Cliveden House & Spa Hotel

Most Famous Guests: Meghan Markle, Mahatma Gandhi, John Profumo, Christine Keeler.

Meghan Markle left Cliveden House, near Windsor, on the morning of Saturday 19th May, for her wedding to Prince Harry having spend her last night as a single woman there. We can’t be sure how much time she spent considering her accommodation options in the area but whichever way the highly glamorous Cliveden House was an excellent choice.

From April to October on Thursdays and Sundays the doors of, at least part of, the magnificent property, are open to the admiring gaze of the public while all year round its beautifully manicured grounds are on display until evening.

It’s a National Trust property, and one which attracts visitors from all around England and indeed the world but, unlike most other National Trust properties, Cliveden House is of course also a top of the range, 5 star luxury castle hotel, conveniently near London.

The hotel possesses the sort of dubious glamour that is irresistible to many visitors, for you cannot mention Clivedon House without making reference to one of the most famous ever scandals in British Political history, the so called Profumo affair of the 1960s, an affair which ended the career of John Profumo and ultimately Harold Macmillan’s Conservative government.

It was by the swimming pool at Cliveden in 1961 that the two main protagonists of the story, Profumo and Christine Keeler, first met and the rest, as they say, is history.

Such was the notoriety of Cliveden for this story alone that it has tended to overshadow its enormous success as a luxury castle hotel. Since opening its doors to the public in 1985 it regularly appears in lists of the world’s best hotels and has a wealth of facilities to compliment its consistently high levels of service and comfort. And of course the whole property oozes the kind of style and class that they just don’t make much of anymore.

THE ACCOMMODATION:

There is a choice of 38 rooms and suites that range from classic double rooms to deluxe honeymoon suites. And they also have a three bedroom self catering cottage by the river Thames which was originally built as a rather opulent tea room for the Countess of Orkney in 1813. It is beautifully maintained and decorated in 20th century retro style, lending itself more to the nineteen forties through sixties than the 1810s.

The rooms and suites in the main building are all individually themed and styled (you can see detailed photos of each one on the booking page before you choose), and echo different elements of the history of the house, from almost medieval and Victorian styles to 50s and 60s. All of them are lavish though and extremely comfortable with seating areas and all modern facilities. Some also come with a balcony or terrace with garden views.

You can of course expect all of the accommodation, and the service, to be of exceptional high quality. There cannot be a building in the country which has seen so many important guests, even well before it became a paying hotel.

FACILITIES & THINGS TO DO:

The breakfasts are incredibly good and later in the day you have two excellent restaurants to choose from; the first being the 3 AA Rosette winning André Garrett Restaurant offering inventive fine dining in grand surroundings, where its three course à la carte and eight course tasting menus showcase seasonal English ingredients.

Then there is the more American style Astor Grill in the old stable houses, named after the Astors, its infamous former owners (see below in the history section). It is a more laid back venue with a hint of retro diner about it and it does a popular line of  ‘classic British and American dishes’.

You can also enjoy some very opulent afternoon tea served in the great hall and a drink in the cosy surrounds of the Library Bar. None of the food or drink at the hotel could be described as cheap, though this is probably not surprising to hear.

Britain’s most famous swimming pool is still in use and a popular focus, with the adjoining, and very excellent, spa facilities and indoor pool also very much in demand.

The estate itself, all 376 acres of it, is now looked after by the National Trust and is a joy to explore; there are beautifully landscaped gardens and old stretches of woodland all around.

There are tennis courts on site, a classic maze, various garden games, interesting sculptures and art works, and beautiful buildings including the Pavilion, the Octagonal Temple and the Amphitheatre where, as it happens, the world’s first recital of ‘Rule Britannia’ took place.

The estate also runs down to the banks of the River Thames and there are various boat trips that you can arrange at Cliveden, from luxury champagne cruises to more informal picnic trips in vintage boats.

THE LOCATION:

In rural Berkshire, roughly between the M4 and M40 motorways, Cliveden House has easy access to London, and especially to Heathrow Airport, just 15 miles away. If you get lucky with the traffic you can be there in less than 45 minutes from the very centre of London, with the quickest route being to take the A40/M40 towards Oxford before turning off to the west just before Beaconsfield and the A355.

The surroundings, and not just Cliveden House, have long been something of a playground for the upper classes, the gorgeous Chiltern Hills with Britain’s oldest road, the Ridgeway National Trail, to the north, Henley on Thames with its famous boat race to the west and of course the infamous Windsor and Eton with their impeccable Royal connections to the south.

SOME HISTORY:

The original Cleveden House was built in 1666 as a home for George Villiers, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham a roguish character, whose fortunes ebbed and flowed over the years but who had, within two years of moving into to his new house, already embroiled himself in scandal.

During that time Married George had found himself a mistress, Anna, Countess of Shrewsbury, then found himself in a sword duel with her irate husband Lord Shrewsbury. The venue for this was unclear, some accounts give it as being on the lawn at Cleveden House while others say it was in Barn Elms, London.

The duel though resulted in the death of Shrewsbury and with that George would comfort the widow he had created by moving her into Cleveden to live alongside himself and his wife. The whole affair, just under 300 years before the Profumo shenanigans, caused quite the scandal at the time, with the story finding its way into writings of the famous London socialite diarist Samuel Pepys.

Buckingham died in 1687 and Cliveden would remain empty until 1696 when it was bought by George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney. The Earl spruced the place up quite a bit, adding two new wings to the building with the help of architect Thomas Archer, and commissioning most of the garden landscaping we see today.

The Earl himself died in 1737 and the house came into the hands of his daughter Anne, the second Countess of Orkney and was passed along in turn to his grand daughter and great grand daughter. During that time, from 1737 to 1751, the house would be leased to Frederick Prince of Wales, son of George II and father of George III, and it was in Cliveden, on the 1st of August, 1749, where the first ever public performance of Rule, Britannia, the infamous nationalist aria by the composer Thomas Arne, would take place. In 1751 the Prince died and his family almost immediately returned the house to the Orkneys.

Read more about the history of Clivedon House:

WHAT OTHER GUESTS SAY:

“Staff were charming, friendly and super-helpful. Made a great fuss of our dog, Pepe, who was treated like royalty! The grounds were spectacularly beautiful, and the accommodation was comfortably luxurious. An unforgettable experience all round…”

“We had 2 nights at Cliveden in a fabulous suite, first night was the tasting menu with wine pairing…3 hours later we were not only thoroughly full, we were stunned by the quality and service, its a must do!!! 2nd night we went a la-carte – the Beef Wellington was singularly the best piece of beef we have ever had, Chef Andre is a magician. we also had the pleasure of meeting the Maestro in person which was a great treat…”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE REVIEWS & TO CHOOSE YOUR ROOM OR SUITE AT CLIVEDEN HOUSE:

Location Category:

Castle Hotels in England

Castle Hotels near London