Horsley Towers, Surrey

If your idea of a true romance is rolling up the driveway of a vast Victorian pile in the middle of acres of parkland one dark winter's evening, lights twinkling a welcome from imposing towers and turrets, then Horsley Towers is the place for you. Set in 70 acres of Surrey parkland, the fairytale stone building dates from 1820 and shares its designer with the Houses of Parliament.

Now a luxurious hotel, with conference facilities discreetly tucked away in the grounds, it has been home to many famous residents, including Ada Byron – daughter of the poet Lord Byron – who lived here in the mid-1800s while she helped write the program for the first ever mechanical computer.

'It's haunted you know,' grins our taxi driver, (the hotel is located just off the A3 and M25 and is two miles from Horsley station with direct trains to London Waterloo and Guildford; taxi 01753 686111), as he drops us at the vaulted entrance. With the wind whistling in the trees and an almost empty car park, it all seems credible but, as we step into the comfortable entrance hallway, hardly a matter of much concern. No acres of marbled reception counter acting as a barrier here, just a simple wooden table and a warm welcome from the duty manager Candice. With John in the bar, the two are the only staff in evidence - 'It's quiet tonight but we have a lot of guests in for a wedding tomorrow,' explains Candice as she shows us the dining room where dinner will be served, should we require it. Weddings are a speciality at Horsley Towers, with several grand reception rooms, gorgeous settings for photos, elegant guest accommodation, and facilities for the ceremony itself all on site.

However it's been a bit of a journey from hell so after a quick nose in the bar - though it almost seems an insult to refer to this cosy room with rich panelling and warm red colour scheme as anything so common - Candice takes us to the foot of the grand sweeping staircase and points us in the direction of our room. Hung on both sides with large portraits of old Horsleyans, presumably, it's easy to imagine we've chanced into somebody's grand country residence for the weekend.

A charming winding corridor, paved at intervals with glass blocks that are set into the carpet and provide a view of the floor underneath, leads us to our room. It's hard to stop grinning like hyenas as we step inside its vast expanse, a sweeping four-poster bed elegantly hung with chocolate drapes, plush sofa at its foot, all beautifully furnished, with charming casement windows looking onto the front of the building, a large plasma TV is the only contemporary note in this traditional setting.

Beyond, a door opens to a cathedral-style bathroom - with steps leading down to a Victorian roll-top bath, overlooked by stained glass arched windows, a grand vaulted ceiling framing the scene. Big, comfortable and inviting, the room is pretty much everything you need to leave real life behind at the end of a stressful week.

The next morning, breakfast arrives on trays; the full works, all beautifully cooked and presented. Deciding to be energetic for the few hours left to us before we have to pack up and head home, we drag ourselves from our mansion room and off in search of the leisure centre. With a longing look at the newspapers spread out beside comfy leather armchairs in the reception area, we keep going, out into the grounds and a beautiful crisp autumn morning. In daylight, the scene is mesmerising, a fountain playing on the large lake in front of the hotel, home to hosts of ducks and moorhens – these must be some of the luckiest waterfowl in the country!

Past the stone terraces set out with garden furniture, and through another garden area is the conference and leisure centre. Here we find big roomy lounges with more newspapers, tea and coffee facilities and inviting armchairs, and beyond the gym area, a 15-metre swimming pool, hot tub, steam rooms and changing facilities.

But we've dawdled too long in the grounds and there is only time for a quick splash about in the pool, a turn in the hot tub, and it's time to change and return to reality. The same taxi driver picks us up to take us back to the station. 'We didn't see the ghost,' I tell him, as we head off. But maybe that's a good enough reason to go back.

Horsley Towers, Ockham Road South, East Horsley, Surrey KT24 6DU Phone 0870 609 1149; email horsley@deverevenues.co.uk

For more information on the hotel and to make an online booking, click here