The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
Upon seeing The Grove Hotel for the first time, visitors might imagine they’re in a Jane Austen novel such as Emma or Sense and Sensibility. They envisage emerging from a horse-drawn carriage as they casually stroll towards a magnificent 19th-century mansion and look out upon the acres of encompassing green fields. However, despite this common first impression, peaking out behind the manor house is a larger and more modern West Wing, enclosing luxury rooms and business lounges. The fairytale daydream of meeting Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice is met with an equally enticing 21st-century lobby, full of friendly staff and guests making their way to the famous Glass House restaurant for the evening.
The Grove Hotel is based in Watford, Hertfordshire, and is 30 minutes away from exciting London. The five-star hotel is equipped with six gourmet restaurants, a calming spa, and a top-of-the-range golf course. Guests can also participate in activities such as horse riding, archery lessons, and tree climbing. There has always been a beautiful manor house on the grounds since Elizabethan times. However, The Grove was also a vacation house for Queen Victoria and high-ranking members of society during the 19th century. Unfortunately, by the late 90s, the manor house was in a state of disrepair after it was used as a boarding school and a wartime HQ. What visitors will see today is the most recent revamp of the estate curated by British interior designer Martin Hulbert in 2020.
The Grove has a wide selection of opulent rooms and suites designed with the utmost sense of comfort in mind for their guests. For those seeking both privacy and refinement, the suites in the hotel’s main mansion have been carefully crafted for the ultimate luxury experience. Guests will take a walk through a maze of corridors cushioned in velvet and discover twelve suites.
The Hyde Suite, inspired by the Victorian novel, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, has a décor that changes throughout the day. During the daytime, the suite is inundated with light with views of the south-facing gardens. Yet, as the sun goes down, by night the room is embraced by dark and warm hues, creating a cosy atmosphere for couples to enjoy as they sit and relax after their meal at The Glass House restaurant.
Arguably the hotel’s most copious stay is none other than The Grove Suite. Upon entering their room, a visitor is welcomed by a delicious selection of chocolates accompanied by a bottle of chilled champagne. One can enjoy such a luxury while gazing out the windows at the beautifully landscaped gardens below. Cream and white furniture make up the living room area, with a flat-screen TV over a large, open fireplace. Yet, the inviting four-poster bed is located through a separate doorway, where a guest can arise and relax throughout the morning by watching TV from a pop-up flat screen that emerges at the end of the bed. However, if one is trying to be more mindful first thing in the day, they can enjoy more natural entertainment by looking out the adjacent French bay windows while sipping on a cup of tea.
The Glass House
Hotel guests are spoilt for choice for where they would like to dine for the evening since The Grove has six different restaurants, including The Glass House, The Stables, Sushi in the Lounges, Verde Kitchen, Madhu’s, and Sequoia Kitchen. Yet, the restaurant that offers the most unique experience out of all of them is The Glass House.
The restaurant is designed in a food-hall style yet serves beautifully crafted and gourmet cuisine. Each food station features cuisine from around the world, so guests can browse bountiful live food counters and watch talented chefs prepare fresh and tasty international food. While this may seem like an overwhelming concept, if a guest shuts their eyes and focuses all their attention on their sense of smell, they will be led to the right food station by the wafts and aromas of the best cuisine for them. Some of the food stations The Glass House offers are a carving station, a sushi station, a stone oven station, and a vegan dining station.
The Glass House also has its own bar for guests to enjoy an aperitif before dining. The bar has a wonderful “Garden to Glass” concept, where all the fresh ingredients used to create each cocktail come directly from Jemima’s Kitchen Garden. The idea was created by award-winning bar designer, Holy Water. Her team wanted to dig deeper into the heritage of The Grove and bring a sense of unity to the hotel by using all its available resources. From the signature cocktail section, guests can order The Union, a fusion of Bulleit Bourbon, Aperol, Galliano, lemon juice, and agave syrup. The Sake Mojito from the Japanese section is a must for those who prefer their cocktails to be sweeter. The drink is a lavish mix of Sake wine, yuzu juice, shiso leaves, and simple syrup.
The restaurant and bar were designed by Martin Hulbert, who styled the original interior for The Grove. The restaurant’s décor mirrors its title since it features a triple-height glass conservatory. While guests walk around the food stations deciding on what cuisine to pick, bronze and glass kinetic sculptures hang from the ceiling, copying guests’ gentle steps as they return to their tables. From this description, one might imagine winter evenings at The Glass House to be dark and dingy, yet even in the winter, the ceiling lights bounce off the conservatory glass and create a glowing sense of warmth.
The Secret Garden Outdoor Cinema
Opening exclusively from the 15th of July to the 4th of September, The Grove has partnered with the cinematic company Everyman. The Secret Garden outdoor cinema experience takes place in the hotel’s Walled Garden. Guests’ can wrap themselves up in a blanket under the stars and watch beloved classics like Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Dirty Dancing, and Grease. One can even enjoy a dinner and film evening at one of the hotel’s restaurants before sitting down to watch the 8pm screening.
Horse Riding
Another activity The Grove offers is horse riding. While horses may seem somewhat intimidating at first glance, they are gentle creatures to bond with for a few hours as a visitor rides through the tranquil grounds of Ashridge Estate. Whether a guest is an experienced equestrian or has never ridden a horse, Ashridge Trekking Centre offers an experience for all ages. One horse riding package a guest can select is the Experienced ½ Day Trail, which starts at 11am and consists of a three-hour ride through Ashridge, with a stopover for lunch at the Hill Farm Café. Other activities that The Grove offers are segwaying experiences, woodland hawking, and shooting.
The Grove knows how to accommodate its guests, from a gourmet food hall restaurant to champagne and chocolates on arrival to their rooms, and wonderful activities such as an outdoor cinema experience and horse riding. The hotel offers a real sense of escape from the outside world. It is the place to visit if one is looking to spend some downtime with themselves or hoping to create lasting memories with their loved ones.
