travelinwifey

Hello, As mentioned on a thread a while back I am planning a guided tour of Wales through dragon-tours.com. I was given the choice of 4 accomodations along south and southeast Wales. The Warpool Court Hotel seemed to be our favorite choice as it is in walking distance to the beach but the reviews are horrid on tripadvisor.

Any comments on these 4 hotels would be much appreciated.

www.warpoolcourthotel.com
www.fairyhill.net
www.tymawrmansion.co.uk
www.ynyshir-hall.co.uk

We are now leaning towards the Ynyshir Hall Hotel or the Fairyhill.

We primarily wanted to add an accomodation that was in walking distance to the beach but I'm not sure if that is possible at this point. We love gardens and scenery as well as a quiet and relaxing environment, cost is not as important. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Warmest regards.

travelinwifey

Oh drat I just realized I meant to write southWEST hotels and south, sorry for the error.

travelinwifey

ttt I may repost with a better title

Frances

These hotels are really spread out. Warpool Court is in St. Davids Pembrokeshire. I've not stayed there so be guided by what others may say.
Fairyhill is on the Gower- fabulous food so it seems and great location for the Gower.
Ynyshir hall is halfway up Wales about 2 hours directly north of Fairyhill. Location on the Dyfi estuary- quiet lovely scenery . birds and a recently acquired Michelin star.
Is Ty Mawr the Ty Mawr in Brechfa?I am unable to open the link. If it is you are in the heart of the mid-north Carmarthenshire countryside- gentle rolling hills and similar tranquility I would have thought to the Ynyshir Hall

travelinwifey

Hi Frances,

Thanks so much for responding. We were given a list of hotels to choose from in north, west, south, and center Wales.

So far we have decided on the Bodysgallen Hall near Llandudno and the Llangoed Hall near Brecon.

The remaining hotels were in the areas listed. I noticed too that they seemed to be a bit away from each other. The Tymawr Mansion website seems to be working now? From the hotel website it is near Cilcennin, or Lampeter, near Carmarthen?

The reason I was thinking of the Fairyhill as second choice is that it appears to be near good beaches? The Ynyshir Hall looks really nice and we love wildlife, any idea how far that location is from the ocean or beach? I'm just wanting to take a beach stroll with my husband some time during the vacation.

Sorry for such rookie questions, I'm trying to map it out but am not doing as well on my own.

I asked the tour guide but she is out of town right now I think, haven't heard back yet but she is hoping to book rooms for us this week.

Thanks for any insights. Now I'm leaning towards Ynyshir for the birds...

caroline_edinburgh

Fairyhill is supposed to be fabulous - it's been on my wishlist for years. And the Gower, where it's located, has arguably the most beautiful unspoilt beaches in the UK. I hope you're not expecting to do anything on the beaches except look at them/walk on them, though !

vcl

Although I don't know the hotel, I know the Gower is absolutely gorgeous And Welsh chefs are some of the most creative I've encountered.
See if your guide will take you to the Old House in Llangynwyd, Maesteg. The place has been an inn for hundreds of years and serves the best cod and chips I've ever had.

travelinwifey

Thanks so much Caroline and Vcl Well the Fairyhill it is then! Whew! I feel so much better about the choice now after some positive input.

Yes, I know we won't be able to swim on the beach but several years ago we drove by some of Wales' beaches and they looked so beautiful. It's been so long I don't even remember what part of Wales it was, I'm guessing south though. Just want to walk hand in hand with hubby taking in the glory and beauty of the area

The Old House also sounds great, I definitely will try the cod and chips suggestion. I wait all year to splurge on all those things I can't eat at home (calorie wise), and fish and chips is definitely high on the priority list!

caroline_edinburgh

Lucky you - I'll look forward to hearing about it ! When is it you are going ?

travelinwifey

Hi Caroline, we'll be in Wales from August 26th to Sept 5, and then ending with 4 days in London. I can't wait either! As mentioned before since we live in Las Vegas we don't have many (any!) historic hotels in the area so it's so nice to go somewhere where other natives have stayed or lived for more than 100+ years. It will be pure heaven for us!

I promised an old childhood friend I would try to stop and look up her lineage, her Grandma is from Wales originally and immigrated over 80 years ago. Last name Howie. I am hoping to find her a nice little composite of her family tree and give it to her as a Christmas gift.

caroline_edinburgh

I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time, & hopefully the weather will be good then. I remember seeing your draft itinerary before & thinking it looked very interesting. Not sure if I mentioned before that DH is from south Wales - Swansea originally, although his parents now live in Pembroke. We visit them, obviously, plus generally a couple of visits a year to Cardiff, but there's lots of the country I've still to explore.

En route to Fairyhill try to drive through Mumbles, the fishing village on the outskirts of Swansea where Catherine Zeta Jones is from - it's still quite charming. And the main viewpoint on the Gower is the Worm's Head, right at the end - see http://www.explore-gower.co.uk/wormshead.html.

Looking forward to your trip report - I expect it will give me lots of ideas ! Regards, Caroline.

travelinwifey

Wow, is Worm's Head beautiful! Can't wait to see it! Added the website to my Wales internet bookmark. I'll make sure it is part of the itinerary. Just waiting to hear back from the guide now, she must be out of town.

I was telling hubby about Fairyhill, I'm so looking forward to being there thanks to your comments

So your hubby is familiar with Catherine Zeta Jones' family's area? I've read that it is charming.

caroline_edinburgh

Well, the nearest I get to bragging rights is that DH's late grandmother knew a lady at her church who went to the wedding as a friend of CZJ's grandmother

Mumbles is quite nice if you're in the area anyway, but wouldn't be worth a long detour for. I seem to remember that if you drive through it as far as the coast road goes, right at the end there is a cafe owned by a Bracchi (Italian Welsh) family, which does nice ice cream ! There's also the Mumbles Mile which is a famous pub crawl, if you're into that sort of thing

travelinwifey

Oh yes, pub crawl = fun!

Once we have the whole itinerary mapped out I'll post it. I'm waiting to hear back if the guide thinks the Llanged Hall is too close to the Fairyhill and if perhaps staying at the Ynyshir Hall area is better for sightseeing/attractions.

Frances

Its quite difficult to help you on the Fairyhill /Ynyshir Hall dilemma.The Gower is going to be more lively especially Bank Holiday weekend but you will certainly have your pick of the beaches. I like Rhosili and Llangennith with its dunes and the little villages of the Gower but it is probably the second most popular location for holidays in South Wales after Pembrokeshire.
The Ynyshir will have nowhere near the same numbers of people as The Gower but you may find this an advantage. It is very close to the Dyfi estuary-easy walking distance and the estuary is tidal. There is an RSPB centre very close. This is a countryside destination with lovely gentle views and the foothills of Snowdonia in the distance.It is a part of Wales very few tourists spend time in yet you have to travel through here if going from north to south down the west coast.
Why can't you do anything else on the beaches on the Gower? What have I missed?
By the way the next estuary up from the Dyfi is the Mawddach. Turn left after Dolgellau along the south bank of the Mawddach and in Penmaenpool(about 3 miles along) you will come to the George 111. Very good food. Again this estuary is tidal and I spent a glorious evening there last August eating and drinking and watching the tide come in and filling up the river bed.
If you are walkers then last Sunday we walked from Trawsfynydd(north of Dolgellau) west to Llanbedr near Harlech. I had wanted to do this for some time as the low hills look so desolate. However as you go further over you come across forests and valleys you can't see from the road and for quite a distance there was complete silence.This took us about 4.5 hours and we had parked a car at both ends. Worth doing if you are able

travelinwifey

Thanks again so much Frances for the detailed response. Sorry I couldn't respond sooner, spent a lovely day getting medical testing.

I still haven't heard back from the guide yet, I'm thinking she is out of town. If I don't hear from her this weekend I'll contact the owner Mr. Davies.

Right now the itinerary is pretty much open to what we want to do, it sounds as though the itinerary will be formed aroud the hotel stays.

Sightseeing wise do you all think it would be better to stay in the Aberystwyth area where the Ynyshir Hall is or is the Brecon (hotel Llangoed Hall) area a better spot with more attractions? I'll post back as soon as I hear anything Warmest regards.

caroline_edinburgh

I'd say Brecon has more attractions.

travelinwifey

Thanks Caroline, I was thinking the same thing. I'm a bit disappointed the guide hasn't been in touch with me after sending 2 emails with inquiries and hotel choices... I think I'll email Mr Davies this weekend to follow up with him also.

caroline_edinburgh

I'm confused as I thought from your previous posting that it was a set itinerary (which I thought sounded really interesting) ?

Frances

As a straight answer to the question whether Ynyshir or Llangoed Hall would be closer to attractions, then I would agree that Brecon is more of a centre. I'm not sure though whether I am interpreting"attractions " to mean something you aren't. If you mean things to visit in the nature of tourist attractions then there aren't too many in Derwenlas(which is the hamlet where Ynyshir is).If on the other hand you mean walks as you describe earlier then both locations are scenic and rural.
I realise I didn't answer you earlier when you asked how far it was to a beach from Ynyshir. Borth and Ynyslas are probably the closest(which face the sea not the estuary) and they would be a fair walk but a short drive if you have a car.
Have you heard of Cantre Gwaelod?. Legend has it that this was a settlement on low-lying land protected from the tide by gates. One night the gatekeeper got drunk and left the gate open and the community was drowned. It is located in Cardigan Bay and some say it is at the tip of Ynyslas beach just where the Dyfi meets the sea.
Sometimes you can hear the village bell ring from under the sea....
Looking at the map I'd say its about 8 miles from Ynyshir to the sea.
Sorry - a somewhat disjointed reply!