Llandderfel, Pale Hall Hotel

The overall weekend at Pale Hall Hotel was good and with the Landrover experience we did Saturday afternoon made up for the staff appearance.

After reading a review of Llandderfel, Pale Hall Hotel by Val B dated 10 April, I felt compelled to address some of the inaccuracies, inconsistencies and omissions stated by the reviewer.

This is an impartial site based on public perceptions and judgments; I would therefore like to take the opportunity to present a more balanced and informed review as this statement is without prejudice.

Henry Robertson built Pale Hall in 1870. Pale Hall reflects the grandeur and gentility of a bygone age.

A little known fact, perhaps omitted by the original reviewer, was that the Hall was a pioneer in the innovative use of Hydro electricity, generated by the waters feeding the Bala Lakes.

The innovation was such that Queen Victoria deigned to stay at the Hall. The building itself and magnificent grounds cannot help but to reinforce the feeling of History and elegance.

Pale Hall is and always will be a home, which the owners have allowed others the privilege to share. The Hall is nestled in the dramatic hills and forests surrounding the Bala Lakes. The anticipation and exhilaration upon the first glimpse of the tall

chimneys and towers is only exceeded by the approach through the well-maintained and presented grounds, as one approaches along the gravelled drive.

Val B seemed to be disappointed that upon arrival, she observed an A4 piece of paper in a picture frame making a polite request to remove muddied footwear before entering the main Hall. This request was not made directly to Val nor was she singled out in any way, but was a polite request for consideration to all visitors and guests.

This request is not excessive, bearing in mind the location and the freedom bestowed on guests and visitors to freely walk the beautiful estate, in fact the owners have even provided wellington boots and disposable overshoe covers to accommodate walkers and those wishing to participate in outdoor activities. Would Val B allow anyone into her home wearing muddy outdoor shoes? Personally, I would not want this myself! Anyhow, is it not simply good manners to remove soiled footwear before entering someone else's home?

Upon arrival you are shown to your room and informed about the facilities. The rooms vary and some include the latest Jacuzzis' and steam showers. Guests are requested to read the information provided in each room, this guidance is for both the visitor and for the household and which sets out a very basic service level agreement. Pale is run like a country house and guest information is for guidance, and not set in tablets of stone. From my experience as a regular guest at Pale, I have found the hosts most agreeable. Any reasonable requests are met as long as these do not impose upon the other visitors.

Part of this information supplied and referred to by Val B, requests that visitors should be back inside the Hall by 11pm and vacate the rooms by 11 am.

This time is not a curfew, but guidance to visitors that Pale is a country house where staff try to run the house in its daily duties without inconveniencing the guests too greatly.

An 11 am room vacation policy is in my experience very generous, as other establishments request guest to vacate their rooms by 10 am. The description of a menu "with a small but imaginative choice of dishes" is accurate; however, enough variety exists to satisfy most tastes and diets.

Again, from personal experience the chefs are more than happy, and capable, to provide a dish upon request tailored to individual taste. It would appear that Val B's choice was not to her taste, rather than a poor meal.

Meals are served in the elegant surroundings of the dining room, and guests are invited to pre-dinner drinks and canap s between 7 - 8.30, whilst making their selection for their meal and choosing from a list of fine wines. The review erroneously stated that dinner was served between 7 and 8, surely if this were the case then even a trip down to MacDonald's would be a more leisurely activity!!!

Val also made comment regarding the staff and their poor understanding of the English language. This is an inaccurate and broad generalisation about the entire household, at any given time a member of the host's family are available and willing to assist if there are any misunderstandings. In this day and age of a single European Community and the free flow of people between continents, I would have expected Val to have experienced other languages and cultures.

Extras will always be incurred; it depends on the establishment and how they chose to divide the invoice. The tariff clearly states the room rate and what are included as extras.

One can not help but feel privileged in this day and age to experience a way of life long past and a stay at Pale Hall offers this opportunity. Val B ends her review by asking whether if one considers her review "picky." My personal experience is very different to Val's and if one wishes to spend time in a relaxed and beautiful home, offering excellent food and wine with a service second to none, then I would strongly recommend a stay at Pale Hall. I have also taken the time to upload a photo of Pale to this site and would strongly recommend that you stop at Pale and make your own informed decision.

Our stay at Pale Hall, a beautiful country house hotel could have been wonderful but was in the end disappointing. Should probably have guessed actually, because even when trying to book on the phone the service was unhelpful. I was told that all the rooms were non-smoking and that if we were caught smoking in our room we would be asked to leave! Not really a problem since we don't smoke but already the rules were being laid down.

As we entered the magnificent hallway on arrival we were greeted not with a welcome, but with signs telling us that muddy boots are not allowed in the hall. And that kind of set the mood for our stay. Having been shown to our beautiful and well maintained room, the guest information informed us that we were to be back in the hotel by 11pm and to have vacated our room by 11am. Dinner was served between 7pm and 8pm, and breakfast- even on a Sunday was over by 9.30am. Already I was wondering whatever happened to customer service and flexibility.

Pre dinner drinks were a hurried affair with no offer of a top up. The silence and hushed tones together with yet another sign forbidding people to stand at the bar did little to create a relaxing atmosphere. The menu was promising with a small but imaginative choice of dishes but the food itself was disappointing. I ordered prawn tails in a filo basket for starter and monkfish with 'lemon and vanilla beurre blanc' as a main course. The prawn tails arrived with some overcooked shredded vegetables swimming in a heavy and overwhelmingly salty sauce. The monkfish was fine but the sauce was so sweet it was rather like eating monkfish with rice pudding. When I asked to choose something else (really- I found it inedible) I was told by a grumpy waiter that it would be at least 20 minutes to cook another dish. There was no apology and no offer to keep my partners dinner warm in the meantime. So he ate his, then I ate mine. The cheeseboard turned out to be a disappointing selection of just three cheeses (you were only allowed three) served on an individual plate- straight from the fridge and way too cold. I've never before had Cambozola that was so hard you couldn't spread it. We had coffee in the bar (for which we paid extra) and would have loved a night cap- but there was no-one manning the bar. Several of the staff didn't speak English well enough to actually understand what you were trying to ask for. With little to stay up for, the remaining couples straggled off to bed well before midnight.

Breakfast next day was fine, served in what was originally the old kitchen complete with beautiful old range- but don't ask for extra coffee to be taken in the lounge because they'll probably want to charge you for it!

You may think this is all a bit picky but when you're paying in the region of £200 per night (some rooms are more), I think you expect better service. As we checked out, they (probably wisely) didn't bother to ask if we'd had a nice stay