The most romantic hotels in Wales, from candlelit fine dining to suites with history
These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest guidance before travelling. Our writer visited these hotels prior to the pandemic.
If you’re after a remote romantic escape on the coast or in the countryside, Wales really nails it. From the sweeping moors of the Brecon Beacons to Snowdonia’s mountains of myth and Pembrokeshire’s wild, cliff-rimmed, storm-lashed coastlines, Wales’ landscapes are ripe for a bodice-ripping Victorian novel. Whether it’s to be a Georgian manor with acres of sublime gardens to ramble, a deliciously intimate Gothic retreat, with open fires blazing and season-driven menus, or an 800-year-old castle with moody sea views and slick architect-designed interiors, there’s romance down every single-track lane. Here's our pick of the most romantic hotels in Wales.
This fine romance of a country manor, reclines in 17 acres of serene, beautifully landscaped gardens, complete with hedge maze, rose and herb gardens. With its Jacobean chimneys and the oldest part of the building dating to 1632, Llangoed has a stately presence. It was redesigned by Clough Williams-Ellis in 1912 and later bought and restored by Sir Bernard Ashley, widower of Laura, who filled it with family portraits and precious heirlooms. No two of the 23 rooms are alike, but all are charming. Upgrade to a state room or master suite for more space and four-poster romance.
? The best hotels in Wales
This 19th-century hotel with a luxurious spa, gazing over a vast flooded valley and surrounded by green hills, must be one of the best places in Wales for a relaxing or romantic break. The family-owned hotel feels loved and full of character, with chintzy meets contemporary look. The Premier Lake View rooms, with their balconies, regally enormous four-posters and roll-top baths overlooking the lake, blow the budget in spectacular style. The theme of heavy drapings, big windows and antique furniture continues in the smaller Lake View and Garden View rooms. Food is local where available. Dress up for the smart Tower Restaurant or wind down in the Tavern Brasserie.
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Bodysgallen Hall has 600 years of history and sublime views over landscaped gardens to the mountains and sea beyond. Ramble the romantic grounds, unwind in the spa (with an indoor pool, hot tub, steam room, sauna and gym) or use it as a base to explore seaside Llandudno, castle-topped Conwy or the high peaks of Snowdonia. Classic rooms are pretty, warm and old-fashioned – think flouncy dressing tables, coronets above the beds, pleated lampshades, brass wall lights and flowery Sanderson wallpaper. The stone-mullioned windows reveal fabulous views.
? The best castle hotels in Wales
One of the loveliest romantic getaways Wales, the Grove offers Georgian meets arts and crafts interiors, cosseting bedrooms – some in the main building, the rest in cottages in the grounds – and excellent food in its two restaurants. The Fernery, decorated with pressed ferns on the walls, is a posh, dinner-only affair, the domain of tasting menus (including pescatarian and vegan) of up to 10 courses. The Artisan Rooms are used for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and are less formal, with parquet flooring, beautiful paintings of Pembrokeshire scenes, and an outdoor terrace.
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What's not to love? Down a tree-lined track in the quietly beautiful Welsh countryside, this is a harmonious Georgian country manor built to impress. The style is in keeping with the mansion built by the Powell family in 1738, with tall sash windows framing the view and a grand staircase curving up to chandelier-lit rooms. Most lavish of all is the powder-puff pink Music Room, as intricate as a Fabergé egg with its gilded stucco, mirrored walls and Italian Aesop's Fable fireplace. Opulent suites, fine dining and soothing views make this one of the most fabulously romantic weekend breaks in Wales for couples.
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Penally Abbey is one of the loveliest boltholes for romantic breaks in Wales. It is not, in fact, an abbey (though the ruined chapel in its gardens certainly adds to its charm) but a late 18th-century house built in the rare Strawberry Gothic style that explains the snaking, arched windows and door frames. There are 11 rooms, all lovely and all unique in character. Rooms Five and Seven are both huge and have sea views while Room Six is perfect for a romantic break, papered in gorgeous Zophany wallpaper in a pastoral print. The restaurant offers tasting menus inspired by a love of foraging and fermenting.
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Sitting in its own 50-acre estate above the River Dee, the Victorian manor looks out across sloping lawns and wooded hills. Views are enjoyed from the gracious bedrooms - top billing goes to the Churchill Suite with its vaulted wooden ceiling inlaid with stained glass, four-poster bed and marble bathroom with copper bateau bath. In the restaurant, head chef Gareth Stevenson has developed the menu together with Michelin-star chef Michael Caines to make the most of the superb Welsh ingredients on offer. A harpist might serenade you over pre-dinner drinks and canapés in the lounge, by the open fire.
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With views that inspire towards the poetic and profound, this Italianate Victorian manor invites lazy days spent playing croquet, taking afternoon tea on the terrace and fishing in the River Usk. Antique dressers, floral drapes, retro Roberts radios, and carpets you can sink your toes into, give the rooms and spaces a traditionally elegant look without being to twee. Views are sublime – especially if you opt for one of the four sizeable river-facing rooms. With its wisteria-draped Juliet balcony, ornamental fireplace and French doors framing the view like a landscape painting, Room 2 ramps up the romance.
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Slebech Park Estate is a deliciously romantic hideaway, with stirring views over woods and water, stylishly rustic rooms and a restaurant playing up organic home-grown produce. Inside, exposed stone, hand-turned wood, high ceilings, huge arched windows and warm hues give the property a near-Italianate flair, as do the olive trees on the sun terrace. And what history! Delve into the grounds and you’ll find compelling church ruins, hidden tunnels and beautifully kept walled kitchen gardens. Kings, queens, marauding Vikings and the Knights Templar have all sojourned here.
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This heavily restored, 800-year-old castellated Norman castle is a unique and thrilling place to stay. From most of the rooms views extend far out to sea across St Brides Bay, and inland across the rolling Pembrokeshire countryside to the gaunt Preseli Hills. Sunsets can be magical. Consider splashing out on Ap Gryffydd, one of the most expensive accommodations, which has big windows and is near the top of the castle. In the evening you could eat at the excellent Blas Restaurant in Roch Castle's sister hotel, Twr y Felin, 20 minutes' drive away in St Davids; there's a free transfer there and back.
Contributions by Hattie Garlick & Fred Mawer
