Penally, near Tenby · Hotel
Eleven-room country house hotel in wooded grounds above Carmarthen Bay, a mile and a half from Tenby with views over the dunes to Caldey Island.
Penally Abbey sits above the village of Penally in five acres of gardens and woodland, looking out over the dunes of South Beach towards Caldey Island. Despite the name it was never an abbey — it is a Victorian Gothic house built on land that once belonged to the church — but the ruined chapel in the grounds is genuine and dates from the sixth century.
The refurbishment under the current owners stripped out the chintz that country house hotels of this vintage usually carry and replaced it with something lighter: white walls, dark polished floors, antique furniture used sparingly, and a good deal of natural light. There are eleven rooms across the main house and a converted coach house. The best have sea views and roll-top or freestanding baths; the coach house rooms are more contemporary and slightly quieter.
Food is a serious part of the offer, with a daily-changing dinner menu built around Pembrokeshire produce and a well-chosen, not overpriced, wine list. The drawing room with its fire is the natural place for a drink beforehand, and afternoon tea in the garden is a fixture in summer. Parking is free and ample, and there is no lift, which is worth knowing.
It suits couples above all, and works well for a two- or three-night break combining Tenby with the Stackpole coast. The coast path runs along the bottom of the grounds, and Tenby is a twenty-five minute walk along the beach at low tide or five minutes in the car. Penally has its own station on the Pembroke Dock line, so arriving without a car is realistic.