2016 has been the year of Roald Dahl 100, marking 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl, the World’s number one storyteller. There have been lots of amazing Roald Dahl events organised worldwide and we’ve tried to attend as many of the Roald Dahl events in Wales as we could. I really hoped that we would also get to sample the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” inspired afternoon tea at Llety Cynin and luckily last weekend we did- here’s a post about why we went and what we got up to:
This November my wonderful mum celebrated her 65th birthday. We were having a think about a special way to celebrate with her and remembered the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Afternoon Tea available at Llety Cynin. We noticed that they also had Roald Dahl inspired weekends available so we added an overnight stay to make the weekend even more special. We made mum a “Golden Ticket” as a way to present this experience gift to her.
Afternoon tea at Llety Cynin
On arrival at Llety Cynin, we checked in and took our cases upstairs to the room (a great reminder to me to not pack the family suitcase quite so full). The rooms were lovely and you’ll see some photos later in the post but I didn’t get to take as many as I’d like as the kids were excited and therefore kept us busy! We then went straight downstairs for our afternoon tea. This is usually served earlier but they had kindly postponed ours so we had time to travel there after school.
We sat down in the quaint guest lounge and as it was a quiet evening we had the room to ourselves. There are books and games to keep everyone entertained and large comfortable sofas to relax on.
We were served our tea and coffee on pretty crockery.
Then the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired Afternoon Tea came out beautifully presented.
We all enjoyed the tea but the kids were still wound up from school, the journey and the exciting prospect of a night away so they were soon back to playing games, chattering excitedly and colouring in again, which was fine as the room was quiet.
Throughout the hotel there are locally sourced Welsh blanket cushions (and also runners in the bedroom)- dog teddy: our own!).
We had a lovely time at afternoon tea and will definitely come back for one in the future. We love our savoury treats so will book for their standard afternoon tea at some point. They will also be announcing next year’s special theme soon so keep an eye out for that!
An Overnight Stay at llety Cynin
Back to our lovely rooms and we even had our own waiter as Danny popped open the prosecco and poured a glass each for the grown ups.
The kids were still excited so we had a little play and an impromptu (light on our feet) disco and singalong to everyone’s choice of song (Rebecca’s pose looks quite comical in this photo but sadly she was getting a headache so she had a lay down).
If there’s a book, Caitlyn will read it. Here she reads the bible to a praying Cerys!
Oh the fun with balloons! The kids then settled down to watch a DVD before bedtime. There are DVDs available to borrow from the family room. We also had Roald Dahl novels for each of the kids to read too!
We loved the large family rooms available. We booked one room for two adults and three children and another for two adults and two children. Everyone had a full bed rather than a put me up as is often the case in family rooms.
The rooms were were clean, fresh and decorated beautifully with everything we needed and much more. There also were extra special touches, such as welsh cakes.
Myddfai Toiletries
In the bathroom there was a shower and luxury toiletries with a social conscience by Myddfai. All Myddfai toiletries are UK made and are SLS/SLES, Paraben and cruelty free and the company is ran as a social enterprise helping challenged adults achieve more.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served in the Kitchen/Dining Room. The only problem initially was there was only one table free, seating 5 and we were a party of 9 so we had to spread out to the family room where the low tables are not designed for eating breakfast.
The kids enjoyed being able to help themselves to the fresh pastries, cereal and fruit and cooked breakfast’s were cooked to order.
Eventually the room quietened and well managed to be seated at a dining table to enjoy our breakfast.
The Pool
The kids wanted to make the most of our stay and go to the pool in the Leisure Club, before we left. Ceri and I agreed to take them. Towels are available which is great (I’d actually packed ours anyway).
The swimming ratios are usually the same as the local authorities- 1:1 for an infant and 2:1 for under 8’s. However please note that when there is no lifeguard on duty then there is a 2:1 ratio for under 14’s too.
There were swimming lessons taking place in the pool but still plenty of room for us to play. The pool is one depth which meant we had all the rest of the pool to enjoy. It was nice and warm, with loungers around the outside- not that we had a chance to relax on these! There is also a spa pool for over 14’s. We’ll have to return for an adult weekend so we get to enjoy these facilities.
The Woodland Walk and Playground
Llety Cynin also has a woodland walk to enjoy (in the Summer a James and the Giant Peach walk was set up) which we would have enjoyed if we’d had more time.
The kids did get a quick play in the lovely play area before we left though. Sorry for the “sketchy” photos- I accidentally put an effect on my camera and only noticed ten photos/videos later!
Places Nearby
There is lots to do at Llety Cynin and you could easily have a relaxing weekend on the grounds. Equally, there are lots of places near to enjoy too, such as, a day at Dylan Thomas’ Boathouse in Laugharne, Carmarthen or Colby Woodlands.
Tenby
We decided to visit Tenby. The kids had fun playing on Castle Beach. It was a lovely day and really sunny for November. I’m sure the kids would have stripped off and paddled if we’d had more time!
The island is St Catherine’s which closed to the public this summer but may be reopened again in the future.
The Tenby “Mr Whippy” sand is my favourite and always brings me back to childhood beach days!
We went to D Fecci & Sons Fish and Chips, Frog Street which is a traditional, award winning fish and chip shop. They use locally grown Pembrokeshire potatoes fried in groundnut oil and also serve gluten free meals. We were lucky that as it just happened to be Tenby Blues Festival that weekend so we were treated to a live Blues act while eating our delicious food too! Dave did the PA at another venue that weekend too so we were all in Tenby, just not together!
The Weekend
It was a lovely weekend but we felt exhausted by the end of it and in need of an adults only “relaxing” break. The kids seemed a lot more excitable than usual and it was only when I came home that I remembered they’re like this every year from November during the run up to Christmas so I really need to provide lots of calming times to make life easier and happier for us all.
The Details
Llety Cynin is easy to find and is not far off the M4 and A40. The postcode is SA33 4JR but only use this until you turn off the A40 then use the directions to Llety Cynin on their site.
Afternoon tea starts from £11.95 per person.
Santa’s Festive Tea is currently available £10 children £12.95 adults (or a cream tea is available for £6.50)
Individual and Group Accommodation overnight stays can be booked too.
Watch our video of our stay here:
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This looks like a great experience, looks like you all enjoyed yourselfs