Short stay: Hartwell House Hotel and Spa, Aylesbury, UK

Hartwell House Hotel and Spa has some history. When Louis XVlll was exiled from France after the French Revolution, he rented this stately home, in 90 acres of Buckinghamshire parkland, at £500 a year, for his family and courtiers. Eventually, in the Hartwell House library, Louis signed the document for his restoration to the French throne in 1814. More recently in 2013, the Finance Ministers of the G7 met in country house grandeur for their summit.

The Domesday Book, mentions Hartwell, not surprising as it was home to one of William the Conqueror’s sons. Though the current grand house was built in the early 17th century by the Hampden family.

For centuries, Hartwell House has been entertaining guests with a warm but  discrete…