The English hotel resort with private beach, outdoor swimming pool and cinema – and new Spanish-themed experience

The Sun

5 hours ago

A HUGE hotel resort set in the English countryside is home to wealth of things to do and explore and is also getting an exciting new Spanish experience.
The Grove located in the Hertfordshire countryside, just 18 miles from central London is a private resort with five restaurants, three bars, an award-winning spa, a golf course and events spaces.
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Stretching over 300 acres, the resort boasts something for everyone.
Whist the first house at the site dates back to the 1500s, the hotel didn't open until 2003.
And inside it features sophisticated interiors with sculptures, chandeliers and airy large windows.
There are a number of different rooms available, including 12 newly refurbished suites in the 18th century mansion.
Depending on your mood, visitors can also eat a number of different locations including The Glasshouse, which according to The Grove's website is "one of the world's finest buffets".
And during the summer months, the hotel hosts the 'Feast on Cloud 9'.
fairground-theme outdoor area.
afternoon tea.
It costs £75 per adult and £49.50 per child for the five-course tasting menu.
Alternatively, you could have afternoon tea for £65 per adult and £39.50 per child.
This Hotel is Home to the UK's Only Swim-Up Bar
The hotel is also hosting a new experience called 'Fuego in the Woods', which shares with guests the flavours of Spain.
Across three courses, visitors will have a sharing-style Spanish feast all cooked over wood-fired parrillas with dishes including Barcelona-style flatbread with black garlic aioli, Tomahawk of Hertfordshire beef and a Basque chocolate cheesecake with cherry compote.
There will be live music and drinks across the participating evenings too.
The experience costs £175 per adult or £100 per child.
Back at the hotel, there is also a spa onsite which offers a range of facilities including a 22-metre-long UV-filtered pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room.
One of the real hidden gems of the site is the walled garden - home to a heated outdoor pool, private beach and kitchen garden.
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Whilst at the 'beach', guests can relax, enjoy a new bar, stretch out on daybeds and get competitive in a family gaming area.
This year, the beach has a fresh new look and a dedicated treatment space.
The day beds include premium, classic and family options that cost from £60 to £190, depending on whether you book them for a day or half-day.
Each booking also comes with still and sparking water, fruit skewers, coconut water, face spray and cocktails.
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Whilst there, guests can also indulge themselves with a 'Sequoia on the Beach Massage' - which focuses on the décolletage, neck, shoulders, face, scalp and arms.
For those who like golf, The Grove is home to one of the UK's most prestigious golf courses, with 18 holes.
In fact, in 2006, the resort hosted The World Golf Championships, which were won by Tiger Woods.
Previous guests have included cast members of Harry Potter - as 'The Making of Harry Potter' is nearby at Leavesden Studios - and Barack Obama during a presidential visit with Prime Minister David Cameron.
It isn't only prestigious guests the resort is used to - there have also been a number of notable events at The Grove.
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The Grove Hotel went viral for one of it's restaurants
THE Sun's assistant travel editor Sophie Swietochowski experienced the buffet last year - here's what she thought.
As The Sun travel desk's resident foodie, I could hardly resist trying the UK's fanciest buffet, also one of the world's most expensive.
The Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire went viral earlier last year when TikTok foodies discovered its Glasshouse restaurant where everyone dines en masse, but in five-star luxury.
It even featured in Netflix's 'Million Dollar Buffet' documentary with Grace Dent.
Costing a whopping £82 per person at the weekend, there is certainly enough to choose from.
After several, overly-generous spoonfuls of caviar, a few servings of beetroot-cured salmon and seven superbly crafted sushi rolls, decorated with dainty herbs, I felt I'd made a good dent in 'getting my money's worth' – a statement that had been thrown back and forth between my buffet partner, Mum, and I.
So the real question is: is it really worth the cash?
It's a thought that's difficult to get out of my head, even though, as a self-proclaimed foodie, I'd normally spend at least this amount on a boozy dinner with friends.
But £82 does feel like a lot for what I'd previously have defined as 'just a buffet'.
Although, if you visit for dinner mid-week, as opposed to the weekend, you can knock £17 off this price.
I'd planned what I thought was an adequate two and a half hours to properly tackle that evening's dinner, but an extra hour would have been more appropriate if I wanted to take it at a more relaxed pace – and squeeze in an extra few hundred calories. Isn't that what buffet dining is all about?
Still, despite the steep price, I think I'll be booking a table for my birthday next year – and this time I'm aiming for five plates instead of four.
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These include NATO's 70th annual meeting.
And for the final of the UEFA Euros, the England National Football Team stayed at the hotel.
In 2023, the resort celebrated 20 years since it opened and also received a plethora of awards.
The Grove also revealed its newly renovated Sequoia spa after a £1.6million refurbishment.
There is a posh UK spa hotel praised by mums as perfect for kids – thanks to an Ofsted creche, huge playbarn and early teatime.
Plus, the English hotel with one of the UK's poshest spas … but it's only for dogs.
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