Awards will showcase best of Welsh tourism

Tourism businesses from across Wales will be given their chance to shine at a prestigious awards ceremony later this month.

The Welsh Government is staging The National Tourism Awards for Wales to showcase the best of the best in the industry that employs nearly 12 per cent of the Welsh workforce and pumps £3.8 billion into the nation’s economy every year.

The ceremony, sponsored by foodservice company Castell Howell, will take place at Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Thursday, March 27.

A total of 48 finalists have been shortlisted in 12 categories ranging from Best Hotel to Best Event and including awards for Sustainable Tourism, Accessibility and Inclusivity and Dog Friendliness

The event will be hosted by broadcaster Aled Rhys Jones, who’s also the Chief Executive of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society.

Entertainment will be provided by the popular Welsh of the West End group who reached the semi final of Britain’s Got Talent and Band Pres Llareggub (Llareggub Brass Band) with their exciting blend of Welsh language pop, traditional New Orleans jazz and New York Hip Hop.

The event has been welcomed by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning with responsibility for tourism, Rebecca Evans.

Excellence

She said: “We’re proud to support The National Tourism Awards for Wales in this Year of Croeso as they provide an opportunity to recognise and celebrate excellence in an industry that is crucial to the Welsh economy.

“Congratulations to all who have been nominated for an award. Wales has so much to offer visitors – and the positive, high-quality experiences you provide for your guests contribute immensely to our attractiveness as a destination.”

Jim Jones, the Chief Executive of North Wales Tourism, who are organising this year’s event, said: “It’s wonderful to be hosting The National Tourism Awards for Wales here in North Wales.

“It is an opportunity to celebrate the best of the best in the tourism and hospitality sector in Wales and the exceptional job these businesses do in putting Wales on the international map.

“The sheer volume and quality of entries this year has underlined why Wales is a truly world class destination and showcases what we have to offer visitors from home and abroad.

“Tickets are available to all for what promises to be wonderful evening with fantastic entertainment and, most important of all, an opportunity to celebrate all that is best in Welsh tourism.”

South West

Carew Castle and Tidal Mill, in Pembrokeshire will be going for a hat-trick of titles at Llandudno after winning Best Attraction at both the Pembrokeshire Croeso Awards and the South West Wales Tourism Awards.

Daisy Hughes, Visitor Services Manager, is looking forward to the event at Llandudno where she spent many childhood holidays and she said: “It would be brilliant to win a hat-trick of title but the competition is going to be really tough.

“We do have a fantastic offer at Carew Castle with its heritage and 2,000 years of history and a beautiful location with an iconic presence within the Pembrokeshire National Park.

“But it’s also down to how we manage the site and look after our staff and visitors and how we take conservation very seriously to make us an all-round site with sustainability at the heart of everything we do.”

Mid Wales

Mountain Bike Wales are shortlisted for Best Activity, Experience or Tour for the range of excursions Phil Stasiw and Polly Clark run from their base at Staylittle, near Llanbrynmair, in Powys.

They take parties of riders on a range of rides from day trips to the ultimate Welsh ride, the week-long Coast to Coast, from Conwy to Worm’s Head, on the Gower, a 280-mile trek mainly on single tracks and bridleways, and they attract up to 300 riders a year on their range of tours.

Phil said: “It’s really grown in popularity. So many more people are taking to their bikes and getting out into the wonderful countryside we have in Wales and the availability of e-bikes is making a big difference too.

“We have a fleet of ten quality e-bikes that people can use on our tours and it opens it up to so many more and to add to that we have an accommodation lodge as well and Polly does yoga so you can even combine that with mountain biking.

“We were thrilled to win the Mid Wales award and we’re really looking forward to the Welsh event in Llandudno.”

In the running for Best Restaurant is The Talbot, in Tregaron, where owner-chef Dafydd Watkin and his wife, Tracy, have been building a reputation that has gained them a Michelin Guide place and an AA Two Rosette rating.

The couple met at The Ritz in London and Dafydd had trained with Marco Pierre White and also worked at the Celtic Manor, near Newport, before the couple took over at The Talbot 15 years ago.

They won the Mid Wales award for Best Restaurant last year and are the AA Inn of the Year and Tracy said: “The quality of produce here is excellent and we buy as much locally as we can – our butcher not only knows which farm the meat has come from but the animal’s name as well.

“Dafydd’s chicken liver parfait is very popular and is a dish he developed in London but we combine that expertise with the kind of food local people like.

“While the food is very important it’s goes hand in hand with the service so when people come in the front door we treat them as if they’re guests at our house because that’s an important part of the whole experience.”

South East

The Roost, at Troed y Rhiw, near Merthyr, are up for Best Caravan, Camping or Glamping Site after winning the South East Wales title and Kath Morgans, who runs their five glamping cabins with husband Karl, said: “Starting out in October 2019 proved a bit tricky with the pandemic around the corner but we’ve done all right.

“We thought we would be able to have shared facilities and we had to change those arrangements pretty quickly but the bookings for our five cabins for the last few years have been good.

“We have a strong sustainable ethos. We harvest rainwater and use it for flushing the loos, watering the garden and cleaning the bikes, we have solar panels and battery storage for electricity and we recycle and encourage our guests to do so too.

“We’re a family business and my mother-in-law and brother-in-law are involved and together we make it all happen.”

Five years on from the last time they were up for a top tourism award a Blackwood couple are hoping for better luck when the event returns to the calendar in March.

Howard and Catherine Smith, who run the acclaimed Gellihaf Bed and Breakfast on the outskirts of the Gwent town, had been nominated for a coveted Welsh Tourism Award the last time the event was due to be held in 2020.

Then Covid lockdown struck and the glittering celebration of the best of Welsh Tourism is only returning to the calendar this year and this time it’s in North Wales at Venue Cymru in Llandudno.

The couple took over the arts and crafts house in 2017 and have renovated it faithfully in that style, given the elegant gardens a makeover and backed it up with quality of service to again win the South East Wales regional award for Best B and Band earn themselves a trip to Llandudno on Thursday, March 27.

A delighted Catherine said: “We have a strong connection to the house though we didn’t realise it when we bought it because Howard’s father as a boy used to jump over the wall and scrump apples and conkers from the garden.

“It was built in this style in 1931 on the site of a farmhouse where Edith Ebsworth and her father William lived and my father recognised the name and it turned out Williams was my great-great uncle.

“It’s a lovely house and the gardens are beautiful with views of the Maes y Cymmer viaduct and there is an old tennis court and summerhouse which is this year’s project.

“It was a B and B when we bought it so we decided to carry on. We’ve styled the rooms ourselves and I’ve made the arts and crafts furnishings myself.”

An unusual feature is a home-made cannon which ex-Queens Dragoon Guards regimental sergeant-major Howard made himself and which they fire on ceremonial occasions such as if they’re hosting a wedding.

Catherine added: “If we win in Llandudno we may well fire it again.”

North Wales

Llangollen outdoor pursuits specialists The Bearded Men, Jason Rickwood and Hugh Luckock, are shortlisted in two categories at the Welsh Tourism Awards having already done the double at the North Wales Tourism Awards.

The business is up for Best Activity while 18-year-old employee Hugh Owen is in the last four for the Rising Star award just two years after joining the business and Jason said: “He started with us at 16 and has earned his spurs and is now a fully-fledged guide and takes a range of courses including canoeing, rafting and archery.

“We’re now in our seventh year, starting just before Covid hit and while we were one of the first to close we were the first to re-open and we turned that into a positive.

“We now employ between 20 and 30 people, 11 of them full time and have just taken on a hotel in Llangollen.

“We get people from all over the country coming here and increasingly from the USA and Canada thanks to the Ryan Reynolds factor at Wrexham Football Club.

“We believe in working with local businesses because we really love the town. It’s a great location for us because we’re within an hour of big population centres and people can be on the river or outdoors very quickly.”

Hafan y Mor, leisure giant Haven’s holiday park in Pwllheli stands on 500 acres of seafront and is one of the biggest – and one of the greenest – in the UK, according to general manager Denise Bossons.

The park has already lifted the Sustainable Tourism trophy for North Wales and has its sights set on the Wales Tourism Awards and Denise and her team can make a good case.

She said: “We’re absolutely delighted. We’ve worked very hard over the last three years and Haven have put a lot of investment in.

“We have the single largest roof space area of any Haven park and we put it to good use with hundreds of solar panels on our buildings, all our vehicles are fully electric and guests with electric cars can charge them while they’re here.

“We can have up to 5,000 guests her at any one time and we have made a huge investment in solar lighting while with a Site of Special Scientific Interest next door we work on encouraging wildlife with reptile fencing and a bat hotel.

“We hydro seed with a mix of seed and mulch for wild flowers which encourage bees and butterflies while we also have otters, badgers and rabbits here and our park rangers organise activities like fossil hunting on the beach and wildlife walks.

“It’s really important to us and when we entered the North Wales awards last year we saw it as an opportunity to take stock of what we’ve done and also to see what more we can do.”

Tickets for the event are available here.

The National Tourism Awards for Wales shortlist

Best Hotel

Gwesty Plas Dinas, Bontnewydd, Caernarfon, Gwynedd

Llangoed Hall, Llyswen, Brecon, Powys

Tŷ Milford, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire

Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan

Best B&B, Inn & Guesthouse

The Bull’s Head Inn, Beaumaris, Anglesey

Plas Llangoedmor, Llangoedmor, Cardigan, Ceredigion

Glangwili Mansion, Llanllawddog, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire

Gellihaf B&B, Blackwood, Caerphilly

Best Self-Catering

Hafan y Môr Holiday Park, Pwllheli, Gwynedd

Bryn Tanat, Llansantffraid-Ym-Mechain, Powys

Clyne Farm Centre, Mayals, Swansea

Wonderful Escapes Wern-y-Cwm Farm, Llandewi Skirrid, Abergavenny

Best Caravan, Camping, Glamping

Go-Below Underground, Snowdonia, Gwynedd

Meadow Springs Country & Leisure Park, Ffinnant, Trefeglwys, Powys

Pembrey Country Park, Pembrey, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire

The Roost, Troedyrhiw, Merthyr Tydfil

Best Attraction

Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway, Porthmadog, Gwynedd

Dan-yr-Ogof The National Showcaves Centre for Wales, Abercrave, Swansea

Carew Castle & Tidal Mill, Carew, Tenby, Pembrokeshire

Tredegar House, Pencarn Way, Newport

Best Activity, Experience or Tour

Bearded Men Adventures, Llangollen, Denbighshire

Mountain Bike Wales, Llanbrynmair, Powys

Savage Adventures, Mayhill, Swansea

Rock UK Summit Centre, Trelewis, Treharris, Merthyr Tydfil

Bro a Byd (Those going the extra mile on Environmental Sustainability)

Hafan y Môr Holiday Park, Pwllheli, Gwynedd

Dan-yr-Ogof The National Showcaves Centre for Wales, Abercrave, Swansea

Cambrian Cottages, Berllan, Gwyddgrug, Pencader, Carmarthenshire

Penhein Glamping, Chepstow, Monmouthshire

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award

Tŷ Pren, Bylchau, Conwy

Canvas & Campfires, Llanwnnen, Lampeter, Ceredigion

Stangwrach Cottages,Llanfynydd Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire

Techniquest, Cardiff

Best Place to Eat

The Gunroom, Plas Dinas, Caernarfon, Gwynedd

Y Talbot, Tregaron, Ceredigion

The Plough, Rhosmaen, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire

The Sorting Room, The Parkgate Hotel, Cardiff

Rising Star

Hugh Owen, Bearded Men Adventures, Llangollen, Denbighshire

Abbie Woods, Llangoed Hall, Llyswen, Brecon, Powys

Charly Dix, Lan y Môr, Coppet Hall Beach, Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire

Charly Hayes, Fonmon Castle, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan

Best Event

Gwyl Fwyd Caernarfon, Gwynedd

Royal Welsh Show, Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, Powys

Wales Airshow Swansea

Royal Mint Christmas Experience, Ynysmaerdy, Pontyclun, Rhondda Cynon Taff

Best Dog Friendly Business

Waterloo Hotel, Betws-y-Coed, Conwy

Plas Llangoedmor, Llangoedmor, Cardigan, Ceredigion

Clyne Farm Centre, Mayals, Swansea

Parkway Hotel & Spa, Cwmbran, Torfaen