These are great days for Welsh hospitality. As this list of our favourite 23 hotels and B&Bs reveals, the country is peppered with a new generation of small stylish stays. In all you’ll notice more commitment to sustainability and local producers — embrace the former at a remote Llyn peninsula eco-campsite and the latter at a former warehouse on the River Teifi that has a new food-miles conscious restaurant, Yr Odyn — and far less ostentation.
Most can accommodate your dog, including romantic Penally Abbey, near Tenby. In addition there’s a new generation of chefs who are digging into their terroir — the Bell at Skenfrith is just one (cosy pub) example of many. The apt phrase would be heart and soul, which is refreshing as Cornwall and Devon become increasingly la-di-da.
What remains unchanged is the scenery: the glittering seas and windblown moors; the sheep-speckled hills; and the highest mountains south of the Scottish Highlands. Also the appeal of a country rightly proud of its distinct culture; a place that, compared with much of England, lives by the words on its roads: “Araf, Slow”. Were Wales a region of France or northern Spain, it would be the subject of breathless articles about the hottest destination to visit, which only proves that too many people are too quick to ignore at home what they’d eulogise abroad.
But what about the weather, people whine. Well, what about it? You’ll get as wet in St Davids as in Penzance — both average about 70mm rainfall in August — but I don’t hear anyone making tired jokes about the Cornish climate.
This month, a government survey found a 33 per cent drop in overseas visitors to Wales as trips to the UK were curtailed. I wouldn’t be so crass as to suggest a duty to holiday at home, but European heatwaves, transport strikes, the pincer movement of inflation and a weak pound . . . Holidaying at home has its benefits.
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If you haven’t booked a late-summer break, seize the moment. I’m envious of every first-time visitor.
1. Penmaenuchaf, Dolgellau
The stylish hotel stay
The team behind Pembrokeshire’s Grove of Narbeth are doing great things with this baronial pile beneath Cadair Idris mountain. Four upper suites have had a makeover into a playful take on Victoriana: pink clawfoot baths, teal walls, mustard blinds. The other nine, plus two lounges, will get the same treatment in winter. Terrific, but why wait for a stay that pulls off the neat trick of being smart but never starchy? The restaurant is excellent, staff are smiley and the beautiful Mawddach estuary snakes beyond 21-acre gardens.
Details B&B doubles from £180 (penmaenuchaf.co.uk)
2. Harbourmaster Hotel, Aberaeron
A characterful harbour hotel
It’s the harbour stay you always hope for: a handsome little town in a rainbow of colours; yachts and gulls outside an indigo-painted house on the wharf; and within, rooms that are the tasteful side of characterful. Expect granite walls or panelling, porthole windows to bathrooms with standalone silver tubs, Welsh blankets by Melin Tregwynt mill. I especially liked the mermaid wallpaper in the hall. Warehouse rooms have the most space plus two Juliet balconies. Singles are compact but there are no duds. Seafood suppers in the restaurant are superb.
Details B&B doubles from £155 (harbour-master.com)
3. Llanerch, Vale of Glamorgan
The vineyard stay near Cardiff
Both hotels and wine are about relaxation, so it’s appropriate to combine the two in a stay half an hour from Cardiff. What the farmer who lived here 400 years ago would say is anyone’s guess, but it’s his much-modernised farmhouse that holds ground-floor Standard rooms; Countryside Superiors in an annexe are worth the extra 40 quid for views. If the luxury is a mite corporate, you’ll spend most of the time out of your room anyway; touring the vineyards (£25pp), walking in woods and slurping Llanerch’s Cariad fizz before dinner.
Details B&B doubles from £130 (llanerch.co.uk)
4. St Brides Spa Hotel, Saundersfoot
A spa stay on the Welsh riviera
I could tell you about the rooms of beachy blues and creams, perhaps about the glass-walled public areas flooded by light. Why bother? You’ll be too busy in the best spa in Wales. Teetering on a cliff, an infinity pool hangs above the beach. Sunloungers are arranged in lines on a deck. Stay snug in a bathrobe and it’s très French Riviera. Reservations include 90 minutes’ free access daily to the spa; otherwise old-fashioned sea-swimming is right there. No excuses, it’s good for you.
Details B&B doubles from £200 (stbridesspahotel.com)
5. Sandy Mount House, Rhosneigr
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Hamptons-style hotel in Anglesey
If you’ve read breathless prose about Anglesey as newly fashionable, the chances are it was talking about places like this, in the surf town Rhosneigr. On a pebbledashed high street, its seven-bed stay provides modest, Hamptons-esque coastal cool: off-white panelling and French linen armchairs; pale herringbone parquet or jute carpet; art prints; a kingsize four-poster in the Beach House room. Two have sea views towards Treath Crigyll, a half-moon of sand and dunes beloved by paddleboarders and sandcastle-builders alike.
Details B&B doubles from £150 (sandymounthouse.co.uk)
6. The Celtic Manor Resort, Usk Valley
Family-friendly resort with parkland
Who wants to stay in a 332-bed enormo-hotel beside the M4? Families after the facilities of a full-blown resort, that’s who. If you can’t entertain your little darlings with its zip wires, assault courses, archery, pools, adventure golf, laser combat games and treasure hunts across 2,000 acres of parkland, well, I wish you strength. And one of the seven restaurants is sure to satisfy fussy eaters. For parents there are five-star comforts, including a spa, plus three championship golf courses, one of which hosted the 2010 Ryder Cup. Happy holidays all round.
Details B&B doubles from £162 (celtic-manor.com)
7. Llys Meddyg, Newport
Coastal inn with ebikes
Ed and Louise Sykes were early pioneers in this Georgian inn on the Pembrokeshire coast in 2003. Twenty years before hospitality trends caught up, they created an eight-bedroom stay that softens metropolitan style (on-trend dusky pink or sludgy paint colours, fine linen on king-size beds) with rustic soul (reclaimed wood headboards and wildflowers on tables). Their food, such as hake with sherry cockles, samphire and fennel, was local, foraged and seasonal long before those became buzzwords. New for this year are Ed’s ebikes — ideal for exploring the empty trails of the Preseli Hills.
Details B&B doubles from £130 (llysmeddyg.com)
8. The Felin Ffach Griffin, near Brecon
Foodie retreat in the Brecon hills
Bury yourself among the Brecon hills — the Black Mountains just east, the peaks of Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) south — to live this inn’s philosophy of “the simple things in life done well”. That translates into sweetly vintage rooms of muted colours with a Roberts radio for The Archers (none have a TV), loose-leaf tea and a supremely comfortable bed. What more do you need? A dinner reservation, actually. The bar and restaurant are beauties with unexpectedly adventurous menus. I ordered gurnard, squid, orange and anise on my last visit thinking, “There’s no way they’ll pull this off.” I was wrong. Stepping across the threshold feels like stepping into a hug.
Details B&B doubles from £175 (eatdrinksleep.ltd.uk)
9. Pen-Y-Gwryd, near Llanberis
Snowdonia stay with its own private lake
There are several luxury stays in this list. This is not one of those, though it is equally singular with a fine location in Eryri National Park (Snowdonia). Dated even when Edmund Hillary stayed to train for Everest in 1953, this former coaching inn is so old-fashioned it appears styled. Wi-fi? Fat chance. What you get are Thirties oak beds and a bar of Imperial Leather on the basin. Though a few rooms are en suite, one shared bathroom has a Victorian thunderbox. A dip in the private lake is better than any alarm. A gong announces breakfast. Not for everyone, but a one-off.
Details B&B doubles from £108 (pyg.co.uk)
10. Grove of Narberth, Narberth
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The best hotel in Wales
The head gardener Greg Leeson has been hard at it this year, expanding his kitchen garden to supply the stellar Fernery restaurant and Artisan Brasserie. Otherwise — a new option to private-hire all 25 bedrooms aside — the Grove appears unchanged. Amen to that. One of Wales’s finest hotels remains a weekender of dreams, a stay of seemingly effortless luxury that nods to tradition and has faultless staff. Don’t be deceived: it requires a lot of work to make things appear this relaxed. Tenby and the south Pembrokeshire coast are nearby. Don’t bank on making it.
Details B&B doubles from £246 (grovenarberth.co.uk)
11. Elan Valley Hotel, Rhayader
Homely hotel in epic Powys
Empty, wild central Powys is a region where quiet roads swoop around reservoirs and across domed mountains. Cycling nirvana, basically. Route 81 passes outside this homely new nine-bedroom stay near Rhayader: rooms with king or super-king beds; sofas in the lounge, plus a small bar. Factor in optional dinners by the owner Rachel Morgan and it’s like staying with friends. Book the apartment and you’ll get a washing machine. Book direct and you’ll get a free bottle of plonk.
Details B&B doubles from £130 (elanvalleyhotel.co.uk)
12. Ynyshire, Machynlleth
Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms
You come, of course, to dine at the two-Michelin-star restaurant of Gareth Ward, the best in Britain, again reckoned judges of the National Restaurant Awards in June. Yet his ten rooms are no afterthought. Some have moody dark walls — hygge by way of Hades — lightened with Scandi-rustic furniture. Better garden rooms have high ceilings and picture windows. Are the latter worth twice the price? I expect your answer will depend on your attitude to paying from £350 for an astonishing meal. Either way, the beautiful Dyfi estuary is outside — mountains rumbling front and back, wildlife in two nearby bird reserves.
Details B&B doubles from £290, or from £520pp with dinner (ynyshir.co.uk)
13. Brown’s Hotel, Laugharne
Stay in Dylan Thomas’s favourite pub
All set for a coastal break in a salty, community-spirited town that’s not boutiqued to the eyeballs? Then off to Dylan Thomas’s favourite boozer we go. Though it’s considerably posher than in his day, they haven’t mucked about with the 18th-century place too much, just introduced large beds and smart bathrooms in 13 rooms of arty character; Talacharn suite is the finest. The Carmarthen steak specialist Dexter’s took over the restaurant last year. Follow a meal with a whisky nightcap. If it was good enough for Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole, it’s good enough for you.
Details B&B doubles from £140 (browns.wales)
14. The Bell at Skenfrith, near Abergavenny
Foodie riverside pub near Abergavenny
Inglenook fireplace and old beams in a flagstoned bar? Tick. Tasteful country-house decor above? Tick. The deep tranquillity of soft hills and chuckling water? Tick again. The Bell, beside the River Monnow, has gone from local pub to boutique foodie weekender without sacrificing a smidgin of the character that made it so appealing in the first place. So while walkers still stroll in with the dog they now sit down to dinners of pan-roast Welsh lamb rump with garlic and thyme fondant potato, before retiring to antique walnut beds. A delight.
Details B&B doubles from £175 (thebellatskenfrith.co.uk)
15. Palé Hall, near Bala
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A Bala hotel with royal history
Queen Victoria coveted it. The Duke of Westminster invited Sir Winston Churchill to fish from it. Now it’s your turn to experience aristocratic life in a mansion with more chimneys than a French château. You’re here for tradition so skip modern(ish) garden suites in the outbuildings for the splendid main house. You’ll wallow in the same tub as Her Maj in the Victoria suite. Afternoon tea aside, the dining is bang up to date, with the former Welsh chef of the year Sam Griffiths newly installed behind the stoves. The fly fishing in the River Dee? As outstanding as ever.
Details B&B doubles from £288 (palehall.co.uk)
16. The Rocks, Capel Curig
Five-star private hostel in Eryri National Park
It’s a hostel, but not as you know it. Instead of Seventies lino, Wales’s first five-star private hostel has something of the ski chalet about it. Think blankets on Ercol armchairs, chunky shelving of reclaimed wood, rugs on slate floors, fire pits crackling in the garden at dusk. In place of sagging bunkbeds you get proper jobs in spotless panelled private rooms — ideal for families on a budget. The reason you’re here remains the same as ever: the best peaks of Eryri National Park outside the back door.
Details Room-only doubles from £70 (therockshostel.com)
17. Penally Abbey, Tenby
Romantic retreat with a great restaurant
I needn’t tell you much about Penally Abbey. It’s a pretty former refectory, clad in virginia creeper, set in five bosky acres. The dozen bedrooms in the main house and a former coach-house annexe are modern-romantic, grounded by antiques and finished in serene off-whites and pastels. You’ll dine among swallows swooping across the mural wallpaper of glamorous Rhosyn restaurant, then breakfast while gazing at the sea. Should that be an inspiration, Tenby is two miles away. Oh, and the dog is welcome. Think that covers it.
Details B&B doubles from £175 (penally-abbey.com)
18. Parador 44, Cardiff
Spanish-inspired Cardiff stay
That historic hotels in Andalusia provided a template explains the antique carved doors and shutters upcycled into the nine rooms here. Also the patterned tiles and rattan loungers on a terraza. There’s nothing ersatz about this, though. Opened last year, it is as relaxed and modern as the Welsh capital, all white walls and wicker. Soundproofing prevents street noise in a city-centre location. An honesty bar is stocked with Spanish booze and moreish snacks. Breakfasts are served in Asador 44 below — I can vouch for the Spanish eggs with chorizo.
Details B&B doubles from £131 (grupo44.co.uk)
19. Albion Aberteifi, Cardigan
Cosy former warehouse on the Teifi
While most hotels promote light, this new(ish) place is as cosy as a ship’s cabin. That’s partly down to planning restrictions on the listed former warehouses on Cardigan’s Teifi River, but equally a decision to reflect nautical heritage by the clever folk behind the gorgeous nature stay fforest. The result is Welsh hygge: upcycled wood panelling, woven blankets by Melin Teifi mill, that sort of thing. There’s a cosy bar, the Galley, a mid-decks refectory stocked with help-yourself nibbles, plus a new restaurant showcasing local bounty, Yr Odyn. Magic.
Details B&B doubles from £165 (albionaberteifi.co.uk)
20. Bert’s, Llyn peninsula
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Remote eco-campsite on the Llyn peninsula
We’ve all done it: fantasised of a simpler, lovelier life beside the sea. This will definitely do in the interim. Think of this remote eco-campsite as an atomised micro-hotel. Inside three shepherd’s huts and the Piggery cottage — all doubles except for one hut sleeping four — there’s reclaimed wood, white marble, brushed brass; choose the Piggery for a spacious en suite. In a kitchen garden is a cabin restaurant serving breakfast, plus fine evening meals curated from whatever is freshest. There are kayaks and paddleboards for hire. Good luck returning to the real world.
Details Room-only doubles from £175 (bertskg.com)
21. Manor Town House, Fishguard
Harbourside guesthouse in Fishguard
Fishguard is much overlooked, known largely for the Rosslare ferry rather than things such as this elegant guesthouse in a listed building above Lower Town harbour, the lovely original bay. The sea winks outside four of the six rooms (cheaper town-side rooms get some traffic noise). You’ll breakfast with sea views from a new vegetarian menu — homemade sourdough with thyme-roast nectarines, Welsh honey, orange zest, toasted almonds and local blackberries — then sally forth with tips from the owners Helen and Chris Sheldon, before afternoon tea on the terrace. At this price it’s a steal — being overlooked has its advantages.
Details B&B doubles from £125 (manortownhouse.com)
22. Plas Weunydd, Blaenau Ffestiniog
Adrenaline-filled slate mine stay
Let’s go on holiday to a slate mine, said no one ever. A shame, really, as this is a fun stay among an easygoing tribe who come for zip wires, mountain bike trails and mad subterranean assault courses in the reinvented Llechwed mine. Behind the mock Tudor façade, the former mine manager’s residence is cheerful and uncomplicated, with black and white photos of miners and comfy, simple rooms finished in soft greens and greys. Superiors are worth the extra £20. Those in the attic have old beams plus views of the mine slopes glowering spectacularly. Great value.
Details B&B doubles from £88 (plasweunydd.co.uk)
23. Bodysgallen Hall, Llandudno
Luxury spa hotel in Llandudno
There’s a school of thought that states if you’re booking a historic stay, go the whole hog. Somewhere like a grade I listed Elizabethan mansion among extraordinary contemporary gardens — parterre, follies, rose gardens and all — owned by the National Trust perhaps. Sure, this is now a luxury spa hotel with a 50ft pool and a fine restaurant. Rooms have espresso machines and posh toiletries. But the windows are stone mullion and the country house decor is stuck reassuringly in the Thirties. Cottages offer peak romance. For all that, the atmosphere is more smart than stuffy.
Details Doubles B&B from £240 (bodysgallen.com)
What’s new in Wales
Sleep in a mine, Blaenau Ffestiniog
Welcome to Blaenau Ffestiniog. We have your reservation. Now, pop on this helmet and we’ll take you to your room. In addition to the activities already mentioned (see entry 22), the cave exploration specialist Go Below invites you to experience “the world’s deepest sleep” at the bottom of a 1,375ft slate mine. Every Saturday night, visitors can negotiate ancient miners’ staircases and decaying bridges (safe, we’re promised) and dine on “expedition-style” food on a picnic bench, before retiring to one of three cabins or a grotto. Each has proper beds and electricity, and even wi-fi. None has blackout blinds.
Details All-inclusive overnight experience from £75pp (go-below.co.uk)
Sauna on the Gower peninsula
It’s no surprise a nation of outdoor activities and stellar coastlines has embraced beach saunas. There’s a new one on Tyn Tywyn, Anglesey, plus this handsome wood-barrel number at the Oxwich Bay on the Gower. Ty Sawna can accommodate eight — hour-long bookings are by private hire or per person from Fridays to Sunday — and has a half-moon window looking over the sea and surfers. Belting out the heat is a wood-fired heater by Harvia, a sauna specialist from the land of saunas, Finland. You’ll need to find another excuse not to swim in winter.
Details One-hour £15pp or £80 private hire for eight (tysawna.co.uk)
Husky mushing, Denbighshire
In time for autumn comes Wales’s first husky-mushing experience. The pine woods of South Alwen Forest between Denbigh and Llangollen stand in for the boreal Arctic. Trikes replace traditional sleighs. The dogs, however, are the real McCoy — a muttley crew of Siberian and Alaskan huskies (plus a couple of keen Scandinavian hounds) — as is owner Joe Swiffen, with over 20 years’ experience of husky sleighs. Choose from being a passenger on a six-dog sleigh/trike or take the reins of a two-dog team in an Introduction to Mushing.
Details Two hours from £80pp (mynyddsleddogadventures.com)
Wild seaweed baths, Anglesey
What do you do with old, insulated whisky barrels, seaweed and a stonking view over the Menai Strait? Launch Wales’s first seaweed bathing experience, of course. It’s not as daft as it sounds. Seaweed baths were common in the late-1800s for their rejuvenating effect, something to do with mineral-rich oils “which make your skin feel absolutely amazing”, says Jess Lea-Wilson, brand director of operator Halen Mon, the sea-salt producer. Don’t worry: it’s strictly distilled water only, and water heated to 40C at that.
Details One hour £39.50 (halenmon.com)
Welsh tapas bar, Penarth
Acclaimed chef Bryn Williams, of London’s Odette’s restaurant and The Cambrian in the Swiss Alps, says the legendary Touring Club hotel of Patagonia served as a template for his new bar-restaurant, the Touring Club. Think of it as a high-end Welsh tapas bar: walk-up only, as suited to a gossip over wine and to admire the small-plates, which appear from a show kitchen. Expect lamb cutlets with lemon salt, local crab on toast and a splendidly gloopy Welsh rarebit.
Details Mains from £12, thetouring.club
New restaurant in arty Narbeth
The Pembrokeshire restaurant of Matt Powell (ex-Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons) closed last November not long after the Michelin people left brimming with praise. Now he has a permanent venue in arty Narbeth, Annwn seems a dead-cert to appear in their red book. Powell’s ethos remains unchanged. This is destination dining that’s hyper-local and features foraged ingredients: spider crab purée underneath an aged kelp cream; lamb cured in sea salt and dried for 100 days; turbot with shoreline plants and laver seaweed. A true taste of Pembrokeshire, basically. Go before the word spreads.
Details Nine courses £130, annwnrestaurant.co.uk
Affordable dining by the Ynyshir chef, Machynlleth
Such is the hype about Ynyshir restaurant (see entry 12) that few people outside Machynlleth residents realise the owner Gareth Ward has opened this snug wine bar/restaurant, Gwen, on the high street. Named after his mum, it provides a taste of Ynyshir at more affordable prices; about ten courses of beautiful, bite-size wonders, starring local ingredients like eel, chawanmushi and broccoli or potato, truffle and hen’s egg. Former Ynyshir head chef Corrin Harrison is behind the stoves. With only eight diners per sitting, however, you’ll still need a reservation to eat.
Details Ten courses £100, gwenrestaurant.co.uk
Cosy pub cooking near Cowbridge
The name Hiraeth means a complex mix of homesickness, longing, nostalgia and loss — the Welsh equivalent of the Portuguese saudade. If the old stone and wood of this village pub in the Vale of Glamorgan look the part, the cooking is all modern; appealing to foodies from Cardiff who come for dishes such as nduja sausage and orchard-fed pork porchetta as much as families in for Sunday lunches of Welsh lamb and Yorkshire pud. Wallet-friendly prices mean locals can’t get enough of the place, so call ahead.
Details Two courses £35, hiraethkitchen.com
Are there any favourites you’d add to this list? Let us know in the comments below
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