Hot tub, garden and grounds
Clwyd Countryside Retreat steals 1.5 acres from its surroundings that take in the Clwydian Range. Chill on the wraparound, glass-balustraded balcony with 50-mile views and supper sizzling on the masonry barbecue. Hang out in the six-seat hot tub with valley views.
Head for the gardens to play chess or croquet on the lawn, bash a ball into the football goals or watch the kids invade the climbing frame and slides. Wind up the day with merriment and music around the firepit. Maybe you’ll sing the praises of your holiday retreat.
Pool & living spaces
Award-winning architects and interior designers have cut no corners here to achieve the absolute peak of excellence and luxury. The result is a spa-like ambience to the classy neutrals that run throughout. You’ve marble here, Welsh slate there, split-face tiling dotted around, and a sense of spiritual calm just about everywhere.
But they built in fun, too. Like in the full-floor entertainment room complete with bar, lounge area, pool table, board games, table football and 75” smart TV. Or the cave bar with illuminated barrels and fridge set into the wall. Or the cosy, fire-warmed living room with separate seating areas, 55” telly and balcony access.
Splash away an afternoon in the indoor pool, heated to 31 degrees with your top tunes blasting out on Bluetooth, or join the kids in their own pool. Towel off, wrap up warm and slide out to the balustraded balcony and the bubbling hot tub.
Cooking and dining
Cooking’s a pleasure in the high-tech, first-floor kitchen with central island and acres of worktop space. Or book in Starry-Eyed Cocktails and Graze for bespoke luxury grazing tables and custom-made cocktails, or Just Dine UK for restaurant-quality food and service without leaving your holiday home.
Eat in around the massive dining table with its backdrop of modern panelled walls and dramatic chandelier. Or eat out on the balcony, with space for 30 to take in the 50-mile views. Prepare anything from steaks to marshmallows on the masonry barbecue. Wash down with Prosecco and finish up with a Nespresso.
Take away tasty treats from Welcome Chinese, Finn’s fish and chips, Ruthin Pizza and Kebab, or Ruthin Tandoori. Or eat in at Small Plates Ruthin for slow-cooked pork shoulder or crispy tempura brill fillet. Chomp steaks at CarniBoar or refuel on lighter bites at Barllaeth Sandwich Bar.
Get set for oodles of noodles at Panda Garden Chinese restaurant (and takeaway). Tuck in to tandoori and biryani at Himalaya. Enjoy full Welsh and continental breakfasts, lunches, early dine options and Sunday roasts at Ruthin Castle Hotel. Or top up on traditional pub fare at We Three Loggerheads, Raven Inn or the Colomendy Arms.
Bedrooms
If it weren’t for the entertainment space, swimming pools, hot tub, cave bar and sauna, you might never leave these spa-like bedrooms. Clwyd Countryside Retreat sleeps 30 in 11 bedrooms, four with en-suite bathrooms, all on the ground floor and most with direct access to the outdoor space.
Bedroom one provides two singles that can make a superking, plus an en-suite, while bedroom two offers a kingsize and pull-out sofa bed. Bedrooms three, four and five give you two singles (or superkings) as does bedroom six plus a pull-out sofa bed.
Push the boat out for bedroom seven, the Celebration Suite, with its superking four-poster, en-suite and bath in the room. Bedroom eight provides a kingsize and pull-out sofa bed, bedroom nine has a kingsize four-poster, bedroom ten is a kingsize en-suite, and en-suite bedroom 11 provides two singles or a superking double.
Happy hens (and stags)
Looking for a party palace all to yourselves? This one is it. Let’s face it, hens and stags love bells and whistles. And Clwyd Countryside Retreat comes with plenty of those, plus an air-raid siren or two. And all while dressed like an upmarket spa. It’s going to be tough to leave the site.
Eat out on the massive decked veranda with 560-mile views. Drink in the cave bar. Swim in the indoor pool heated to 31 degrees with your soundtrack blasting on the Bluetooth. Sweat it out in the sauna. Sit in the hot tub and admire the valley views. Hang out on the entertainment floor with pool, table football, bar and 75” smart TV.
If you fancy an actual spa, consider Bazaar at Ruthin Castle, for woodland hot tubs, thermal cabins with ambient temperatures for heat experiences, fragrant steams, healing salts and therapeutic muds. Stay chilled with afternoon tea at Bodnant Garden Pavilion Tearoom.
Up the pace at Zip World on the world’s fastest zip line, and stick around for the Quarry Karts, Tower Climber and Fforest Coaster. Try paddleboarding at Bala Lake, take a hike up Snowdon, or chuck axes and fire arrows at Bearded Men Adventures. Or plan a big night out in Liverpool’s Baltic Quarter or Albert Dock.
What people say
Sharks, spas and arrows
Usher the kids out of the pool, towel them off and ride the Great Orme Tramway, dive with sharks at the Blue Planet Aquarium and trampoline in a slate cavern. Pack your irons for Ruthin Golf Course, ride the world’s fastest zip wire, tour Vale Vineyard. Relax at Bodysgallen Hall Spa, paddle Bala Lake or fire arrows at Bearded Men. So to speak.
