There are some hotels that could exist anywhere. Beautiful rooms, good sheets, polished service, nice food, lovely views.
Then there are hotels that feel completely rooted in where they are. The Grove in Narberth falls firmly into the second camp.
Set just outside Narberth town, surrounded by meadows, ponds, woodland, mature gardens and views towards the Preseli Hills, The Grove has built a reputation as one of Wales’ most luxurious country house hotels. But what makes it interesting is not simply that it offers 5* luxury in Pembrokeshire. It is that the luxury feels inseparable from the place itself.
“Sense of Place is Everything”
When I asked General Manager Karen de Koning what makes The Grove distinctly Welsh, rather than simply a luxury hotel that happens to be in Wales, she said:
“At The Grove, our sense of place is everything. It is not something we’ve added on top of the luxury, it is the luxury.”
Inside, the hotel is dressed with quiet nods to Welsh culture and craft: Welsh love spoons adorn the walls in one of the cosy lounges, traditional woollen blankets are draped over huge comfy sofas and on the back of dining chairs. Not in a themed, stage-managed way. More like a series of gentle reminders that you are somewhere with history its own identity.
But the real luxury is not just in the details. It is in the peace, the quiet, and the space to properly switch off.
“We deliberately keep our service understated rather than showy,” Karen said. “It’s about making guests feel genuinely at home in a Welsh country house.”
I loved that description, because that’s exactly how I felt at The Grove (swanning about like I owned the place, quite honestly) and I think it says a lot about where high-end hospitality is at these days. The old version of luxury was often about theatre: the big arrival, the heavy-handed (and sometimes – intrusive) service, the sense that you were supposed to be impressed. Increasingly, the good stuff feels much quieter than that.
For me, Welsh hospitality is at its best when it doesn’t try to imitate somewhere else. It doesn’t need to be Cotswolds-but-Welsh, or country house cos-play, or imported West End glitz in a rural postcode. It can be its own thing: warm, generous, confident, understated and connected to the landscape around it.
The whole thing brings to mind one a restaurant launch I worked on a few years ago – operated by a team who wanted to ‘bring a taste of London hospitality to Cardiff’.
Turns out, Cardiff really didn’t want that. And I can understand why.
More than just a Hotel Stay
The Grove’s rural setting is obviously a huge part of its appeal. Guests are surrounded by gardens, woodland and hills, with Pembrokeshire Coast National Park within easy reach. But increasingly, people are not just travelling for a pretty backdrop. They want to experience somewhere properly.
Karen said guests are now looking for stays that feel “tailored, personal and experience-led” rather than simply a beautiful room and a good meal. That shift has shaped the hotel’s activities programme, which now includes things like coastal boat trips, beach sauna sessions and gourmet picnic hampers to go.
As it should be.
For me, a great hotel doesn’t just keep people inside its own four walls. It sends them out into the place around it. To the coast. To local guides, producers, activity suppliers, and beaches. Also, to independent shops and restaurants in Narberth – places like Top Joe’s Pizzeria – a gem of indie restaurant where owner Dan walks the dining room at the end of service and chats to locals and tourists as they tuck into dessert.
“The local businesses and partnerships we work with benefit from us just as much as we benefit from them, and together that’s what makes Pembrokeshire such a compelling destination in its own right,” explained Karen.
At a time when everyone in hospitality is talking about costs, staffing, margins and survival, this feels absolutely right. Local sourcing and local partnerships are often discussed as nice, ethical extras, but at The Grove they are becoming an even bigger part of the business model.
“It goes well beyond the guest experience for us,” said Karen. “Our partnerships with local suppliers and independent businesses are fundamental to how we operate as a business.”
A Proper Welsh Welcome
Whether you are talking about a restaurant in Cardiff, a pub on the coast or a country house hotel in the hills, the principle is the same: independent hospitality in Wales is strongest when it is connected to the place – and the people – around it.
We really don’t need to emulate anywhere else. We can be confident about the fact that Wales can offer city culture, serious food, independent hotels, wild coastline, beautiful produce, brilliant wine lists and properly memorable experiences – all within a few hours of each other.
The Grove knows this – and it know what kind of feeling people are going to leave there with; properly looked after, well fed, well rested – and a little bit more in love with West Wales than when they arrived.
