Penmaenuchaf Hotel

We’ve been visiting Penmaenuchaf for years, to eat or to stay. This April we were in the area so booked lunch. The building is always beautiful but has been stunningly renovated and ‘interior-designed’ by the new owners. The lunch was - what can I say? - exquisite. And at a reasonable price. Every course was a delight. Full marks to the chef! The cocktails were also excellent.

Non-existent management, lack of experienced staff, amateur service, ruined experience. When tried to get hold of the management I was told they are all having their days off. Ridiculous srvice, rude staff. We will never come back to this shambolic place.

Our second visit to Penmaenuchaf even exceeded our first trip a year ago - it’s such a stunning location, such friendly staff and wonderful food! Our room was beautifully appointed with views out over the lovely gardens and the walking opportunities are unsurpassed either along the estuary or in the mountains

We booked for lunch to redeem a gift voucher and arrived early to discover the major refurbishment being undertaken by the new owners. The cosy lounges to the north of the building were set for afternoon tea so we took up window seats in the former lounge that has been refurbished and repurposed with an elegant wooden bar. A new chef has arrived and brought in a new menu bringing a choice of an 8 course tasting menu, an a la carte menu, or a 3 course lunch with a choice of 2 options at each course at £38. We chose the latter option and ordered drinks from a wine list befitting the venue. We both chose smoked trout served with a trio of confit pink fur new potato slices each with its own topping. We could see the open kitchen and the busy chefs and our drinks arrived with a duo of nibbles, a tiny warm cornet of creamed orange, and a glass globe with a cheese and ham choux pastry bon bon atop. Our starter followed, it was delicious, it seemed certain that the trout had been smoked locally, it had that kind of peaty smokiness. Our mains were again a dual choice of oven baked hake set in a crab bisque served with sliced fennel, a broccoli mousse and a sprig of steamed broccoli. A salted barley crust coated the upper surface of the hake. For me it was a bit too salty and I decided to just each the delicious flaky fish. We both chose the passion fruit tart, decorated with passion fruit gelatin pastilles and gold leaf. A consistent thread of tasty excellent dishes showed the great skills of the kitchen team. Locals and destination foodies really need to stay and eat at Penmaenuchaf we have enjoyed lunch here three times now and on each occasion we kitchen team has excelled. We just stay here next time, the bedroom refurbishment programme is now more than 50% complete.

We spent one night in this great hotel to celebrate my husband's birthday. It was our first visit which we were really looking forward to. We decided we would arrive early and have a light lunch in the lounge. I suppose I have to say that this was our only disappointment. We had soup and a sandwich. The soup was delicious but lukewarm and we had to send it back. The staff were very apologetic about it and friendly throughout. The sandwiches though were very plain and unsophisticated, two slices of standard bread, simply cut in half. One would have expected better from a kitchen who could make absolutely delicious sourdough rolls to eat with the soup. The hotel is in the throes of being refurbished and when the builders noise became obtrusive we were guided to a different lounge and offered complimentary coffee. This was done in a very friendly manner. When our room was ready we were taken to it and found that we had been upgraded . This was a lovely surprise. Our room (Meirionydd)had a little patio was large and very well appointed. The evening meal was really excellent, unusual dishes very well prepared, the service was attentive and friendly without any over familiarity. It was a pleasure to sit down at breakfast the next morning and to be offered really fresh fruit salad, as well as the traditional cooked fare which was very well cooked. So, apart from the atrocious weather, we had a very good time . The staff were all very friendly and knowledgeable in their own sphere and we look forward to returning when the refurbishments are truly finished. The main lounge is getting a facelift and I look forward to that as at the moment it is rather dark with poor lighting. I understand it will be ready by April for the beginning of the tourist season. I look forward to it.

We were very lucky to have spent a night at this beautiful country house hotel in December 24. On arrival we were greeted by a member of staff, who before showing us to our room,took us on a guided tour of the hotel. Our room was beautiful, loved the colour scheme and interior design. Once settled we went down to enjoy afternoon tea infront of a roaring fire. We were alittle disappointed with the afternoon tea, we thought it would of been festive given the time of year. Because we had eaten earlier we opted for the bar menu in the evening which was nice. Breakfast in the morning was delicious. The staff during our stay were very professional, friendly and couldn't do enough to make our stay memorable. Christie the hotel manager was telling us about the refurbishment of some of the bedrooms and sitting room that will be taking place this year. Sounds very exciting and we look forward to revisiting the hotel later in the year to see the changes made. We would like to wish Christie and her team a Happy New Year