This is a High Tea experience unlike any other in the Southern Hemisphere and it’s guaranteed to be long remembered for its “wow” factor.
As the High Tea package is a VIP Star Experience Package you can expect some special treatment during your visit to the Melbourne Star. My guest and I were met at the entrance of the Melbourne Star and ushered through the welcome area where we posed for some souvenir photos in front of the green screen (we collected these after our “flight” in a lovely book containing all sorts of facts about the Melbourne Star, included as part of our package).
Our Melbourne Star host took us to the VIP entry area so that we didn’t have to wait in any queues to board our Melbourne Star cabin, and as we approached the loading area the Wheel was fully stopped so that the food trolly could be loaded into the cabin and we quickly followed. Once we were on board we waved goodbye to the staff who had loaded us on and said hello to our dedicated Peter Rowland’s waiter.
It takes a few moments to take everything in. The cabin glides effortlessly – so much so that unless you are looking at the structure of the wheel itself, you’d swear you weren’t moving. Checking out the view and the excitement of ascending takes up a few moments and once our initial excitement calmed our very discreet waiter suggested we might like a drink, indicating he open the French champagne {cue more excitement}.
The classic High Tea included scones (with cream and jam already applied – how thoughtful), petit fours (such as eclairs, lemon meringue pies and macrons) and sandwiches.
One would be forgiven for thinking the spread could have been a little tired after travelling to our cabin – but it was superbly fresh. All the ingredients were perfect (not a dry or soggy spot anywhere!) and the presentation was charming. Please note that the cakes and sandwiches can change slightly as they are seasonal.
We sipped our champagne and nibbled our treats as the cabin silently moved through the sky – giving us plenty to look at. The full flight takes 30 minutes (plenty of time for us to enjoy the view and our spread) and, if you want, you have the option to stay in your cabin for a second rotation.
Apparently these Star Experience Packages are very popular for marriage proposals and other special occasions. The staff at the Melbourne Star are able to accommodate special requests (some have included hiding the engagement ring or spreading rose petals throughout the cabin) from the creative through to simple things like changing the audio in the cabin to your own soundtrack. Just be sure to contact them well in advance if you have special requests.
Also if you prefer to drink tea (instead of Champagne) then you need to mention this when you book, as the teapot was purely for decorative purposes.
A VIP package on the Melbourne Star doesn’t come cheap. An exclusive cabin High Tea at a confirmed departure time is $709 for two people – however for a group of 14 the experience is $85 per person. You will also need to plan in advance as bookings must be made at least three days in advance.
The Melbourne Star have realised how popular these packages are and so you can expect to see their food and wine options expanding in the future.
When we disembarked our cabin we were taken through to the exit area where we collected our souvenir book complete with photos from when we’d entered the building.
Thank you Melbourne Star for a truly memorable high tea.
