Cliveden House

Cliveden House sits about forty minutes west of London by car, near Taplow in Berkshire, and it wears its history heavily: this was a National Trust-owned stately home before it became a hotel, with terraced gardens running down to the Thames and a past that takes in prime ministers, the Astor family and the Profumo affair. None of that is subtle, and the hotel leans into it.

Rooms are generously proportioned and dressed in a traditional English country-house style, heavy fabrics, antiques, roll-top baths, rather than the pared-back minimalism many newer luxury hotels favour now. Some of the best suites look straight down the parterre towards the river.

There are two main places to eat. The Cliveden Dining Room is the formal option, chandeliered and portrait-lined, with a seasonally changing British and European menu. The Astor Grill is more relaxed, equestrian-themed, and works well for lunch after a walk through the grounds or a session on the outdoor pool. Afternoon tea in the Great Hall is a proper occasion in itself.

Service is attentive in the old-fashioned sense, which some guests find charming and others find a little stiff for the money. It is a genuinely expensive night away, and the formality of the main dining room will not suit everyone; those wanting a more contemporary, low-key luxury experience may find it a touch old-world.

What it does well is scale and setting: 376 acres of National Trust parkland, a spa in a converted pavilion, and grounds that reward a proper walk before dinner. As a London escape it earns its reputation, provided you go in wanting grandeur rather than understatement.

The hotel also does a brisk trade in weddings and private events, which is worth knowing if you are booking a quiet stay, as parts of the grounds and public rooms can be given over to a function on any given weekend. Rates are firmly in the top tier of UK country-house hotels, and a stay here, even for one night, is a considerable outlay once dinner and treatments are added to the room rate. For that money, the setting and the history genuinely deliver, but it is not a spontaneous or budget-friendly escape.