DooLoop
October 2023
How have I not been to Wales as an adult? I mean I have been as child. But I do not remember Wales being this spectacular. The landscape is magnificent.
Our week spent at Pentre Fawr was great. End of October too! Thankfully the weather was good, answered prayers that one!
The location itself is really lovely, some of the early morning views of low levels clouds touching the hills with the sun starting to pierce through — truly magical. I took pics!
It’s a great location for those wanting to explore some magnificent sites in Wales. It’s around 50 minutes to an hour to the Brecon beacons, but he won’t mind us. The drive to the Brecon Beacons is breathtaking.
It’s also around 15 to 20 minutes to Great Rhos (mountain 660), although we didn’t quite get there! More on that below.
The barn itself was great, very clean, comfortable, spacious. Working wood burning stove, which made it very cosy! But central heating was an option too. The central heating was very good actually, it took very little time to warm up, thanks to the thermostat control. Very efficient.
I was also TV, with the latest apps, WiFi, so kids were happy.
The hot tub was ace! And with such views it was really something special. It was also quite large so the kids loved it too.
I will definitely go back. Our week cost around £600, as it was end of October, for sure, but it was an absolute bargain!
Our only criticisms would be minor.
1) the shower upstairs in the bathroom, the water pressure was poor. And the showerhead was quite small, so it felt like you were showering under a large slow running tap.
2) The wooden decking outside, and especially around the hot tub is super slippery. This is just an unfortunate reality of wooden decking. However, what we would love to see, is perhaps a rubber nonslip mat between the back door and the hot tub. In the end, we had to lay down a beach towel permanently, to safely make it to the hot tub. My son (7yrs old) did slip and fall down, he was a bit shaken, but thankfully it wasn’t bad.
3) the hot tub, is perhaps showing its age a little. Some of the bubble jets don’t work as well as others. Also a plastic panel near the controls kept falling off, and we had to fix it back on.
These really are minor quibbles though. As the hot tub was still really good. We enjoyed it immensely, and we are in it twice a day!
4) Also - this is not a criticism of the cottage. I would love information on how to get to Great Rhos, which is a mountain close by. It’s one of the reasons why I chose the location. We ended up in a wood near new Radnor, walking up a track road near a logging operation. And we didn’t really seem to find great Rhos. There didn’t seem to be many signs or parking or information…?
5) lastly, I would’ve loved some information on potential walks that you can take from the actual cottage. Some of the surrounding hills, and landscape, is so enticing, but we were completely clueless as to whether you could actually walk across what seemed to be farmland, land where animals were grazing. Some of the hills out the back of the cottage looked amazing. And I would very much like to have walked up them, but I had no idea whether there was a way to?
Overall, we had a fantastic time Pentre Fawr. It gets a very happy thumbs up. I would go back, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone, wanting a relaxing retreat, that can also facilitate families, in a really spectacular location.