Superb Cliveden House Hotel revels in its scandalous past

There are many hotels offering five-star service in sumptuous surroundings.

But there are few that deliver it with the same sense of history as Cliveden House.

The 17th Century Berkshire estate has been home to the 1st Earl of Orkney and the 2nd Duke of Sutherland, as well as three Countesses, a Prince of Wales and the Astors, once the richest family in America.

Queen Victoria was a regular visitor, as was Sir Winston Churchill. President Roosevelt stopped by in the 1930s.

These days the guest list is not quite so illustrious. I got engaged there two years ago and returned last month for my honeymoon.

I popped the question underneath a statue of the Duke of Sutherland (not the one of Highland Clearances infamy, his son) erected on a hill behind the house so he could overlook what he considered the prettiest view in England for eternity.

The first glimpse you get of the house’s facade is every bit as breathtaking as the 375 acres of manicured gardens and woodland at the back.

Turn left at the Fountain of Love and you take in the visual splendour of the 1,000 metre-long gravel path leading up to a house that has changed little in the 165 years since it had to be rebuilt after fire destroyed the existing building.

The 37 bedrooms and suites (named after famous people associated with the house) are all in the original building and retain much of their period charm.

The gilded clock tower also doubles as a working water tower that still provides for the house today. Both the fountain and clock tower feature in the latest cinema release, Cinderella, with Disney’s set designers producing replica versions to adorn Prince Charming’s palace.

That’s just one of the many films Cliveden has featured in, but the one which detailed the most famous event to take place there, the 1989 movie Scandal, wasn’t allowed to shoot at the real house.

A chance midnight meeting in the outdoor swimming pool between Cabinet Minister John Profumo (a guest of the Astors) and London call girl Christine Keeler, (staying at Spring Cottage as a guest of Bill Astor’s osteopath, Stephen Ward) led to what became the Profumo Affair, with Keeler revealed to have been sleeping with the then Secretary of State for War at the same time as a senior naval attache (and KGB agent) at the Soviet Embassy.

When the matter became public in 1962 it led to the fall of the Macmillan Government and a high-profile court case.

Bill tried to keep his mother Nancy, Britain’s first female MP, in the dark about it and arranged for friends to ring her each day so she wouldn’t see the news on TV.

But Cliveden makes no secret of it now. There’s a Profumo cocktail on the menu and a sketch of Keeler, drawn by Ward, hangs in one of the corridors.

You can even hire the Spring Cottage. It’s quaint, given its history, but with prices starting at £1,550 a night I imagine that would kill the party mood for most of us.

The Profumo Affair is not the only illicit liaison that Cliveden is associated with. When the house was built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham it was said he commissioned it to impress his mistress, Anna, Countess of Shrewsbury.

Buckingham, a notorious rake, killed Anna’s husband in a duel, but far from hiding his disreputable behaviour, the Duke revelled in it, marking the event by having the year 1668 inscribed in chalk stone in Cliveden’s grounds.

Cliveden is something of a monument itself now, to service of the highest quality and is perfect for a two or three-night romantic break.

The Andre Garret restaurant offers a seasonal three course menu for £70 or there’s the more informal Club Room, a converted stables with saddles for seats.

Afternoon tea, at £35 per person, is a must in such surroundings. Nothing will make you feel more like a Duke or Duchess than having the specially brewed Cliveden Blend, overlooking the parterre.

The spa offers a range of treatments and they’ve added an indoor pool to the notorious outdoor one.

The only downside is the cost (and the hidden charges).

The cheapest room starts at £440, overpriced in comparison to other estate hotels, and having everything done for you comes with a 12.5% service charge. If you want a tea or coffee in your room you have to send for it, at a cost of £12.

Lady Cavendish, a visitor in 1863, wrote of Cliveden: “When one lives in Paradise, how hard it must be to ascend in heart and mind to Heaven.”

A century and a half later, those words still ring true.

Visit clivedenhouse.co.uk for the latest offers, which currently include a two nights for the price of one offer for midweek spring breaks and a meals included package. Dogs are welcome at the hotel at a cost of £30 per dog, per night.