Astor Court is what every other Atlanta afternoon tea gets measured against. The St. Regis serves it on the second-floor balcony overlooking the hotel's crystal-chandelier lobby, with a harpist or pianist underneath, and it runs exactly the way a flagship hotel tea is supposed to run — the linens are right, the staff know the menu cold, and nothing happens without a reason.
The Caroline Astor Afternoon Tea anchors the program at $80, structured as the full three-tiered experience: house-made scones with Devonshire cream and lemon curd, composed tea sandwiches (smoked salmon, egg salad, cucumber-and-dill in the traditional proportions), petit fours built like miniatures rather than desserts. The tea list is broad and thoughtfully described. Holiday Tea runs $95 and ratchets everything up seasonally — Tea with Santa is the December version, and it is as charming as it sounds. Children's tea is $65 for ages 3 through 10.
Seatings run Saturday and Sunday only, starting at 12:30pm, and the experience is paced to take about 90 minutes. The dress code lands on "Sunday best" rather than black tie — a nicer dress, a sport coat, no jeans; nothing formal but visible effort. This is the Atlanta tea the locals give out-of-town parents for Mother's Day and the one to book for a milestone engagement, a bachelorette with taste, or just a weekend that deserves a ceremony.
Practical notes: Book at least two weeks ahead; Mother's Day and Christmas-season dates fill six to eight weeks out. The hotel has self-parking if valet isn't your style. Service and gratuity are added to the bill.