Name: Plas Derwen Country House
Address: London Road, Corwen, Corwen, Corwen, LL21 0DR, United Kingdom
Rating: 9

Elevator/lift

Smoke-free property

Heating

Garden

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Hairdryer

Flat-screen TV

Shower

Toiletries

Rooms

Coffee/tea for guests

Breakfast

Restaurant

Kettle

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Free parking

Parking

Conference Hall

Business

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Hawarden Airport

Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Albert Dock

Liverpool Wheel

Sefton Park

Museum of Liverpool

Port of Liverpool Building

Philharmonic Hall

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

World Museum Liverpool

Wavertree Botanic Gardens

Liverpool City Church

Anfield Road Stadium

Plas Derwen Country House

Corwen

I booked this b&b for a wedding nearby for me, my boyfriend, mother and sister in-law. When looking on the website, it appeared as a pretty country house/b&b that I thought we would have to ourselves. (Little did I know the owners of this house actually live there). Upon arrival, we were firstly asked to rearrange our 2 cars on the drive way as they obviously weren't parked correctly. Christine greeted us and showed us in to the living room/dining room. We just so happened to mention at this point that we had a hairdresser coming for 6am the next morning for the wedding, to Christine's horror. She immediately was not happy that 'we had not told her' because they have a dog who barks and 'we are now going to disturb the whole house'. When we asked if this was a problem, she replied 'well you've done it now so it doesn't matter' to then be ushered up to our bedrooms. We all felt very uncomfortable and as though we had been shouted at/told off and of course, we had been so excited for our 2 nights stay and wedding for a family member but this attitude completely took away our excitement. 

We then noticed numerous rules that were posted around the 2 bedrooms. 1.no high heeled shoes in the house as they damage the floors 2.do not leave bathroom door open when having a shower as the steam will set the fire alarms off. 3.if you plan on your day being any different to the 'usual day out' please speak with Christine and Alan first (strange?!). We felt like we were treading on eggshells from the moment we arrived and it wasn't a nice atmosphere having to share a house with 2 people you don't know. Hence, none of us slept well that night due to feeling so angry at how we had been treated. There are notes around the house that ask you to please respect that it is their family home and not a hotel.. We completely respected this however felt that we weren't respected as guests who are paying £90 a night (which we thought of as hugely overpriced).

The next morning, we were worried about coming home late on the day of the wedding as we had read previous reviews about not being allowed a key etc. However, Christine was overly pleasant for the rest of the stay and told us she would leave a key for us to get in and there was no curfew (phew!). We had a cold breakfast both mornings which was presented beautifully however, would have been nice to have been offered a hot breakfast too. The 2 rooms we had were very clean and spacious and both had en suite bathrooms. 

Overall, the house is set in beautiful grounds and we had a pleasant stay in the end however the house rules I feel need to be made far more clear on the website so people know what to expect before booking. I wrongly presumed this was just a b&b, it is not until you read the terms and conditions in small print that it states it is a family home. Another review states this is a hobby and not run as a business which we totally agree with following our stay. I would recommend only staying here for a peaceful, boring stay and if you have nothing to do other than go for walks and explore Corwen.

All I will say is, first impressions really do matter and if you are running a business, then your guests come first and you should want to go out of your way to make them feel welcome. This, we did not have.

An unwelcome arrival and average stay

I booked this place for a short break and when we arrived I've noticed the house is even prettier than it looks on the website. We arrived quite late in the evening and Alan there to welcome us. our room was exactly what I was expecting, full of character, very cosy but with lots of space for our belongings.
The bed is very comfortable, the views from the window left me speechless and it was a perfect stay for us.
The house is just minutes away from the village and easy to find.
We loved the character of the house and the small special details like the biscuits in the room and all the artefacts from around the world.
The breakfast was really good (amazing coffee!) and my only suggestion is to have some bottles of water available on the breakfast table and maybe one in the room.
Our stay was memorable and we cannot wait to stay again!

Perfect stay

Since moving to Corwen in February 2015 I have regularly visited this establishment having found my new home less than satisfactory even though I live right next door to a local B & B. I once spent several months at Plas Derwen & I have to say the grounds are spectacular & have everything I needed. The moomar especially is very nice & the doodar too but the moomar is best. So good is this place I had to be locked in an attic to stop me going as I was addicted. I found myself climbing down 4 storey's via a roof one night just to get to this fine place. I am pleased to say I am now cured due to the presence of cat nip in my own garden & I am now allowed out again. Plas Derwen will always be my special place but it doesn't have any cat nip! 
So if you are not a cat please visit this fine place. It is beautiful inside & out & the dining is wonderful. 
Yours Mr Tibbles (cat)


No Catnip!

We arrived slightly earlier than the advised check-in time but this was not an issue we were greeted by Chris with the warmest of welcomes. She said that she would show us our room then we could sort out our luggage. She also offered us fresh milk to make a hot drink which was a lovely touch.The room was so much better than I expected. It was extremely large with a double and single bed. The bathroom was also extremely large with both a bath and separate shower. We were also shown the rest of the house that we had access to, a lovely and cosy guest lounge and the dining room. You are only given a key to your room not a key to the house. To gain access you have to pull the door bell and either Chris or Alan will let you in, in fact sometimes you don't even have to ring as they see or hear you pull up so are ready waiting, on one occasion Chris was ready waiting with a jug of milk for my partners cup of tea. Some people may not like the idea of this but we thought it was lovely as they always asked about our day and took a keen interest in what we had done. Breakfast is a large cold breakfast with cereals fruit compote yogurt and cheese if you wanted and as much toast as you required more than enough and made a nice change from a full English. We did pay an extra £5.00 each to have a cooked breakfast on our last morning and it was lovely. Chris and Alan could not do enough to ensure that you have a pleasant stay and are so warm and welcoming the best B & B hosts we have encountered so far. Cannot wait to book again

Incredible Hosts

This place is the family home of Christine and Alan and houses all their belongings (some of them beautiful) that they and their families have collected on their trips.  However, the bedrooms are invaded by all their knick knacks and there is no space to put your own things either in the bedroom or the bathroom.  The Hotel Inspector would certainly advise them to decorate the rooms elegantly simple and neutral; providing guests with space for their belongings.  This is definitely not a place for children!!!.  They also need to update the shower (ours was more noise than water). By the way, I could not find space to put my toothbrush.  The room was cold and the flimsy, old, noisy and inefficient heater was useless.  They need to invest in good heaters in every room.  Another bad thing about this place is that, because it is their home, guests are not allowed a key so they have to knock on the door until they hear the bell: not a good thing.

Christine and Alan are a lovely couple who by the way, provided a wonderful breakfast in the dining room (full of knick knacks).  Both came to the door every time we returned and wanted to know what we had done that day; they are both very entertaining but that is not the way to run a B&B.  I told someone about it and she said that it looked as though it was a house full of flim flams!!!!!.   I do hope that they listen to this amateur hotel inspector.

TOO MANY KNICK KNACKS AROUND THE HOUSE TO BE A BED AND BREAKFAST

This is an old rectory set in beautiful surroundings. Christine and Alan are very friendly and welcome you into their quirky home. Lots of interesting things to look at in each room and they are very happy to tell you about each one. The place is very peaceful, and in the summer it would be beautiful to sit in the surrounding gardens.

The breakfast (we had the continental) was of good quality and plentiful. If you want a traditional cooked breakfast you pay £5 per person. Tea and coffee was supplied in the rooms.

The only downsides are practical ones. We stayed when it was very cold weather and the room was a bit chilly. A fan heater was suplied, but it was noisy and a bit old fashioned. The shower flow was poor and again an old and noisy electric shower. It was difficult to find anywhere to put things on surfaces as there were lots of nick nacks in the room. You also had to knock to get in each time you went out as the front door was kept locked and no key supplied which felt a bit odd.

All in all I enjoyed my stay there, but would suggest some practical improvements would be good.

Plas Derwen Country House

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