The inspector visits Grantley Hall in Yorkshire – 'a resort hotel so opulent that house prices in the area have risen by 20 percent'

There is nothing like Grantley Hall anywhere. Not in his native Yorkshire, not in the north of England, nor anywhere in the entire United Kingdom for that matter.

This is an ongoing project of such opulence that housing prices in the area have apparently increased by 20 percent.

And it's all thanks to Valeria Sykes who, following her divorce from billionaire and Brexit backer Paul Sykes, has spent an unconfirmed £100 million saving this 17th century country house and converting it into a glitzy and glamorous resort hotel, a few kilometers away. Ripon.

Arriving after dark is a thrill, the driveway is illuminated and the River Skell flows next to it.

Handsome young men in tweed vests greet us outside the front door – one takes the luggage (and it's important to come here with a lot of luggage), while another parks our car.

Grantley Hall offers 47 rooms and five restaurants, including Shaun Rankin's Michelin-starred outlet

Then it's a seat in the salon and a glass of champagne during check-in before you are escorted to one of just 47 rooms (with more than 400 employees).

There are five restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Shaun Rankin restaurant; a nightclub; casino; the fanciest gyms (44 running machines, including one that is flooded); cryotherapy chamber, Formula 1 car simulator; lifestyle advisor; indoor/outdoor pool at Three Graces spa; a 'snow room'; gift shop; Japanese garden and so on.

Sometimes it feels like Dubai. In others it's Claridge's or The Dorchester – with prices to match.

'Even in low season you won't get a room for less than £500 a night,' the inspector reveals

The inspector dines at the pan-Asian restaurant EightyEight (photo). “The service is slow, but the apologies come quickly,” he says

The inspector: 'In general, there is quality everywhere.' Above the hotel spa pool

Footballers and their wives come here to splash the cash, but most of the guests we meet are, like Mrs Sykes, born and bred in Yorkshire – and proud to have such a statement hotel in the county.

We eat in the pan-Asian restaurant EightyEight, in the basement of a separate building where there is also a wedding reception. This seems to be the brash part of the resort. Service is slow, but excuses come thick and fast.

Overall there is quality throughout, which makes me wonder why on earth so many paintings are fake copies of old masters in tinny frames. And there is background music almost everywhere.

Even in low season you won't get a room for less than £500 a night, but honestly anyone complaining about the costs probably shouldn't be here.