At its best, afternoon tea is less an occasion than a calibrated pause – a soft interval in the day designed for arrival, conversation, and a certain kind of quiet indulgence. It is a ritual with familiar makers: the steady cadence of a pot being refilled, the measured progression from savoury to sweet, and the small, reassuring ceremony of a warm scone split and dressed. 

Across Jumeirah’s destinations, however, the experience shifts with its surroundings. It might be taken high above a skyline, set against a fiery sunset or served while gliding along still waterways – each setting lending the tradition a slightly different mood. 

What remains constant is an unspoken choreography: a tea master treating brewing as craft - leaf, water, time – and a menu built with the same attentiveness. The effect is subtle rather than showy: the day loosens its grip, conversation comes easier, and the hours seem to stretch more generously into evening. 

A Tribute to Nature, Jumeirah Carlton Tower

London feels like a fitting place to begin. Few cities have shaped afternoon tea so decisively – refining it into an art of hospitality and social ritual, from private drawing rooms to royal tables. In Knightsbridge, Jumeirah Carlton Tower’s A Tribute to Nature offers a contemporary expression of that legacy, inspired by Cadogan Gardens, the beautiful gardens that the hotel looks on to and which remain reserved for hotel guests and local residents. 

Created by Executive Pastry Chef Martin Haidar, the menu moves confidently through tradition. Classic finger sandwiches include the enduring Coronation Chicken, first created for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, a nod to heritage. An array of warm, differently flavoured scones follows - The Scone Experience - served with pairings such as clotted cream, thyme sour cream and raspberry jam. The experience concludes with a selection of indulgent pâtisseries that celebrate natural sweetness, eschewing refined sugar and artificial ingredients. Meanwhile, attentive staff pour unhurriedly from a thoughtfully curated collection of loose leaf, organic teas - including Jumeirah’s signature Rose Ceylon, a bright & uplifting blend of Ceylon tea and fragrant rosebuds - guiding guests through pairings at a pace that suits their refined surroundings.

Skyview Lounge, Jumeirah Burj Al Arab

From London’s manicured squares, the journey moves upward, quite literally, to Skyview Lounge at the iconic Jumeirah Burj Al Arab, where afternoon tea is defined by elevation and perspective. Suspended between sea and sky on the 27th floor, the experience unfolds behind floor-to-ceiling windows, opening onto sweeping views of Dubai’s cityscape and coastline. Known after dark for its imaginative mixology, the lounge takes on a different character by day, when it becomes Sky Tea, a reinterpretation of afternoon tea by Chefs Tom Coll and Saverio Sbaragli.

Highlights include smoked yellowtail tucked into crisp baguette, golden brioche layered with chicken and egg, and pastries such as apricot baba, lemon-meringue tart, and a final flourish of raspberry, orange blossom and rose. A broad tea selection, from Darjeeling and Earl Grey to jasmine pearl and lapsang souchong, accompanies the slow transition from afternoon into early evening.

Maja Sunset Lounge, Jumeirah Bali

In another far-flung corner of the world, where the warm waves of the Indian Ocean meet the shores of lush Uluwatu, Jumeirah Bali offers a distinctly different expression of afternoon tea. Perched high on the island’s limestone cliffs, Maja Sunset Lounge commands the resort’s most sought-after position for golden hour, with uninterrupted views across open water. Delicate finger sandwiches give way to freshly baked scones, still warm, served alongside tropical pastries and sweets that bring local flavour to the table - mango and passion fruit layered through panna cotta and namelaka, pistachio cream paired with apricot and citrus, and pandan-flavoured scones served with guava jam. A considered selection of Indonesian teas accompanies the moment - floral jasmine, vanilla mint and lemongrass - joined by locally grown coffee and the option of a sparkling pour.

As the sky shifts into a palette of pink, gold, and burnt orange, and distant bells are carried on the sea breeze, afternoon tea becomes an unhurried prelude to Bali’s most beautiful hour.

Abra Afternoon Tea, Jumeirah Mina Al Salam

Elsewhere, along Dubai’s golden coastline, afternoon tea becomes something far more transportive: a tea service taken on the water, with the resort revealed gradually as you drift. At Jumeirah Mina Al Salam, the ritual unfolds aboard a private abra for two, tracing the winding waterways of Madinat Jumeirah, over the course of an hour, with Jumeirah Burj Al Arab a constant presence in the background. 

The route meanders along palm-lined canals and beneath arched bridges, tracing the 3.7-kilometre waterways that connect three of the resort’s four hotels. Jumeirah Mina Al Salam, Jumeirah Al Qasr and Jumeirah Dar Al Masyaf slip past at water level, alongside the arcades and walkways of the Souk Madinat. As the abra returns to the Jumeirah Mina Al Salam lagoon, the view opens fully onto Jumeirah Burj Al Arab - its silhouette framed across the water in one of the journey’s most striking moments.

On board, the menu is created in collaboration with Margaux Pastry Boutique, drawing on classic Parisian pâtisserie for both its savouries and sweets. Cucumber, salmon, and egg sandwiches, Comté and truffle croquettes, and a lobster roll, followed by an immaculately detailed parade of pastries - from tartelette framboise to chocolate-caramel choux - before warm plain and raisin scones arrive with clotted-cream and orange and strawberry jams, alongside freshly brewed coffee and fine loose-leaf tea.

In the end, afternoon tea is a familiar tradition made new by its setting. Across Jumeirah’s destinations, it becomes a way to slow down and settle in - savouring carefully brewed tea and evocative flavours, shared in good company, whether to the sound of rolling waves or high above the city, level with the clouds.