Andrew Blas builds a chocolate village at The Dorchester

Last Christmas, The Promenade at The Dorchester held London in gingerbread: the London Eye, black cabs and red telephone boxes, made by the executive pastry chef at the time, Michael Kwan. This year the room gets a village instead. From 14 November, Andrew Blas, newly appointed to the same job, fills it with a snow-coated railway station, chocolate houses with snow-dusted roofs and a train running through the scene.

The station sits at the centre of the village, and the hotel says the idea comes from the nostalgia and traditions of Christmas. Phillip Hammond, the hotel’s in-house floral designer, arranges flowers around it. The Promenade serves breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, so the village is on show from morning until late.

Out in the lobby, the Christmas tree takes its place again, surrounded by seasonal flowers and decorations. Last year it was a 15-foot Nordmann spruce grown in Britain.

Afternoon tea with a chocolate train

Blas carries the village onto the table. His festive afternoon tea starts with finger sandwiches and freshly baked scones, then moves on to pastries drawn from the display, with a miniature chocolate train among them. Champagne or sparkling wine can be added from a long list.

The tea is served every day from 14 November to 3 January. At weekends it comes with carol singers, in support of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, the hotel’s charity partner, so a Saturday or Sunday is the one to book for the full Christmas version. There are separate teas on Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Carols, a concert and Liberace’s piano

The hotel’s Christmas concert on 18 November opens with hymns from the Cardinal Vaughan boys’ choir. A three-course dinner follows, then a piano performance, and a live band ends the night.

For the rest of the season the music on The Promenade comes from Liberace’s piano. The hotel’s resident pianist plays it every afternoon and evening, with solo piano at lunch and a piano vocalist after dark from Wednesday to Sunday. Jazz moves to The Grill for two nights, when Ronnie Scott’s brings the singer-songwriter Frances Madden on 25 November and Emma Smith on 8 December, each with three courses by the culinary director, Martyn Nail.

Festive afternoon tea is served from 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, daily from 12:00 to 17:30, with carols at weekends. From £130 per person.

The Dorchester, Park Lane, London W1K 1QA.