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Editorial
The Grove, Chandlers Cross
As the Grove launched its new beer matching festival this month, WeLoveWatford.co.uk managed to get the inside track on London’s "groovy but grand" country estate....
It’s difficult not to be impressed by The Grove. From the drive up the stone path towards the grand mansion building to the immaculate service delivered on each corner, and the generous-sized rooms with windows big enough to sit in and watch the picture-perfect grounds stretch out of sight.
The hotel likes to refer to itself as ‘London’s country estate’, and considering its proximity to the capital’s centre (18 miles from Piccadilly), it’s actually more than just a fancy title.
The former AA Hotel of the Year is also just inside the M25 and close to the M1 motorway, so however Londoners plan to get to The Grove, it won’t be long journey.
Inside the hotel’s lobby area it is the contemporary style which is immediately spotted, as modern art, selected exclusively for The Grove, is scattered throughout reception and spills into the nearby restaurants, both on the walls and making up the furniture. Despite this there is nothing modern about The Grove itself.
The interior design of The Grove is one of grand contemporary (‘groovy grand’ according to the hotel) - a style showcased especially among the 227 rooms the hotel has to offer. Each of the rooms across the Grade II mansion vary in size and design, though the high ceilings, gaping window frames and large lounge areas offer plenty of space for both modern furniture and art. Two plasma screen televisions and a marble bathroom with a bath, shower and yet another wide window that allows more of The Grove’s grounds to pour in, also need a mention.
Some of the rooms have balconies while others have open and working, I was assured, fireplaces. Autumn didn’t quite lend itself to an open fire on my visit, though in the colder winter months the hotel will send staff on request to allow visitors to make use of the open fireplaces.
The four-poster beds again help to tick the groovy grand design box, as the velvet-edged throws give the traditional country house bed an up-to-date look, not to mention the second of the room’s televisions, which grew from the end of the bed at the touch of a button…
Despite The Grove’s size the personal touch that is often lost as businesses grow and grow, is something that the hotel takes seriously.
It would be easy, in such a large, busy and open hotel to lose some of those small touches that come naturally to family-run businesses, though not so at The Grove. The welcome card in the room and the genuinely attentive staff all the way from lobby, room and restaurant do enough to ensure that none of the smaller benefits have fallen along the way.
This is also true of the restaurant staff.
When it comes to food The Grove tries to be as self-sufficient as it can, and some of the food that eventually makes it onto the plate of guests to the hotel is hand-picked form the grounds each day. The three restaurants inside the hotel all offer visitors something different, from the busy bar food style of The Stables (two courses for around £25) to the more relaxed buffet of The Glasshouse (dinner is £34.50 except on Friday and Saturday when it’s £44.50).
Finally, the a la carte Colette’s (dinner at £60), which is the finest of the three restaurants, and runs through two large rooms on the north side of the mansion and also has a terrace which guests can make use of in the summer months. For 2010, Colette’s intend to run a surprise menu for guests, where instead of ordering from the menu, guests can put their evening meal in the capable hands of the chef.
The Glasshouse offers a huge range of international cuisine in its extensive buffet, while The Stables is the most laid back of the three, with a smaller space that can get busy in the evening with drinkers, and the pub-style food served up is farmhouse traditional.
A visit to The Grove would not be complete without spending some time in the hotel’s grounds, because the 300 acres of land that the grand building find itself sat in the middle of, must be enjoyed. The walled garden is truly country estate and the topiary, examples of which are at every turn once beyond the hotel, is both artistic and imaginative. Besides this The Grove has an outdoor swimming pool for the summer and has even styled a beach for guests to use.
Beer Festival at The Grove
One of the UK’s leading beer writers has teamed up with The Grove to develop some food and beer combinations for its Beer Festival, Around The Grove in 14 Beers, running for two weeks from 18 October.
Melissa Cole has ten years experience writing and broadcasting on the topic of brewing, pubs and the hospitality industry, and has worked with The Grove to match some less traditional beers with some of The Grove’s high quality cuisine.
Cole’s shortlist of lagers, bitters, draft beers and stouts from each corner of the globe will be on offer in each of the hotel’s restaurants, where new dishes have been prepared exclusively for guests that attend the two-week festival.
In Collette’s expect the Deus Champagne beer matched with Honey spiced belly pork on pumpkin puree, and then the Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted with the seafood in the Glasshouse – where the beers are matched to food types. At the end of the evening make sure you get amongst the cheese board with the strong beer, Rochefort. The beer is brewed by Trappist monks in Belgium and its sherry-like flavour has a fair kick to it.
Any readers that are interested in booking a place at any of The Grove’s restaurants and trying out the new matching menu, should contact 01923 294237 or email enquiries to restaurants@thegrove.co.uk.
Brief history...
The original building was used as a home from 1400 until a new structure was built in the 18th Century, and over the years has been utilised in different ways, from a boarding school to health centre and company headquarters to riding school.
In terms of local history, many of the names that have been involved with the site and the grounds, such as Clarendon and Villiers, remain synonymous today with the hotel’s local town of Watford, with restaurants, pubs and even roads across the area being named after the renowned family.
Back in 1753 Thomas Villers, who later became the Earl of Clarendon was the registered owner of The Grove Estate, and the family did not leave The Grove until the 1920s.