Portmeirion Hotel

Sir Clough Williams-Ellis's eccentric resort, 'a home for fallen buildings', as he called it, still enchants visitors on the wooded hillside of a Snowdonia peninsula. 'Can there be a more beautiful setting?' is a recent comment. The bedrooms are in buildings throughout the village: some in a Victorian hotel; others in Castell Deudraeth and in various eclectically designed cottages and villas. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1981 and faithfully restored to Williams-Ellis's original design, with a carved Italian Renaissance fireplace, and a staircase with an elegant balustrade. Castell Deudraeth is an 1850s baronial folly (mock-Tudor towers and ramparts), which was opened in 2001 as a hotel with contemporary bedrooms. Village rooms, each 'unique', should be chosen carefully as some are in the busier parts of the village (residents may be visible to the 'curious eyes of day visitors'). Guests can eat in the hotel's restaurant (lovely estuary views) or Castell Deudraeth's gastropub (grills, oysters, local seafood). 'An efficient minibus service links the buildings.' Manager Robin Llywelyn, grandson of Clough Williams-Ellis, leads a 'long-established staff' who 'without exception make one most welcome'. Weddings are often held, and 'there is a lot of climbing to get anywhere on the estate'. (PF, BP)