The Best Hotels in Wales

1 year ago

From grand mansions to cosy hideaways

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If it’s peace and quiet amongst the mountains and valleys you are looking for, cross that border and cease to ignore a country that is greater than the sum of its consonants (of which there are many). These are the best hotels in Wales right now.

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The Best Hotels in Wales For 2024

These reviews are taken from this year’s Great British & Irish Hotels Guide. You can read purchase your print Hotels Guide here.

Twr y Felin Hotel, St Davids

This former 19th century mill-turned-boutique hotel, on the spectacular peninsula that is also home to Britain’s smallest city, St Davids, has always had charm. But when renowned architect Keith Griffiths took over this bolthole in 2015, he upped the ante. Now Wales’ first contemporary art hotel, it’s all about the visual: here, walls are decorated with over 250 works of local art. These take centre stage in the 39 minimalist-style bedrooms (including a suite in the original Windmill Tower), which come with super king beds, handcrafted furniture and sweeping coastal views. Three AA Rosette Blas restaurant serves an excellent seasonal menu, focusing on local produce – and don’t miss the portrait of Catherine Zeta-Jones by street artist Pure Evil. There’s also Cornel bar, a cosy art lover’s snug, Oriel Lounge and a meeting room. During the day, stroll to stunning Caerfai Bay or explore St David’s cathedral, both a stone’s throw away. Leave time to drop by Twr y Felin’s sister venues – 12th century Roch Castle and beautifully restored Penrhiw Priory. Upon return, relax with a holistic massage in the calming treatment room.

From £180, +44 (0)1437 725555

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The Riverside at Aymestrey, Herefordshire

Sitting on the banks of the river Lugg, this attractive black-and-white-timbered, 16th-century inn offers guests the perfect opportunity to unwind, either by sipping local real ales and cider on the riverbank, or by relaxing beside a roaring log burner. The six original bedrooms are homely and comfortable – we adored the three beautiful garden rooms, decked out with all creature comforts and full of character. Each has its own veranda overlooking the glorious, unspoilt Herefordshire countryside. The Riverside is ideally located for walkers as it’s on the central point of the scenic Mortimer Trail, as well as being perfectly positioned for fishing and other country sports. But what people really come here for is the food. Chef/patron Andy Link, a star of the local Slow Food Movement, grows 50 different fruits and vegetables on site and specialises in cooking with local Herefordshire, Shropshire and Welsh-border produce. Andy is committed to being creative with local crops, and makes his own treats from foraged goodies – hay and meadowsweet ice cream and lavender fudge, anyone? Simply the very best and always fabulous value.

Doubles from £100, +44 (0)1568 708440

Overhead view of building with garden plots

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Penmaenuchaf Hotel, Eryri

The fantastical landscape of Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park is spellbinding. The stonefronted mountain hideaway of Penmaenuchaf Hotel fits right in. Perched high above the Mawddach estuary at the foot of the rugged Cadair Idris, this grand country house is celebrating a new chapter, with new owners Zoe and Neil Kedward. The couple took over in June 2022, growing their Seren family business, a lovely collection of proudly Welsh hotels and restaurants. There are 13 delightful individually designed bedrooms. Traditional style and textures mingle with contemporary touches, with a sprinkling of Welsh arts, crafts and antiques. In the kitchen, head chef Tom Hine (who cut his teeth at Gidleigh Park and Lympstone Manor) and his team do a cracking job, using high-quality seasonal ingredients, sourced locally or from the hotel’s kitchen garden. Tuck into flavour-packed British cooking, such as exquisite Welsh lamb, accompanied by caramelised turnip, sheep’s curd, gem lettuce and lamb jus. Of course, all is topped off by the phenomenal views of Eryri – and this gem of a retreat is the perfect base for exploring this extraordinary region.

Doubles from £230, +44 (0)1341 212121

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Penally Abbey, Tenby

This grand Welsh mansion exudes bonhomie, making you relax instantly and feel at home. Owners Lucas and Melanie Boissevain brought the lovely, late 18th-century Gothic house, with its romantic ogee-headed doors and windows, stunningly back to life in 2014. You enter a spacious hallway with a wood-burning stove; there follows a bar opening onto a pretty conservatory, an elegant yet homely sitting room and a glamorous candlelit dining room filled with locally collected antiques. Here, you’ll dine on delicious, local and homegrown produce, dished up in imaginative ways – try the Welsh lamb with broad beans and crushed Pembrokeshire potatoes. Melanie’s aesthetic – handily, she has a background in interior design – mixes the elegant and the traditional with judiciously stylish touches. The result? All 12 bedrooms are equally restful and comfortable spaces, most with sea views, in which it’s a pleasure to spend time. Each one includes a delightful hand-illustrated guide of things to do in the area, which sums up the charms of this exceptional, friendly hotel and its lovely gardens.

Doubles from £195, +44 (0)1834 843033

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Grove of Narberth, Pembrokeshire

This striking country house was derelict when Neil and Zoe Kedward restored it in 2007. Today, it’s a charmingly luxurious hotel. Of the two main façades, one is three storeys high, gleaming white and many windowed; the other is gabled, with arts and crafts elements that continue inside. There are 25 beautiful bedrooms by top interior designer, Martin Hulbert. All have a view of the gardens, surrounding fields or Preseli Hills, while some of the cottage suites come with fabulous glass box garden lounges. Martin was also tasked with creating an inviting traditional Welsh-inspired look for the ground floor, with charming vintage and handcrafted elements. Dinners in the four AA Rosette Fernery restaurant, with stunning wallpaper made from ferns pressed by the team, are a highlight. You can also eat more simply in the relaxed, rustic-style Artisan Rooms brasserie or al fresco in the courtyard, surrounded by apple trees. Whichever you choose, the food is superb; executive chef Douglas Balish’s creations are imaginative, locally sourced and always incredibly delicious.

Doubles from £390, +44 (0)1834 860915

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The Felin Fach Griffin, Brecon

This was the first of Edmund and Charles Inkin’s three wonderfully unpretentious and enjoyable establishments. Set amid magnificent scenery between the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons, the old inn has become a sanctuary for food lovers, walkers and bookish visitors to nearby Hay-on-Wye, famed for its annual Hay Literary Festival that takes place each spring. They all love the honest simplicity, the warmth of welcome, colour and comfort, both in ground floor rooms whose names say it all – Library, Tack Room, Aga Room – and in bedrooms where the beds and linens are second to none. Curl up here with one of the books that lie around and listen to your Roberts radio or simply gaze out at the hills, and you feel truly as though enveloped in a big embrace. Room Eight takes over the top of the building – a glorious vantage point into the fields beyond. After a refined dinner cooked up by new head chef Gwenann Davies, based on the Welsh larder, you’ll head for bed with an equally big smile on your face.

Doubles from £182.50; from £270, inc dinner, +44 (0)1874 620111

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Castle House, Hereford

This elegant Grade II-listed Georgian mansion, in a quiet, unrivalled location close to the historic Hereford Cathedral, is owned and run by the Watkins, a Herefordshire farming family. The 24 bedrooms and suites are stylish and individual, split between the main building and Number 25 Townhouse, where there are eight striking rooms. All offer an array of treats such as a decanter of sherry, a hospitality box filled with local produce, and bathrooms stocked with L’Occitane products. Light-filled public spaces include the beautiful Waterside Restaurant & Bar, with uninterrupted views over the hotel’s pretty garden and the old castle moat beyond. Head chef Gabor Katona creates seasonal menus featuring locally sourced and homegrown produce, some from the kitchen garden on the Watkins’ nearby Ballingham Hall Farm. The hotel is very popular with guests and locals, especially for its traditional Sunday roast with the farm’s homegrown Ballingham beef and seasonal vegetables. You absolutely mustn’t miss its famed afternoon tea either – the best in Hereford. This hotel fits perfectly into its surroundings and ticks all the boxes.

From £165, +44 (0)1432 356321

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Bodysgallen Hall, Conwy

Bodysgallen Hall is a dignified, gentle-paced oasis of calm, only a short distance from Llandudno’s famous promenade and beaches. Climb its tower – the medieval core of the fine 17th-century mansion was allegedly built as part of the outlying defences of Conwy Castle – and you’ll be rewarded with a panoramic view that includes the mountains of Snowdonia National Park. The Grade I-listed house is filled with character, and boasts 15 bedrooms and 16 postcard pretty cottages within the estate’s 200 acres of wooded parkland. Grass terraces overlook the award-winning gardens, which include a walled rose garden, follies, a cascade and a rare 17th-century parterre of box hedges enclosing herbs. There is a formal dining room in the main hall – Llandudno’s best restaurant, serving delicious, estate-grown and locally sourced ingredients in dishes such as butter poached seabass and slow cooked lamb rump. The former farmhouse now houses the luxurious spa, with a large indoor pool, spa bath, steam room, sauna and treatment rooms. All in all, Bodysgallen Hall is one of the most welcoming hotels in Britain.

Doubles from £295, +44 (0)1492 584466

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The Best Hotels in Wales