There aren’t many country house hotels that the general public want to tour, but this 19th-century wedding cake of a stately home outside Taplow is a National Trust property with a fascinating backstory, so the usual rules don’t apply. The public rooms are as rich in history as their decor is lavish. Queen Victoria, Charlie Chaplin and the Roosevelts all partied in the atmospheric Great Hall, which is adorned in reverential shades of ruby and lined with suits of armour. The gilded dining room offers modern British cuisine, with a side order of Cliveden’s famously dreamy parterre lawn. The 48 bedrooms are redolent of a bygone age.
Overall score 8/10
Main photo: the outdoor pool at Cliveden House
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Rooms and suites
Score 8/10
Bedrooms come in all shapes and sizes — from suites with four-poster beds and working fireplaces in the main mansion to more contemporary Club rooms in the east and west wings that have outdoor hot tubs. All are furnished with thrice-shined antiques, silk swags, intricate wallpapers, Regency stripes and original artworks that date them firmly in previous centuries. This ambience is further enforced because not only is the house listed but the National Trust also advises on the positioning of furniture to ensure authenticity. Every room is named after a prominent figure from Cliveden’s past, such as Winston Churchill and George Bernard Shaw. You will get your 15 minutes of fame too, as the hotel keeps up a tradition of hand-writing the name of the current incumbent on each bedroom door.
Food and drink
Score 8/10
The decor might determinedly swerve the 21st century, but the dining definitely does not. Chris Hannon, the executive head chef, has created a menu for the grand and gilded Cliveden Dining Room that is 30 per cent vegan or plant-based, with dishes such as textures of artichoke next to venison carpaccio, and mains of salt-based celeriac as an alternative to dry-aged beef fillet. If you want something less formal, the Astor Grill, down by the old stables, feels like a New York diner with bobby blue banquette seating and plenty of pastas, burgers and fish and chips.
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What else is there?
Score 8/10
The swimming pool here is part of political folklore as the place where John Profumo, the Conservative minister, first encountered Christine Keeler in 1961, leading to an affair that nearly brought down the government. It’s now part of a decadent walled-garden spa that has an impressive calendar of A-list residencies. Teresa Tarmey, the celebrity facialist, holds clinics here, offering her blend of high-tech equipment and good old-fashioned loving care, which has proved a hit with Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham and Sienna Miller. There is also a gym, workout studio and indoor and outdoor tennis courts. The hotel also has several vintage launches for river trips, as well as archery, axe-throwing, art classes and woodland and foraging walks.
Where is it?
Score 8/10
Windsor Castle is a 15-minute drive, so close enough for Meghan Markle to have chosen the hotel for the night before her wedding to Prince Harry. Burnham Beeches Nature Reserve is also nearby. Within 30 minutes’ drive there is decent shopping in Henley-on-Thames and Marlow.
Price B&B doubles from £455
Restaurant mains from £32 at the Cliveden Dining Room, £25 at the Astor grill
Family-friendly Y
Dog-friendly Y
Accessible Y
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