Beddgelert Self-Catering Luxury Accommodation

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First of all, we knew they were coming to judge us. They tried to book a night's bed and breakfast and evening meal anonymously, but we explained that (even before the award) the cottage was fully booked by weekly lets for months ahead, so they revealed their identity and asked when they could inspect. It had to be a Saturday afternoon, between outgoing and incoming guests.

We showed them around. They loved it. The heated indoor swimming pool, the log fire (it was a chilly day in early March), the gardens, the lovely views, the standard of furnishings, our welcome, the depth of information about the surrounding area and the detailed information on where to go and what to do. They were bowled over by the superb meal we served to them – for which they paid, there were no ‘backhanders’.

When we met them some time later at the award ceremony, we asked how they decided we were the Best. Their answer was disarmingly simple: they had inspected, usually anonymously, over two hundred establishments (including all the five-star-rated hotels in Wales!). Tywyn cottage was, in their words, ‘head and shoulders above all the others’ and was – and here’s the crucial condition – the place they would most like to re-visit for their own holiday, where they felt most welcome, comfortable and happy.
For our part, we feel honoured and grateful; we are not complacent, nor are we daft enough to think that there are no other places as good as, and even better, than Tywyn cottage. But, there you are, we won the award, we didn’t give it to ourselves.