Canada: Fairmont Chateau
Heeding the warnings of everyone on the Internet, we left the Airbnb at 5:00 am to make sure we would get parking at Lake Louise. The thing about the Internet, however, is that it is accessible to every interested tourist. So when we arrived a bit after 6:15 am, it was the find the parking lot nearly full.
Even though it seemed like the lake was already teeming with people, we still managed to capture some good photos before the masses really started pouring in. We left the crowds behind and started the hike to the Lake Agnes Tea House, ultimately continuing onward until we reached the summit of the Big Beehive. From there, we were able to take in Lake Louise in all its glory:
Luxury hotel and UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Fairmont Chateau looked almost like a doll house.
Eventually, we made our way down until we were back at the parking lot. The original plan was to take a shuttle to Moraine Lake. But when we found out the next available shuttle wouldn't be for another three hours, we decided to scrap that plan and head inside the Fairmont Chateau instead:
While I certainly couldn't afford to stay at the Fairmont, I was completely on board with splurging a bit on an extravagant afternoon tea in their restaurant. After that crazy strenuous hike, I felt like we all deserved a little pampering.
The interior was spacious and while we didn't get a table right next to the floor to ceiling windows, we could still take in the fabulous views from where we were:
Afternoon tea at the Fairmont Chateau is available from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm every day. It costs $56 per person unless you want to add some bubblies.
There are a lot of different teas to choose from, from black teas to green to fruit. I decided to go with the Market Fresh because it sounded super interesting:
According to the description, it was supposed to taste like "summer in a cup". The ingredients included apple, rosehip, hibiscus, tomato, cucumber, lemon, lime, orange slices, and watermelon. I don't know whether I could say it tasted like summer, but it was certainly fruity.
After the tea was served, we were brought fresh seasonal berries with whipped cream:
Followed by the tiers of finger sandwiches and buttermilk scones:
The scones came with Devonshire style cream, house preserve, and lemon curd. There were five different finger sandwiches. There was a mini lobster croissant, a smoked salmon roulade with caviar, a piquillo hens egg in a brioche bun, a lemon, thyme, and cucumber with cream cheese, and a chicken pain au lait. My favorites were definitely the lobster and the smoked salmon.
The afternoon tea package also included an all you can eat dessert buffet:
We made sure to try each and every one. Ultimately though, my heart belonged with the finger sandwiches.
Was the food worth $56? Not really. Was it was nice to pretend to be fancy and sip our tea with our pinkies out? Definitely. It was also nice to be inside with a dessert buffet rather than outside when it started to rain.
We were a little bummed to miss Moraine Lake, but I guess that just means we'll need to visit Banff again.
Fairmont Chateau
111 Lake Louise Dr
Lake Louise, AB T0L 1E0, Canada
+1 403-522-3511
https://www.fairmont.com/lake-louise/dining/afternoontea/
Even though it seemed like the lake was already teeming with people, we still managed to capture some good photos before the masses really started pouring in. We left the crowds behind and started the hike to the Lake Agnes Tea House, ultimately continuing onward until we reached the summit of the Big Beehive. From there, we were able to take in Lake Louise in all its glory:
Luxury hotel and UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Fairmont Chateau looked almost like a doll house.
Eventually, we made our way down until we were back at the parking lot. The original plan was to take a shuttle to Moraine Lake. But when we found out the next available shuttle wouldn't be for another three hours, we decided to scrap that plan and head inside the Fairmont Chateau instead:
While I certainly couldn't afford to stay at the Fairmont, I was completely on board with splurging a bit on an extravagant afternoon tea in their restaurant. After that crazy strenuous hike, I felt like we all deserved a little pampering.
The interior was spacious and while we didn't get a table right next to the floor to ceiling windows, we could still take in the fabulous views from where we were:
Afternoon tea at the Fairmont Chateau is available from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm every day. It costs $56 per person unless you want to add some bubblies.
There are a lot of different teas to choose from, from black teas to green to fruit. I decided to go with the Market Fresh because it sounded super interesting:
According to the description, it was supposed to taste like "summer in a cup". The ingredients included apple, rosehip, hibiscus, tomato, cucumber, lemon, lime, orange slices, and watermelon. I don't know whether I could say it tasted like summer, but it was certainly fruity.
After the tea was served, we were brought fresh seasonal berries with whipped cream:
Followed by the tiers of finger sandwiches and buttermilk scones:
The scones came with Devonshire style cream, house preserve, and lemon curd. There were five different finger sandwiches. There was a mini lobster croissant, a smoked salmon roulade with caviar, a piquillo hens egg in a brioche bun, a lemon, thyme, and cucumber with cream cheese, and a chicken pain au lait. My favorites were definitely the lobster and the smoked salmon.
The afternoon tea package also included an all you can eat dessert buffet:
We made sure to try each and every one. Ultimately though, my heart belonged with the finger sandwiches.
Was the food worth $56? Not really. Was it was nice to pretend to be fancy and sip our tea with our pinkies out? Definitely. It was also nice to be inside with a dessert buffet rather than outside when it started to rain.
We were a little bummed to miss Moraine Lake, but I guess that just means we'll need to visit Banff again.
Fairmont Chateau
111 Lake Louise Dr
Lake Louise, AB T0L 1E0, Canada
+1 403-522-3511
https://www.fairmont.com/lake-louise/dining/afternoontea/
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