham is
It opened on 10 June 1865, with the Prince of Wales at the party, as Europe’s first grand hotel: electric light, hydraulic lifts, air conditioning. Napoleon III spent much of his exile here and Arthur Conan Doyle set Sherlock Holmes scenes in it. After the war the BBC bought it and used it as offices; a hotel once more, it finished a restoration of 5 years and £80 million in 2009.
The heart of it is Palm Court, where the hotel says afternoon tea was first served: £85 a head, £100 with a glass of Champagne, a live pianist from 1pm to 7pm. In the evening there is Artesian, 4 times among the World’s 50 Best Bars, or The Wigmore, a pub in a former banking hall with food by Michel Roux.
Guests reward it: 4.7 out of 5 on Google from 4,292 reviews, 4.7 on Tripadvisor from 2,853, 9.2 on Booking.com, and 2 MICHELIN Keys. They write about the doormen, concierges and tea waiters, thanked by name, about comfortable beds and about the Club. Entry rooms measure 28 m², and the courtyard rooms, the quietest, hear the ballroom on party nights.
To write this page we read, on 4 October 2026, 32 official pages and their PDF menus, the Google Hotels card with a year of prices, Booking.com, Tripadvisor and the MICHELIN Guide, and the 2,000 most recent Google reviews, 1,089 of them with text. Tea comes up in 140 of them, averaging 4.56 stars; and a review of 15 September describes the pool closed on 6 September, which the official page does not mention.
In the Lumina Guide
Lumina Guide 2027
The Langham opened in 1865 at the top of Regent Street as Europe’s first grand hotel and still keeps its rituals: afternoon tea in Palm Court, where the custom is said to have begun, and cocktails at Artesian.
How we choose the hotelsOur reading, point by point
What we found reading the hotel’s own pages, one thing at a time.
Location
Regent Street at Portland Place: Oxford Circus 5 minutes away, Regent’s Park 12, the BBC across the road.
Character
Europe’s first grand hotel, of 1865, and the Palm Court where afternoon tea is said to have been born.
Rooms
14 categories, from the 28 m² Classic to the 450 m² Sterling Suite; the Langham Club comes with Club Executive Rooms and the suites.
Food and social life
Tea in Palm Court, Artesian, Michel Roux’s Wigmore and Sale e Pepe Mare’s crudo.
Wellness
A 16-metre pool in a vault, a sauna and steam rooms; in September a guest found it closed.
The stay as a whole
From £399 in late January to over £1,000 on some October nights; tea at £85 to know it in an afternoon.
What makes it rare
A badge is an experience travellers look for, that is really here and that few hotels in the guide have.
A story inside
Here: Europe’s first grand hotel, of 1865, and the Palm Court where afternoon tea is said to have been born.
A history that goes back to at least 1865. 31 hotels of 335 hold it.
Every hotel with this badge
The 5 things that matter, as guests tell them
What do Langham’s guests say? They write it in their reviews, even those who only came for a drink or dinner: we read every one and tell the 5 things that matter, from the location to the bill.
Location
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. Oxford Street a few steps away, Regent’s Park 10 minutes off and the BBC across the road; Oxford Circus and its Underground station are a 5-minute walk.
Room
8 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Guests like the comfortable beds and the space of the rooms and suites, and a few mention the view over London.
Staff and service
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Doormen, concierges and tea waiters are thanked by name; guests who take the Club write about its third-floor lounge, with breakfast, afternoon refreshments and evening canapés.
Breakfast
7 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Breakfast is in Palm Court, where the continental costs £32 and The Langham Breakfast £42, or in the Langham Club for guests in a Club room.
Price
The Club and the service are what guests happy with the bill say they pay gladly for.
Where Langham leads
- Location
On location it comes ahead of the 4 other hotels it is compared with in London.
The numbers, and how we count them
| What | Score out of 10 | Guests who mention it | Happy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 8.6 | 101 | 97% |
| Room | 7.4 | 141 | 81% |
| Staff and service | 8.2 | 340 | 85% |
| Breakfast | 7.1 | 36 | 72% |
| Price | – | 40 | 42% |
The scores come from 500 Google reviews with text, left from 21 May 2024 to 4 October 2026. The other hotels are the ones weighed for a stay in London: for each we read its latest 500 Google reviews with text, or all of them where there are fewer, as of 4 October 2026. The score is the average of what they say, from 0 if they speak of it very badly to 10 if they speak of it very well. Where only a few mention something, the score stays close to the guide’s average: a handful of voices does not make a reputation.
The hotels we weigh it against in London:
- Claridge’s
- The Ritz London
- The Savoy
- The Dorchester
- The Connaught
Price: for two on the night of 11 April 2027, from £389 (seen on Google Hotels on 13 October 2026).
What a night costs, season by season
A night for 2 on Google costs £389 to £522 from 2 January to 2 May 2027, against £440 to £944 from 23 October 2026 to 1 January 2027 and £433 to £758 from 3 May to 11 September 2027. I would look at 19–25 February 2027, the cheapest even week, at £394 to £418.
| Period | Pounds a night |
|---|---|
| 15–22 Oct. 2026 | 610–953 |
| 23 Oct. 2026–1 Jan. 2027 | 440–944 |
| 2 Jan.–2 May 2027 | 389–522 |
| 3 May–11 Sep. 2027 | 433–758 |
The lowest price any seller showed on Google Hotels for one night searched alone, for 2 adults, read 13 October 2026; no room or meal plan is specified. The calendar stops on 11 September 2027; 17 November 2026 and 9–10 September 2027 have no price. Booked as 7 nights from 16 November 2026, the lowest seller Google listed that day asked £664 a night; the hotel’s own listing, £869.
The Langham, Rosewood London or The Ned London
Choose the Langham for tea at Palm Court and drinks at Artesian under one roof. Rosewood London suits Holborn, with the British Museum 10 minutes away; The Ned London suits the City, at Bank, with St Paul’s 9.
| Hotel | A night, from | Walk to the Underground |
|---|---|---|
| Langham | £511 | 5 minutes |
| Rosewood | £620 | 3 minutes |
| The Ned | £413 | 2 minutes |
A night: the lowest single-night seller price in the week of 23 November 2026, for 2 adults, read on Google on 13 October 2026; no room or meal plan is specified.
What to expect
Tea where it began, one of the world’s best bars, a Victorian pub and an Italian seafood room off the courtyard.
Artesian
From 4pm to midnight, to 1am Thursday to Saturday; over-18s only after 6pm. The Ultimo menu has 16 cocktails, one per ingredient.
The Wigmore
The hotel’s pub, in a former banking hall: food by Michel Roux, a Sunday roast from 12.30pm, and dogs welcome.
Sale e Pepe Mare
Italian seafood until 1am; in summer the Terrazza opens in the eighteenth-century courtyard.
The children’s tea
For 12s and under, £50: finger sandwiches, scones, the Langham teddy bear and a blackcurrant and hibiscus infusion.
Good to know before you book
Breakfast is not in every rate: in Palm Court the continental costs £32 and the Langham Breakfast £42; Club rooms and suites include it in the Langham Club. Source: langhamhotels.com
The entry rooms, Classic and Superior, measure 28 m². Source: langhamhotels.com
Tea and the bars add a discretionary 12.5% service charge; room offers add a discretionary 5% on the accommodation.
One dog per room, £100 a stay; the weight limit is 20 kg on the dog-policy page and 12 kg in the rooms FAQ.
At Artesian, after 6pm, adults only; under-18s staying at the hotel are allowed before then, with an adult.
Valet parking at £75 for 24 hours; the hotel is inside the Congestion Charge zone, given as £15 in one place on its page and £18 in its FAQ.
The 14 rooms and suites
Getting there
By Underground, get off at Oxford Circus, exit 4, and walk up Regent Street for 5 minutes; from Heathrow by car it takes about an hour.
| Address | 1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London W1B 1JA, opposite BBC Broadcasting House. |
|---|---|
| Underground | Oxford Circus, 5 minutes’ walk (373 metres); Bond Street 10 minutes, by the hotel’s count. |
| From Heathrow | 32.8 km, about an hour by car. A taxi starts at £105 on the hotel’s page and at about £100 in its FAQ; the private transfer at £245. |
| By car | Valet at £75 for 24 hours. You enter the Congestion Charge zone: the hotel writes £15 a day in one place and £18 in its FAQ. |
Heathrow times, prices and parking from the official site; the walk is measured on OpenStreetMap’s streets. Sources read on 4 October 2026.
Beyond the hotel
Marylebone to the west, Regent’s Park to the north, Oxford Circus to the south: from The Langham almost everything is on foot.
Regent’s Park
Nash’s terraces on Park Square, then the park: 12 minutes’ walk, 899 metres.
Wallace Collection
Titian, Rembrandt and Fragonard in a private house, free: 11 minutes’ walk.
Marylebone High Street
Bookshops, cafés and the neighbourhood’s shops: 11 minutes’ walk.
All Souls, Langham Place
Nash’s church beside the BBC, opposite the hotel: 2 minutes’ walk.
From The Langham to Regent’s Park and Marylebone
The hotel on Portland Place, the BBC, Oxford Circus, Wigmore Hall, the Wallace Collection and Regent’s Park. Tap a place to see the walking route.
Loading map…
Recommended for you
A day at the Langham
On arrival
Oxford Circus, exit 4
Get off the Underground at Oxford Circus, exit 4, and walk up Regent Street for 5 minutes.
7am
Breakfast in Palm Court
Palm Court serves breakfast from 7am to 11am, daily.
The late morning
Walk up to Regent’s Park
Nash’s terraces on Park Square, then the park: 12 minutes’ walk, 899 metres.
12.30pm
Afternoon tea in Palm Court
Tea runs from 12.30pm to 4pm on weekdays and to 5pm at weekends.
4pm
The first drink at Artesian
Artesian opens at 4pm and closes at midnight Sunday to Wednesday, at 1am Thursday to Saturday.
The Langham reviews
Platform scores, the 2 MICHELIN Keys and what guests write, from tea to the night.
Scores read on 4 October 2026
Guest voices
From the hotel’s Google listing: a birthday tea, a long-dreamed trip, the spa, the Club and the courtyard rooms.
GoogleMum’s birthday
Tea in Palm Court for a mother’s birthday: the waiter goes beyond the call of duty and the afternoon becomes 10 out of 10.
Google · August 2026Read the review
GoogleA trip for The Langham
From Pennsylvania for a bucket list: The Langham, the tea, Selfridges and Harrods. Take the hotel’s history tour, if there is time.
Google · September 2026Read the review
GoogleA day at the spa
A spa day on 6 September for a birthday: the pool closed and the jacuzzi gone, but reception hands out passes for when it reopens.
Google · September 2026Read the review
GoogleThe Club is worth it
Room 905, large and with views over London; worth paying a little more for the Club Lounge, with breakfast, tea and a light supper included.
Google · December 2025Read the review
GoogleThe courtyard rooms
Rooms small for the category and, on the inner side, the sound of flags hitting their poles in the courtyard keeps you awake all night.
Google · August 2026Read the review
Questions before you go
Answers from official pages and menus read on 4 October 2026; prices and availability need checking for your dates.
How much does a night at The Langham, London cost?
Google Hotels, read on 4 October 2026 for 2 adults, showed as the lowest price of the month £476 in October (the 30th), £451 in November (the 22nd), £478 in December (the 16th), £367 in January (the 31st), £376 in April (the 18th), £467 in June (the 11th) and £433 in August (the 21st). New Year’s Eve rises to £714. For 12 November the hotel’s own site asked £722 and the cheapest seller £652. The calendar does not say which room, or whether breakfast and taxes are included.
Is breakfast included at The Langham?
It depends on the rate. Club rooms and suites include it at The Langham Club on the third floor, 6.30am to noon; offers such as Family Celebration include it too. Otherwise, in Palm Court, continental is £32 and The Langham Breakfast £42.
How much is afternoon tea at The Langham, and can you go without staying?
Yes, Palm Court is open to all, by reservation. Tea costs £85 a head, £100 with a glass of Champagne and £105 with rosé; the children’s tea for 12s and under £50, plus a discretionary 12.5% service charge. It is served 12.30pm to 4pm on weekdays (1pm in the same page’s FAQ) and to 5pm at weekends.
Is there a dress code at The Langham?
In Palm Court and at Artesian it is smart casual: no sportswear or flip-flops, but no jacket and tie required.
Does The Langham have a pool, and is it open?
Yes: 16 metres, indoors, in a former bank vault, with a sauna and steam rooms, 7am to 9pm; under-16s swim 8am to noon and 4pm to 6pm with an adult. A Google review of 15 September 2026, however, describes the pool closed on 6 September and passes given for when it reopens; the official page, read on 4 October, mentions no closure.
Can you use the spa without staying at The Langham?
Yes, with a treatment: day guests who spend at least £220 at Chuan Spa can use the gym, pool, sauna and showers. A 60-minute Chuan Harmony massage starts at £160; the spa is open 9am to 8pm.
Is The Langham, London dog friendly?
Yes, one dog per room, £100 a stay. Dogs may weigh up to 20 kg, according to the hotel’s dog policy, read on 15 October 2026, which mentions no deposit. Dogs are welcome at The Wigmore and Sale e Pepe Mare, not in the other restaurants.
Is The Langham good for a family with children?
Yes: the 39 m² Family Room sleeps 2 adults and 3 children, babysitting is arranged through guest services, there is a children’s tea at £50, and on Saturdays from 8am to 9am the pool belongs to the children. Booking.com charges children of 13 and over as adults.
Does The Langham have parking?
Yes, valet, at £75 for 24 hours. The Google Hotels card lists parking as unavailable, but the hotel’s page prices it. You drive inside the Congestion Charge zone: the hotel writes £15 a day in one place and £18 in its FAQ.
How do you get to The Langham from Heathrow?
By car about an hour for 32.8 km; a taxi starts at £105 on the hotel’s page and at about £100 in its FAQ, the private transfer at £245. By Underground, get off at Oxford Circus, exit 4, 5 minutes’ walk away.
What time are check-in and check-out?
Check-in from 3pm, check-out by noon. Early arrivals can leave their luggage with the concierge.
Is The Langham open all year, including Christmas and New Year?
Yes: it is a city hotel with no seasonal closure. On 13 October 2026 Google Hotels had prices for every night from November 2026 to August 2027, including 24 and 25 December (£528 and £554) and 31 December (£783).
What is The Langham Club, and which rooms include it?
A third-floor lounge open 6.30am to 9pm, with breakfast, afternoon refreshments 2pm to 4pm, canapés 5pm to 8pm and drinks noon to 9pm. It comes with Club Executive Rooms and the suites.
Can you get married at The Langham?
Yes: every wedding room is licensed for civil ceremonies. There are 15, from the Grand Ballroom, which the hotel gives as up to 375 people (250 seated for dinner on the ALHI sheet), to the courtyard terrace; menus are by Michel Roux. Prices are not published.
Is there anything on New Year’s Eve at The Langham?
As of 4 October 2026 the programme for 31 December is not published. For New Year 2024 Artesian held a party from 9pm with Champagne, canapés and DJs, at £135 to £300 (Time Out).
How many rooms does The Langham have, and is it worth the price?
380 rooms according to the MICHELIN Guide and Wikipedia; the official site does not print the total. In Google reviews that discuss the bill, guests happy with it say they pay gladly for the Club and the service; the others weigh it against the entry rooms, which are 28 m²: for more than a night it is worth going up a category or taking the Club.
More hotels in the guide
The Connaught
The Carlos Place hotel with the Connaught Bar, 10th in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2026, Hélène Darroze’s 3 stars and an Aman pool below the street.
The Ritz London
The 1906 grand hotel on Green Park: tea from £95, since June 2026 in William Kent House, a 2-star restaurant and a refurbishment still under way.
Rosewood London
The former Pearl Assurance headquarters on High Holborn: in through a courtyard, dogs stay free and Scarfes Bar is one of London’s most decorated bars.
The Ned London
Lutyens’ Midland Bank at Bank: 8 restaurants in the hall, a spa with a 20-metre pool for direct bookers, and a rooftop kept for members.
Raffles London at The OWO
Churchill’s Old War Office on Whitehall: 9 restaurants, Paper Moon among them, and a Guerlain spa with a 20-metre pool included with the room.
The Savoy
Tea under Gallery’s dome, the American Bar of 1893 and 263 rooms between Covent Garden and the Thames.
The Dorchester
Tea under Liberace’s piano, Alain Ducasse’s 3 stars and 241 rooms and suites renewed opposite Hyde Park.
Shangri-La The Shard, London
Levels 34 to 52 of The Shard: 202 rooms to choose by the side they face, and an infinity pool at the top.
Claridge’s
Tea among the Foyer’s striped china, the art deco bars and 203 rooms behind Mayfair’s red façade.
Cliveden House
The Astors’ house of 1666 and the Profumo scandal, above the Thames 40 minutes from London: 2 pools, tea over the Parterre and 376 acres of National Trust land.
Chewton Glen
The 18th-century house on the edge of the New Forest: 14 treehouses with hot tubs, a 17-metre pool and a woodland path to the sea.
Gleneagles
The 1924 railway hotel on 850 acres in Perthshire: 3 championship courses, hawks and horses, breakfast included and a station 6 minutes away.