Bournemouth Holidays

Afternoon tea in Bournemouth: prices and where to book

Afternoon tea in Bournemouth runs from £18.50 at the Hermitage to £32.50 at THE NICI. Prices, times, fizz upgrades and dietary notice at 12 venues.

Facts checked against official sources on 25 October 2026. How we research

The East Cliff gardens, beach and pier seen from the Russell-Cotes
Photo: Bournemouth & Poole Tourism / bournemouth.co.uk, Media use with credit

Afternoon tea prices compared

Each price below is for one person and comes from the venue’s own afternoon tea page or menu. “With fizz” is the cheapest version that adds a glass of prosecco, champagne or a cocktail. Where a cell reads “not stated”, the venue’s website gives nothing on that point.

Afternoon tea in Bournemouth and Christchurch, prices read 25 October 2026
The Hermitage Hotel, lounges
Area
Exeter Road, town centre
Afternoon tea
£18.50 (Dorset Afternoon Tea)
With fizz
Not stated
Served
Daily, 12pm to 5pm
Source
The Hermitage: dining
The Cumberland Hotel, Ventana Grand Café
Area
East Cliff
Afternoon tea
£22 (Contemporary); Savoury High Tea £25.50
With fizz
Not stated
Served
Daily, 3pm to 5pm
Source
The Cumberland: Ventana afternoon tea
Queens Hotel & Spa, Queens Brasserie
Area
East Cliff
Afternoon tea
£22; children £12.95
With fizz
£28 with prosecco
Served
Not stated
Source
Queens Hotel: afternoon tea, menu (PDF)
Hotel Miramar, lounge and terrace
Area
East Cliff
Afternoon tea
£22.50 (Tea by the Sea); savoury £25.95
With fizz
£29.65 with BH1 gin and tonic; £34.50 with champagne
Served
2.30pm to 5.30pm
Source
Hotel Miramar: lounge menu (PDF)
Hotel Collingwood, Bluebird lounge
Area
Priory Road, town centre
Afternoon tea
£24.50, with unlimited tea and coffee
With fizz
£39.95 with a tequila cocktail masterclass
Served
Not stated; same day if booked before 11am
Source
Hotel Collingwood: afternoon tea
The Connaught Hotel and Spa
Area
West Cliff
Afternoon tea
£25
With fizz
£31 with prosecco; £32.50 with a gin and tonic
Served
Daily, 12pm to 4.30pm
Source
The Connaught: afternoon tea
Arbor Restaurant at The Green House
Area
Grove Road, East Cliff
Afternoon tea
£25 (Classic)
With fizz
Prosecco £35 a bottle, champagne £58 a bottle
Served
Monday to Saturday 2pm to 4pm; Sunday 2.30pm to 4pm
Source
Arbor Restaurant: afternoon tea
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, café
Area
East Cliff Promenade
Afternoon tea
£41 for two
With fizz
£53 for two with bubbly
Served
Café 10am to 4.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays
Source
Russell-Cotes: café
The Royal Bath Hotel, the Lounge
Area
Bath Road, East Cliff
Afternoon tea
Not stated
With fizz
Not stated
Served
Daily, 12pm to 4.30pm (may vary)
Source
Royal Bath: food and drink
Captain’s Club Hotel
Area
Wick Ferry, Christchurch
Afternoon tea
£26
With fizz
£31.50 with prosecco; £36.50 with Taittinger champagne
Served
Not stated
Source
Captain’s Club: afternoon tea menu, summer 2026 (PDF)
Christchurch Harbour Hotel, Upper Deck
Area
Mudeford, Christchurch
Afternoon tea
£29.50 (Traditional)
With fizz
£37.95 with prosecco; £42 with Moët & Chandon
Served
Monday to Saturday, 3pm to 4.15pm
Source
Harbour Hotel Christchurch: Upper Deck afternoon tea menu (PDF)
THE NICI, South Beach
Area
West Hill Road, West Cliff
Afternoon tea
£32.50 (Traditional)
With fizz
£39 with Midas Pink Prosecco; £45 with Moët & Chandon (menu prices)
Served
Daily, 3pm to 5pm
Source
THE NICI: afternoon tea, menu, March 2026 (PDF)

The Royal Bath’s food and drink page lists afternoon tea in its Lounge every day from 12pm to 4.30pm, but gives no price or menu for it. The Ivy Bournemouth Brasserie is not in the table because its website could not be read to confirm whether it serves afternoon tea, or at what price.

Where is the cheapest afternoon tea in Bournemouth?

The Hermitage Hotel on Exeter Road charges the least of the venues checked: £18.50 for its Dorset Afternoon Tea of finger sandwiches, fruit scones with Dorset clotted cream and a chef’s selection of pastries, with tea or cafetière coffee. It is served in the hotel’s lounges every day from 12pm to 5pm, and the hotel says non-residents are always welcome.

Next come The Cumberland’s Contemporary Afternoon Tea in the Ventana Grand Café and the Queens Brasserie tea at Queens Hotel & Spa, both £22. The Russell-Cotes sells afternoon tea only for two, at £41, which works out at £20.50 each. Its café is free to enter without a museum ticket, and the tea must be booked at least 24 hours ahead.

Hotel Collingwood’s £24.50 signature tea is the only one here that states unlimited tea and coffee. The others include a pot of tea or a coffee each, where they say anything at all.

Check room prices for The Hermitage Hotel on Expedia →Free parking is for bookings made direct with the hotel. Booked through this link, parking is normally £14 a day.

Prosecco, champagne and gin afternoon teas

The cheapest sparkling version is the Queens Brasserie prosecco tea at £28. The Connaught adds a glass of prosecco for £31 or a gin and tonic from its gin menu for £32.50, and Captain’s Club charges £31.50 with prosecco and £36.50 with a glass of Taittinger.

Hotel Miramar’s menu offers a BH1 gin and tonic tea at £29.65 and a champagne tea at £34.50. At the top end, THE NICI’s Moët & Chandon tea is £45 on its menu and Christchurch Harbour Hotel’s is £42, where the hotel names the glass as 125ml. Christchurch Harbour also has a Celebration tea at £40 with a choice of cocktails such as an Aperol Spritz or espresso martini.

Hotel Collingwood’s £39.95 Tea, Treats & Cocktails pairs its signature afternoon tea with a masterclass in which guests make a margarita and a tequila sunrise. Arbor at The Green House sells sparkling wine by the bottle alongside its £25 tea: prosecco at £35 and champagne at £58.

Check room prices for The Connaught on Expedia →Free parking, and a guaranteed space in Executive rooms and suites, are for bookings made direct with the hotel. Booked through this link, parking is £12 a day.

Afternoon tea with a sea or river view

THE NICI serves its tea at South Beach, its seafront restaurant on the West Cliff, and calls it afternoon tea by the sea. Hotel Miramar on the East Cliff serves in its lounge and on its terrace, outside in summer and by open fires in winter. The Hermitage lists garden and pier views.

In Christchurch, Captain’s Club at Wick Ferry describes its tea as having views over the River Stour, and Christchurch Harbour Hotel serves in its Upper Deck restaurant at Mudeford, by the water. The Connaught, back on the West Cliff, offers winter teas by the open fire in its Drawing Room.

Check room prices for THE NICI on Expedia →

Afternoon tea in Christchurch and Mudeford

Two of the venues are in Christchurch. Captain’s Club charges £26 for a three-tier stand that on its summer 2026 menu included a Hampshire hog sausage roll, plain and spiced sultana scones and a pistachio brownie. Booking is essential, and the hotel asks guests with dietary needs to call ahead.

Christchurch Harbour Hotel’s Traditional Afternoon Tea at the Upper Deck is £29.50, served Monday to Saturday from 3pm to 4.15pm, the shortest window of any venue here. Its offers page has afternoon tea for two for the price of one, Monday to Friday until 30 November, which must be mentioned when booking (Harbour Hotel Christchurch: afternoon tea two for one). For the walk afterwards, Mudeford Quay and the sandbank are covered in Mudeford beach huts.

Check room prices for Christchurch Harbour Hotel on Expedia →

Gluten-free, vegan and children’s afternoon teas

Every hotel that publishes a dietary policy asks for notice, and the notice differs:

  • 48 hours: The Connaught (vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free menus), Arbor (gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan) and Queens (gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan).
  • 24 hours: Hotel Collingwood (gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan) and The Cumberland’s Savoury High Tea.
  • Pre-order, no period given: Hotel Miramar, whose gluten-free or vegan tea costs £27.50 against £22.50 for the standard one.
  • Call ahead: Captain’s Club. THE NICI asks for dietary needs at the time of booking.

Queens is the only venue here to publish a children’s afternoon tea: £12.95 a child, with cheese and ham sandwiches, a brownie, a carrot cupcake and a babycino, hot chocolate or cordial. Families staying nearby are compared in family hotels in Bournemouth.

Check room prices for Queens Hotel & Spa on Expedia →

Cream teas: scones and tea for less

A cream tea of scones, clotted cream, jam and tea costs from £6.95, a little over a third of the cheapest afternoon tea above.

Cream teas in Bournemouth and Christchurch, read 25 October 2026
Hotel Collingwood
Cream tea
£6.95
What is included
Plain or fruit scones, clotted cream, strawberry preserve, tea or coffee
Source
Hotel Collingwood: afternoon tea menu 2026 (PDF)
The Hermitage Hotel
Cream tea
£8.50 on the dining page; £9.50 on the November 2025 lounge menu
What is included
Two fruit scones, Dorset clotted cream, strawberry preserve, tea or cafetière coffee
Source
The Hermitage: dining, lounge menu (PDF)
Hotel Miramar
Cream tea
£8.95
What is included
Two scones, strawberry jam, clotted cream, pot of tea for one
Source
Hotel Miramar: lounge menu (PDF)
Queens Hotel & Spa
Cream tea
£10
What is included
Scones, Dorset clotted cream, strawberry preserves, tea or coffee
Source
Queens Hotel: afternoon tea menu (PDF)
Arbor at The Green House
Cream tea
£12
What is included
Two homemade scones, Dorset clotted cream, preserves, pot of tea or coffee
Source
Arbor Restaurant: afternoon tea
Christchurch Harbour Hotel
Cream tea
£12
What is included
Plain and fruit scone, Dorset clotted cream, strawberry jam, pot of tea
Source
Harbour Hotel Christchurch: Upper Deck afternoon tea menu (PDF)
The Riviera
Cream tea
£17 for two (voucher)
What is included
Scones, clotted cream, jam, tea or coffee in a reserved area of The Bridge Bar & Grill, 12pm to 5pm daily; book by phone
Source
The Riviera: cream tea for two

The Hermitage’s own dining page and its lounge menu PDF give different cream tea prices, so the table shows both.

Booking, deposits and service charges

Several venues add costs that the headline price leaves out. Hotel Miramar and Queens add a discretionary 10% service charge to the bill, and Captain’s Club and Christchurch Harbour Hotel add 12.5%. Hotel Collingwood takes a £10 deposit a person when the table is booked.

Captain’s Club and THE NICI say afternoon tea must be booked in advance, and the Russell-Cotes needs at least 24 hours’ notice. The Connaught recommends a reservation but says one is not essential. THE NICI asks for every person at the table to be booked, rather than one tea shared, and says an afternoon tea usually lasts one to two hours.

Festive afternoon tea at The Connaught

The Connaught serves a Festive Afternoon Tea every day from 1 to 23 December 2026, 12pm to 4.30pm, at £25 a person, with a glass of prosecco for £6 more (The Connaught: festive afternoon tea). It must be booked at least 24 hours ahead with a £10 deposit a person, refundable up to two days before.

Sunday to Thursday tables can be booked online, while Friday and Saturday bookings are by phone. The brasserie and bar take card payments only, not cash. Other December events and Christmas hotel stays are compared in Christmas in Bournemouth.

Frequently asked questions

Can you have afternoon tea at a Bournemouth hotel without staying there?

Yes at The Hermitage, which says non-residents are always welcome. The Russell-Cotes café can be visited without paying museum admission. The other hotels’ afternoon tea pages take table bookings and do not say a room booking is needed.

Is there a dress code for afternoon tea?

THE NICI says there is no dress code. None of the other venues checked publishes one.

Which afternoon tea in Bournemouth is served latest?

Hotel Miramar serves until 5.30pm, the latest of the venues that publish times. The Hermitage, The Cumberland and THE NICI serve until 5pm. Christchurch Harbour Hotel stops at 4.15pm and Arbor at 4pm.

Related guides

Sources, checked 25 October 2026

  1. The Hermitage: dining (hermitage-hotel.co.uk)
  2. The Cumberland: Ventana afternoon tea (cumberlandbournemouth.co.uk)
  3. Queens Hotel: afternoon tea (queenshotelbournemouth.com)
  4. menu (PDF) (document-tc.galaxy.tf)
  5. Hotel Miramar: lounge menu (PDF) (media.guestnet.co.uk)
  6. Hotel Collingwood: afternoon tea (hotelcollingwood.co.uk)
  7. The Connaught: afternoon tea (theconnaught.co.uk)
  8. Arbor Restaurant: afternoon tea (arbor-restaurant.co.uk)
  9. Russell-Cotes: café (russellcotes.com)
  10. Royal Bath: food and drink (britanniahotels.com)
  11. Captain’s Club: afternoon tea menu, summer 2026 (PDF) (hotelcms-production.imgix.net)
  12. Harbour Hotel Christchurch: Upper Deck afternoon tea menu (PDF) (harbourhotels.co.uk)
  13. THE NICI: afternoon tea (thenici.com)
  14. menu, March 2026 (PDF) (thenici.com)
  15. Harbour Hotel Christchurch: afternoon tea two for one (harbourhotels.co.uk)
  16. Hotel Collingwood: afternoon tea menu 2026 (PDF) (cdn.prod.website-files.com)
  17. lounge menu (PDF) (wa-uploads.profitroom.com)
  18. The Riviera: cream tea for two (rivierabournemouth.co.uk)
  19. The Connaught: festive afternoon tea (theconnaught.co.uk)

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Prices, rules and policies change. Everything on this page was taken from the hotel, operator or council concerned and checked on 25 October 2026; check with them before you travel. Spotted something out of date? See how we research.