If you like “Downton Abbey,” boy, is this one for you. The actual manor we all know as Downton is actually Highclere Castle, home to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and set in the idyllic hills and dales of north Wales. Alas, as a living home, experiencing anything more than a spoon-fed tour is a pipe dream for peasant-stock like us.
Good thing Penmaenuchaf Hall is so close by, then.
Built in 1860 as the manse of a cotton magnate, Penmaenuchaf Hall, replete with rose gardens and cherub-graced reflecting pools, is straight out of “Downton” myth. Rising on the Welsh hills outside of the market town of Dolgellau in the primordial, Ice Age-sculpted landscape of Snowdonia National Park, and overlooking the timeless Mawddach Estuary and Cardigan Bay beyond, you are, hands-down, in Country House Paradise.
Like many of the stately homes of the UK, the hall fell into disrepair and faced the real possibility of being torn down. In stepped Mark Watson and Lorraine Fielding, and man, talk about a business plan. Anybody can turn an empty house into a hotel, but these two had something a little more extravagant in mind.
Visit Wales gold award for 2013, AA Inspectors Choice award for 2013, “Most Excellent Country House” by Conde Nast for 2011 — what award hasn’t this hotel won? Refurbished from top to toe, Penmaenuchaf Hall takes the mystique of “Ye Olde Manor House” — the roaring fire in the marble fireplace, the plush luxury of the library, the cherubs in the reflecting pool — and gives it modern spins without being kitchy. The drab Victorian Age menu, where everything was boiled until every last molecule of flavor was destroyed, has, thankfully, been thoroughly modernized; Wales itself is going through a massive native-food renaissance, and there is no better place to experience it than here.
But keep in mind that to come to Penmaenuchaf Hall, and for that matter, Downton Abbey, is to experience the delights of the country, not the city. The Welsh aren’t that good at making cities as it is, but when it comes to charming villages, picturesque lanes, and sweeping vistas, they whack it right out of the damn park. Here in northern Wales, fishing is the big thing, as is golf, hiking, and shopping for the perfect woolen sweater. In other words, you can relax at Penmaenuchaf Hall and even Maggie Smith couldn’t make you feel guilty about it.
For more information, go to penhall.co.uk. Steele Luxury Travel is able to assist you with all of your planning to the UK including discount economy and business class airfare and luxurious hotels complete with special Steele Travel perks! Visit www.SteeleTravel.com for more information!