The Maenan Abbey is a grand, regal looking hotel with a large car park and well kept formal gardens…read moreto the front, and dense woodland across the road. Coupled with the backdrop of the imposing Welsh hills, over which a storm was brewing, this was a great location for a hotel, save for the static caravan site. On entering, the whole place was opulently decorated, if slightly shabby in places, the central staircase was particularly impressive. Things started to go a little awry through as we checked in, as the person behind reception gestured to us 'Your rooms up the stairs on the left', rather dismissively. The room itself was tidy enough, with a good view of the hilly scenery, but again the decoration was in need of a bit of attention. The bed as it turned out, creaked even if you stretched your leg and was very uncomfortable, leading to one of the worst nights sleep I've had in a hotel. The tiny TV in the room would have better situated on the wall adjacent to the bed, rather than on a set of drawers, from which it was difficult for two people to watch. As Qype stars were falling off at an alarming rate, I decided to look for some positives. The bathroom was large and spacious, but unfortunately rang out a symphony of noise as you flushed the loo (air in the pipes), the bath when I tried to run one, was lukewarm and the frosted glass only covered the bottom half of the bathroom window! As we watched the football results before going down for an evening meal, the strong smell of fried food wafted under the bedroom door from the kitchen, delightful, still on a plus we knew when our breakfast was ready in the morning!
As we descended down for our evening meal, the Maenan Abbey was definitely at a solitary star, however, our evening meal was a very pleasurable experience. Friendly staff beckoned us into a large lounge area, bathed in fading September light and we were seated in some rather grandiose armchairs whilst we had a drink from the well-stocked bar. In these pleasant surrounding we chose our three dishes from the menu for a set price of £12.95 - bargain! When our starters were ready, we were taken into a very impressive, if again slightly worn dining room. The meal was excellent, with the highlight being the superb Tempura King Prawn starter, and the sea bass and steak mains, which came with a slight supplementary price. Just for this meal alone, I have added a star.
After getting little sleep, the Welsh breakfast was great, just what we needed for long journey. Would we dine here again? - definitely, if we had not stayed here and only dined, Maenan Abbey would be looking at a solid four stars. The accommodation however, leaves a lot to be desired, it could be so good, with just a bit of money spent on it!
