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 fivestar luxury and a warm, old-friend style Welsh welcome.
Palé offers 18 rooms – the two our party shared were individually styled but both with impressive en-suite bathrooms, featuring walk-in showers.
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
There are 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 plant-based tasting menu (£95pp), the star dish being 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
A stroll around the grounds is a pleasant a way to spend an hour, or staff will advise on other local walks. Bala, the largest natural lake in Wales, is prime walking and watersports territory.
We took a plunge into the dark with the zip wire course in the mines at Blaenau Ffestiniog.
WAKE UP CALL
Rooms start at £245 a night on B&B, palehall.co.uk