Cliveden, along with several other esteemed country house hotels, hit the headlines last week after being axed from the 2005 Good Hotel Guide. The hotel had lost its 'sparkle' according to the guide, which also claims to have received a number of complaints ranging from 'a young porter with acne' showing a guest to their room to a '30-minute wait' upon check-in.

Yet a Cliveden spokesperson claims that bookings have not been affected by the bad publicity and the hotel has been inundated with letters of support from previous guests.

Famous for its association with the Profumo scandal (it was in the outdoor swimming pool that John Profumo met Christine Keeler), Cliveden received a further boost after Conde Nast Traveller 's readers rated the hotel as one of the UK's top 10 luxury leisure hotels.

So who to believe? Cliveden had long been on my list of places to visit and last weekend I did just that. I'd envisaged following in the footsteps of former owners the Astor family and practically every British monarch since George I. I was all set to play billiards in Lord Mountbatten's billiard room, read in the library accompanied by the ghost of George Bernard Shaw, take tea (or perhaps something a little stronger) in the Great Hall where Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill once did the same. I was not disappointed. We too had to wait to check in, but waiting with afternoon tea in the Great Hall - complete with an ornate Italian 16th-century fireplace and artwork worth millions of pounds on the walls - is hardly a chore. Cliveden is quirky, unique and possibly one of the most impressive places I have ever stayed. Could it be that the multi-billionaire who complained about the spotty porter was having a bad day? Having seen it for myself, I'm inclined to give Cliveden the benefit of the doubt.