By Paul Gilbert Question: What do Queen Victoria, Lord Palmerston, Edward VII, Tiger Woods, Gordon Brown and the England Football team all have in common? The answer? They’ve all stayed as guests as The Grove in leafy Hertfordshire.  © The Grove Home to the rich and famousRoyalty, world leaders, NFL superstars, premiership footballers and endless A-list celebrities from the world of entertainment, sport and culture, The Grove in leafy Hertfordshire has welcomed them all them all and it’s easy to see why. You may be just a short drive from the bright lights and hurly-burly of the capital but it feels like you’re miles from anywhere. The Grove offers all the splendour of English country house living combined with the chic, funky individuality of a boutique hotel. It’s difficult to pinpoint why but, somehow, as you walk around its plush and manicured surroundings, you just know this place has stories to tell. Every nook and every cranny offers a talking point and you get an immediate sense of its illustrious history. Earliest records of The Grove date back to 1294 and, in it’s hey day, The Grove was a fashionable weekend retreat for the royal, rich and famous. Queen Victoria, Lord Palmerston and Edward VII are said to have been among the illustrious regulars. Somewhere along the line, The Grove also established itself as an influential hotbed for political debate. In 1936 the house was described by The Times as 'one of the great political houses of the nineteenth century' and its political connections resound to this day. Prime Minister Gordon Brownchose The Grove to host a global summit for an international think tank of the world’s most powerful politicians, an event that boasted no fewer than 15 world leaders on its illustrious guest list.  © The Grove Grand and groovy – interiors with a twistThe hotel’s impossible to ignore interiors are a major talking point for any guest at The Grove and represent the culmination of a six-year project undertaken by designer, Martin Hulbert. As well as blue chandeliers purchased for a fiver from a Ferrari showroom in Milan, much of the fresh and funky artwork on view is the work of German Object Artist, Volker Kühn. Visiting an exhibition the artist was hosting at London's Plus One Plus Two Gallery, Hulbert saw Kühn’s work as a perfect fit for The Grove’s grand and groovy ethos and promptly purchased the entire collection of over 200 pieces! Now displayed in guest rooms and corridors throughout the house, Kühn’s art provides the venue with a series of witty, fresh and sometimes irreverent artistic flourishes and an amusing and off-beat take on subjects such as love, work and marriage. Walking along a hotel corridor has never been so amusing. As well as the Kühn collection, The Grove features many other equally striking pieces that underline this grand and groovy theme. Expect perspex boxes containing hundreds of paper butterflies and broken household objects and don’t forget to warn auntie about the naked gardener – a very entertaining video installation piece!  © The Grove A lovingly restored landscape with contemporary twistsBut the bells, bangs and whistles of The Grove’s box of magic tricks are not confined to its interior. The 9,000-year-old, 300-acre surrounding estate of beautiful parkland, lakes and woodland is equally capable of springing surprises following a loving restoration masterminded by acclaimed landscape architect, Michael Balston. Balston used original 17th century designs to influence his vision of a 21st century garden and bring the parkland back to its original glory with the planting of some 47,500 trees! A dedicated Gardens & Estate team works tirelessly to ensure The Grove remains at its best all year round. As well as formal gardens, outdoor sculptures, a walled garden and a sunken box garden, visitors can enjoy a magnificent five-panel aluminium water wall designed by American-born sculptor, Gregory Ryan, and showcasing his signature technique of replicating dynamic surface patterns from the natural world. Also worth a look are Somerset-based Neil Wilkin'selegant glass sun catchers anchored in and around the ponds that are best viewed from the venue’s Glasshouse restaurant terraces and let’s not forget the venue’s daunting championship golf course!  © The Grove A culinary jigsaw to suit all tastes and budgetsAs you would imagine, food has a big role to play at The Grove. Food and drink have always been essential pleasures for guests at any country estate and The Grove continues this tradition, but often with its trademark twist. All food is selected from specialist sources and senior members of the 150-strong kitchen team are encouraged, whenever possible, to develop relationships with local suppliers. A kitchen garden is used to grow herbs, vegetables and fruit and the use of seasonal produce means that food is fresh and menus are updated on a regular basis. Boasting three separate restaurants, each with its own distinct style, The Grove is able to offer food and surroundings for every occasion from the refined à la carte elegance and fine dining of Colette’s where guests can enjoy dishes such as slow-roast Aylesbury duck, line-caught sea bass with clams and saddle of Denham estate venison, to the chic Glasshouse that provides an opportunity to sample high-quality cuisine from all corners of the globe. The final piece of The Grove’s culinary jigsaw is The Stables, which doubles as a clubhouse for the golfing brigade. 18th century artist, George Stubbs, was once a regular visitor to the old stables, walking regularly through the leafy Hertfordshire lanes from his home in North London to its collection of mares and stallions. The Stables, with its gastropub-style menu, less ambitious than Collete’s and less varied than The Glasshouse, is still well worth a visit even if you’re of the “golf is a good walk spoiled” school of thought, offering simple, hearty favourites such as Angus steak, slow-roast pork belly and breast of pheasant, all cooked to perfection and served in relaxed and rustic surroundings. The GroveChandler's Cross Hertfordshire, WD3 4TG Tel: +44 (0) 1923 807807 Fax: +44 (0) 1923 221008 |
