Grove of Narberth — Hotel in Great Britain

The Grove at Narberth is a luxury country house hotel in the heart of the countryside near the market town of Narberth, and is an ideal base from which to explore the world-renowned Pembrokeshire Coast National Park just a few miles away. The main building houses fourteen individually designed rooms and suites that are lavishly appointed yet still contain many of the original period features that make them truly unique.

I was with Mrs Gastro Grazer, and as we were feeling particularly extravagant we had booked the Daniel & Elizabeth suite which occupies almost all of the top floor, with an enormous Super King sized Four Poster bed, and stunning views of the of the Preseli Hills from every window. The room was so comfortable we could have stayed forever, and it was only the fact that dinner was being expertly prepared for us by Executive Chef Allister Barsby and his team that made us move.

We have eaten Allister’s food before, when he was Head Chef at the two Michelin starred Gidleigh Park in Devon. His style of cuisine is distinctive modern European with a delicate touch of the unexpected that focuses on extracting the full flavour from every ingredient on the plate, and at The Grove he has the benefit of some fantastic local produce from both land and sea, so we knew we were in for a real treat.

After a few delicious appetisers, we tucked in to our first course of sweet, succulent hand dived scallops, smoked eel, and parsnip, which had been drizzled with curry and lime, the Sommelier had paired this with a mouth-watering Riesling from New Zealand which matched perfectly. This was swiftly followed by a breast of local wood pigeon accompanied by rich buttery duck liver, salt baked beetroots, hazelnut cream and nasturtium.

The fish course was a fillet of beautifully moist and firm fleshed halibut with caramelised cauliflower, sea vegetables, crab, and a langoustine sauce that was packed with flavour. I was delighted to see that our main course was to be a saddle of venison as it is a particular favourite of mine at this time of year, and this was a great example with the tender flesh perfectly cooked and accompanied by roasted vegetables, button mushrooms and chestnut puree.

Normally at this stage of the evening you would expect a cheese course, followed by a palate cleanser, but in this case, it was a piece of deep fried Golden Cenarth with Gethin Cyder, fresh apple and hazelnuts, and the pre-dessert was a refreshing “Raita” of yoghurt, pickled cucumber, and mint granita – two examples of that touch of the unexpected I mentioned earlier.

We had a fabulous stay at The Grove, and I highly recommend you give it a try, as you can be assured of a warm Welsh welcome with great food and friendly...

We stayed here a 2 nights with our small dog.

We were a little thrown at the closed gate at the entrance (two discreet signs either side said 'Grove' so we knew we were at the right place). But these are on a sensor and will open when you get close.😉

We had one of the cottages, which had a separate bedroom, lounge, bathroom (separate shower, toilet, free standing bath area) and private garden lawned/courtyard/chairs and table soley for our own use. These are small but perfectly formed. The cottage was decorated with rustic charm. If you have a large dog you might have to watch it bump the furniture (one of the rutic old bedside tables was a bit wobbly and and small dog nearly tipped off the lamp brushing by passed it).

There were complimentary tea/coffee and fridge drinks in the room (which is unusual, but very nice and appreciated for this type of hotel). There was a 'free from' complimentary snack fruit bar made at the Grove in the fridge too. It was marginally 'free from' taste too... but we'll gloss over that because it was a very nice thought😄. The room was very comfy and our dog liked using the large dog cushion (and the complimentary dog treats left for her). We had a woodburner in the lounge to which made it very pleasant to sit in the evening.

The staff were all very friendly and accomodating. We had dinner in the restaurant for a couple of days (not the tasting menu restaurant though), which was very pleasant. We were able to take our dog in to dinner with us (she's very well behaved) and could have taken her to breakfast too if we wanted. The hotel isn't close to anything else, so it was easier to relax there for dinner and not have to worry about driving. There are several lounges and a bar space in the main hotel (dogs only allowed in certain places).

Dinner had vegetarian options and breakfast had the usual tradition cooked option along with pancakes and omelettes etc and croissants/yoghurt/fruit salad/porridge type starters etc.

We only had a short stay so didn't look around the grounds much, but everything looked very pleasant and very well maintained. There is a walled garden where they grow their own produce and flowers etc. There's also an attractive tree area (cherry?) with tables and chairs at the front of the house, looking over a large pond/small lake, which looked like a lovely place to sit with a drink on a nice day.

On leaving we were given some Welsh cakes made at the Grove, which were the tastiest ones we'd had...

Watch out for the 'Upgrades'

We checked in here for 2 nights in a Deluxe room with breakfast. A rare break away without the kids. We made our way to reception and were greeted by busy but very friendly staff who got us checked in and told us we had been upgraded to a junior suite. We were initially very pleased, until we realised this meant we wouldn't actually be staying in the main hotel, but a 100 yards away in a cottage that's been split into several suites. This was a shame, as we'd booked a 5 star hotel because that was the experience we had wanted. We had looked at cottages on Airbnb etc as we do quite often, but decided a nice hotel would be a treat. So for £350 a night we had a room in a cottage 100 yards away from a hotel. So there's no popping down to the bar for a cocktail or bottle of champagne because that means getting soaked in the rain on the way. The first morning we didn't bother with breakfast in fact for exactly that reason. Yes, there is room service and the staff delivered regardless of the wind & rain. But it's nice to make use of a nice hotels facilities!

The staff were all very pleasant. The room was pleasant too, well furnished, comfy bed etc. I just find the booking process on the website to be misleading. Deceptive in fact. When we booked, the images shown of the deluxe room were of the Seddon room. This is clearly listed as a Deluxe room in the main house. If a hotel website shows me photos of the selected room during the booking process, this is where I expect to stay. As far as I am concerned, comparing the room we were given to the Seddon room we were certainly not upgraded. I would say if anything the opposite.

So my advice to anyone booking for the first time, is to ensure you are very aware that some rooms are not in the hotel. That you may be 100 yards away in a separate building. That the photos of the room on your booking may very well not accurately represent where you will actually stay.

Finally, Thank You all, for a generally pleasant stay. The staff, the restaurant, the quality of food and drink were all very good. We throughly enjoyed the afternoon tea. We found the complimentary in room minibar to be well stocked, and the goody bags with welsh cakes and water when leaving is...