Luxury Travel Directory

The phrase, ‘weekend in the country’ could be said to have been invented at The Grove. Regular visitors such as Queen Victoria, Edward VII, Horace Walpole and Lord Palmerston would arrive on Saturday, returning to London on Monday morning. Owned by the 4th Earl of Clarendon, The Grove became a fashionable weekend retreat.

Today, The Grove is a five star hotel, set in three hundred acres of woodland and parkland, complimented by an 18 hole championship golf course and a rejuvinating spa. Tennis and croquet in the Walled Garden complete the experience. Awarded AA Hotel of the Year 2005, the 227 sumptuous and luxurious rooms and suites range from the luxurious to the truly palatial. Three restaurants along with meeting rooms create the perfect base for business or pleasure. Situated 40 minutes from central London, The Grove is ideal for short or longer stays.

The Grove Hotel
Chandler’s Cross,
Hertfordshire,
WD3 4TG
Note: some satellite navigation systems may use the postcode WD17 3TU.

Tel: +44 (0) 1923 807807
Fax: +44 (0) 1923 221008

The Grove Official Site

Set in the half-tamed border country between Herefordshire and Wales, the Penrhos Court Country Hotel is the perfect setting for your green eco-wedding. Be prepared for your wedding guests to dine on seasonal, organic food connected with passion, love and marriage. All for that extra special touch. Each menu is individually created between the couple and the award winning chef/nutritionist Daphne Lambert, with different slection of foods depending on the season. Penrhos holds a civil ceremony licence and ideally suits wedding parties of between 30 and 70 people. Also available at the Penrhos Court Country Hotel are food, health and cookery courses to set you on the right path to confidently preparing and cooking your own wholefood organic dishes as part of your new lifestyle. Why not treat yourself to a short break at The Penrhos Hotel with yoga, massage, reflexology and nutritional consultation.

Penrhos Court
Kington
Herefordshire
HR5 3LH

Tel: 01544 230720
Fax: 01544 230754

Penrhos Official Site

Burghley House has been the ancestral home of the Burghley Family since 1587, when this large and grand Elizabethan house was completed for William Cecil, later Baron Burghley. The house is a splendid example of 16th-century English architecture but also features a suite of rooms remodelled in the baroque style. Baron Burghley rarely stayed at the House as it was impractical for his work at the courts.

Today the house and gardens are used for weddings and corporate events along with tours and film work. Burghley House is the location for the annual Burghley Horse Trials.

Burghley House
Stamford
Lincolnshire
PE9 3JY

Tel: 01780 752451

Burghley House Official Site

West Wycombe Park is a beautiful country house and gardens, situated near to the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. Built between 1740 and 1800 as a pleasure palace by the decadent libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood. Influenced by his Grand Tour, where the villas of the Italian renaissance had inspired him to recreate something similar.

Today, West Wycombe Park is still home to the Dashwood heirs, but is open in the summer months to the public. It is a delightful park, with Rococo landscape gardens with statues, grottoes and an ornamental lake.

The 18th-century home of Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the nearby and notorious Hellfire Club contains fine painted ceilings, pictures, furniture and sculpture. This neo-classical mansion remains one of England’s finest theatrical and Italianate houses. Set in an 18th-century landscaped park, and surrounded by smaller temples that act as satellites to the main house.

The park still contains many follies and temples. The “Temple of Music” is on an island on the swan shaped lake, inspired by the Temple of Vesta in Rome. It was designed for Dashwood’s fêtes champêtres, with the temple used as a theatre. Today, the remains of the stage survive.

The Park and house are used as a film location, for shooting and special events. It is also available for wedding hire, and would make a splendid wedding venue. The house and park was donated to the National Trust in 1943.

West Wycombe Park,
West Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire
HP14 3AJ.

Tel: 01494 513569

Pembroke Lodge is set in eleven acres of beautiful landscaped grounds in Richmond Royal Park and is widely regarded as one of the finest Wedding venues in South West London. It is a listed Georgian Mansion with spectacular views across the Thames valley to Windsor and Surrey. Larger and smaller weddings are catered for with the utmost of luxury, smaller catering for up to 70 guests and larger catering for up to 140 guests and offers the custom built Belvedere Room with spectacular views over the Thames Valley and the smaller weddings are offered the Russell Suite with enhanced Thames Valley views. Pembroke Lodge can offer anything from a wedding ceremony through to a full seated reception. Pembroke Lodge comes complete with a highly experienced wedding team who have organised hundreds of weddings at this venue.

Pembroke Lodge
Richmond Park
Richmond
Surrey
TW10 5HX
Tel: +44 (0)208 940 8207
Fax: +44 (0)208 332 6719

Pembroke Lodge Official Site