Maenan Abbey Hotel

We visited Maenan Abbey earlier this week, we found it by chance and are so pleased we did. There was a warm friendly welcome on arrival, the staff at the hotel are brilliant so friendly and helpful giving tips about what to see locally and where to go. The staircase is amazing my Granddaughter loved it. It is a twelfth century building set in beautiful grounds, its clean and beautifully decorated. The food served here was very good as well. Definitely would go back.

Hotel needs a proper clean. Probably one of the dirtiest hotels I’ve been too and I’ve been all over the World. My Benidorm hotel was cleaner. We went to the shop and bought our own cleaning products to clean it all down. The staff service was good. The lady on the Sunday morning was really nice. The gentleman gave us a lift to the wedding for free.

I'm genuinely not sure where to begin because this place was so bizarre it almost felt made up. As we pulled into the car park, we were greeted by what looked like a scrapyard. Old cars were scattered around, with cats wandering freely as if they owned the place. It certainly wasn't the first impression we were hoping for. Walking into the hotel was like stepping back in time. It smelt like the 1980s and not in a nostalgic, retro sort of way. Cobwebs seemed to be part of the décor, hanging from ceilings and corners throughout the building. The owner was genuinely lovely and couldn't have been more pleasant. The only problem was he appeared to be running the entire hotel single-handedly – receptionist, barman, waiter, chauffeur and probably maintenance too. Then came the room. It was filthy. The drains were backing up, several plug sockets didn't work, the bedroom was absolutely stifling, and the towels had all the softness of a sheet of MDF. The real highlight came when we pulled the plug out of the sink and the bath decided to join in, backing up with all sorts of mysterious bits and pieces that definitely weren't on the room description. A lovely little surprise we could have done without. Before we could even think about relaxing, we made an emergency trip to the Co-op to buy cleaning products so we could clean the room ourselves. I've stayed in plenty of hotels over the years, but I've never had to pack a bottle of Flash into my holiday bag. The bar at least had some music playing, but the restaurant was eerily silent. Every knife and fork seemed to echo around the room. Despite there being plenty of empty tables, guests were sat virtually on top of each other. Later that evening, while enjoying a drink in the bar, one of the resident cats casually jumped onto the bar before taking a leisurely stroll across the tables as if it was the assistant manager. Nobody batted an eyelid, so I can only assume this was standard practice. From around 7am, the smell of cooking grease had already taken over the building. The whole place had a very strong "something is being fried somewhere" aroma — enough to make you wonder if the kitchen was powered by a deep-fat fryer from 1985. 😂 Breakfast was actually decent, and credit where it's due, it was noticeably better on the second morning when the lady was running things. The owner kindly offered us a lift to our wedding venue, just 1.1 miles away. We gratefully accepted until we climbed into a car that was almost as filthy as the hotel itself. The final chapter in this adventure came after the wedding. There are no footpaths back to the hotel, so walking wasn't an option. We booked a taxi for the 1.1-mile journey and were charged £25. At that price I was expecting a chauffeur-driven Bentley, complimentary champagne and perhaps a sightseeing tour of North Wales. Instead, we arrived back at the hotel before we'd even had time to admire the scenery. The owner really is a lovely man and clearly works incredibly hard, but unfortunately kindness alone can't make up for the lack of cleanliness and maintenance. This hotel desperately needs a deep clean, some investment and a serious bit of TLC. I've stayed in some questionable places over the years, but this one managed to tick boxes I didn't even know existed. It wasn't so much a hotel stay as an endurance event. Safe to say, we cannot wait to get home for a proper shower and to feel clean again. 😂🤢 On the plus side, it's given us a story we'll be laughing about for years — although we may need a few people to believe us first.