James and Matt, the barman with the Booking.com Award

Guest Reviews from Booking.com

I am sure almost everyone has heard of Trip Advisor, the on line, traveller review site where guests are able to leave their comments and scores on hotels, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, cafes etc.

In the same vain Booking.com, the biggest on-line hotel booking site asks guests who book a room through their website to review their stay. Today we received a letter telling us that we have been given an average of 9+ out of 10 for all our reviews for 2012.

On line bookings continue to increase year on year along with growth in smart phone and tablet use. It should be simple to book a room at Gliffaes with your phone now and even easier when we launch our new website very soon.

We are all very chuffed with this recognition and it goes without saying that this is all down to hard work from EVERYONE at Gliffaes.

Take a look at the Booking.com reviews.

In with the new, out with the old - changing wines in the cellar

A wine list is a difficult beast to look after. Prices change, vintages change, producers stop making certain wines – these are the easy administrative changes that we have to keep abreast of. The hard part is controlling the size of a wine list. Too big and it just puts people off and ties up a lot of money in your cellar, too small and your guests don’t really have enough choice. It is almost easier to have a long wine list because you can just keep buying but when constrained to a limited number of wines each wine has to fight for its place on the list.

At Gliffaes we have just over 80 wines including half bottles and champagnes, a 50:50 split between red and white. This seems to me to offer a good balance between offering variety and the problem of holding too much stock. For stock taking reasons I make one big change of the list about every 18 months over one very long day. This year I replaced about half of the list after attending a number of trade tastings around the country.

Who makes the cut?

First off I have to like the wine, that’s easy.

Two. It should not be available in every supermarket across the land.

Three. The wine should be that little bit different or unusual or be a superb example of a popular style.

Four. The wine must hit a certain price point.

A word on pricing.

A guest once told me that he equates the wine on a restaurant bill as the same cost as having another diner at the table. The industry does have a bad reputation for marking up wines highly. Here at Gliffaes I work on a cash margin rather than a percentage margin. So the more expensive wines on the list offer the best value.  For example a £15 bottle (ex VAT) could sell in some restaurants for £60 on a margin of 70% where I would sell that wine for £34.

So what’s new on the list.

I was really impressed by a clutch of superb German Rieslings and have listed three of them and have even cut my cash margin by a third to encourage people to try them. German wines are a hard sell but these Mosel wines with low alcohol content are quite superb. Continuing with Riesling I have listed two new world examples from Washington and New Zealand which show a different style to the Germans.

After bringing half a pallet of wine back from South Africa a couple of years ago I felt that some of them are now ready to be drunk, I have added four of them to the list along with an increased selection of Rhone and Italian wines.

Read the list in full.

More by the glass.

Pretty soon I hope to have a new wine saving gadget up and running that will allow us to offer more wines by the glass. I would like to extend our choice up to around eight reds and eight whites by the glass. Wines make up 70% of our bar sales mix so it seems right to offer as much choice as possible.

A fair bit to un box!

I am always happy to show guests our modest cellar, so please just ask.

Pro Fishing Guide – Frank Williams sent me these few notes on fishing for trout in this cold spring weather

Although the winter seems to be endless and the rivers have been slow to start showing their true potential, there are still fish to be caught at this time of year. It’s all about choosing the right time, place and method. Today, while helping a beginner to start his journey as a fly angler, I timed the lesson so we hit the water at 1pm. Just as we arrived there was the first fluttering of a hatch of Large Dark Olives which grew to a steady stream.  The fish, hungry from their winter starvation, were quick to take advantage of the bounty on offer. Within fifteen minutes of the hatch beginning we could see four or five fish rising at the head of a pool,  just below a riffle.

Often at this time of year the fish are looking for an easy meal and are not always willing to take a true dry fly, especially if it is riding high on the surface. More success can be had fishing with a small traditional wet fly in the top 10 cm of the water column and today was no exception.  My choice of fly in these conditions is a Waterhen Bloa although any of the traditional North Country Spider patterns can be effective, and the best method is to fish them “across and down” traditional wet fly style.

My advice then is to skip lunch and be sure to be on the water between 12.30 and 2pm to take advantage of this small window of what can be frenetic feeding activity by the trout.

Tight lines

Fly Fishing Open Days – Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th April

On both of these days Frank will be running a morning and an afternoon session for six anglers per session. After a brief spell on the lawn it is down to the river for some one to one instruction. This will be your chance to tell Frank what aspect of your fly fishing you are keen to improve upon and he can help you there and then or recommend which course would be right for you. This will be a great chance to get a feel for the Usk, have a look at Gliffaes if you have not visited before and to meet Frank.

The cost of the open day will be £25, which includes a light lunch. If you book one of the courses the fee will be refunded.

Please call us to book a session (01874 730 371) and specify which date and whether you would like to attend the morning or afternoon session. Lunch will be served at 1pm in the hotel.

Improving your Painting at Gliffaes

25th and 26th April 2013

The School of Education and Lifelong Learning, Aberystwyth University is delighted to collaborate with Gliffaes Country Hotel in delivering a two day art course using the beautiful grounds and surroundings of Gliffaes.

Who will be teaching?

Your tutor will be Tessa Waite who a highly regarded Lifelong Learning tutor, with a great deal of experience of teaching on location.

What will I be taught?

This is a 5 credit course which is always taught on location. Accredited at Higher Education Level One, it is tailored for all adults.  The beauty of our art courses is that they are kept at small numbers so that you get individual attention tailored to your needs.

You will learn how to hone your compositional skills, look at line, tone and form and make a personal response to the gardens of Gliffaes. The ethos of the course is to work ‘en plein air’ with guidance from your tutor.

What do I need to bring?

The course fee covers access to the grounds, lunch and a sketchbook. You will need to provide something to sit on, a sketchbook, paints and a water pot.

What if the weather is not good?

If necessary, we have an option to retreat indoors at the venue.

What does the course cost?

The course costs just £70 for the two days, which includes a light lunch on both days.

Food and Accommodation

Lunch (soup and homemade roll) will be included in the cost of your course. Gliffaes are offering a special deal for dinner, bed and breakfast of £130 in a single room for the evening of 25^th April (or £115 in a shared room). You don’t have to stay at the hotel to come on the course.

For further information, contact: learning@aber.ac.uk or call (01970) 621580

FREE – Early Season Casting Clinic – Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March 2013

March 11th – We have been forced to cancel this event due to unforeseen circumstances. Apologies.

Fishing season starts on the Usk on March 3rd. With all the rain we have had the river is looking in good shape. But, what sort of shape is your fly casting in?

Fancy having the kinks ironed out of your technique, by an expert for free, with a free lunch thrown in as well? Oh, and you will be able to try out some new rods and fly lines as well.

Gliffaes Hotel and Frank Williams (an APGAI qualified fly fishing instructor ,Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructor) have teamed up for an early season weekend of free demonstrations, one to one help and instruction. We would love to have you along.

Come along, with your fly rod, on either day between 10am and 4pm and have your casting technique ironed out by Frank on the lawn at Gliffaes. He will also have a selection of new rods and fly lines that you might like to try as well. If you are interested in coming on any of our fly fishing courses this will be the chance to ask any questions or perhaps book Frank for a day’s one to one guiding or instruction.

There will be a free light lunch on offer between 1 and 2pm. Please ring us to let us know that you would like to attend and on what day. 01874 730 371 or send us a message using the form below. Places are limited and strictly on a first come, first served basis and must be pre-booked.

Hedge row Guru Adele Nozedar - picture courtesy of the Daliy Telegraph

Take a Look at the Wild Side of the Gliffaes Garden

Foraging Walk and Lunch led by Adele Nozedar – Saturday 20th April 2013

At first glance, the tranquil acres surrounding Gliffaes Country House Hotel appear to be a carefully-tended paradise of manicured lawns, specifically-chosen plants and exquisite rare trees. And you’d be right in thinking this.

However…take a step beyond the sculpted beauty of the cultivated gardens, and you’ll find that there’s a fascinating and untamed side to Gliffaes. The successive generations that have loved this house and its grounds have allowed nature to do its own thing, too, and so there is also a Secret Garden, a garden, full of unexpected and wild delights.

In the company of forager Adele Nozedar (author of The Hedgerow Handbook) come and explore the untamed side of Gliffaes, learn about plant identification, and be surprised at the qualities of some of our more common – and possibly uncommon – wild plants.

Says Adele;

‘For me, foraging is a very philosophical pursuit. As Elizabeth Taylor said of her priceless jewels, ‘It’s not the having, but the getting’. We have no idea what we’ll find at Gliffaes; we do know, though, that if we like spectacular scenery, a wander with like-minded people and the chance to look at the world in a slightly different way, then we’ll be happy’.

Meet at Gliffaes at 10.30 on 20th April for a 2 hour ramble followed by a lunch including foraged ingredients. After lunch, Susie Suter will give a short talk about the story of Gliffaes, and Adele will tell you more about the intriguing history of our often-overlooked hedgerows.

You’ll need decent footwear (wellies are always a good bet) and clothing suitable for the weather (ie. bring a water proof jacket in the hope that you won’t need it). You might also like to bring a camera and a note book to help remember the plants you’ll be learning about.

Places limited, Book Now

If you would like to come please call the hotel on 01874 730 371 or send us an email via the form on the contact us page.

Adults £15 each including a light lunch and children under 16 £5.  No dogs please. We look forward to seeing you.

What the well dressed hotelier wears on holiday.

Busman’s Holiday at Gliffaes

The hotel has re-opened after a four week closure, everyone is back rested and rearing to go. Painting, tiling, electrical testing, deep cleaning, new computer servers installed, tarmacking and general repairs finished….well almost. Maintaining an old building is on-going and we are already working out the next priorities, the first of which is the roof.

Many guests ask Susie and I where we went for our holidays expecting to hear that we jetted off to the southern hemisphere for some re-charging sun. South Africa, my childhood home, is usually top of our list. However, this year we stayed at Gliffaes for two reasons. The first being financial, the extensive works to our drains in 2012 did not leave a lot of slack in the bank for foreign holidays! The second reason is that for some time I have wanted to put some real time and effort into the trees and woodland surrounding the hotel.

If you go down to the Woods today

With the help of Julian Jones, our gardener, and two tree surgeons we chopped, sawed and chipped our way through an enormous amount of work. We removed several Wild Cherry trees well past their best, we coppiced Hazel and removed much Sycamore and Laurel as well as stripping back ivy from a couple of big trees. Sycamore is targeted by grey squirrels and their constant gnawing ensures that the trees never grow straight and true. We spent two days in and around a huge Cedar of Lebanon to the west of the terrace removing years of dead fall. We also cut back a large thicket of Blackthorn that was hiding the tree beauty of truly ancient oak tree. I hope that you will notice what we have done when you next visit and I will be more than happy to show anyone what we have done. I think we will see many more wild flowers, like bluebells, coming through this spring as a result of opening up the canopy. I now have a lot of firewood to split and stack!

Wild Cherry cut and stacked ready for removal.

The doors are now well and truly open, Susie and I and all at Gliffaes are looking forward to welcoming friends old and new in 2013.

Village of Volpaia, surrounded by vines and olive trees.

Tuscan Wine Tasting and Dinner – Saturday 16th February 2013 – NO MORE PLACES

Four course dinner  and a different Tuscan wine with each course.

Following on from previous successful wine evenings we are repeating the formula but moving the wine focus to another part of the wine producing world. This time  it is Tuscany we are visting. Susie and I went to Tuscany in October last for just under a week and I fell in love (again) with Sangiovese, the principal red grape of west-central Italy. Tuscany is home to some of the world’s best full, rich reds in the shape of  Brunello di Montalchino and Chianti as well as refreshing white wines like Vermentino.

With the help of Patrick Pigny from Enotria, Italian Wine specialists and Carl Cheetham, head chef at Gliffaes we have put together a Tuscan influenced dinner. Each course will be accompanied by a different Tuscan wine. The evening will start with a suitable Tuscan aperitif and some canapés before Patrick introduces each wine with each course. A little learning, a little wine and some good food just about sums up the evening.

This will be a set dinner so please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

Have some Italian Sunshine in February

Come and stay for the weekend or just the Saturday night and brighten up the dull month of February with a lovely evening of good food, great wine and friendly company. Why not try and convince some friends to come with you? We will sit everyone on round tables of 6-8 settings and we hope for around 48 dinners. The cost per head is £65 which includes dinner and wine.  Any wine you taste can be ordered on the night.

Timings: 7.30pm arrive for drinks and canapés and we will hope to eat at around 8pm.

What room options do I have? It sounds like I should stay the night.

You can check prices, availability and book here or call us on 01874 730 371. Please, please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

Rooms available for the 16th Feb 2013 – rates are per room per night for B&B.

Large doubles with river view £179 (normally £225)

Large doubles with garden view £164 (normally £206)

Standard doubles £135 (normally £170)

Small doubles £108