21 unique places where you can stay around Wales
FINDING a special place to stay can involve a lot of work so we’ve done the hard bit for you and found some places around Wales that are real one-offs.
There’s a library that you can stay in, a house with a slide, a tent suspended from the trees and the chance to stay at one of the towers on the medieval town wall in Caernarfon.
1. This bunkhouse has a slide between floors The Beautiful Bunkhouse in Hay-onWye has managed to not only be functional, but aesthetically pleasing too.
As cool as it gets when you need to crash for a night or two, The Beautiful Bunkhouse sleeps groups of up to 14 people.
The pièce de résistance though? A slide in the living room.
Book with sugarandloaf.com
2. You can stay the night in this Welsh library If you love books, then just being surrounded by them can fill you with a sense of calm.
And there is one Welsh library where you can actually stay the night. Anyone staying at Gladstone’s Library in Flintshire will have the freedom to explore their collection of 250,000 books and journals.
Visit gladstoneslibrary.org for more information.
3. You can hire this entire hotel for you and your friends It was once a boutique hotel with a popular restaurant, but this Gower hotel is now available to rent in its entirity.
Maes Yr Haf in Parkmill sleeps 10 and has a bar which can be stocked for your arrival.
The bar area has a log burner and flatscreen TV, and the lounge and diner offer soft seating for 10 with a TV.
Maes Yr Haf can be booked via homefromhome.com or ownersdirect.co.uk
You can hire this entire hotel for you and your friends (and they’ll even stock the bar ready for your arrival)
4. Sleep in this tent suspended from the trees If you want to stay somewhere that gets you close to nature then this cross between a tent and a treehouse surely ticks that box.
Red Kite Tree Tent in Newbridgeon-Wye is a spherical canvas structure suspended by rope high up in the trees.
Owners say it’s the UK’s first tree tent and featured on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces.
It is a lightweight, hybrid aluminium and steam-bent green ash static airframe.
Visit sheepskinlife.com for more information and to book.
5. Gorgeous cottage has its own private lake As holiday cottages go, Eirianfa really has got it all. Including its own private lake.
The holiday escape is situated on 17 private acres. The lake has a floating jetty for you to enjoy the stunning views.
But the unique features don’t end there as it also has its own games room, hot tub and bar in the adjacent barn.
Eirianfa is situated in Denbighshire. It sleeps four and it’s available to hire with Unique Home Stays.
Visit uniquehomestays.com for more information and to book. 6. Stay at one of the towers of the medieval town wall in Caernarfon Bath Tower offers you the chance to stay at one of the towers of the medieval town wall in Caernarfon.
It is one of eight towers which were built in the late 13th century by Edward I, in Caernarfon’s fortified walls to protect the town.
The Landmark Trust say the tower was also part of a Public Bath House built in 1823 to attract tourists to the town. It sleeps five. Visit the website to book.
7. The Aberporth Express As far as cracking views go, it doesn’t get much better than the one from The Aberporth Express.
And if it’s something a bit different that you’re after then this converted 1908 railway carriage with woodlined interior on the edge of Cardigan Bay should do the trick.
It sleeps five guests and has two bedrooms.
Book with Airbnb.
8. Eco-friendly floating pod Haven Pod is an eco-friendly, floating pod on the water within the Neyland Yacht Haven Marina in Pembrokeshire. It was built using ethically sourced balau and cedar wood and offers stunning views across the water. It sleeps four in a family room. Visit quirkyaccom.com to book.
9. The hovering house This stunning modern house is perched above the River Ysgir five miles from Brecon Beacons National Park.
Ty Hedfan can sleep up to six people in three double bedrooms and one single.
You can enjoy the large living room floating over the river, lounge on one of the two riverside external decks, entertain in the large kitchen and dining area or just relax next to a roaring log fire.
Visit ty-hedfan.co.uk.
10. Modernist cottage interior has a traditional cottage exterior This has a modernist holiday cottage interior with a traditional holiday cottage shell.
It is in a private location and owners say it has regularly been filmed for TV and interiors magazines. The cedar hot tub is available all year round. It sleeps six. Book with Under the Thatch.
11. Charming old roller van This charming old roller van comes with a wood fired hot tub. It sleeps two. Book with Airbnb.
12. The Jet Star When it comes to unusual places to stay, a former jet built in the 1970s might just top the list.
The Jet Star was a first class plane that would have carried up to nine passengers. The owners say it “appears to have crash landed.” It retains a most of the original features, including a lit up bar area.
The cockpit looks as you would expect, but with the addition of an Xbox with some flight games.
At the back is a double bedroom in the style of a ship’s cabin and there is a single bed behind the cockpit as well as a a leather sofa, sleeping four in total.
The owners say it would suit a couple or two adults and two children.
Book with Airbnb.
13. Secluded shepherd hut Totally private, there are no other huts around and as luxurious as a cottage stay, but just a touch more adventurous.
Book with sugarandloaf.com.
14. West Blockhouse, Pembrokeshire The West Blockhouse was built in 1854-1857. This along with three other forts were built at the mouth of the haven: on Thorn Island, Stack Rock Island and Dale Point.
The Landmark Trust say it was
intended that these forts’ artillery would de-mast any enemy ships before they reached the docks.
The West Blockhouse was to see more use in the 20th century during the two World Wars than in the 19th.
In WWI West Blockhouse Battery was designated a Counter Bombardment Battery although it never saw action.
The Landmark Trust said: “In 1939 the battery was once again manned in earnest and German bombardment of Pembroke Dock began in July 1940, followed by the laying of aerial mines, increasingly effective despite the laying of a boom across the mouth of the haven.
“After the war the fort was used for a while for Territorial Army exercises but finally closed formally in 1956.
“The fort remained in Ministry Of Defence ownership although the land around it was sold.”
West Blockhouse sleeps eight. Visit the website to book.
15. Clytha Castle, near Abergavenny
For William Jones, Clytha Castle, in Monmouthshire, was to become his personal sanctuary – a refuge from the pain associated with his wife’s death in 1787.
Jones lavished the same attention to detail on the castle’s interiors as he did the building itself – quality stone was brought from Bath travelling via barges and wagons.
The castle had been derelict before the Landmark Trust took over in 1973
Clytha Castle sleeps six. Visit the website to book.
16. The Old Rectory, Gower
The Old Rectory is in one of the most spectacular settings you could wish for, on a raised terrace in the landscape of Rhossili Bay.
The house dates from the 1850s with parts of the outbuildings possibly being medieval.
The National Trust say in days gone by, the parson who lived here would have covered the parishes of Rhossili and Llangennith and The Old Rectory is exactly half way between the two villages.
17. A treehouse in the woods
In a wooded secret valley you’ll find five chic and secluded treehouses, designed and built by their imaginative owners.
It’s completely off-grid and built on low-impact floating joints that keep the trees from harm.
Great fun for kids but perfect for two. Each treehouse has a living/ dining space with kitchen and an outdoor terrace as well.
The wood-burner sits right in the middle, spreading warmth not only to the space, but also to the water.
The piping hot spring water shower is down below the treehouse and the clever Swedish separating compost loo is on a platform across a walkway from the deck. Visit canopyandstars.co.uk to book.
18. Seaview Cottage, St Dogmaels
A beautifully stylish country cottage offering light, space and comfort. It has wonderful sea views from the hot tub, which looks out over Cardigan Bay while surrounded by rural peace and quiet.
The popular sandy b eaches at Poppit Sands, Mwnt and Newport Sands are close by.
It sleeps up to 10 people so it’s perfect for friends and families to enjoy a memorable self-catering holiday. Book with coastalcottagepembrokeshire.co.uk.
19. Tywyn Cottage, Anglesey
This attractive cottage is situated in the picturesque harbour village of Cemaes Bay on the north coast of Anglesey , with links to Plas Newydd.
It is a short walk from the gently shelving sandy beach and a five minute walk from the harbour and village centre. The cottage has a small enclosed garden to the front and the rear garden commands uninterrupted views over the harbour and bay.
It sleeps four. Book with National Trust Holidays.
20. Apartment with a view of Tenby
This one-floor, two-bedroom apartment is in a large Victorian house perched on the harbour cliff in the heart of Tenby ’s holiday area.
It sleeps four. Book with ownersdirect.co.uk.
21. The Beach House, Pembrokeshire
It’s paradise, but it comes at a price.
This stunning family holiday cottage is located within its own secluded private cove, while surrounding it are beautiful grounds, copses filled with bluebells and sprawling woodlands – all set within Pembrokeshire Coast National Park .
Stay at this stunning luxury house and you get your own private beach, a bar, 11 bedrooms, two kitchens and a gym.
In fact, it’s like booking into an amazing hotel and having the whole place to yourselves.
But to rent this homegrown idyll for a week you’d have to fork out a minimum of £8,950, depending on which time of year you decide to book. It sleeps up to 28. Book on qualitycottages.co.uk