The Grove is a hotel complex. The large hotel has its own 300–acre private park, through which a river and a canal run.
The original hotel is on the site of a medieval manor house. The building today is mainly a Georgian construction, completed in 1720, with the main entrance fronted with Doric pillars.
The house and grounds has been operating as a hotel since 1996.
The designs inside the hotel are varied, from Victorian neo-Gothic:
To the 1930s, and the Art Deco movement:
The hotel was selected as the U.K.’s “Favourite Leisure Hotel” by Condé Nast Traveler in 2008.
For those who wish to read, or play, the hotel’s original building features a spacious library.
The formal gardens were designed by Michael Balston.
Balston has included elements from the 18th century design but with a contemporary twist.
Even when rain falls, the gardens still look impressive:
The hotel features tea rooms, a fine dining restaurant called Collete’s and a popular world cuisine restaurant called The Glasshouse, where diners can select dishes from around the world and have them cooked to specification in front of them.
The lounge areas are slower paced and more relaxed:
The hotel is frequented by many golfers, due to the grounds boasting a top-class gold course, and movie actors. For the golfing community, the 2009 World Golf Championship was hosted at the hotel.
For actors, nearby to the hotel is Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden. The studio is a 80-hectare studio complex. As well a movie making facility, it also features an attraction dedicated to the making of the Harry Potter movies (which Digital Journal reviewed in 2012.)
Outside of sports and films, the 2009 G20 summit was held at the hotel.
The Grove is an impressive, eclectically furnished establishment and one of the two best hotels in Hertfordshire. For a review of the other top hotel – Sopwell House – read Digital Journal’s feature here.
