When my friend Tony from London told me we’ll stop for a coffee in the way to the airport I certainly didn’t expect this! My flight was around 10 o’clock in the evening, so by the time we arrived at Luton Hoo was already getting dark. I don’t know if it was the beautiful forest we passed through, or the beautiful lights with the big entrance, or the fact that London left a special feeling after the week spent there, or maybe just the fact that I felt I was in the right place at the right moment, that feeling of belonging we sometimes feel in certain places or with certain people, but the hours spent at Luton Hoo were something to remember. The friendly people, the lovely piano music, the warm light and sound of the fireplaces, the sudden blackout (ghosts?) and the coffee taken under the candle lights, all made this ‘break’ one to remember.

Luton Hoo is an English country house and estate close to the town of Luton. The present house was built for the 3rd Earl of Bute by the neoclassical architect Robert Adam in 1767. Today part of the Luton Hoo Estate, notably the mansion house, has been converted into a luxury hotel called Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa, which opened on 1 October 2007. It has 144 bedrooms and suites. Luton Hoo has appeared in many films including A Shot in the Dark, Never Say Never Again, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Eyes Wide Shut, The Secret Garden, The World Is Not Enough and so on.

Beyond all the interesting facts about the building and the surroundings, for me it was just a fairytale moment. And we girls need that. We will always want the charming prince to save us, even if we don’t need to be saved.

Photo credit: http://www.lutonhoo.co.uk/ , http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ , http://www.nsecontracts.co.uk/