Hot Tub Safari Glamping, Denbighshire
Pentre Mawr Country House, Llandyrnog, Denbigh
Reviewed by Helen
Camping with a lot of Glamour thrown in - I love Glamping!
Out of Africa, into
Wales! That’s how Pentre Mawr, a 5 star luxury hidden gem
tucked away in an unspoilt corner of North Wales describe the experience of
staying in their luxury Safari Canvas Lodges.
It took us only an hour to drive from Cheshire (30 minutes
from Chester); the last part of the journey through winding country lanes as
dusk fell on what had been a gloriously sunny day. The perfect time to arrive and view Pentre
Mawr at its best (in our opinion)! When
we pulled into the driveway we literally didn’t know what to do first; admire
the beautiful building or take in the surrounding stunning scenery.
Pentre Mawr has been in Carrington-Sykes family for over 400
years and was taken over by Graham, his wife Bre and son Conor just over 4
years ago. Between them they have
brought the ancestral home back to life, beautifully restoring rooms and lodges
in the grounds to create a warm and welcoming sanctuary.
There are five canvas lodges in the grounds, from the
outside the dark green tents look almost like army issue, but step inside in
the fixed wooden front doors and they are anything but military and are
guaranteed to take your breath away.
Each lodge has a raised solid floor (ours was tiled) and
contemporarily furnished throughout with an African Safari style within each of
the three distinct areas; the bedroom, living area and bathroom. The bedroom is enclosed in its own inner
tent, the opening drapes can be drawn at night for extra cosiness, the super
king size bed is covered with a sumptuous duvet and plush animal print throws
and cushions.
The living space hosts a soft settee filled with squishy
cushions, cafe style table and chairs, TV with DVD and an Ipod docking
station. The fixed wooden wall has three
doorways concealing the wardrobe and kitchen areas (including fridge and coffee
machine), open the third door to discover a bathroom that wouldn’t look out of
place in any 5 star boutique hotel; a double marble pedestal sink unit, a roll
top bath, shower wet room area and underfloor heating. The zipped ‘back door’ from the living area
takes you to the private terrace with sunloungers and a hot tub.. this is
definitely my idea of camping!
It’s only a short walk to Pentre Mawr Country House which is
where guests can dine. Both Bre and
Graham are trained cooks and have an AA dining award. Everything is homemade and with kitchen
garden being reinstated their dream is that very soon they will be providing
all the vegetables for the restaurant at Pentre Mawr. We didn’t get the opportunity to eat dinner
(the menu itself was a mouth-watering read), we did however enjoy a very hearty
Welsh breakfast; a delicious spread of fresh fruit, cereals and a full cooked
with locally sourced ingredients and delicious homemade bread.
There are three bedrooms within the main house and two
suites in the Gardeners Cottage (see
review in Country Retreat)
It’s the little touches though which makes Pentre Mawr so
special; the warm welcome from our hosts (including their extended family of
dogs and cats) and in countryside just waiting to be explored picnics are
provided, lifts given to starting points and dog owners can bring their well
behaved four legged friends. Each guest
receives a personalised welcome letter and is free to use the sitting rooms in
the main house each fully equipped with big comfortable settees; sit and relax,
have a game of chess or borrow a book or DVD from the well stocked library.
We were only there for a short time and it was over far too
quickly.. but as we were leaving we were already planning our return visit!
Review by Helen