Gwesty Cymru

Expect a ‘warm welcome’ at Huw and Beth Roberts’s ‘excellent’ hotel, on the lively Victorian promenade of this historic market town. The Robertses have given their Grade II listed terrace house a striking, modern interior and a strong sense of Welsh identity: signs are bilingual; much of the furniture is handmade in Wales; the restaurant highlights local produce. Oil canvasses hang in the smart bedrooms, each taking an element of the surrounding landscape as inspiration (terracotta and bronze for Pen Dinas, white for the foaming surf of the sea). ‘The rooms overlooking the sea are very good, with chairs in the bay window so you can enjoy the passing scene.’ Up three flights of stairs, a beamed room under the eaves with a sofa bed can accommodate a family. Chef William Ainsworth cooks modern dishes with a Welsh touch. His menus might include crispy squid, Halen Môn chilli and garlic sea salt; local lamb rump in a mint, honey and Welsh mustard crust. ‘Freshly cooked’, breakfast is ‘excellent’. The animation of the town centre is within an easy stroll. (DK)