Ani

3 years ago we stayed in Betws-Y-Coed, which we really enjoyed. WE are going back with our baby girl in Sept and want to visit Caernarfon, Conwy, Beaumaris, Cricceth and Harlech castles. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which town to stay in? We enjoyed BYC but didn't find it to be much of a town. TIA!

Maria_H

My personal favourite is the Victorian sea-side resort of Llandudno. Plenty of shops and restaurants, a cog railway and cable car to the top of the Great Orme, loads of accommodation at all price levels, etc. In the evening it's a pleasant walk along the prom (seafront) or the pier and it's easy to reach most of North Wales and Anglesey from there. My second choice would be Conwy.

http://www.llandudno-tourism.co.uk/

Judyrem

I loved BYC, but Conwy looked great...it would be right up there for me as a place to stay!

flattire71

I would not stay Ruthin. We spent 3 nights in a real nice Rick Steve's recommended B&B, but there are only a limited number of places to eat in and around the town.

janis

I'd second Maria-H's suggestions, but maybe in reverse order. Conwy 1st choice and Llandudno a close 2nd choice. But really you couldn't go wrong with either, or w/ B-Y-C again.

Ani

Thanks!
What about staying in Caernarfon? Anyone done this? It seems to be very central to the places we'd like to visit.

Maria_H

Caenarfon castle is wonderful and not to be missed, but to be honest the town is a bit run down - we've never had a decent meal there and the shops aren't up to much.

We live a couple of hours drive from north Wales and often visit for the weekend, usually staying in a small B&B in Llandudno. Llandudno has a larger choice of accommodation, restaurants etc. and a bit more going on locally. Due to the nature of the mountains, the weather can often be better in Llandudno than much of North Wales, as it sticks out from the coast and hence the cloud.

I'd also be quite happy to stay in Conwy and we usually call there on any visit. The two are only a few miles apart. If you have a hire car, the coast road from either Conwy or Llandudno is good.

Other good places to visit in the area are Bodnant gardens (not far from Conwy), Penrhyn Castle (near Bangor) and Plas Newydd (on Anglesey). These 3 are all National Trust.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/

walesgirl

Do not stay in Caernarfon it's not the best of places. If you've been there once why go again it's not even got the best castle. I agree Conwy is very nice & Llandudo is fine. Nice places to visit are Beddgelert, Llanrwst & Llanberis.

Bedar

I would try to stay in Portmeiron. Was a fan of The Prisoner series. Seems clubs of series' fanatics still have meetings there.

Ani

Thanks! Looking into Conwy and Beddgelert-any reasons for Bedd. over Conwy?

Maria_H

I must admit I hadn't thought of Portmeirion. It would be a fantastic place to stay. There is interesting self catering accommodation as well as a hotel.

http://www.portmeirion-village.com/en/index.php

I think you might find Beddgellert similar to Betwys-y-coed to stay in. It's a lovely base for mountain walking and worth a visit but there's not much else to do there. The reason for choosing the coast is that if you do hit a bad patch of weather, you have a better chance of avoiding it there, rather than in a village between the mountains. The roads to and from Beddgellert are slow and winding and it could take a while to get to other places of interest, especially in bad weather.

vstanton

We stayed in Conway and it was very nice. We only do self-catering now and if you are traveling with a baby or child I think that's the best way to go. We stayed at a lovely house near Harlich outside of Llandbdr(sp?) it was called Tan-y-Rhiew. Another wonderful place to visit is Cravnet (SP?) Lake. I would not stay in Portmerion as it is too commercial and busy for us but we did take a day to visit and that was very enjoyable. Been back to Wales every year for the past 4 years and have found wonderful places to see and have met some wonderfu people. Beddlegert is well worth a visit and so is LLangolen (sp?) as you can see my spelling of the Welsh towns is not too good. Loved Snowdonia. We also visited Porthmadog by train and I would recommend that also. I could go on and on, but hope this helps.

Ani

Thank you all!
As far as self-catering goes, we've looked into it but it seems most are let on a weekly basis and we will only be in Wales for 3 nights before heading to York.
Also checked out the site for Portmeirion and it does look lovely, but I think we like the size and medieval-ness of Conwy (I'm a big medieval history buff). If anyone has suggestions for Conwy please let me know. I'm like the Castle hotel so far, as we'd like to stay in town.

Frances

" The Times " today features "Welsh Rarebits" the hotel guide and mentions in particular Sychnant Pass House in Conwy.-only a few rooms, 90% occupancy. Standards and hospitality are seamless.B&B in double room from £90.
www.welsh.rarebits.co.uk