It's not a good experience like advertised and not worth the money, the food is nicer from mark's and Spencers the quality is poor sandwiches where crusty round edges we only ate the scone and couple sandwiches as they had no flavour to them and the scone was tiny, the bus driver was erratic and just made us feel sick, you couldn't hear the tannoy that much and had no chance to take photos as driver was too fast, the hot chocolate just tasted of water and the whole experience was not enjoyable and it was for my daughter's 30th she was so upset I wished now I had chosen a hotel or shard which was cheaper.
Bus left 15 minutes late so we were kept waiting at the curbside for 30 minutes with impatient toddlers as we had been asked to arrive at least 15 minutes early: food was appalling and served by a waiter who had a strong body door. In the confined quarters of the bus with closed windows this was extremely unpleasant and very unappetising: the tour guide showed absolutely no interest or enthusiasm. The food was atrocious : sandwiches were basically mayonnaise slathered on bread with soggy cucumbers and dried out carrots. It really is a waste of money and time. Avoid at all costs:
I took my son to London for the day and booked afternoon tea on the peppa pig bus We had to cancel twice due to train strikes so he was very excited. The staff are lovely and the food is amazing . What you dont finish you can take home with you along with a peppa pig cup.
We live in Sweden and were visiting London for 3 and a half days, and on the 2nd day I had booked a Paddington Afternoon Tea Bus Tour (on 2nd November late afternoon) with our 2 girls aged 6 and 11 years old. We really loved it and we had lots of fun during this tour. The bus is absolutely beautiful - old-style, vintage and charming double decker bus, super cute and nicely decorated with Paddington theme everywhere (obviously!) including the food on your table (looks really pretty), and the Paddington music is on. My girls were super impressed - and they awarded me “best mom of the planet” for booking the tour 😄 🧐
Now…Yes…it does cost a fortune, but it will for sure be a memorable experience for us, so it was worth it. Also considering you get the bus ride with London views, the Paddington theme, and the afternoon tea (and afternoon teas are always pricey).
My advice: it might sound trivial, but do make sure you go to the toilet with your kids just before going onboard because there’s no toilet in the bus and the tour lasts 2 hours. Not a problem for us as we arrived well on time so we could go to a nearby pub to have our “pre-tour toilet visit” 😂
Also, as I had expected, my 6 years got a bit impatient after the first hour. Don’t get me wrong, she was ecstatic at the beginning, but she isn’t exactly the quiet type 😅 so I was happy I had brought some entertainment with me to keep her busy until the end. In general, for kids 6-8 years old I would advise to plan for some books, coloring book or similar activities or gadgets, just because 2 hours is quite a long time even if the ride is fun.
I gave it a 4 stars because yes it’s great and cool that we can keep the super cute and high quality Paddington cups, but I think a few things could make the experience even better (I am picky because of the price also): we absolutely loved the music but there could be a bit more variation in the songs, and some paper activities should be provided for kids (even if just the basic activity sheets like they have at Pizza Express for kids).
This was an experience I was really looking forward to but alas it is not one I would repeat.
The staff on board the bus were really polite, helpful and friendly. The actual afternoon tea was very nice. We pre-ordered a glass of Prosecco as this was a special occasion but there was nowhere to place the plastic flute glass without it tipping over, while the bus was moving. There is a hole in the tables to place the travel mug that you are given to stop the tea from spilling but there is nowhere for flute glasses. The bus ride was so bumpy the flute glass would have tipped over and what a waste that would have been. Whilst I appreciate the bumpy London roads are something you have no control over this was not the leisurely ride around London, whilst enjoying afternoon tea, I was expecting.
We were told to arrive 15-20mins before the departure time of 14:30, which we did, along with others on this tour. We did not board the bus until 14:35 and therefore did not leave for the tour until approximately 14:40/45. We arrived back at Victoria Coach Station at 15:55. What was supposed to be a 90 min tour became 75 mins.
The background music on the bus was too loud. The commentary when we passed places of interest did not come on until after we passed the place of interest.
All in all this was very disappointing. Unfortunately as afternoon tea experiences go this is one I would not recommend.
