afternoon tea diaries: 140 park lane with groupon

to the best of my knowledge, groupon was something you used to get a discount when you bulk-bought lightbulbs. i'd never considered using it, or really had any idea how it worked. when the team at groupon reached out to me, my initial reaction was a little "but i don't want to write about cut-price household goods!" boy, was i wrong. turns out, groupon have a whole host of deals, including my favourite, afternoon tea! myself and my best friend (fresh off a plane from australia, where she's been gap year-ing) settled down for a spot of tea at 140 park lane. but this was a little special - it's afternoon tea with a twist. the twist being that you get a big ol' teapot full of the cocktail of your choice. what's better than scones and sandwiches than scones and sandwiches with a side of moijto? we chose the house "bruised apple" cocktail, which was deliciously fruity and light. the location of 140 park lane is brilliant; right outside marble arch, tonnes of green space to chill in afterwards, but for me, it didn't really have that special touch that other hotels in the area do. the staff were lovely, but it didn't feel as personal as brown's did. more importantly, on to the food! we had a really inventive yummy selection of sandwiches on a range of herb and nut breads, scones and crumpets (finally, a crumpet on this blog!) and some sweet treats, like a moussey millefeuille creation and miniature eclairs. the food was good, and perfectly complimented by the drinks. now that i understand how groupon works, i'd definitely use it again - the tea worked out about £38 for the two of us with the deal, and you can easily pay that much per head in other hotels - and not even get a cocktail! plus, the deals on there i saw were a little unique - like tea with a twist, there were themed getaways and special beauty treatments. it's well worth a look!