The Hand Hotel

(I used the hotel as a single for one night whilst walking Offa's Dyke Path). A major plus of the hotel is its central location in Llangollen and its large private parking area. The hotel were also fine with me leaving the car there for the day I checked out, whilst I was walking (thank you). Check-in was smooth and welcoming. The room was a good size with comfortable bed and plenty of wardrobe space etc. (and my room looked out over the Dee river). Wifi was fine for normal email and website access - I didn't try streaming stuff over it. The absolute surprise and star attraction after a long, hot, day's walking was the riverside terrace balcony with outdoor bar! A cold beer in the early evening sun, high above the Dee was lovely. The cooked breakfast was good - don't know about the extent of continental-style options.

The hotel is definitely "old style" with some faded decor - absolutely not a problem per se, but the water pressure in the shower was a bit weak which may be something to do with the age of the plumbing.

The location, room and breakfast were all lovely.

When we arrived we were directed to pay again. I insisted that we had paid through Booking.com but the staff member was equally insistent. I showed emails, receipts and credit card statement proving that we had already paid, the staff member again insisted that I had to pay. Eventually the manager was summoned who sorted it out but there wasn't even an apology from either for the embarrassing error. I felt like we were a problem. If I hadn't insisted that we had already paid, or forgotten that I'd paid l, we would have been charged twice, which is very worrying and makes me wonder if this has happened to myself or others before.

Excellent views from our room which had 2 windows with different aspects,- one facing the River Dee and the other of the church. The photos were taken from our window. Very clean room. Comfortable bed. Plenty of tea bags/coffee sachets/milk supplied. Lovely garden area alongside the River Dee. Pleasant seating area with sunshades and potted flowers at the rear entrance.

We had a superior room on the very top floor which was a lovely room, but the washbasin was in the room & not in the bathroom! Temperature of the shower could be difficult to balance so need to take care! Wi-Fi did not work in our room but 4G did. Bear in mind that the hotel does not have any lifts.

The breakfast was excellent - choice of hot food, cereals, tea/coffee, juices, fresh fruit, toast and preserves, local yogurts, This is the second time we have stayed at the hotel and note that the room where breakfast is served is not really accessible to residents with mobility problems like my partner. There are stairs. We choose to eat at a table set out in the bar area and I fetch what we want to eat. One morning we wanted hash browns with our breakfast - the chef asked how many we wanted and within minutes brought them to the table. That's service for you! We also liked the hours for breakfast - 7.30-9.30am. I understand continental breakfasts can be requested for very early risers. Our room over-looking the riverside, as requested, was spacious. The bed was very comfortable. The tea and coffee making facilities were welcome with a good stock of tea bags, coffee sachets and milk. No biscuits this time - there is a cost of living crisis so the hotel is obviously tightening its belt and helping to reduce our waistlines! The en suite was basic but functional with clean towels available when necessary. We believe the location is the Hand Hotel's biggest selling point so close to the town centre and attactions, boasting a large car park and ideal to get around the local area on foot or on public transport. As regards evening meals, during our stay they were a bit hit and miss. The night we arrived the kitchen was closed. The menu was very limited on the second evening and on the final night of our stay we enjoyed tasty bar snacks. The bar service was very good with beers and wines meeting our approval. Hotel staff were generally pleasant and helpful, making our stay an enjoyable one that we would recommend. Llangollen is such a relaxing place.

The evening meal menu - it could be more varied. I suppose it depends on demand.

This lovely hotel has everything we needed and in a beautiful location. Lovely view of the River Dee from side rooms and the bar, breakfast room and beer garden. The hotel is dated in places but it adds to its charm. Everything is tidy and clean and the room was exactly as described. Breakfast was fab. We ordered food from the bar one evening and it was lovely and kids meals were a great size. All staff were very helpful and approachable. Bed linen lovely. Car parking good. Wider group attended the live music on Saturday night and loved it. This is our third time at the Hand Hotel and we will definitely be back again.

There's no lift, but that wasn't too much of an issue for us.

Great pub with a fantastic beer garden and hotel rooms. Looks like some rooms are actually in adjacent buildings but ours was in the pub itself, really spacious with a very comfortable bed and an amazing window view. Staff were really nice and the hotel is right in the centre.

Breakfast was a bit basic and old-fashioned, the hot choices being bacon/sausages and some almost cremated fried eggs and sliced bread for toasting, no vegetarian sausages or hash brown / potato products, no fruit (aside from some tinned grapefruit and prunes) or croissants / rolls etc.

Staff very helpful. I arrived by cycle and they accommodated this inside the hotel. The room was smallish however it was only a single and adequate for a single night. Clean throughout. Breakfast excellent - buffet style so could have as much or little as wanted and good selection. Evening meal OK. Standard 'pub' type menu and fair quality though not exceptional.

My bi grump (and I fully appreciate many will not think this an issue) was the bar. There is only normally a single beer on handpull and this had run out. Of the remaining keg beers, the only one with any flavour ran out after my first drink. So if you like a real beer, go somewhere else for your dinner.

Breakfast was very good. The location was excellent, all of the staff were great. Unfortunately we probably won’t be coming back purely because of the access difficulties.

I accept that a lift isn’t possible because of the age of the building, however I think a little more thought could be given to accessibility. Grab rails could be placed in the bathroom enabling access to the shower much easier for those of us with health issues. Maybe you could extend the hand rails to go all the way up the stairs instead of stopping at the step before last, I struggled with that.

The room, the hotel itself and the staff were very helpful. A really nice hotel.

Our room overlooked the car park. There was outside seating. The weather was hot so we had to have the window open a little. Guests were sitting outside at the tables by the car park laughing and talking until 12.45 at night. They then went into the hotel. 10 minutes later at 1.10am two people came out of the hotel with their suitcases on wheels. They could not get their car out so came back into the hotel and two men came out with them to move their van out of the way. These two men then came back into the hotel and talked out loud along the corridor back to their bedroom. Cars have to double park in the car park. Too much going on in the car park and at the seating outside so cannot get any sleep in a room overlooking the car park.

Breakfast was excellent. Good quality food and plenty of it. Strong coffee. Location was one minute from town centre, right by the river Dee.

Shower cubicle was very small, made smaller by the intrusion of the shower curtain. Would have been better with a glass door. Shower control was very stiff and hyper sensitive. One-ply toilet paper was a joke. It is false economy to use this kind of paper as three-ply would have been much better and less wasteful.