The Grove, Hertfordshire

Does there come a point when the luxury lifestyle gets old hat? Do billionaires wake up, look at the flatscreen TV rising out of their luxurious four-poster, look across at the silver-service breakfast trolley and think "why do I bother?"

These thoughts filtered though my mind one Friday back in January. I was staying at the Grove in Hertfordshire. Outside, a new day awaited and with it the chance to muck around on the golf course Tiger Woods described as the best he'd ever played. After that there was a treatment at the Sequoia Spa. A tough assignment. Before that I had to drag myself out of the four-poster and into the family-sized shower and that really was a tough task.

The Grove has a style like no other luxury hotel. Staff describe it as "groovy grand" and it involves a clever mix of an old building with modern interiors. It also blends the quirky with the iconic and relies on clever use of some well selected art. In fact, it's so comfortable in the mansion house that it rarely feels like a hotel (and then only in places where it's hard to avoid—such as the lobby and the buffet dining room).

Built on the former estate of the Earls of Clarendon, the main house was completely redeveloped and the Kyle Phillips-designed championship golf course and spa added before it opened in 2003. There's also a restaurant which, judging by the food we ate, is one of the best in the UK not to have a Michelin star. And playing strongly to the trend for more food to be seasonal and local, much of the food is grown on the estate.

Without question the old house, which includes the restaurant, has the nicest feel and the most charming rooms. The good news for event organisers and rich folk looking for a party venue, is that the mansion can be hired in full. For £20,000 you can take over the mansion house, complete with exclusive use of Colette's restaurant. Go during this summer and your golf ball might not be the only thing to end up in the sand, as the Grove's walled garden, already popular for it's gorgeous heated outdoor swimming pool and terrace bar, will host the Grove's own beach. That's what billionaires do to stop them getting bored.