HOTEL OF THE WEEK Palé Hall Hotel, Llandderfel near Bala, Gwynedd

WHERE AND WHY

If the outside of Palé Hall Hotel belongs to legions of rabbits, a springtime carpet of daffodils and the odd donkey or three, the handsome wood-panelled interior is very much the preserve of manager Debbie Cappadona and head chef Gareth Stevenson.

You get a combination of five-star luxury and a warm, old-friend style Welsh welcome.

The Hall has a majestic presence, perched above the River Dee and considers itself a “grand, historic, high Victorian mansion” yet the atmosphere is friendly and accessible rather than sniffy or detached.

Palé offers 18 rooms – the two our party shared were individually styled but both with impressive en-suite bathrooms, featuring walk-in showers. It was clear care had been taken to provide both a slightly quirky character and a homely, comfortable experience.

The Hall is ideally situated as the gateway to the Snowdonia National Park, between the steam railway town of Llangollen and the shores of Bala Lake.

ON THE MENU

The hotel offers three restaurants: the Henry Robertson Dining Room, the Huntsman Bar and Bistro and the Venice, where I ate dinner and breakfast with my wife and two teenage daughters. The grown-ups opted for the plantbased tasting menu which, at £95pp, was a gastronomic tour of several cuisines.

The journey started with a delicately flavoured pea tartlet with wasabi and nori and ended with a lime kick to a strawberry sorbet. The star of the show was the seared tofu, which leapt off the plate with a jalapeno dashi. The girls ate a delicious chickpea panisse (£17) and rigatoni in rich tomato sauce (£16.50).

Breakfast was uncomplicated, with all the old faithfuls you’d expect with a touch of class. Afternoon tea costs £28.50.

WHILE YOU’RE THERE

If you’re only in it for the AA Five Red Star rated R&R, a stroll around the grounds is as pleasant a way to spend an hour as any.

The staff at Palé will advise on other local walks. For the more active, Bala is the largest natural lake in Wales – prime walking and watersports territory. The town is pretty and boasts a railway line along the shores.

We took a plunge into the dark with the zip wire course in the mines at Blaenau Ffestiniog – both exhausting and exhilarating.

WAKE UP CALL

Rooms start at £245 a night on B&B, palehall.co.uk