The Grove, a hotel and spa set in the ancestral home of the Earls of Clarendon in Hertfordshire, has opened.

With interiors designed by Fox Linton Associates, the ‘country estate’ houses 227 guestrooms and suites, three restaurants, three bars, a golf course, spa and treatment rooms, pools and a gym.

At the heart of the estate is a Grade II mansion, to which a new west wing has been added.

The mansion has three styles of bedroom – classical, contemporary and decadent, with contemporary rooms featuring leather screens, perspex tables and chrome.

The ballroom has been designed to create the impression of a giant conservatory, with windows on two sides, a huge mural of a forest covering one wall, and rich suede and leather upholstery on the remaining walls. Details: www.thegrove.co.uk