The Druidstone Hotel

Excellent multiple-​purpose venue in the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastal trail. The Druid Stone, offers accommodation, bistro cuisine, live music and also serves as an art gallery which hangs work by local painters. Nestled on the rocky coastal Pembrokeshire trail and convenient for neighbouring towns.

Proper mental gaff this.
Part dilapidated. Part amazing view of the incredible beach below. Part hippy hangout. Whole lot of fun.
It’s off the beaten track that’s for sure. And it’s something of a higgledy-​piggledy affair. Nothing matching here. Cork tiles covering some walls, barely any plaster covering others. But the whole effect is rather charming. A Mal Maison this is not. Nothing ubiquitous here. Or new. Or functioning quite how it should.
The public areas are adorned with art work and brick-​a-​brack (that’s the second time I’ve used that phrase in two reviews, must be something to do with Pembrokeshire) and there’s a chaotic feel about the place.
We had lunch in the dining room which had a slightly haunted feel, but I mean that in a nice way. Food was best described as home cooked and hearty. Warming and filling, nothing of finesse but all good stuff.
Then we went for a walk in the garden. That’s when you get the real charm of this place. It sprawls for ages and there are little nooks and crannies everywhere. A pond section with frogs and toads a-​plenty (I think the owners have been busy licking those toads over the years) and beautifully tended beds full of overgrowing loveliness. Real romantic stuff.
Walk down the garden and you get to a little bar which is situated below the dining room. It’s a proper cubby hole. stone walls, low ceiling, plenty of people enjoying the view over the bay and drinking good local ale. You could hunker down there for a long afternoon turning into a long night for sure.
And then of course there’s the beach at the bottom of the cliff. We walked down at low tide and the whole thing was nothing short of stunning. Fine sand, imposing cliffs and rocks, pools for the kids to explore, horses to ride and not another person within 200 yards of you. Simply stunning. As an aside, the path that leads down to the beach has the wonderful sight of a Tellytubby house built into the cliff there. Turns out it’s an actual house, rather in the Grand Designs mould, designed by the same company that designed the Media Centre at Lords. You can see the similarities. Really quite amazing.
Back to the hotel for a mooch and a chat to reception who were ever so friendly and told me the place was booked throughout the year with people who come to gaze at the stars in the summer or brave the wind and cold in the winter. Rooms are all completely individual, some don’t have bathrooms, some only a log fire for warmth. You get the drift. If you’re after spas and mod cons, this place isnt for you. But if you’re after long walks and a bit of a weird and wonderful time in a place full of character situated above one of the finest beaches I’ve ever seen, you’ve hit the jackpot.