As you approach this glorious Italianate Thames-side summer palace designed by Charles Barry and set in 376 acres of National Trust grounds, it ‘feels as if you are on the film set of Pride and Prejudice’, says a Guide insider (see also Chewton Glen, New Milton). Cliveden exudes ‘history in every corner, from ornate fireplaces and suits of armour, to the spectacular carved staircase’. Bedrooms, named after famous past guests, are filled with antiques. ‘Buckingham, with its oak-panelled walls and fireplace, and views over the parterre to the Thames, has a bathroom that could hold a rugby team, with Carrara-marble screens behind the bath and basins.’ Even Kipling, the smallest, ‘has an impressive stucco ceiling’. Paul O’Neill’s fine-dining menus include such dishes as roasted cod loin with crab ‘lasagne’, fennel and apple, and separate menus for children, vegetarians and vegans. The dining room, with its white linen and chandeliers, ‘feels a little overly formal; I preferred the relaxed Astor Grill in the former stables, now beautifully done out with blue banquettes’. (JK)