From snooker to highland cattle

Entering the book-filled lounge and seeing the vivid green baize of the little snooker table takes me back to the 1980s. Measuring 4ft 6in (137cm), the table is the exact size and model that I used to play as a boy, when I’d sometimes don a suit with a bow tie like my favourite cuemen — Steve Davis, Jimmy White — and go snooker loopy for hours all by myself. Other times, like on my birthdays, I’d invite my mates round for tournaments. While I’m reminiscing about potting all those reds — then the yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black — my fellow guests are admiring the other adornments of Palé Hall, a dapper Welsh country house that once welcomed Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill. From objets d’art and ceiling murals to intricately carved fireplaces and a sweeping oak staircase, plus the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin parked out front (available for guests to hire), Palé Hall has plenty to impress. And this hotel — individually owned but part of the esteemed Relais & Chateaux association — is set to dazzle even more thanks to a multimillion-pound investment by new owners Anthony and Donna Cooper-Barney, who purchased this estate earlier this year having earned their fortune in residential and holiday caravan parks and luxury lodges across the UK. Palé Hall had already won glowing reviews after a major renovation by its previous owners in 2015, clinching a string of accolades, including a Michelin green star for its modern Welsh cuisine. But the aim is to raise the bar even higher and make this one of the most desirable and talked-about stays in the whole of Britain. Greeting us is the hotel’s new director, Calum Milne, who has a strong pedigree in high-end hospitality and was formerly a tourism ambassador for King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales. Calum is an engaging character. He tells us that he lost his hearing after becoming seriously ill at the start of the COVID pandemic. But during his recovery he learned to lip read and, aided by an app that converts telephone conversations into text, he’s now overseeing Palé Hall’s evolution with inspiring vigour. The changes are being made while minimising disruption for guests, but part of the plan is modernising each of the hotel’s 18 elegantly furnished rooms and suites, which are named after Welsh castles or significant former guests. One suite destined to maintain its essence, however, is the one that hosted Queen Victoria for 10 days in 1889. It still has the same four-poster bed that she apparently slept on, plus the original bathtub, while its windows overlook the estate, which unfurls across 20ha of spruced-up gardens, woodlands and meadows with the rolling greenery of the Dee Valley, on the southern fringes of Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, providing a bucolic backdrop. The scenery isn’t too dissimilar from that of Calum’s native Perthshire. In fact, it sometimes feels like we’re in Scotland during our Palé Hall stay. The mansion was built in 1871 in a Scottish baronial style for a Scot, Henry Robertson, an engineer and politician who was born in Aberdeenshire but constructed scores of bridges and railways in north Wales. There’s tartan both in the carpets and in the staff’s waistcoats, plus shaggy Highland cows munching in the estate’s fields. A recent arrival to the estate is an expensive flock of rare-breed Swiss Valais Blacknose sheep, who we see grazing and lazing in their paddocks. Plans are afoot to extend one of Henry Robertson’s old railway lines — now the Bala Lake Railway — to the cusp of this sustainably minded estate, which is boosted by hydro-electric power. Also in the offing is more lodge-style accommodation to complement the mansion and the four garden suites that were unveiled in 2021. In addition, a new sculpture trail is being installed in the gardens, and there are proposals for new spa facilities, a spiral wine cellar and chauffeur-driven tour packages that will transport guests in the owners’ fleet of luxury cars. There’s already plenty of stuff to see and do locally, from horseriding and golf to fly fishing and watersports on Llyn Tegid (also known as Bala Lake, a good hike — or short drive — away). Palé Hall’s food and beverage offerings are also being elevated under Sam Griffiths, Welsh chef of the year 2021. During our stay, we dine by the fireplace at the taxidermy-adorned Huntsman Bar and Bistro, then breakfast next door in the Henry Robertson Dining Room, where tasting menus and afternoon teas are served later in the day. There’s a good wine list, featuring an extensive choice of British (including Welsh) wines. Table capacity will be expanded with a glass conservatory extension and more ingredients will be reared at the estate’s enlarged kitchen gardens and revived Victorian greenhouse. The new owners have also purchased several properties locally to renovate, including The Bryntirion Inn, at the bottom of Palé Hall’s drive. That’s being transformed into a gastropub and is envisaged as a buzzy community hub. A sweet shop, a bakery, a distillery and an educational academy to boost skills in catering and land management are also in the pipeline for the estate, which is keen on recruiting and retaining local employees. It’s going to be fascinating to see just how many of the hopes and dreams of Palé Hall come into fruition over the next decade. All being well, I won’t have to wait that long before I return. And I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the little snooker table is still there because I wouldn’t mind a game for old times sake. Steve McKenna was a guest of Visit Wales and Visit Britain. They have not influenced or read this story before publication. fact file + Room rates for Palé Hall are priced from around $500 per night. To book a stay or table, see palehall.co.uk + To help plan a trip to Wales and Britain, see visitwales.com and visitbritain.com