Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

The Grapes in Maentwrog in the Vale of Ffestiniog gets a mention in The Guardian - http://ning.it/hhFst6

A new survey out this week shows that London hotels are fairly catty about accepting pets. The result is in stark contrast to the reality at The Grapes Hotel in the picturesque village of Maentwrog, in the Vale of Ffestiniog. “The welcome mat is well and truly out for dog lovers at The Grapes,” general manager Andrew Roberts Evans said. Mr Evans was responding to a poll by travel company Expedia.co.uk. It showed only 10% of hotels in the UK capital were happy to play host to animals. “This is an area of Wales where people love to get out and sample the fresh Welsh air,” said Mr Evans. “And very often people like to bring their pet dogs with them. “With that in mind, we have two designated rooms where people are allowed to stay with their dogs. “Designating the rooms in such a way also allows us to make sure guests who may suffer from pet allergies are not inconvenienced in any way.” The Grapes Hotel in the picturesque village of Maentwrog, in the Vale of Ffestiniog, is a four-star Visi...

The Grapes Hotel in the picturesque village of Maentwrog, in the Vale of Ffestiniog, is celebrating a four-star success story. The 17th century Grade II listed inn - a major destination for food lovers from Mid and North Wales and further afield – has had its four-star rating by Visit Wales confirmed once again. And it has three other landmark achievements – • It has been given a place in the Good Beer Guide for 2010. • It has been awarded an entry in the Good Pub Guide 2010. • And, earlier this month, The Grapes was featured on the popular Radio Cymru food and drink show, Blas (Taste). “It’s been a brilliant start to the year,” general manager Andrew Roberts Evans said. “The Good Beer Guide and the Good Pub Guide are very prestigious guides and we are delighted to be featured in the publications. “We were also delighted to have Nia Mair from the Blas programme here. They were most interested in what we call our signature dish, our spare ribs. I think it’s fair to say we are famous for...

One of the oldest and most famous coaching inns in Wales will be turning the clock back 200 years next month to mark the grand arrival of two large stagecoaches. The 17th century Grade II listed inn, The Grapes in the picturesque village of Maentwrog, in the Vale of Ffestiniog, will be marking the arrival of a coaching party engaged in a fund-raising tour in aid of injured servicemen and servicewomen. The Grapes has been a ‘must stop’ inn for centuries, but hasn’t hosted teams of coaches and horses since the first half of the 19th century. “This event will see us literally turning the clock back 200 years. We’ll see The Grapes as it was in its coaching heyday,” said Andrew Roberts Evans, manager of hotel. The coaching party will include representatives of The Household Cavalry Charitable Fund. The party of drivers, assistants and passengers will be up to 26-strong. The Grapes will be an overnight stop en-route between Bala and Portmeirion. “We intend making sure that the occasion will ...