A Joyful
Afternoon Tea
Tradition

In 2002, I left England for Washington, DC as part of a hospitality management training program. My placement was at The Hay-Adams. Things went well for me there both professionally and socially. Within five years, I became Director of Restaurants. And a fun connection with a colleague in The Lafayette restaurant was a foundation for what would become not only a lifelong friendship, but the framework for a really special tradition with each of our daughters. The restaurant was gorgeous and elegant, and we joked about how one day, we’d be guests there, instead of staff.

I went back to England for a time and while there, I reached out to my old friend from The Hay-Adams. She and I reveled in the fact that we both happened to be pregnant. Our daughters were born and not much later, I returned to Washington. My friend and I often reminisced about our time at The Hay-Adams, which had ingrained itself into both of our hearts as a sort of home away from home, due to the close-knit, caring staff – some of whom are still there today.

When our daughters were three, we half-jokingly suggested to one another that perhaps the moment had come, to be guests at the very special hotel that had shaped the course of our lives. We took the girls to their first Sunday afternoon tea that December, starting a tradition that continues today, and is one of our favorite parts of the holiday season. The girls love the opportunity to dress up, and we always take photos in front of one of the hotel’s beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

Our girls are now 12 years old. They delight in reminding us to decide on a date and reserve our table at The Lafayette for tea. When they were younger, the decadent tableside hot chocolate thrilled them to no end, but they’re now more sophisticated and thoroughly enjoy the tea itself. My daughter, especially, is proud of her English heritage and birthplace, and it shows in her graceful enjoyment of sitting down to tea at The Lafayette.

And although the tea experience itself is outstanding – with the attentiveness of the staff, the richness of the menu, and that very familiar setting, which somehow manages to feel both opulent and completely welcoming – it’s the moments spent with my daughter and our friends that feel like the most magical tradition of all.

-Claire, Washington, DC