Located on the western edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, less than an hour from Swansea (90 minutes from Cardiff) in Carmarthenshire, Wales, the tiny, twee town of Llandeilo looks like something out of a story book. The hilltop town of just 1,700 people overlooks miles of endless green pastures dotted with white sheep, colorful Georgian and Victorian houses line narrow streets, and visitors are far more likely to hear Welsh spoken than English (though locals are fluent in both).
In the center of town, the Cawdor Arms is the perfect place to rest your head; its 23 rooms offer the perfect mix of small-town charm and modern amenities. The hotel is a Grade II Georgian building (recognized as historic), and won a Visit Wales Gold Award in 2015 for its standards of quality and hospitality.
All rooms have WiFi, flat-screen TVs with DVD players, and Egyptian cotton sheets, but other than that, each one is uniquely designed and decorated in monochromatic or complementary colors. I stayed in one of the larger rooms, Pencader.
Furnished with a four-poster bed, leather club chair, small desk, and suede chaise lounge, it was decorated in soothing tones of cream, blue and green. On the second level, it overlooked the town through a larger bay window covered with two sets of curtains – one sheer to let light in during the day and another heavier set to block out noise and light at night.
Rooms also have mini-fridges, guest robes, and and coffee and tea makers; hair dryers are not in the rooms but are available on request. My bathroom, tiled with cool grey stone, had a rainshower over a deep tub. I had everything I needed for a short stay – no extra bells and whistles but no required amenities lacking – and I found my room warm, comfortable, and inviting. Though it fronted the street, Llandeilo is a quiet enough town that come nightfall, it was silent.
In addition to the 23 rooms, there are meeting facilities, a small onsite bar, lobby with fireplace and comfortable couch seating, and restaurant serving modern Welsh cuisine, such as seared scallops or Welsh lamb with Shepard’s pie. Parking is complimentary for guests and breakfast is included in the rate.
If you go:
Every room at the Cawdor is different and rates vary accordingly, from £65-£200 pounds per night. Check in is at 11am; check out is at 3pm. Extra beds are available for £10 per night; children’s cots are free. Pets are not permitted and the property is fully non-smoking.