Cliveden 
Berkshire, United Kingdom [view map]
- Style
- Neoclassical pile-with-a-past
- Setting
- Bucolic Berkshire riverbank
A regal residence with a rich history, the former Berkshire home of the so-called ‘Cliveden set’ is now a boutique spa hotel snugly set in 376 acres of National Trust parkland.
Need to know
- Rooms
- 38 rooms, including 15 spacious suites. There’s also Spring Cottage, a freestanding summerhouse by the Thames that sleeps up to six.
- Rates
- £240–£1,000, including full English breakfast. Excludes VAT and a National Trust charge of £8.50.
- Check-out
- 11am. Later check-out is possible, subject to availability.
- Facilities
- Pavilion spa, gym, snooker room, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, squash courts, boathouse with three boats, helipad, library, DVD/CD selection. In-room amenities: TV, DVD/CD player, roll-top baths, under-floor heating.
- Poolside
- The Pavilion Spa boasts a heated indoor pool surrounded by loungers. The walled garden – the amorous arbour that kick-started the Profumo affair – is home to the heated outdoor pool, where waiters serve drinks and snacks to reclining guests.
- Children
- Extra beds can brought into rooms for £25 a night, and children are welcome throughout the hotel. Babysitting can be arranged for £12.50 an hour.
- Also
- Pets are more than welcome – dog beds are available and the chef has prepared a special doggy menu for pampered pooches.
In the know
- Our favourite rooms
- Each one of Cliveden’s unique rooms – named after the illustrious personalities who have been part of the manor’s checkered history – has something uniquely appealing about it, but our favourites are the Henry James suite, with its 10-mile view of rolling countryside from its marble bath tub; the Sutherland room with its palette of soft pastels and its astonishingly ornate chimneypiece, and the Chinese room, which is light, airy and impeccably styled in light golds.
- Packing tips
- Brush up on your Great Brit literature and bring some of the works of George Bernard Shaw, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling or Joyce Grenfell: all of them spent significant periods of time at Cliveden.
- Also
- Take a pleasure trip by river or air – Cliveden has a flotilla of boats and a fleet of helicopters you can hire.
Food & drink
- Hotel restaurant
- Waldo’s is Cliveden’s romantic fine-dining French restaurant. The chandeliered, portrait-lined Terrace Dining Room offers more contemporary French cuisine, with a fine line in Sunday lunch.
- Dress code
- A dapper ensemble for Mr Smith; something suitably decadent for his mistress.
- Top table
- Grab a table beside the Terrace Dining Room’s French windows for the stunning views of the parterre. In Waldo’s, go for the added intimacy of a booth.
- Last orders
- Both restaurants take last orders at 21h30, but there is some flexibility for hotel guests. Drinks and snacks are available 24 hours a day.
- Room service
- Full meals are available from 10h to 22h and a snack menu can be served in-rooms throughout the night.
- Hotel bar
- Classical piano music adds a sparkle to the atmosphere in the Great Hall three nights a week, where guests sup signature Cliveden champagne cocktails and marvel at the majestic staircase, imposing fireplace and delightfully vintage furnishings.
Smith card offer 20 per cent off all spa treatments
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Smith concierge
If you’d prefer to talk to someone, or you’re having trouble booking online, ring our travel team on 0845 034 0700 (+44 20 8987 4312 from outside the UK). We guarantee you’ll get the best available rates, and we don’t charge a booking fee.
Cliveden
Taplow, Berkshire
