Usk is a delightful, historic, small country town in the Usk valley, in Monmouthshire, South Wales…read more Whilst it is home to just a couple of thousand souls, Usk has at least 11 licensed houses, that I know of. The King's Head is the pick of the bunch. It is privately owned, and run by friendly and welcoming young staff. Whilst not the smartest or most chic establishment in town, it is certainly the quirkiest, with an astonishing array of artefacts, accumulated down the years, adorning its walls and shelfs. A labyrinth of little bars, it has comfortable sitting-room type furniture and you can relax on a sofa whilst enjoying your drink. It has en-suite rooms, its own car park, and the Chef, Jose Casas, cooks meals that are a lot more than your average pub grub. Local meat and fish feature on his menus, and you need to be very hungry if you order his 'specials'. A former Gwent Pub of the Year winner, The Kings has a choice of real ales, and a very large range of wines and spirits. An excellent spot to stop and slake your thirst (just 1 mile off the M50-A449 route), or to use as a base if touring the area.

Do not stay here. The cost is outrageous for the service and accommodations provided.read more

In a nice quiet town sits this lovely looking hotel. Or so you think…read more At 1st glance the place looks clean and tidy but through those doors are nasty surprises. Most of the staff are friendly and will attend to your every need but a few others seem lazy. You only have to look at the photos of their bin area to realise this. With them selling part of the building to leave a measly 10 rooms, them sacking the Head Chef and maintenance staff, I can only assume this B+B is running on fumes and will come to an end soon. Feel free to contact me for more info. Paul :)

Had a tremendous lunch at the restaurant at Gliffaes Country House Hotel, about an hour north of…read moreCardiff in Wales. There are beautiful grounds and a beautiful old country house with a great large restaurant. We had pre-lunch drinks in one of the salons. Service was truly great and the food was exceptional. We had a delicious three course meal. It's worth the drive through rolling hills of South Wales even if the day was a bit foggy.

I have just come back from a lovely weekend at this beautiful hotel. I must admit that I didn't…read morefind Gliffaes without help as I booked a cycling retreat via The School of Life - I will be forever grateful to be introduced to this gem and can't wait for an excuse to return! I was impressed even before we arrived as the website is extremely helpful and friendly, including a very good description of how to get here (satnavs can get it wrong without a little human intervention), pictures of all the rooms, as well as loads of ideas of how to spend your time in the Brecon Beacons. The hotel is set in beautiful grounds with stunning views across the valley. You are well looked after from the start and all staff seem exceptionally nice and helpful - you know straight away that you have arrived in someone's family home rather than a corporate establishment. All rooms are decorated individually, and contemporary Welsh art can be found throughout the building. I particularly liked the little touches of handmade soap and heated towels in the bathroom, as well as the pile of Wellington boots in the cloakroom reminding me of the rain more typically associated with these parts. We were incredibly lucky with the weather and enjoyed gloriously sunny days cycling up and down the surrounding hills, taking in castle ruins, ancient churches and picturesque villages along the way. We were served lovely three course dinners, ending on an exotic selection of home made icecreams; you can tell how much fun someone is having with the ice cream maker - Malibu and Coconut anyone? Everything was beautifully presented and delicious and not at all what culinary sceptics might expect in the backwaters of rural South Wales. Thank you!

Stayed in one of the Hunters Lodges. Pricey but a great place to throw a party with sauna and hot…read moretub and open plan layout. Friendly drivers take you between lodges and main resort. Our family made good use of the pool, gym, golf and children's activities. Dined at Olive Tree restaurant but Deliveroo will deliver takeaway to the lodges as an alternative.

Now when you first enter there is obviously the wow factor and everything looks nice. But I think…read morethe biggest letdown is the Price, I stayed in one of the lodges,(lodge 6 to be exact) and it was over about £1,300 A NIGHT which is outrageous but I mean it is considered a 5 star resort however in the actual lodge it wasn't the best.:very small garden,dead flies on the bed,shower door was broken and filthy and even the power plug Exploded! However room service did come and help us replace it. But if it was a 5 star resort! Then it shouldn't have been broken in the first place! In the lodge and all around the hotel there are shuttles you can order (free of charge) to take you anywhere and I guess that is nice. Because it cost so much a night it won't really be possible to stay a long time which leads to the next problem. Because of all the other people staying there it is really difficult to get into activities because you have to book them a day in advance and the app is quite faulty and buggy to even get a chance to book it and because you can barely stay there long. I came into here expecting to experience the 5 star experience and that I would try do do every activity but the sheer lack of time that you stay there it is incredibly difficult to do 4 activities out of the tens of ones it has to offer! In the evenings you can go for a fancy meal but some of them are outrageously expensive! I came here on a family reunion and for our evening meal we went to a buffet called The Olive Tree. In the buffet section you have a wide variety of foods and if you want chips I would recommend you don't have them unless you want your mouth to be filled with potato that is basically uncooked! They were flopping about and so delicate they were all squished and broken in the actual tub. So as a conclusion I think I have enjoyed staying here but the other factors have brought it down it wasn't as unexpected for a 5 star resort.

I love this hotel. I have stayed here twice and the service is always friendly and amazing. The…read morefood is fresh and well made. If my plans ever bring me back to Usk, this is where I will be.

Welcome to the Castle Hotel at Taunton. This historic Norman fortress has witnessed over 9…read morecenturies of turbulent history. In 1685 the Duke of Monmouth's officers gathered here on the eve of the Battle of Sedgemoor, where they were defeated by the forces of King James II. The infamous Judge Jeffries held his Bloody Assize in the Great Hall of the castle shortly afterwards. Over 200 rebels from the Monmouth Rebellion were tried, convicted and then hanged, drawn and quartered. A further 800 were transported to the West Indies to work on the sugar plantations. The building we see today is a Grade II listed, 18th century reconstruction of the original Norman castle, but does incorporate the original east gate, Castle Bow, which boasts 13th century features.

Where to begin! Staying here was a highlight of my recent, and first trip to England. I was coming…read moreto do some family history work at the archives in Taunton, as well as visit Glastonbury Tor. When I read this was an actual castle with medieval beginnings, I was immediately drawn in. Then I visited their website and read a few reviews and I booked it! It's a unique experience to say the least. Coming through the front, revolving door had an old world charm that was very welcoming (even though I snagged my luggage). The front desk staff were all super friendly, accommodating, and professional. The room was huge! I don't know how I ended up with a suite but I certainly did not book it nor pay extra so, the only conclusion is they upgraded me because it was available? No matter, I was in awe! I cannot recommend this place enough, it's a castle! Unforgettable.

A wonderful, traditional 16th Century Inn. Lovely people, lovely pub, lovely beer and lovely food!…read moreDoes accommodation at 40 pounds a night. I must come and stay here. Can't remember both beers I had, but one of them was Masters Devons Pride. They were both good. I think I might have eaten the Smoked Haddock & Spring Onion Fishcake too but my memory fails me slightly. I enjoyed whatever I had!

I did not stay at Holiday Inn I was just here for a glorious event!!…read more When you come in they have a nice reception, every thing is immaculate with a couple of couches and a small table. They also have a bar, and a restaurant as well. The lough was lovely with leather chairs with tables. Some leather sofas as well. They also have an amazing fire place. The event was in the Gwent suit, which can hold many functions. I think the maximum people it could hold is 500. If the air conditioner is not on, this place can get very hot. I asked if they could turn it on, and it was refreshingly cool. I did not stay here overnight, but one person said they like it and another was person was so-so about it. If you don't want to eat in the hotel, their are pubs, McDonald's and Tesco's Express etc not far, we walked so it was about a 15-20min walk.

Can't complain. Its just off the M4, but is set well away from the road. Decent bar area, didn't…read moreeat there so can't comment on the food. Not bad.

I was part of a tour group who stayed here for one night - and one night was... a lot. As people in…read moreour group were saying, "I wouldn't let my dog stay here." It is utterly no frills, not even carpet or shower walls. There is WiFi, which was helpful since we're out-of-towners (out-of-continent-ers), and the front desk staff was polite and as helpful as they could be (helped with walking directions to a local pub!). We were in a handicap room and when one of my bunkmates accidentally pulled the cord, staff were at our door in a jiffy! It's a place to sleep, the doors locked, and there were no bugs - so I guess it wasn't really that bad, in hindsight.

Two of us stayed here at the Ibis hotel, from the outside looked rather like a war zone, and needed…read morea severe major clean from the outside. The perimeter of the hotel had high scale fencing that made it look more like a jail than a hotel. Rooms where definitely made on a budget alright, with toilet & shower in same room with no privacy. The rooms had no facility's but at least there was a tv. Beds felt like sleeping on a pile of bricks they where that hard, the rooms where not that warm either. A big issue that l have is that a member of staff walked into the room without knocking at 2.20am in the morning, what's that all about, imagine if you where a female on your own, I don't think think this was a secure hotel and if it was it certainly didn't feel like it. We where both asleep or at least trying to and there was no noise coming from our room so why would a member of staff just walk in without announcing themselves. Breakfast was the skimpiest that I've ever seen in my life, was definitely budget food, cheap bread, bought in micro muffins six slices of ham on a plate with a few bits of fruit thrown in. As far as hotels go that l would class as a faulty towers with the weird going ons here and definitely wouldn't go back here at recommend this place. I would feel safer sleeping in a car outside.