As autumn heads towards winter, we reflect on the year and, despite the weather not being its best, the temperature has remained constant throughout, with the winter chill not yet settling in Pembrokeshire. I look back to 2021, the covid year: myself, Mandy, Ollie and Robbie (whilst the hotel was closed for four months) spent an hour a day sitting in the large Hotel jacuzzi in the sunshine – oh for another summer like that.
Freddie, our golden cocker spaniel and I have spent many enjoyable afternoons strolling along the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastal cliff paths. Whilst I do occasionally hanker for a little town life; a couple of days in London or Cardiff is always enough to drive me right back to our beautiful county, Pembrokeshire in West Wales.
At this time of the year the vast expanse of sand at Broad Haven, Newport and Newgale (some of Pembrokeshire’s most beautiful beaches), when the tide is out, it is bereft of people and a playground for Freddie – I watch him chase seagulls, which he has no chance of catching, despite his valiant efforts. The sun sits low in the sky, sending shafts of light from behind the clouds, landing on a troubled sea as the waves relentlessly roll up the sand – this is God’s country, it’s so good for the soul.
At The Wolfscastle Hotel and Spa, our fine dining in our Allt yr Afon restaurant is slowly taking off. We have received no less than five star reviews so far, with comments such as, “it’s the best meal I’ve had” and “as good as a Michelin star restaurant at half the price”. I must admit, having experienced the talents of Seb, our head chef, and Adama, our head pastry chef, – I was blown away by the quality of the food exquisitely served by Shani, Jazz and Seren, who have been trained to serve Seb’s culinary delights.
At this point, I must mention our team, who, under Seb’s guidance, have grown in confidence. Even Steve, who started waiting with us in 1983, and Mike, who joined us in 2004, are creating the best food they have ever produced, ably supported by Scott, our surrogate child, Judah, Rhys, Sam and Ben. A huge thank you to the culinary team and, not forgetting Sean who heads up pot wash – supporting the chefs, such an important job, such a great lad.
Pembrokeshire is a remarkably beautiful county and a truly picturesque place to say “I Do”. We are finding, more so now than ever before, couples are travelling from further afield to take advantage of our award-winning facilities and stunning Pembrokeshire scenery. Our weddings are orchestrated by our wedding coordinator, Lowri Nicholls, we’d highly recommend you look at our Trip Advisor feedback where you will see nothing but glowing reviews, for both Lowri and our venue.
We are proud to announce that this year (2024) we attended the National Wedding Awards in Swansea, and WON “Best Boutique Wedding Venue in Wales” for a second time!! We’re truly grateful to all the couples who voted for us and will continue to deliver unforgettable wedding days to all our new couples in the future.
During December, we’ve got lots of Christmas festivities planned for you to attend.
We’re especially excited to welcome everyone on the 8th of December, as on this fine Sunday afternoon, we’re receiving a special visit from Father Christmas himself! He’s making time in his busy schedule to come and meet the children of Pembrokeshire and share a wonderful, festive-themed afternoon tea with everyone who joins us. All the mums, dads and extended families will bring along their children and be able to meet Santa one by one. It’s going to be a very special occasion for all of us!!
As we travel further through December, we will be holding Christmas parties every Friday and Saturday night to help you start celebrating in style! This will be the 40th year we have entertained groups, with up to around 200 guests coming to have a full dinner with mulled wine and local entertainment. We still have a few places left, so gather up a few friends to come and join us, we’ll make sure you’re well-fed, entertained and can party into the night!
Finally, we are now full for our Christmas Day Lunch and we have a wedding we’re very excited about on New Year’s Eve, which means we won’t be accepting further bookings for either day. We’d really like to thank you all for your support during 2024 and can’t wait to have you all back.
We hope you will come and see us in early 2025, especially as we have decided to help everyone through the January blues by running a whole host of special offers throughout the month!
We’ll be running a 25% discount on all double bedroom prices with free Pembrokeshire breakfast if you book direct with us.
On top of this, we’ll also be offering a 25% discount on all our Brasserie food.
We’re also reducing our exceptional Fine Dining experience, to £65 a head for six courses of some of the best dishes you will ever eat – don’t miss out.
Oh and not to forget, you can also visit our exclusive spa with 20% off ALL spa treatments, and we’re even throwing in 1 hour private use of our thermal spa, make sure you take advantage whilst spaces last!
Thank you one and all
Happy Christmas – Nadolig Llawen from everyone at The Wolfscastle Hotel and Spa
