Tea fit for the Crown
Cliveden and the Crown, Monday to Saturday noon to 2.30pm: £68, £88 with Champagne, plus the National Trust fee.
Cliveden House
Cliveden House, above the Thames at Taplow in Berkshire, 40 minutes from London, is a house of 1666 rebuilt by Charles Barry, where the Astors threw their parties and the Profumo affair began. Around it lie 376 acres of National Trust gardens.
A week here, month by monthCliveden suits a short break built around the spa and dinner, with Google’s lowest seller prices from £355 for one night for 2 adults. For evenings spent walking between town restaurants, choose a hotel in town.
Cliveden afternoon tea: prices, times, the National Trust fee and dress code Book afternoon tea on the official site Check rooms and rates on the official site Cliveden spa Cliveden restaurantsWould you go?
Keep it among your hotels and see it on the budget globe, month by month.Like a regular
Inside the main house
I would ask for a Mansion House Deluxe Double: 43 m² on the first or second floor of the main house, with a fireplace and views of the Grand Drive and Fountain of Love.
The February price window
On 13 October 2026, Google’s lowest sellers showed 22–25 February 2027 at £355–£371 a night, each night searched alone for 2 adults. The highest shown night was 10 May 2027 at £3,502.
Allow for spa service
A discretionary 12.5% service charge is added to spa bills, and treatments and spa experiences have a 48-hour cancellation policy: factor both into a stay built around the spa.
Stay beyond room checkout
The room is yours from 3pm until 11am, but the hotel welcomes earlier arrivals and lets you stay afterwards for the gardens, restaurants, bar and spa; leave time around the room booking.
What Cliveden is
The Duke of Buckingham built it in 1666 as a hunting lodge; it burned in 1795 and 1849, and Queen Victoria, the hotel says, saw the smoke from Windsor and sent the fire engines. Today’s house is by Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament, finished in 1851. From 1893 it belonged to the Astors, and in the summer of 1961, around the pool, the Profumo affair began.
Today the house belongs to the National Trust and is run by Iconic Luxury Hotels. Dinner is in the Cliveden Dining Room, the old drawing room over the Parterre (7 courses for £165), or at the Astor Grill in the old stables, where dogs come too. For residents the 2 pools, the hot tubs, the steam room and the gym are included.
Guests give it 4.6 out of 5 on Tripadvisor from 2,565 reviews, 9.0 on Booking.com, and 2 MICHELIN Keys. On Google it is 4.6 from 4,084 reviews, but the listing mixes hotel guests with National Trust visitors who came for the gardens.
For this page we read, on 4 October 2026, 36 official pages and their PDF menus, the Google Hotels card with a year of prices, Booking.com, Tripadvisor, the MICHELIN Guide and the National Trust’s page, and the 2,000 most recent Google reviews. Tea comes up in 121 of them: on busy days, guests report, the table is yours for 2 hours.
One Lume
Lumina Guide 2027
Gives more than the other hotels of its place and price range.
Cliveden House, above the Thames at Taplow in Berkshire, 40 minutes from London, is a house of 1666 rebuilt by Charles Barry, where the Astors threw their parties and the Profumo affair began.
How Lumi are awardedGuests
500 reviews read: the location pleases 9 guests in 10 who mention it, the room nearly 9 in 10.
Critics
Ours (exceptional)
We found 15 room categories, each named for a guest of the past, up to the 287 m² Spring Cottage, the Astor Grill in the old stables, where dogs come too, and 2 pools included for those who stay the night.
Our reading, point by point
What we found reading the hotel’s own pages, one thing at a time.
Location
On the Thames between Maidenhead and Cookham: Heathrow 25 minutes, Windsor 20, London 40, always by car.
Character
A house of 1666 rebuilt by Barry, the Astors, Profumo and 376 acres of National Trust land.
Rooms
15 categories, each named for a guest of the past, from the 20 m² Bobbie Shaw to the 287 m² Spring Cottage.
Food and social life
The Dining Room over the Parterre, the Astor Grill in the stables, the Library Bar; dogs are welcome in the Astor Grill.
Wellness
An indoor pool, the Profumo pool with hot tubs, a sauna, a gym and tennis, included for guests.
The stay as a whole
From £407 in early February to £609 in late May; tea at £68 to know it, plus the National Trust fee.
What makes it rare
A badge is an experience travellers look for, that is really here and that few hotels in the guide have.
A story inside
The first of the guide
Here: a house of 1666 rebuilt by Barry, the Astors’ parties, the pool of the Profumo scandal and 376 acres of National Trust land.
A history that goes back to at least 1666. 31 hotels of 335 hold it.
Every hotel with this badge
The 5 things that matter, as guests tell them
What do Cliveden’s guests say? They write it in their reviews, even those who only came for a drink or dinner: we read every one and tell the 5 things that matter, from the location to the bill.
Location
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Guests write of the Parterre, the woods and the paths down to the Thames, with the river seen from above.
Room
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Guests write of roomy suites, comfortable beds and carefully furnished rooms, some looking over the gardens.
Staff and service
8 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Many guests thank the staff by name, above all at breakfast and in the Astor Grill.
Breakfast
6 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Breakfast is served in the dining room over the Parterre, with a table of cold dishes and a long menu of cooked ones, the full English among them.
Price
Where money comes up at Cliveden, it is over tea, parking and the National Trust entrance; guests who are happy say it is worth every penny.
Where Cliveden leads
- Room
On the room it comes ahead of the 5 other hotels it is compared with in the countryside west of London.
The numbers, and how we count them
| What | Score out of 10 | Guests who mention it | Happy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 8.4 | 204 | 89% |
| Room | 7.7 | 39 | 85% |
| Staff and service | 7.7 | 350 | 77% |
| Breakfast | 6.7 | 21 | 62% |
| Price | – | 66 | 30% |
The scores come from 500 Google reviews with text, left from 17 May 2024 to 3 October 2026. The «Cliveden House» Google listing gathers hotel guests and National Trust visitors to the estate together. The other hotels are the ones weighed for a stay in the countryside west of London: for each we read its latest 500 Google reviews with text, or all of them where there are fewer, as of 4 October 2026. The score is the average of what they say, from 0 if they speak of it very badly to 10 if they speak of it very well. Where only a few mention something, the score stays close to the guide’s average: a handful of voices does not make a reputation.
The hotels we weigh it against in the countryside west of London:
- Coworth Park
- The Langley
- Stoke Park
- The Grove
- Hartwell House
Price: for two on the night of 23 February 2027, from £355 (seen on Google Hotels on 13 October 2026).
What a night costs, season by season
The calendar read on 13 October 2026 showed single nights from £355 between late October and April, and from £535 between May and early July, before isolated highs. I would request a quote for February or April, the months with the lowest runs, before booking the whole stay.
| Period | Pounds a night |
|---|---|
| 14 October to 24 October 2026 | 492–2,636 |
| 25 October 2026 to 30 April 2027 | 355–1,137 |
| 1 May to 10 July 2027 | 535–1,295 |
| 11 July to 8 September 2027 | 412–776 |
Lowest seller price on Google Hotels for one night searched alone for 2 adults, read 13 October 2026; no room or meal plan is named. The calendar stops on 8 September 2027. Separate nights: 22 October 2026 at £528; 7 November at £3,020; 14 November at £1,116; 30 November at £413; 28 February 2027 at £378; 10 May at £3,502. In the reading of 4 October 2026, for 12 November 2026 the lowest seller showed £372 and the hotel’s own listing £515.
What to expect
Tea over the Parterre, the pool of the scandal, the Astors’ stables and a vintage boat on the Thames.
The Profumo pool
By the hotel’s account England’s last listed outdoor pool; with hot tubs at the end, open 6.30am to 10pm on weekdays.
The Astor Grill
In Lord Astor’s old stables, open to everyone, with a menu for dogs; all day Friday to Sunday.
The vintage launches
From the Cliveden boathouse, from £300; in winter, November to April, the boats are out of the water.
The Dining Room
Dinner nightly 6pm to 9pm: à la carte or the 7-course Cliveden Journey at £165, plus 12.5% service.
Good to know before you book
On busy days the afternoon tea table is yours for 2 hours, guests report between 2023 and 2026. Source: 500 Google reviews read, 17 May 2024 to 3 October 2026
Anyone visiting the gardens without staying pays the National Trust ticket, £23 for an adult in 2026; members pay nothing. Source: 500 Google reviews read, 17 May 2024 to 3 October 2026
Non-residents at lunch or tea pay a National Trust fee: £13.50 a head on the tea page, £10 on the festive-tea page; £2 at dinner. Members pay nothing.
A dog costs £60: “per night” in the FAQ, “per stay” on the dogs page. It may not enter the Dining Room, the spa or the hot-tub rooms.
The spa is for residents and Cliveden Club members; from outside only with a package, such as the Spa Day from £350.
The gate reads number plates: send yours to reception before arriving. Parking is free for guests.
From 24 to 27 December and 31 December to 2 January you stay only on the Christmas and New Year packages; New Year bookings from 1 September are prepaid and non-refundable.
Between February 2025 and June 2026, 4 Google reviews describe rooms, bathrooms or furnishings showing their wear.
The 15 rooms, suites and the cottage
Getting there
Cliveden is reached by car: 27 km from Heathrow, about 25 minutes, and 6 km from Taplow station; send your number plate ahead, because the gate reads it.
| Address | Cliveden House, Taplow, Berkshire SL6 0JF, inside the National Trust estate. |
|---|---|
| From Heathrow | 25 minutes by car by the hotel’s count; 27 minutes and 27 km on OpenStreetMap’s roads. |
| By train | Taplow, about 4 miles by the hotel’s count (6.1 km, 8 minutes by car); Maidenhead, on the Elizabeth line, 8.4 km. |
| By car | From London about 40 minutes, M4 junction 7 or M40 junction 2; free parking for guests and EV chargers in front of the house. |
Hotel times from its FAQ page; drives measured on OpenStreetMap’s roads. Sources read on 4 October 2026.
Beyond the hotel
The estate begins below the terrace; beyond the gates lie Cookham, Stanley Spencer’s village, and Windsor Castle.
The Fountain of Love
At the end of the drive: 4 minutes’ walk, 261 metres.
The Parterre
The 1855 garden below the terrace: 6 minutes on foot.
Stanley Spencer Gallery
Cookham’s painter, across the Thames: 33 to 40 minutes on foot.
Windsor Castle
16 km, 20 minutes by car: the distance from which the Queen saw the smoke of 1849.
From Cliveden to the Parterre, the Thames and Cookham
The house, the Parterre, the Fountain of Love, the maze, Spring Cottage and the boathouse on the Thames, then Cookham and the stations. Tap a place for details.
Loading map…
Recommended for you
A day at Cliveden
7am on weekdays
Start the day slowly
Breakfast begins at 7am on weekdays; at weekends, leave the first cup until 7.30am.
Late morning
Walk around the estate
Take a leisurely walk through the estate before returning to the house.
The afternoon
Swim in the open
Take a robe down to the outdoor pool for an afternoon in the water.
Before dinner
Order a library cocktail
Settle into the wood-panelled Library Bar for a martini or a house cocktail.
6pm
Dine above the Parterre
The Cliveden Dining Room starts dinner with views across the Parterre towards the river.
Cliveden House reviews
Platform scores, the 2 MICHELIN Keys and what guests and visitors write.
Scores read on 4 October 2026
Guest voices
From the Google listing: a birthday every year in the same suite, tea for a grandmother’s 80th, an anniversary tea and a stay before Christmas.
GoogleThe same suite every year
A guest returns every birthday to one of the suites: the most comfortable bed of her life, the pool, the hot tub, a walk round the estate, and staff who remember her.
Google · July 2026Read the review
GoogleGrandmother’s 80th
A day in the gardens, then tea for a grandmother’s 80th: everyone greets her and the waiter makes the afternoon special.
Google · August 2026Read the review
GoogleAn anniversary tea
An anniversary tea at 2.30pm: hurried in early for a window table that turned out to be free, and service not up to the room.
Google · July 2026Read the review
GoogleThe room, the pool and the spa
A huge, spotless room, kind staff, excellent pool, spa and restaurants: the best 5-star in years, the guest writes, even if it costs.
Google · July 2026Read the review
GoogleA stay before Christmas
A couple came every year before Christmas; in 2025 nobody met them on arrival, the service had slipped, and they will not return.
Google · January 2026Read the review
Questions before you go
Answers from official pages and menus read on 4 October 2026; prices and availability need checking for your dates.
How much does a night at Cliveden House cost?
Google Hotels, read on 4 October 2026 for 2 adults, showed as the lowest price of the month £441 in October (the 19th), £369 in November (the 18th), £358 in December (the 14th), £344 in January (the 21st), £337 in February (the 4th), £598 in May (the 23rd), £480 in June (the 30th) and £408 in August (the 24th). For 12 November the hotel’s own site asked £515, the cheapest seller £372. Christmas and New Year have no nightly price: they are sold as packages.
Are the spa and pools included in the room rate?
Yes: residents get the indoor pool, outdoor pool, hot tubs, steam room and gym included. Treatments are extra: a 60-minute massage is £175 Monday to Thursday and £195 at weekends.
Can you use the Cliveden spa without staying?
Only with a package or as a Cliveden Club member. The Tailor-Made Spa Day costs from £350 (a 60-minute treatment and lunch, Monday to Thursday) and £370 Friday to Sunday, with the facilities for up to 8 hours.
How much is afternoon tea at Cliveden?
£68 a head, £88 with a glass of Laurent-Perrier, Monday to Saturday noon to 2.30pm in the Dining Room; on Sundays in the French Dining Room or the Great Hall. Non-members of the National Trust pay a fee on top, £13.50 by the tea page. From 18 November 2026 the festive tea costs £85.
Do Cliveden House guests pay the National Trust entrance?
The hotel’s pages state the fee for diners: £13.50 a head at lunch and tea, £2 at dinner, and £25 a person on the Little Explorers offer; for a standard room rate they say nothing. The National Trust adult ticket is £23 in 2026; members pay nothing.
Is Cliveden House dog friendly?
Yes: dogs may use the public rooms except the Dining Room and the spa, and the Astor Grill has a menu for them; not the hot-tub rooms. It costs £60, but the FAQ says “per night” and the dogs page “per stay”.
Is Cliveden good for a family with children?
Yes: the Inchiquin Suite has 2 bedrooms, children up to 8 dine in the Dining Room from 6pm to 8pm, babysitting is booked 24 hours ahead and children swim indoors 9.15 to 10.45am and 4 to 5.30pm. In school holidays the Little Explorers offer lets them stay and breakfast free.
How many rooms does Cliveden House have?
47 bedrooms plus Spring Cottage, by the hotel’s FAQ; the MICHELIN Guide counts 39. There are 15 categories, from the 20 m² Bobbie Shaw to the 75 m² suites over the Parterre.
How do you get to Cliveden from London and Heathrow?
By car: from Heathrow about 25 minutes (27 km), from central London about 40 via the M4 or M40. By train, get off at Taplow, about 4 miles away, or Maidenhead on the Elizabeth line, and take a taxi. Send your number plate to reception in advance.
What time are check-in and check-out?
Check-in from 3pm, check-out at 11am; you can stay on afterwards for the bar, restaurants, spa and gardens.
Is there a dress code at Cliveden?
In the Dining Room and at tea, jacket and tie are not essential, but smart dress is expected: no ripped denim, trainers, caps, T-shirts or shorts.
Is Cliveden House open all year, including Christmas and New Year?
Yes: on 4 October 2026 Google Hotels had nights on sale in every month from November 2026 to August 2027. Christmas and New Year are sold only as packages: the Christmas House Party from 24 to 27 December and the New Year’s House Party from 31 December to 2 January, with a tasting dinner, a band, a DJ and a brunch. From 1 September 2026 New Year is paid in full and non-refundable.
Can you get married at Cliveden House?
Yes. Packages run from the Romantic for 8-16 guests at £510 an adult to the Classic for 30-60 at £330, children £100; they include a menu tasting, a private room, 2 drinks, a 3-course meal and half a bottle of wine. Viewings by appointment only.
Do the Thames boat trips run all year?
No: from November to April the vintage launches are out of the water for maintenance. From April to October they leave the Cliveden boathouse, from £300.
Is parking available at Cliveden House?
Parking at the house is free for hotel guests; the hotel requests that car keys be handed to the Concierge team. EV chargers are at the front of the house by the main entrance.
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