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A lovely old Town House hotel, rebuilt in 1780 for the Williams- Wynne family, then a coaching inn known originally as The Unicorn (Our full name is officially : The Wynnstay, Herbert Arms and Unicorn Hotel!!) We have been welcoming travellers for centuries, and would love to add you to that growing list, so book now to avoid disappointment!!!
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to VisitWales.
HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Family
Location
Heol Maengwyn, Machynlleth SY20 8AE Wales
The Wynnstay
284 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
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Just returned from a 2 night short break purchased through Travelzoo. The hotel has potential as it has some lovely rooms with open log fires. However although the log fires give ambience there does not appear to be any other form of heating therefore the communal rooms are quite cool unless you're allocated a table near the fire. The central heating only appears to be turned on in the rooms during the evening/night. However on our second night, after dropping something and moving a chair in the room I did find an electric heater hidden away. This was not all I found - but a used sock left by some previous occupant which makes me query how well the rooms are cleaned between guests, particularly also as a number of guests appeared to be keeping dogs in their rooms. The food was pub standard and quite acceptable but side accompaniments to meats were limited and unimaginative (a sirloin steak costs £23 and is served with a few frozen French fries - no mushrooms, tomato or onion rings as one would expect and the small side salad was purely green mixed leaves as found in bags at the supermarket). We were happy with the price paid for the deal but would not want to pay the price quoted on their website.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Rooms
Service
Room Tip:Rooms all appear dated and ensuite needs modernization
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Charles Dark, Owner at The Wynnstay
Responded 7 Aug 2020
An interesting review. I must apologise about the sock. That should not happen and housekeeping have bene spoken to. As to the heating, it would be incredibly wasteful to have the central heating going full blast all day long, heating a 250 year old building. We have log fires and stoves to heat the public areas and all rooms have an electric heater to use during the say. This information is in very room and, if asked, any of our staff could have so advised. Yes, we do allow dogs, we like dogs and we are happy to have guests bring their dogs with them to stay. But we have ways of totally sanitising a room after a dog has been, so that even anyone who is allergic would not be affected. We cannot accept that the food is "pub standard" - the steaks come from the excellent butcher across the road, we make all out own chips, we never have frozen vegetables, we do not do pub type steaks with onion rings and tomatoes, ours is a restaurant, although informal, we are not a pub - but we can do onion rings and tomatoes if that is what you really want. I have to ask though, whether you are in the wrong type of establishment. If it's onion rings, tomatoes, mushrooms that you want, then a basic pub would probably be better suited. We do try to cater for all tastes, or nearly. You only had to ask for the things and we could have done them, there and then. Someone here looked up your other reviews. It seems you always travel on the heavy discount deals but then write bad reviews about the places you stay. It doesn't look as though you ever want to pay the full price for anything. At least your review of us was not as damning as some you have written. We are thankful for small mercies. Incidentally, since you mention Travelzoo, we have a 98% full approval rating from Travelzoo customers. There is always a small minority.
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So I'll start with the poor first. Upon check in there was a dirty cup in my room, and when I say dirty I mean old, dried coffee in the bottom. Not great during a pandemic. The kettle didn't work and the windows were a bit loose. Finally, the lights in the bathroom flickered so obviously a problem with the electrics.
The person I travelled with said their room smelt very musty also.
Now on to the good. The staff were very friendly, attentive and chatty, the downstairs bar area was fantastic and the food and wine, well, what can I say! The owners import the wine directly from the vineyards and serve it directly from barrels which means you get a very smooth, exceptional wine for a very good price.
The food was also absolutely spot on and exactly what we needed after 10 hours hiking 4 peaks in Snowdonia. Upon check out we were not asked how our stay was which was disappointing and when I mentioned the dirty cup again it was ignored.
However, saying all of that, I would stay again purely for the bar, food and wine!
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Charles Dark, Owner at The Wynnstay
Responded 19 Aug 2021
Very sorry about this. We had a housekeeper issue. That has now been resolved.
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Remember the film well my partner and I are well travelled and have stayed in bargain B&B’s to genuine 5star so in my opinion know what we are talking about so read my other reviews. To start I could rate this property as low as a 1 but in some area’s 4 but a 3 is about right in our opinion. THE GOOD Firstly as in previous reviews the staff are excellent both Chris and Jess are worth a special mention attentive and very pleasant. We had a Travelzoo deal a two day and one day which included an evening meal credit and a glass of wine very good value and you would be mad to book direct as the price doubles. The bed very comfortable lovely clean sheets room 33 with a walk in good powerful hot shower.Good toiletries and fluffy towels that are big enough to rap round my big belly lol.Plenty of good quality coffee bags replenished with biscuits every day. The downside the room needs a new carpet as very stained and completely redecorating. The evening meal although a limited menu was excellent small portions for me but I’m a big lad but again superbly cooked.Breakfast again excellent good coffee fruit juice and toast. In all for the price I would recommend a visit all be it maybe one or two nights. THE BAD The private owner purchased this hotel in the 90’s and has done nothing to it apart from H&S upgrades as required by law as in previous reviews say the property is very tired needs completely redecorating and has lots of stained carpets but to be honest you could spend a million pounds on this property which in these COVID times the owner would never recover the investment. In saying this it is kept very clean. THE UGLY Well the above covers this but to add also the town is very old and quirky with a couple of charity shops estate agents and coffee shops pretty but not much to mention. To close it’s worth a visit for the surrounding countryside and value for money only on a Travelzoo deal. Happy holidays
Victor Meldrew
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Date of stay: December 2021
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Charles Dark, Owner at The Wynnstay
Responded 31 Dec 2021
This review, probably from a troll, contains a massive lie, and sadly Tripadvisor are happy to allow the slander to continue. For the record I shall respond in full to this nasty, malicious person. 1 My wife and I took over the Wynnstay hotel in 2016! The previous owners had cut the trade in half, destroyed the reputation, the hotel had suffered from a serious lack of TLC, it was then closed down by the bank and the owners went bankrupt in 2015. We took it off the receivers in 2016. 2 To say nothing has been done since the 1990's other than such as required by law is a massive lie. I make no comment on what was done by the bankrupt owners but since 2016, we have invested massively to bring the Wynnstay back to life. The works we have done include: Total reworking of the public areas, installing new open fires and log burners, creating a new, large, comfy lounge area, which we call the Cwtch. Creation of a send bar, in the Cwtch. Total redecoration of the public areas, from floor to ceiling. Creation of new ladies and gentleman's lavatories on the ground floor, with disable access. New fire alarm system, new clear cooling, entirely new kitchen with induction cookers (no gas), new beer cellar. New Reception with up date hotel booking system, allowing for the likes of Travelzoo Replaced near every mattress. Replaced all linen, towels and duvets. Put new furniture in many rooms. Redecorated many and new carpet laid in many - more is being done. New outside areas created with a pond and fountain. The rear extension complete repainted. The front will be done in April. We have invested heavily to recruit an excellent young team of staff. And, our investment is paying off. As we gradually finish off a total overhaul. bit by bit, tackling the most urgent first. We have large numbers of repeat customers, not just on Travelzoo. Of course we are not perfect and nobody can please everyone all the time. As to the town, for such apparently seasoned travellers you completely failed to notice the following really stand out things in the town: RED a lady doing hand made shoes Elin Angharad making bespoke handbags and leather goods of very high quality Anderson Apparel making bespoke ladies fashion (she works with Vivienne Westwood and the like) MOMA one of just three in the world, the other two being in New York and Venice. The Museum of Modern Art is a world class gallery. Please never come back to us, UGLY people like you we can do without and so can out staff and all or other lovely customers
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Called in for food on Sunday, walked in and asked for a table for two. Got snapped at asking “Have you booked?”, we apologised, and said sorry no, the lady did not reply, just turned round, picked up two menus, put them on a table and walked off. I squeezed into the far side of the table, pushing the screen onto the table where people were eating, making a friendly joke with the lovely family. The lady came over, and I asked if this was the only food available as I didn’t feel I could eat a full Sunday lunch, especially at one course being £11.95, but was told abruptly “ yes”, so I then asked what the small print on the bottom of the menu was, It was a £1.50 surcharge PER PERSON, as they now have to sanitise everywhere!!!! I said we were out of there, did they not clean before covid?? To cash in on this situation is horrendous in my book, so a family of 4 they will pay a £6 cleaning fee!!!! Finally on entering, we were not asked our details for track and trace, double standards, absolute disgrace. We live locally, and will never step through this door again or recommend. Beware
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Date of stay: November 2020
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Charles Dark, Owner at The Wynnstay
Responded 19 Aug 2021
In the middle of the Covid pandemic you expect us to behave as if everything was normal? Really? We sanitise everything every day and we have always cleaned thoroughly every day. But now we have to do extra sanitising throughout the day. This has a cost in terms of labour and materials. We have not out up our prices but there has been a considerable on-cost to the business, a business that has lost so much in the last year. We do have track and trace and had you stayed our details would have been taken. At Sunday Lunch we serve Sunday Lunch and that is it. If anyone wants something else we suggest they go elsewhere
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My friends booked 2 rooms for 1 night DB&B due to no availability in Aberystwyth or the surrounding area. Machynlleth sounded interesting as it was the ancient Welsh capital and the hotel had decent reviews. The rear of the hotel as approached from the carpark looks a little shabby & untidy … not a great first impression. The rooms were adequate in size, very clean but in need of modernisation. I’m guessing lockdown & low occupancy has impacted cash flow. Some may call it quaint and homely, I’d call it tired & in need of refurbishment. The staff were all friendly and efficient, I felt for them trying to keep things going in what looked like difficult circumstances. Here’s the rub … our 2 rooms for dinner, bed and breakfast were £160 each. One room was for 2 people, one was single occupancy. Paying full room price for single occupancy isn’t particularly unusual but it is when considering a dinner allowance of £30pp/pn. Effectively, double occupancy guests pay £50pp for B&B whereas single occupancy guests pay £130pp for B&B (dinner allowance of £30pp excluded). I queried this with the receptionist when checking out who agreed the dinner allowance wasn’t fair on the single room and refunded me the £22 cost of the wine we’d had (the wine list is overpriced and largely unavailable so we had a bottle filled from a cask). Machynlleth was dead on a Saturday evening / Sunday morning, the MoMA was closed, it all looked very down on its luck, despite the lovely setting and history.
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A group of 10 friends booked a one night stay dinner, bed and breakfast through Travelzoo, as we paid £79 a couple our expectations were not high but how wrong we were. The hotel is not modern and has a slightly well used feel, it is amazing, we had a £30 allowance towards our evening meal and a free glass of wine each. We spent a great couple of hours in the lounge with quite a few alcoholic drinks too, these are not the cheapest but no one complained, The hotel is comfortable and contains an eclectic array of ornaments and furniture, we were fascinated to explore these. The bedroom are a bit old fashioned but lovely and warm and comfortable. Bed and bedding very good. Hot water was HOT and a good tea /coffee tray available too. The evening meal was absolutely fantastic, we all agreed one of the best we had ever had, complements to the chef! As a perfect finish there were a group of musicians in the back room playing excellent folk music , we all appreciated that as the only audience members. The owner Charles joined us for a good night glass and we all agreed he was very pleasant indeed, a special word for Abbie and Karen for wonderful service but really all the staff were great, all smiling and helpful. Breakfast was also great, a good choice and all tasty. All in all this was unbelievable value for money and somewhere we may return to, many thanks Wynnstay.
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Date of stay: March 2022
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip:I
No lift so all floors have stairs, not too many to the first floor
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Charles Dark, Owner at The Wynnstay
Responded 21 May 2022
Thank you, we do hope to see you again
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This hotel is ideally located for exploring the scenic area of Mid Wales with a good-sized car park at the rear of the property. Our room was clean and warm, and the bed was more than comfortable. The menu provided a varied choice of dishes, and the portions were more than generous. There was an excellent choice of Italian wines. The lounge and dining room were cosy with large open fires, the decor was interesting and there is a great selection of brass figures in the lounge all in keeping with an old inn. The staff were friendly, attentive, and more than helpful throughout our stay. Well worth the visit and it was an excellent Travel Zoo offer. More than likely that we will return. Thanks to all the staff for making it a wonderful stay.
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Date of stay: February 2022
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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Response from Charles Dark, Owner at The Wynnstay
Responded 21 May 2022
Thank you, we look forward to welcoming you back
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My wife and I stayed on a Travelzoo deal - £169 total for dinner, b and b. The basic deal is obviously very competitive and certain aspects were OK.
The staff were friendly and attentive, particularly the Indian waiter who worked at breakfast and dinner times.
The food was also OK - not great but acceptable and the hotel had its own car park.
The problem is the hotel itself. It's very old and, quite honestly, in need of a good clean and spruce up. I've attached some pictures taken in our 'Superior twin' number 11.
Before we booked we specifically asked a lady called Melissa if they had a superior twin en-suite in a quiet part of the hotel. On being assured that they could allocate such a room to us, we proceeded with the booking.
However, on arrival we were given room 11 which is on the front of the building, overlooking the main road, and with single glazed windows that filled with condensation.
When I queried this I was told that this was the quietest room available as the others were directly over the bar area which was usually noisy up till midnight.
The noise from outside paled into insignificance when compared to the noise from the bedroom above. Every time someone in that room moved, the wooden flooring and support structure creaked constantly to the point that neither my wife nor I managed to get a decent night's sleep.
We obviously complained to the lady manager after the first night and were told 'well it is an old building'.
As there were no alternative rooms available we agreed to stay for the second night on the basis that we were not charged the £20 supplement for the 'Superior' room.
To the question 'would we stay there again', our answer would be a resounding NO.
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Date of stay: March 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Charles Dark, Owner at The Wynnstay
Responded 21 May 2022
This is an old Georgian Coaching Inn, we aim to keep the character, which the vast majority of our guests appreciate. We welcome something like 12,000 guests a year, very many come again and again. As you stayed one night, how did you know that the bar is usually noisy up until MidNight. The excellent Melissa is very new to us, there are other twin rooms to the back of the hotel but i believe you asked to have the nearest.
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I was last In Machynlleth in 1956 some 68 years ago with my father and brother, us 2 boys were at the local boarding school, our dad staying at The White Lion. Machynlleth and the Wynnstay have both seen better days and are typical candidates for huge doses of “levelling up” Yes of course the Wynnstay building plainly shows its age but full credit to the owners and staff for making the most of what is there, everywhere is clean and tidy , there are attempts to add more comfortable and relaxing areas and whilst the dinning area was in the large corridor between the front door and the kitchen at the back, the chef and his team can certainly cook and serve tasty and satisfying evening meals. The game pate certainly smelled and tasted of game, accompanied by a good jelly and the blade of venison and pork dish were beautifully casseroled to “melt in the mouth” satisfaction. Beef steaks were also of good quality, all accompanied by a small but well priced and appropriate wine selection, staff friendly and attentive; you can see why many locals were dinning out there on both our night’s stays.
The White Lion has to be criticised for its so called “light bites” There is nothing “light”about them !! Huge chunks of bread and home cooked ham, accompanied by a significant portion of chips ; on our second visit one portion between two was more than sufficient.
So give Machynlleth a go, it can feed and look after you with care and satisfaction and nearby you can visit the beautiful chapel where the Welsh poet RS Thomas was heard on many a Sunday by 2 small boys
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were very fortunate to have stayed in this lovely old building for the last two nights of our holiday walking the wonderful Meirionnydd coastal path. We all loved the interesting collections of furniture, art work and pottery etc all displayed very tastefully in a trendy maximalist fashion. Breakfast was delicious and we had dinner there too on both nights which was amazing: Locally sourced delicious food, impressive wine list, and freshly made bread too! Loved all the different rooms but were disappointed not to notice the lovely bar at the back until just before we were leaving … All the staff were extremely friendly and who ever keeps the furniture and collections so well polished deserves a bonus! Great location near the shops, museum of modern art and station. We will definitely return here at some point.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Machynlleth area.
PRICE RANGE
$245 - $284 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
wynnstay hotel machynlleth
LOCATION
United KingdomWalesPowysMachynlleth
NUMBER OF ROOMS
21
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