Luxury English Garden Hotels: The Grove, Hertfordshire

Luxury English Garden Hotels

Gardens hotel, Luxury English Garden Hotels, The Grove Hertfordshire

THE DOLLAR MAY SINK,THE NATIONAL DEBT GROW LIKE KUDZU; BELTS MAY BE TAKEN IN A NOTCH, A few items cut from the grocery list—but luxury is an essential. Be it a pink pashmina or a cruise for two, the modern disposition is to demand the best and cut back on the basics.When it comes to hotels, horticultural riches to enjoy along with the vintage wines and high-thread-count sheets
are what attract the haute horticulturist. And in England a new breed of “luxury modern” hotel is waiting for you. If the idea of a country retreat where the gardens are as glamorous as the interiors tempts you, try The Grove, Hertfordshire, or another of our top picks.


The Grove, Hertfordshire, a “groovy grand” hotel with gardens designed by Chelsea gold medal winner Michael Balston.

Gardens hotel: PITCH YOUR BASE CAMP

Would Watford top your list as a base for a garden trip to the U.K.? Probably not. I needed to be convinced, too. I could imagine somewhere in Gloucestershire maybe, Somerset or Cornwall. ButWatford, about 20 miles from London, a notoriously unattractive snarl of motorways and transport links—what can it possibly offer?

Gardens hotel, Luxury English Garden Hotels, The Grove Hertfordshire

Well,The Grove for one thing, which, the owners say, is a “groovy grand” hotel. It has an 18-hole golf course designed by Kyle Phillips that is all set to stage the World Golf Championships in 2006.The red-brick mansion, formerly home of the Earls of Clarendon, dates from the 18th century and was once an incredibly fashionable place to stay. Guests included the artist George Stubbs, who painted some of his famous horses at The Grove. During the past nine years it has undergone a transformation.

The Grove Hertfordshire

Unusual for a British hotel, the garden has been as carefully considered as the interiors (very sumptuous, designed by Fox Linton Associates), so landscape architect Michael Balston had to do something equally
special with the remnants of the original gardens.This included bringing a huge walled garden slowly back to life and replanting a once-glorious grove of cedars. Balston, a Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medalist and Royal Horticultural Society judge, says, “The old and new dialogue was as important outside as inside, so we overlaid the 18th- and 19th-century design with a 21st-century garden.”

Gardens hotel, Luxury English Garden Hotels, The Grove Hertfordshire

This means a clever mix of small, intimate gardens hotel  spaces, scent-filled terraces and dramatic vistas.The ambitious stepped canal that divides the garden from the parkland sets the tone. Softening this simple, almost severe construction of stone, water and fountains is a marvelously fluid herbaceous border with yew hedges planted on the slant and running down one side.Ancient trees have been retained where possible to give historical context, while Nathalie Decoster’s contemporary bronze sculpture and Gregory Ryan’s provide some startling and thought-provoking moments. More homely touches show this gardens hotel takes nature
seriously, with bird feeders and nest boxes, as well as immaculate topiary and elegant pots of lilies.A
restored glasshouse in the walled garden is the longest I think I have ever seen.

Gardens hotel, Luxury English Garden Hotels, The Grove Hertfordshire

There is more than enough to occupy your time at The Grove Hertfordshire with the garden, sport facilities, spa and delicious food. Eating is ultra relaxed: A welcome theme of light, fresh ingredients simply dealt with
avoids the often over complicated hotel style. But to return to our original theme of garden visiting, many great examples worth seeing are nearby,Waddesdon Manor, run by The NationalTrust, you must include.

Give yourself a day to absorb this Rothschild gilded mansion designed in the French chateaux style, with high Victorian gardens (including outrageously OTT bedding schemes and a Rococo aviary) and a house that’s almost overendowed with paintings and treasures.The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, are within very easy
reach of The Grove Hertfordshire, and in addition to the classic plant collections and spectacular glasshouses some special event is always going on.

JANE NEWDICK