Romantic Cottages in Wales

Reviews

What our customers say about their holidays

• Ann - Verified booking

  This is a very unusual holiday property.

  On arrival we were met by Peter who was just finishing off mowing the grass in the church yard. He was extremely welcoming and very proud to show us around this beautifully preserved church. You are staying in a former church which has been tastefully converted into a beautiful holiday cottage but still retains the original church interior including beautiful stained glass windows, church pews, font and a working church organ. The answer to the first question we were asked on our return " No the church is no longer in use so you don't have to lead the congregation on Sunday. The main living area is in the vestry and comprises of a small but functional kitchen and a comfortable open living and dining area. The two spacious and comfortable bedrooms both have TV's in them as well as additional seating areas. There is WiFi and a landline telephone which is useful as there is no mobile phone signal. Due to planning constrictions there are no clear glass windows to see out of but just step outside as the landscape is magnificent, there are many seating areas in and around the church ideal for viewing the scenery, the lake and the mountains. The area is remote the nearest well stocked shop is approx. 9 miles away in a small seaside town called Tywyn which also has a small cinema called the Magic Lantern. If you like walking there are many places to go and Peter has provided lots of info on the area and maps to help you find your way. We aren't walkers but the area is perfect for both walkers and cyclists. This was a fantastic break after we had had a busy year and I have to say I came home feeling well relaxed. This is a beautiful property and Peter should be congratulated for all of his hard work in keeping this property alive and allowing people the chance to stay in a unique holiday rental in a truly stunning location.

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• Russell - Verified booking

  Sadly...

  .The kitchen was dirty on our arrival, crumbs on worktops & floor..toaster full inside and underneath, mould inside the microwave on rotary plate,dirty oven,very dirty & greasy sink, splash back & bowl. All the utensils were dubious & this caused us to have to eat out instead of self catering, hence adding extra costs to our stay. We had to hoover around the living quarters on arrival & half filled the vac! The accommodation lounge furniture was old & dirty between seat pads, cushions again flat & tired...the room was at times uncomfortable, due to heating not suitable to reach acceptable level... even with the extra heaters. The mezzanine bedroom was FREEZING...despite a convector fire & heater supplied. We tried the Pod bedroom but the bed was far too uncomfortable. The bed covers & pillows were tired, washed out & flat and not of a standard that we would expect when paying the price we paid for this property. The upstairs bed and the duvet inside the bedding were in contrast of good quality & kept us warm and comfortable as long as we stayed beneath the covers. The Eco Toilet was NOT what we expected! This should be shown in more detail in your listing. Even Peter said that my Husband would struggle due to his height. Very unsatisfactory! All this said...St Mary's is a beautiful building with special features lovingly restored & retained. We would struggle to recommend this particular property for the above reasons.

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• David - Verified booking

  What a privilege to stay in such a stunningly beautiful property in an idyllic part of Wales!

  Centuries of history, stained glass windows (look out for the Welsh dragon on the pub sign), gravestones, mist-shrouded mountains with pool, darts and vinyls (great classical selection provided but bring your own non-classical - the Vaccines worked well for us!) to boot - not to mention fairy lights around the altar - what's not to like! OK there's some discussion about the separating toilet - it works fine and is standard in Sweden - embrace the new with the old. Sometimes it was a bit chilly in the main church area but it is a big space and hard to heat - a small price to pay in my opinion. Some tips - put "St Mary's Catholic Church Tywyn" into Google maps and it will get you to the exact spot (avoid using postcode or St Mary's Tal-y-Llyn on Anglesey!) - visibility when exiting from the property in a car is very restricted - there is a mirror over the road which we only realised was there after several days which makes life a lot easier - you can walk to Tyn-y-Cornel for a drink and amazing views from their picnic benches - although they were fully booked for evening meals - the Cross Foxes is further but was very nice - there are lovely independent cinemas at Tywyn (The Magic Lantern) and Borth (Libanus 1877 - with restaurant which was excellent). Enjoy!

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• Ian - Verified booking

  Positives: Lovely historic building sympathetically adapted.

  TV choice is excellent as is WiFi coverage throughout. Whilst the toilet is not a common system for most, we had no problems with it. Bed in the 'pod' bedroom was really comfy. Negatives: Unfortunately, the cleanliness left a lot to be desired. Whilst accepting it is an old building, it's not too much to expect the living areas to be properly cleaned after the previous let. We found a dog biscuit on a chair cushion immediately on first sitting down. There was dry dog food around the sitting room and a large dust/hair ball in the bedroom. These things were in obvious places and should have been cleaned. During the week, we noticed many dead woodlice on the kitchen window ledge, which had evidently been there for some time. The owner told us about the water coming from the lake and then filtered to a high standard, however there is a yellow tinge to it. There was a Brita filter jug, but the indicator to replace the cartridge was flashing. We therefore bought bottled water. The owner subsequently told us that he notes the date of cartridge replacement on his phone! Overall: A lovely place let down by an inadequate cleaning regime, thought towards customer expectations. Not very good value. Unfortunately, we wouldn't return or recommend St Mary's.

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• Bohemia - Verified booking

  We had an amazing week at St Mary's in the beginning of May, huge thanks to Pete the property owner who was really welcoming, and stayed after 5 to let us in as we were running a bit late.

  He gave us a really great run-down of the property and told us where everything was, showed us how to use the composting toilet (which was really easy to use and totally hygienic, so don't be put off!) St Mary's is such an amazing church, full of history and preserved brilliantly, I loved wandering around looking at the old photographs, reading about Jenny Jones, the history and reference books are a really nice addition. It's such a unique property, every day we kept saying we couldn't believe we were staying there! Honestly you could just spend a whole week in the beautiful church and around Tal Y Llyn and you'd have plenty to occupy yourselves with, it's absolutely stunning. We found out about Corris mine in one of the books and booked a 3 hour deep mine tour which was fascinating - really recommend that, it was a real adventure underground, like a different world! And then Cader Ä°dris is also on your doorstep and it's totally worth the climb, such amazing views! We'd also recommend Dolgoch Falls, Brygn Eglwys (overground mine workings and a lovely walk with cave & waterfall) Aberdyfi and Tywyn for beaches. We crammed a lot into a week's visit but felt like there was much more to see, we hope to be back!

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