THE CLIVEDEN HOUSE | MAIDENHEAD, ENGLAND
Staying at the Cliveden House in Maidenhead, England was a dream. This property is truly stunning and if you’re looking for a luxury getaway in the English countryside, this place is for you. The Cliveden House sits on a Grade 1 Estate of 376 acres and has become National Trust land.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The Cliveden House was originally built in 1666 by the Second Duke of Buckingham. It was mainly built as a hunting lodge and a place for his mistress. In 1795, there was a major fire that destroyed the main part of the mansion. Later, in 1893, an American family purchased Cliveden for $1.25 million. The Astors were incredibly wealthy, starting with William Astor who later passes the house down to his son, Waldorf. Many notable people have visited Cliveden, such as President Roosevelt in 1932, Charlie Chaplin (we stayed in his room!), and George-Bernard Shaw. In 1961, Christine Keeler and John Profumo met at Cliveden, kicking off Britain’s biggest political scandal. More information about that scandal can be found here. In 1985, Clivden became a luxury hotel, and most recently, Meghan Markle, the Dutchess of Sussex stayed at the property the night before her wedding.
OUR STAY
My stay here was a gift from my Father for my 21st birthday. It was definitely unforgettable and I wanted to share it with you! We arrived during golden hour and decided to take a walk around part of the main property. Clearly, the place is huge so we only saw part of it during our stay.
After our walk around, we changed for the evening and headed down to the library for a cocktail. We tried a Profumo, one of their speciality cocktails, because I heard great things about it. That drink definitely lived up to the hype! We then had dinner that evening in the main dining room. The food was UNBELIEVABLE. My favorite part of the meal was the truffle risotto that I had as a starter.
The next morning, we were headed out to a different part of England, but we first went out for a run around the property. You can go miles because the land is so extensive. We ran about 4 miles and didn’t get close to seeing the whole place. It is a bit hilly in parts but the views and surrounding land will take your breath away. We had breakfast after which was also just as delicious as dinner. I’d highly recommend staying at the Cliveden House, not only because of its beauty but because of the staff and food.
