myguideBritain Blog

A night fit for a King!

December 21st, 2007

As a lot of you know, we recently arrived back from one of our Trips around the UK. We got to see many different places, attractions and were shown around a lot of the hotels that we recommend to you! On our last night our hotel was kept a secret. (I have got to admit I was getting a little worried on the Wednesday as we were told nothing was yet booked for the following evening!) However, by Thursday Morning Darryl could no longer keep the secret quiet. We were given a very nice surprise; our last night stay was to be in the Historic Ruthin Castle in North Wales.

Once inside the Entrance Hall I was immediately stunned by the high ceilings and just the general feel of the place, so welcoming and relaxed. My room was particularly large (I think they may have made a mistake as my Manager, Darryl was given a smaller room than me!) with a king sized bed, original fireplace (not operational) and a huge plasma screen TV. Probably the favourite part of my room was the huge Chandelier that hung above my bed, dominating the room. Completely fantastic and I must say MUCH better than I expected.

I have got to say the highlight of my stay in the Castle was the evening meal. You start off in the Library Bar where you can relax in the comfort of the leather seats provided and take a sneaky peak at the dinner menu before you are shown through to Bertie’s Dining Room. If I had to think of one word to describe Bertie’s Dining room it would have to be ‘Amazing’! As soon as you enter your eyes immediately dart upwards towards the huge chandeliers that provide lighting in this room, once I had time to adjust to my surrounding I focused in on the Dinner Menu. The service of the Waitress on duty was great; our coats taken away to the cloak room, our drinks were carried through to the dining room from the bar and our napkins were broken for us and placed on our laps at the start of our meal. I finally decided (after much deliberation) on the Chicken Parfait to start with the Toasted Brioche, having the Local Rump of Lamb with Red wine Jus for my main meal and Wow! That’s all I can say- everything was just perfect.

After a very relaxing night sleep it was time for a little tour around the castle. They offer four feature rooms in the main castle area, all named after famous people from history who have stayed here. I have got to admit it was amazing to view all the different rooms especially the Prince of Wales room which was by far the largest hotel room I have ever seen! We were shown around all the different styles and Standards of rooms and I was very impressed! We were told that the standard rooms were in the new Annex of Ruthin Castle, but as we were led through the corridor you would never be able to tell you were entering a newer part of the Castle, which is great. Furnishings throughout were traditional and kept in line with the theme of the Castle, real suits of Armour could be seen in the main castle areas. We were also given a tour around the Mediaeval Banqueting Halls inside the Castle. Here you travel back in time, enjoy a traditional Mediaeval feast in the dungeons of the Castle, followed by mead served in clay cups and wine in Pewter goblets. No Knife and Forks allowed!

I very much enjoyed the walk in the grounds of the castle. Now in the early morning light, we could see just how impressive Ruthin Castle is. There was so much to explore in the grounds alone. Alot of the Castle’s old ruins can still be seen and explored in your own time, and the wild peacocks that roam around in the grounds are just incredible. You can just imagine in the old days the Knights pacing around the gardens, looking out on to the local village, guarding this castle. What an amazing last night stay to an incredible 5 night Trip around the UK!

Entry Filed under: Castle, Wales