The best places to stay in Pembrokeshire for a nature-filled adventure
Wales' wild corner is home to Neolithic sites, amazing food and stunning scenery
Pembrokeshire, Wales’ southwestern corner, is a world unto itself – home to the best beaches, hidden coves, an array of charming traditional seaside resorts and inland areas of breathtaking beauty. But because it’s a fair old schlep from nearly everywhere else in the UK, it’s usually surprisingly uncrowded.
BEST PLACES TO STAY IN PEMBROKESHIRE
Among the many outstanding Pembrokeshire beaches is the award-winning Whitesands Bay just west of St Davids, renowned both for its beauty and its surfing. Other stunners include Barafundle Bay, Tenby’s South Beach, Newgale Beach and Marloes Sands.
What is the main town in Pembrokeshire?
The county capital is the town Haverfordwest, but its most interesting one is actually Britain’s smallest city, St Davids. Fewer than 2,000 people live there, but it is home to the 12th-century St Davids Cathedral and there are many other listed ancient buildings and structures to discover, including the 14th-century Tower Gate and Celtic Old Cross as well as several art galleries. St Davids is a popular base for walking, too.
What is there to do in Pembrokeshire?
Water sports are big here, of course: sailing, surfing, windsurfing, kayaking and coasteering are all available. More sedate but no less thrilling are the many boat trips to islands to see puffins, migrating seabirds, dolphins, seals and even whales, depending on the time of year. Meanwhile, walkers are never short of an amble, including the long-distance Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, and cyclists have an an array of off-road routes to choose between, as well as the Pembrokeshire section of the Celtic Cycle Trail. And dotted all around the county are impressive castles, fascinating museums and some of the best Neolithic monuments in Britain.
Where are the best places to stay in Pembrokeshire?
Many of the best hotels in Pembrokeshire occupy old priories, abbeys and castles oozing history charm, but you can also count on modern amenities such as a spa or treatment rooms, e-bike hire and the like. And most have cosy restaurants or upscale dining rooms where you can feast on delicious ingredients from Pembrokeshire land- and seascapes.
Here are 10 of our favourite places to stay in Pembrokeshire...
St Brides Spa Hotel
With a celebrated spa that uses marine products (including organic and seaweed therapies) together with an outdoor heated infinity pool with views over lovely Saundersfoot Beach, St Brides Spa Hotel is a no-brainer for a spa break in Wales.
But there’s so much more to this clifftop property, from modern cuisine featuring lots of locally landed fish to airy rooms decorated in fresh nautical hues. There are only 34 of them, plus six two-bedroom apartments, so the welcome is intimate and bespoke. There are also apartments down in the village, where the hotel has its own stylish fish-and-chips restaurant, Marina.
Roch Castle
Perched on a volcanic outcrop with panoramic views over Pembrokeshire including Skomer Island, Roch Castle is a painstakingly restored 12th-century relic with its very own chapel. Its sleek rooms are decorated in neutral colours that leave the limelight to original features such as traditional castle windows. There are some in the upper turrets or the round tower, too.
Reiki, Qi Gong meditation and yoga are on offer for those who want to take their relaxation to the next level, and there’s fabulous dining at nearby sister hotel Twr y Felin.
Twr y Felin Hotel
Occupying an old windmill in St Davids, Twr y Felin is Wales’ first contemporary art hotel, with more than 150 specially commissioned pieces inspired by the St Davids peninsula and Pembrokeshire as a whole, dotted throughout its communal spaces and 39 contemporary rooms and suites.
The hotel’s Blas Restaurant, designed to retain the mill’s simple elegance, offers locally inspired contemporary dining, and there are also wellbeing offerings here and at Roch Castle and Penrhiw Priory.
Penrhiw Priory
Penrhiw Priory offers a warm and welcoming contrast between original features and contemporary interiors, including lots of nature-inspired art. You’re also immersed in nature itself, with tempting woodland paths and riverside meadows all around. An upscale B&B, it can also be booked out for for self-catering exclusive use by families or groups.
Just a short walk from the centre of St Davids, the hotel has a friendly team who will book you the likes of e-bike tours and fishing trips by kayak. There are also treatments and wellbeing experiences on offer here and at the sister hotels.
Trefloyne Manor
Despite having its own 18-hole golf course, family-run Trefloyne Manor has just 12 rooms and one self-catering apartment, giving your stay an intimate, bespoke feel – almost as if you were guests in a country house. This cosseting feel finds its ultimate expression in the treatment rooms in the old dovecote, where you can submit to therapies based on organic products.
The manor also has an AA Rosette Award-winning restaurant, The Orangery, serving fish landed at nearby Tenby Harbour and other parts of Pembrokeshire, Welsh meat from a local family-run butcher, and vegetables picked from its own gardens and the neighbouring organic farm.
The Grove of Narberth
Exuding country-house chic in rooms and suites that between them include antique fireplaces, four-poster beds and deep cast-iron bathtubs, this boutique hotel sits in blissful seclusion in walled grounds with vegetable gardens and a cutting bed for the florist (who runs garden tours and workshops). The Grove of Narberth is also only a few miles from sandy beaches, gorgeous harbour villages and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
Both child- and dog-friendly (the top floor has a family suite, and there are cottages dotting the grounds), the hotel can also be romantic, with upscale dining in The Fernery, in addition to the more laidback fare served in the Artisan Rooms and the indulgent afternoon teas.
Penally Abbey
With just 12 bedrooms – some in seafront settings, others in a cosy former coachhouse – Penally Abbey is a place to slow right down. A 10-minute walk from the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, just outside Tenby, this boutique hotel is family-run and dog-friendly, with its own resident spaniel named Maud.
There are lovely gardens and woodlands to roam between hearty meals in the hotel’s Rhosyn restaurant with its Welsh breakfasts, afternoon teas and home-cooked candlelit dinners featuring lots of fish fresh from Tenby Harbour, strawberries hand-picked from the farm down the road and other seasonal produce.
Llys Meddyg
This Georgian townhouse has rooms spread around the main building and a mews, including dog- and child-friendly options. Situated on the Nevern estuary within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Llys Meddyg is just the ticket for those who want snuggle up by log fires beneath woolly Welsh blankets after bracing walks and bike rides. Just ask about the guided rides to off-the-beaten-track local routes, or hire an e-bike and set out exploring.
The wood-fired kitchen takes inspiration from both own-grown and foraged ingredients, which are served in an inviting dining room with moss installations, or in pods in the Secret Garden.
The Wolfe Inn
In unspoilt countryside near Haverfordwest, The Wolfe Inn is a delightful country pub with a dog-friendly bar and a restaurant serving home-made pies and other pub classics based on ingredients sourced from the foothills of the Preseli Mountains and the Pembrokeshire Coast.
Rooms have a rustic-chic feel, with the likes of exposed stone walls and wrought-iron bedsteads mixed with modern pieces of furniture and comfy throws.
Slebech Park Estate
Centred on a Grade II listed 18th-century coach house on the shores of the Daugleddau Estuary, part of one of Europe’s largest natural harbours, Slebech Park has won many awards and plaudits for its B&B offerings. Its cosy rooms and suites, some in an old granary, include luxury mattresses and organic toiletries.
Fantastically located for walking in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, this vast estate is also a great place for refuelling in the estuary-view restaurant with its breakfasts, light lunches, afternoon teas and dinners based in part on produce from the hotel’s organic vintage kitchen gardens.
More ideas for UK breaks:
- The best places to stay in Snowdonia
- The Lake District's lovelies B&Bs
- Where to stay in Loch Lomond
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