Llandudno Hotels

We stayed last year at a place called Hen-Dy B&B which was nice, and well located. Llandudno has many, many hotels of that type all along the seafront or otherwise in the center of town. I think Llandudno is a better base for your trip in any case than Conwy, which is lovely but as you’re discovering, small.

We stayed one night at The Imperial Hotel in Llandudno in April 2023. The room was well-appointed and comfortable. The hotel is located across from the waterfront with great views. The restaurant and breakfast were both very good.

The other place to use as a base (for such a group) would be Caernarfon.

It’s not clear how many rooms you need between the seven of you (how old are the children, for example?) but I expect that in Llandudno, if one place can’t accommodate you all, there’s probably one next door glad to have the overflow.

Thank you so much for all the helpful responses!

Would Caernarfon be a better base for public transportation use? Or just more options for hotels?

The children are all a bit too young to be without an adult (2, 7, 9, 11), so hotels that only have rooms for 2 seem right out (because one needs to have 3 to keep all the children with an adult).

Thanks again!

Definitely Llandudno with children (or without them as well for that matter) is a much better choice than Caernarfon. Llandudno is a major seaside resort. The kids will love the pier. I’m sure it has a much better selection of hotels than Caernarfon. The public transport links are good and as it’s a resort day tours leave from there also. Caernarfon is worth visiting on a day trip for its magnificent castle, one of several in north Wales, but other than that, it’s a pretty ordinary little town, nothing wrong with it but I saw no reason to want to stay there overnight.

And another thing about Llandudno, if you are wondering about "major seaside resort", is it tacky, well, my wife and I didn't find it so when visiting last early June. Certainly, there is junk food and some carnival rides to be found there (which is a good thing when you're with the kids), but in general it was a family-friendly, relatively laid back, middle class kind of resort town, with an excellent selection of restaurants as well as hotels. There are a lot of Victorian era buildings there as that's when it first developed as a resort. Rick starts his TV episode about north Wales on the seafront there.

Llandudno is definitely not tacky.
Most of the land in the town is owned by the Mostyn family who developed the original resort in the 19th century. They still keep a tight control on developments in the town.

Personally I think a seaside resort should be a tiny bit tacky, nothing wrong with an amusement arcade and a portion of chips on the front, but Llandudno does seem to get the balance right.

Keep your eye out for ‘Welsh Number 8’ rock on your travels. It was a taste of my childhood holidays in north Wales. Minty and slightly buttery with a number 8 going through the stick.

I think it is a shame that, because you stayed in Llandudno (and clearly enjoyed it, who wouldn't to be honest) Caernarfon is being added to the already long list of places in North Wales which we are not supposed to suggest on this forum.

There are a whole string of other seaside towns (I hesitate to use the word resorts) both sides of Llandudno- each of which has their own vibe and their own afficianados.

And, yes, hands up I am biased because of my long family history in Caernarfon. That doesn't mean that I totally get the many attractions of Llandudno.

I don't doubt Llandudno has more hotels- once it would have been hundreds, probably now more like scores of them. But it seems unfair to the hoteliers of Caernarfon (probably not more than a dozen, if that). It also feels to me that you did not scratch below the surface of the town. Caernarfon does have good public transport connections, and neither town (city) is ideally placed for Eeryi (Snowdonia) both being on the coastal fringe.
In some ways Llandudno and Caernarfon could be said to complement each other as they are each best placed to access different parts of North Wales and Eeryi. I don't see it as a competition in any way.

I think you are being unnecessarily prickly. I don’t think you are “not supposed to suggest” Caernarfon, and I said nothing of the kind. You are free to do so. But I am equally free to suggest that Llandudno is a much better choice for a family stay, which I think it very clearly is. Nor do I have any responsibility to be “fair” to Caernarfon’s limited number of hoteliers by refraining from pointing out to the OP, whose message indicated some uncertainty about it, that Llandudno has many more.

Another vote for Llandudno over Caernarfon. Also note that Caernarfon is a longer journey to reach and it is not on the national railway with the nearest station being Bangor for bus transfer. You may also be able to find day tours for Snowdonia from Llandudno and yes, it is a classy seaside resort. (Rhyl is on the line between Chester and Llandudno Junction - and believe me you would not want to stay in that seaside town)!

It is possible to visit Bodnant Gardens by local bus from Llandudno.

I am happy to take any and all suggestions! I am planning a first trip to Wales from what I can glean from tour books and travel videos, so I appreciate any advice from people who have actually visited or lived there. If you have recommendations for Caernarfon, I’m happy to benefit from your experience.

Thank you again for all the helpful answers!

It’s really unusual in the UK to find a hotel room that would sleep your family of six in one room. You could ask about interconnecting rooms but even then I think it might be tricky. I’d recommend looking for a self catering property instead. That would be more typically the choice of a large family rather than a hotel.

Caernarfon is being added to the already long list of places in North
Wales which we are not supposed to suggest on this forum.

Surely not... If it is, I haven't picked that up.

It all depends on what you want when choosing where to stay.

Ignoring the Werlsh Highland Railway, Llandudno and Conwy are both on the rail network.

We stayed just outside Caernarfon several years ago when we went to climb Mount Snowdon and enjoyed it. I will note that we did hire a car for that trip which made things a lot easier. Where we stayed was just across the Menai Strait from Anglesey so we also took the opportunity to drive around there, see the castle, Llanfair... railway station, etc. I think it would make a nice base.

Having just come back from a long weekend in the Brecon Beacons I would also consider looking into adding that into your itinerary- I realised I never see this area mentioned much here when people mention visiting Wales, but the scenery is spectacular.

Also note that the narrow gauge steam railways that go through the Snowdonia National Park linking Caernarfon with Porthmadog (Welsh Highland) & Porthmadog with Blaenau Ffestiniog. (A ’normal’ train links BF with Llandudno via Betws-y-Coed).

Not far S of Porthmadog is:> https://portmeirion.wales

Snowdon Mountain Railway starts from Llanberis.

https://www.sherparwyddfa.wales