The Good The Bad and The Ugly The Good This was a bucket list wish trip. We've been wanting to get to see Portmeirion for 30 years and this was the year!!! We booked a room in the hotel and it included breakfast and we decided against having dinner there because as luck would have it the yearly Christmas craft and food festival was going on at the grounds. We enjoyed the fair and in the evening we sat in front of one of the fires. Husband reading and me knitting. Wonderful relaxing visit. The public rooms were old world gracious and cozy. The bar had a nice selection of drinks to enjoy. Our room was beautiful and we had two windows. One over the river and one up to the village. It was cold and rainy during our visit but believe it or not we came for this weather, being from Florida we kind of miss the cold. The Bad First morning breakfast was a full Welsh breakfast and was good but the second day, the last day and the one we will remember was horrible. I got the salmon eggs Benedict and husband an omelette. His breakfast came out steaming, mine - I almost had to chip off the ice. Okay there wasn't ice on my eggs but there was not a degree of warmth over room temperature and the room was cold. Couldn't catch the eye of a server. They were too busy cleaning up getting the room set for lunch. I had one bite of my eggs and pushed them aside. I went to fix my cup of tea and there was only two sugar cubes in the sugar bowl. What???? Thank goodness the table next to us was empty so we just swapped out. No salt and pepper on the table either. You would think the servers would notice that the food hasn't been eaten and ask about it. The Ugly Finally got the attention of our server. I told him my eggs were cold and inedible and if he had checked on us it could have been corrected during breakfast hours. (Breakfast was over by the way). He then got snippy and said there is no check because breakfast is included in the room. What the heck??? Just wish our last memory was better. Would i return?. That's a good question. The facility is beautiful, the room was great. Walking around the village was interesting but leaving hungry wasn't how I wanted to end our trip. Honestly if breakfast service is any indication of meals there I'm glad we didn't spring for dinner. read more

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I absolutely loved my stay here and can't wait to return. The impetus for our visit was the fact that we are die-hard fans of The Prisoner, but I was pleasantly surprised with how lovely the stay itself was, separate from everything attached to the show! Staying in The Village is already so much fun, and our apartment was clean, nicely furnished, and cosy. The shops and restaurants around are lovely, and I myself love Portmeirion china so I enjoyed shopping there. We also learned a lot about the history of the place and it is rather fascinating and unique. There is a nice art gallery which I went to and was able to talk to the artist, Rob Piercy, who has done a lot of work on Portmeirion over the decades. I bought his lovely coffee table book and thoroughly enjoy it. The gift shop in No. 6's is fantastic. The only thing I wish they had were shot glasses, but we bought lots of other fun things. Unfortunately as we visited during winter, the pool area was not available but it looked very inviting. Exploring the whole village was a real treat, as there are so many little hidden walkways, stairwells, and more which one continues to stumble across! Amazing views of the sea, and a nice walk along the beach. Even in stormy weather, our hike in the woods was one of my favorite trails I've ever been on. The dog cemetery was particularly spooky. There were so many little hidden areas we kept finding and spent hours walking in the woods. The food at the hotel down by the water is superb, with great service as well. Some of the best afternoon tea I've ever had. This is one of those places you just want to spend ages at. I'd come here for my honeymoon, it's definitely a great getaway for couples. read more

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Love the hotel, the room and walking around the village. Sitting in front of the fire in the evening and just relaxing. We visited last year and had issue with the restaurant breakfast. Last year my eggs royal were served cold and by the time I could get the servers attention it was too late to order something else and his comment "you didn't have to pay for breakfast so what's the issue" This year we went down earlier and again I looked forward to trying eggs Royal. Again they came out barely warm. This time I chased down the manager and got a different breakfast. Last year we had room 2 in the hotel. Loved that it was a corner room so we had water front and village view. This year room 1. Just as lovely but no river view. Also they've done away with the free slippers being embroidered with the logo. Yes they still have slippers but they are unadorned. I know I know sounds petty but they were such a nice touch. We were there for the food and art festival again but not the hotels fault, the wind storm closed it down for Saturday. Sunday it was opened. Another less than stellar interaction was from the "guards" at the entrance. We had to check out Sunday and we were given a lift to the car park and went to enter the fair. We were supposed to get a plastic shopping bag but the guard refused saying the driver got two bags for the man in an orange coat. Hubby was wearing an orange coat but we didn't get bags from driver. They argued that we must have put the bags away and just wanted more. I don't steal and don't like being accused of stealing a silly bag. We checked the car and there were no bags. We managed to get a single bag grudgingly I know I know again petty but it does add up to be annoying. read more

As an avid viewer of The Prisoner, Portmeirion is a must visit site. I have visited twice now and was pleased to see that the whole 'village' had a good rejuvenation with the buildings having a good paint. Also, an increase in places to get a good cup of coffee and/or eats. It always amazes me the thoughts that Clough Willams-Ellis must have had during the build of this epitaph, I believe, to a great guy. Lovely walks through tropical gardens leading to squares and unusual buildings. Mixtures of sculptures and busts. You could spend hours here and still miss something. Very reasonable entrance fees taking into account the upkeep of the area. read more

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Last year, I stumbled across an old British television series called "The Prisoner" starring Patrick McGoohan as No. 6. (It spoke to me in much the same way my favorite movie, "The Truman Show," speaks to me.) Although it was unfortunately short-lived, it is brimming with novel storylines and ideas that make one question his/her place in the grand scheme of the world. No. 6 remains trapped in a remote village, which he tries relentlessly to escape. Outwardly it appears as a utopia, but this facade disguises the fact that no one can leave without permission (or at least a very good fight). Not too long after I finished watching the series, I quit my job to travel for a while with my father. Eventually we made our way over to London. One evening I had the brilliant idea of venturing up to Wales to the seaside resort of Portmeirion, which served as the village in "The Prisoner." (In fact, it was so integral to the feel of the show that I'd go so far as to say it should be considered a main character.) We set off around 6 am from North Acton, where we were staying, in a tiny 2-door Mercedes expecting the trip up there to take about 3-4 hours. After an incident with a couple of bobbies, miles of extremely narrow Welsh roads, confusion over how to open the door to the gas tank, a meeting of a parked car and one of our side mirrors, and the passing of 7 hours, we arrived. As father attempted to reattach the side mirror, I approached the gate where I purchased our entrance tickets from a jolly old fellow who was gracious and welcoming. After a rough start, our fortunes were turning for the better. The sun was shining and we practically had the place to ourselves. I was the Prisoner and I was in the Village. We were very hungry so we stopped by the only open food place on the property. It was like a cafeteria, but the food wasn't half bad. I had a sandwich and a cookie and Father had lasagna. After we were finished, we went off to explore the place. It was the middle of March and the place was nearly deserted, which only enhanced the experience. I expected to encounter No. 6 around every other corner. The colors, architecture, and landscaping make for a very whimsical environment. What makes it so special is that it feels and looks so surreal...like it came out of a child's fantasy book. Attention was paid to the smallest of details and the place still looks pristine and identical to how it appeared in the 1960s, when "The Prisoner" was filmed. Portmeirion is simply charming and I would love to go back one day. read more

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TL;DR - A completely unique place. On a whim we drove down to Portmeirion not really knowing what to expect - we knew about The Prisoner TV show, but were more familiar with the Simpsons' spoof rather than the original. First thing that surprised us on arrival was that it's private - you have to pay to get in. Don't let that put you off though... first you drive down a long narrow roadway (we kept wondering if this was the right direction, until a sign would appear to reassure us) and then arrive in a big car park. From there you wander over to the entrance to the village and pay... and that's when it gets interesting. Frankly, Portmeirion is bizarre. You're in North Wales, but there's this over the top and ornate Mediterranean-ish village... but it's also very British. There's a variety of small shops and places to eat, but the main attraction is just the place itself. Considering you're a captive audience, we were pleased that the prices of food and drink the village were reasonable. We had fish and chip lunch at the Town Hall cafe which was very good, and later on had an ice cream from one of the shops. In addition to the village, there are also some really nice walks around the woodland nearby (or you can get the "train" if you're not feeling up to the exertion). It's hard not to give Portmeirion 5/5 simply because it's unique. It's the best at what it is because it's the only one of its kind. But it's definitely worth visiting. read more

Portmeirion - Fish and Chips in the Town Hall Café. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me

One of the UK's real hidden treasures is tucked away by the seaside near Snowdonia in some of the most beautiful scenery in Wales. The model village of Portmeirion is a botanic garden, a beach and a treasure trove of architecture. You can even stay in the imported Mediterranean houses as a resident for a few days which I highly recommend. The colours at Portmeirion are always bright, flowers are always blooming and just like in the Prisoner you feel that you've been whisked away to a foreign island a million miles from anywhere real. Escaping here would be a fool's wish! To get the most of a trip to Portmeirion, walk down onto the beach sands and follow the shore as far as you can away from the crowds. There are spots to climb back up into the gardens where you'll be on your own with sea views, flowers, mountain tops and the sight of painted Italian spires through the trees. Surely this should be the number 1 thing to do in Wales. read more

Suddenly, you will find yourself swept away to the Italian part of the Mediterranean. In Wales. This is the Portmeirion Village of the television series "The Prisoner". We went as day-trippers, but this is a resort that you may want to plan months in advance and save up for in advance if you want the resort experience of staying in their cottages. Plan for an all day excursion as it has many places to go. You will want to linger in the central piazza, hike the many hiking trails, visit the many shops, see the famous Portmeirion crockery shop, smell the flowers. There is a short film of the history of this lovely little collection of antiquities and mash-up of architectural designs. Be aware that there are limited times for the cafe, and concessions are on the pricey side. My husband and I had a delightful time on the August day we went four years ago. Worth it if you love architecture, the Prisoner, and a little bit of Italy in the middle of Wales. Note: The admission is 7.50 GBP, so I marked "moderate". To stay at the hotel, or cottages would be "pricey". read more

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A Bit Disappointing for a die hard Prisoner and Patrick McGoohan fan! I am a massive fan of the Prisoner and have always wanted to visit Portmeirion for the last 40 years but its a bit underwhelming to say the least! Yes its an amazing hotpotch of Italian , Egyptian , Greek and various other styles - which really means it has no real culture or taste really but hey the proles will lap up any old tat and give it 5 stars so who am I to judge the sheeple! Its £12 to get in which is a bit steep for what it is; a quick tip - park in the village before you drive up the path to the village itself or park near the coast and just walk via the beach or coastline and enter it via any other location and its free - wish I had now! The place looks a bit rundown - most of the houses need painted, the view tower at the entry point overlooking the villafe that is encrusted with sea shells is full of graffiti as usual but where the shells have been pulled or fallen off the wall they have just painted white over the missing shell holes lol Lots of rusting old ironwork and cheap and tacky paper thin tin statues added as an afterthought to many of the areas making it look exceedingly cheap and nasty, slippery steps that nearly did me a mischief on more than one occasion so if you are a pensioner not a great idea to go climbing the various stairwells down to the beach or up to the apartments/houses - most of the houses one would want to see and go inside cannot be accessed as they are rented by guests and there are zillions of Private no entry signs so you cannot visit them. Why anyone would want to rent a place here with literally hundreds of foreign tourists prodding , poking and milling around your holiday let is beyond me; lets just say you won't be seeing Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie staying here; more your Jordan and Towie z-listers with no taste, class or style so be prepared! The so called Ghost garden was just a load of unkempt reeds in a pool of stinky water , the dog cemetery is clearly not looked after as everything is overgrown and the gravestones cannot be read as they are all dirty and some visitor has taken the mickey by putting a pair of sunglasses on the main Dog Statue (we actually found that more interesting than most of the things we saw so cudos to that visitor as it did give us a laugh - check the picture below) - The best place is actually The Viewpoint - far away from the village through the forest overlooking the sands with great views of the beach and sea and two benches to sit and admire the view , eat your sarnies and quaff some earl grey from the thermos - You could walk there for free from the road! The chinese lake or should i say overgrown pond was also underwhelming - all of our party pointed out the many tin cut ornamental statues placed randomly all over the place - very tacky and cheap looking. It seems the gardener or lack of one doesn't do a good job either as the bushes nearly took my eye out when visiting the ghost garden or venturing further afield! The little train that takes you around the village through the forest had no commentary and was just another tacky tourist bit of tat that also underwhelmed as it clunked and screeched its way round for 10 mins! I always wanted to visit the chessboard and get a few photos but even some of the chess pieces were literally in pieces with bits missing. To be fair the Prisoner shop was not as expensive as I thought - you can buy the usual tourist tat or if you are a Real Prisoner fan you can buy one of the Prisoner blazers for £125 or a panama hat or boater for £15 but I stuck to the Prisoner penny farthing shopping bag for £2.99 and some window stickers at £2 and avoided the plates at £4.50 and tacky t-shirts and other tourist orientated bumph. After waiting 40 years to see this I felt very sad and crestfallen I have to admit to see it look in such a bad state of repair and to be so seemingly uncared for and especially as Wales is in a bad state of unemployment and it needs its tourists but it wont get them if they dont look after their assets and this is supposed to be the jewel in the crown of Wales - how sad is all I can say! Show less read more

Now I gotta admit, I was nursing a serious case of jetlag when I stumbed on this village while on a cruise in the British Isles so I wasn't paying any attention whatsoever to what my tour guide was saying about this place. I have no idea why it was built or what the concept of building this crazy little village was. But what I do recall was that it was chock full of amazing little shops and cafes and well... it just looked kinda crazy with all its pastel houses and shops right smack in the middle of Wales. There's even a small beach nearby, which you can walk right down to and when I was there, a flock of sheep were grazing on the sand. If I'd had more time, I would have definitely covered each and every nook and cranny of this exquisite village, but :sigh: I also recall that there was this shop selling pottery/china and one of the ladies on the tour I was on mentioned something about this shop being world famous? I'll take her word on it. Next time, hopefully! read more