High Tea in Riyadh

Taking in the view and showing off my first Abaya

I would have never imagined eating scones, finger sandwiches, and sipping tea at the Four Seasons Hotel, especially not the one in Riyadh. The women of the embassy were invited to an exquisite High Tea experience at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Kingdom Tower. This 41 story beautiful skyscraper is owned by Saudi Prince, Al-Waleed bin Talal. This building also houses a 5 story high end shopping center, a skybridge atop the skyscraper which is open to the public and provides a 360 view of the entire city of Riyadh. Needless to say it's definitely posh.

A glimpse of the desserts

High Tea was served in one of the master suites on the 38th floor. We were greeted by the hotel manager and 6 staff members. The suite was knock out dead gorgeous. On every table there were assortments of finger sandwiches, desserts, scones as well as a menu of different teas the staff could prepare for us. The chef was in the kitchen making everything from scratch. I tried fresh green tea with loose peppermint leaves and a Hibiscus Rose which was out of this world delicious. The finger foods were amazing, and the minute a table would start to look bare the butlers would replenish it with more food.


This was also a wonderful opportunity for the women to socialize and get to know one another a little more. Some have been here for a while and are about to depart, and others have just arrived. It's interesting to hear about people's background and how they came to Riyadh and where they are headed to next. In 1994 when Billy and I married I would have never imagined we'd be living in Riyadh and now here we are, having the opportunity of a lifetime, at least I think so. Cheers to that!