Cliveden has been a byword for fine dining and lavish entertainment for over three centuries, and this tradition still flourishes today. As one would expect there is an ample choice of rooms in which to enjoy the fine cuisine and faultless hospitality which has attracted numerous awards and accolades.

Cliveden House dates from 1666 when the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, a hell-raking figure who set society by the ears and gave Cliveden its close association with the fast set and the politicians that has lasted to this day. Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister in the late 1950s, when told that the house was to become a hotel famously remarked 'm'dear boy, it always has been . . ' and one suspects he would not be disappointed with the reality. As the hotel brochure says, 'the tradition of impeccable hospitality and extravagant entertainment continues to make any stay at Cliveden the experience of a lifetime'.

Such a comment bodes well for the restaurant, where the habit of luxurious eating and drinking is maintained faultlessly and with an aplomb of which the Duke of Buckingham would have undoubtedly been proud. There are dining rooms for all occasions, but our focus rests upon Waldo's, the intimate room named after Thomas Waldo Story, the American sculptor who created the Fountain of Love at Cliveden.

Cliveden's latest contribution to the rumbustuous memory of the Duke of Buckingham was the scandal surrounding a prominent Cabinet Minister's association with Christine Keeler and Dr Stephen Ward, and through them a Defence Attaché at the Russian Embassy.

The entranceway to Waldo's is lined with photographs from the Astor years, focusing on their guests, ranging from Henry Ford to Lloyd George. The restaurant has something of a reputation for offering the crème de la crème when it comes to cuisine.