Cliveden House - an Iconic Luxury Hotel

Exceptional service, friendly staff, and beautiful location with stunning views of the Thames. Worth walking down to the Thames for its beauty.

A friend and I booked a birthday afternoon tea. We arrived early and had a cocktail by the fire before enjoying a sumptuous lazy tea by the window in the restaurant overlooking the beautiful gardens and river. It was a perfect day. I particularly commend Digby, a young member of staff who went far beyond the grade of excellence in his professionalism and thoughtfulness. He’s a credit to this lovely place and really contributed to making our day special.

This is certainly one of the finest stately homes made over to a hotel. The suites are generous and beautiful and everything you need. The house paintings and decorations are like being in the national portrait gallery. The staff are excellent and friendly throughout. The gardens and grounds great for walks and the spa is nice if a little old. We loved the food and atmosphere in the Astor Grill. This serves tasty food in a renovated stable and was fun and friendly. The breakfasts are really nice well cooked food and lots of variety. The French buffet room is like something out of Versailles palace. But It’s a shame about the food in the dining room. The service and surroundings and atmosphere and price make you expect fine dining. But the quality is missing. Something is wrong in the kitchen as the fish was overcooked and sauces unbalanced, overpowering the main ingredient and the desert lacked flavour. This is Michelin star price but the food does not match. I can see many other good reviews of the dining room so I hope our experience was not common. But we left thinking that if the food matched the price they would not just be a three AA rosette dinning room. Be in no doubt we enjoyed our two day break but I would recommend eating in the Astor grill. As the dining room left us disappointed. Have a think about Hartwell house if you want to stay in a national trust house with exceptional fine dining. One final point. The spa massages were absolutely fine. But don’t rely on the website to check the prices. The extra “not voluntary” service charge is well hidden in the fine print. I think the Cliveden experience could be 5 star with a little more care in the dining room kitchen and a think about how they advertise prices.