“We’re in a very dark spot,” says Palé Hall’s concierge, who greets us at the hotel’s entrance and lead us down the hotel’s driveway. “In the Dee Valley, there’s no light pollution here, and it’s very quiet. All you’ll hear at night is owls.”
High above the Dee River in Bala, North Wales, it’s certainly an idyllic spot to build a house on, as the Scottish railway engineer and industrialist Henry Robertson, who helped develop the country’s railway system, did in the late 19th century. The Victorian country mansion has had its share of notable guests over the decades, including Queen Victoria, who stayed here in 1889. A private home for more than a century, it was converted into a luxury hotel in the 1980s and is now a member of Relais & Châteaux. Bala Lake
The hotel sits just outside the borders of Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park. The pleasant countryside drive to reach it takes us through the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which the Welsh government is considering make into a new national park, the country’s third. There’s no shortage of spectacular natural scenery in this part of the world.
With Gothic Revival architecture, towers, chimneys and a clock tower, the grand, castle-like house makes a striking impression, with one member of staff suggesting that the hotel’s name most likely comes from the word ‘pale’, due to the lightly colored sandstone. New owners Anthony and Donna Barney, who took on the hotel this year, have parked a few of their cars close to the entrance, which also make quite an impression, including a couple of chunky Rolls-Royces, an Aston Martin, a bright red Ferrari, and a 1920 Bentley (all available for guests to hire).
Inside, the main hall has candles lit in a carved wooden fireplace, a vast staircase, a stained glass roof, and old portraits on the walls. The regal Boudoir has glimmering chandeliers, comfy sofas, and views out over the gardens, with one of the owners’ large modern art paintings on the wall. An inviting library/games room, tucked away in the corner of the house, has shelves stuffed with books, including guides to the local area, as well as a large chess set and rocking horses.
The hotel has 18 individually decorated bedrooms in the house but we’re staying a minute’s walk away from the main building in Fern, one of four Garden Suites. It’s spacious, with a downstairs living room, where there’s a long brown sofa, a large freestanding TV, a chunky, ornately decorated wooden bureau in one corner, and a small kitchen area with tea, coffee and a fridge in another. There’s a nature theme to the décor, including a fern design in the rug laid out across the wooden floors and framed illustrations of leaves on the walls. The hotel is dog-friendly - two bowls, a bag of treats, and a mat have been left out for our canine traveler.
There are more ferns on the curtains upstairs in the light, airy bedroom, with watercolor-esque plantlife on the white and green wallpaper and illustrations of wading birds hung on the walls. As well as a big comfy bed, there’s a wooden dressing table in a corner, with a retro Roberts radio on the bedside table. The bathroom strikes a balance between retro and modern, too, with smart black and white tiles on the floor and walls, a rainshower, and a standalone white oval bathtub. Outside, we have a tiled garden area with a table and wicker chairs, somewhere to take in the peacefulness and, at night, the stars.
We wander the grounds, through neatly sculpted trees and hedges, watching the grazing sheep and Highland cows, including recently arrived infants, in the fields, before exploring the lawns and woodland gardens, where we find more of the owner’s art pieces in a tranquil sculpture garden that has metallic figures, a faun, and a flower close to a pond and a giant serene face set amongst the trees. Afterwards, we sit on the terrace outside the house, looking out over the surrounding greenery, for pre-dinner cocktails, including an intriguing milky Barti Cream Alexander (with Barti cream liqueur, Mozart cream liqueur, and a dash cocoa bitters, over ice) and an good, refreshing Old Fashioned with a welcome large measure of whisky.
The hotel’s head chef Sam Griffiths was Welsh Chef of the Year 2021 - the hotel was also awarded Wales’ first Green Michelin Star the same year for sustainable practices. Palé Hall has two restaurants, including the 3 AA Rosette fine dining Henry Robertson Dining Room, which serves a five- or eight-course tasting menu, drawing on local, seasonal Welsh produce. It’s an appetizing prospect in an elegant ‘big occasion’ room with a gleaming chandelier, giant mirrors, and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the gardens. But as we’re traveling with a dog and a young child, neither of which are allowed, we content ourselves with dinner in the more casual, pink Huntsman Bar and Bistro, which doesn’t exactly feel like a hardship.
There is a hefty, extensive wine list to choose from, including wines from Wales and across the UK, and around the world, from France to Australia. We opt for a bottle of Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina, which helps give the evening a celebratory feel. My wife and I both go for the creamy burrata, served in a bowl with tangy Lyonnaise onions, fig jam, and crunchy sourdough croutons. For mains, my wife raves about the crispy belly pork with wild mushrooms, celeriac and black truffle, and I’m more than happy with a fillet of pan-fried pollock with baby courgettes and a rich pea and wasabi velouté. But the star, unusually, is the side dish – a bowl of seasonal veg, including broccoli and absolutely delicious, soft, buttery mini-carrots. While my wife finishes with a smart salted caramel tart and milk ice cream, I go for a generous plate of soft and hard local cheeses, chutney and crackers, which all work really well with the last of the full-bodied Malbec.
After a good night’s night, we’re back in the Huntsman Bar next morning for breakfast. Tea, coffee and juices are brought to the table, followed by fruit plates, yogurt and cereals. There’s a menu of hot dishes, too, which are slightly on the small side, but tasty, including a stack of little pancakes with blackberry compote and smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toast. The coolest touch here, though, is that our dog is given one of Palé Hall’s specially made sausages, with one given to every other dog in the room, too. It’s a smart move - happy dogs means happy owners.
We spend the day exploring the local area, driving down through the green valley and into the national park. From the village of Llanuwchllyn, we catch the traditional Bala Lake Railway steam train for a step-back-in-time, half hour journey along the banks of Llyn Tegid (or Bala Lake) in the southern area of Eryri national park, the largest lake in Wales. As the little train puffs steam into the air and occasionally blows it’s whistle, we look out from the open-air carriage over the expanse of water to the surrounding peaks of the Aran, Arenig and Berwyn mountain ranges. At the end of the line, we get out and walk along the river into the town of Bala for an ice cream before circling back to take the return train. It’s about as sedate and easygoing an afternoon as it gets.
Back at the hotel, we eat dinner again at Huntsman Bar: a satisfying bowl of pan-fried cod with seaweed butter sauce and peas, a bowl of taglioni with tomatoes and sunflower seed pesto, and a dark chocolate mousse with passionfruit sorbet. Perhaps it’s the bottle of Saint-Émilion talking, but after dinner, back in our garden area, there’s a sense of peace and calm as we sit under the bright stars. I can’t hear a thing, not even owls.
Palé Hall, Palé Estate, Llandderfel, Bala, LL23 7PS. An overnight stay costs from £320 for two sharing a Classic Room, including breakfast. See www.palehall.co.uk. For bookings, email enquiries@palehall.co.uk
