🥂 Luxury self-catering accommodation | 🛌 Sleeps 8 | 🌊 Stunning sea views | Tried & Tested
Great for girly weekend or hen weekend
Why we love WoodLea Llansteffan for a weekend
It’s not the fact that Dylan Thomas used to stumble along the drive outside WoodLea. It’s not even its knockout views of Llansteffan Castle and Llansteffan Beach. It’s the enormity of the Welsh heart that wraps around this former family home that makes it special. This is a house of sunshine; one that brings you closer together through life’s most precious gifts: laughter, friendship and joy.
For a peaceful, private base on the West Welsh coast, where you and your friends can enjoy quality time together, WoodLea accommodation in Llansteffan comes up trumps. This large, modern holiday home is set in a sea of privately-owned land, on a gentle hill in Llansteffan. It comes with a huge garden that runs around the house, where you can all sit on the patio chatting happily under vast Welsh skies, drinking up the 360° views. And boy, the views from WoodLea are worth taking in.
The Location
From this prime spot, raised slightly above the River Tywi, you can see for miles. In front of you, the ruins of Llansteffan Castle rise between the trees on the valley opposite. To your left, the enormous sweep of Llansteffan Beach runs and runs until it meets the sea and staggeringly beautiful Scott’s Bay.
When you want to get your feet sandy and fill your lungs with sea air, it takes only 3 or 4 minutes to reach Llansteffan Beach from WoodLea. Simply follow the private path through the neighbouring field, picking up a locally-roasted coffee on the way from the pop-up pod, Coastal Delights.
On your girls’ weekend here, you can walk to the beach to see the wading birds; you can meander up to the castle for sundowners; you can mooch around Llansteffan village, with its pretty church and two friendly pubs (Inn at the Sticks and The Castle Inn). Or you can catch the amphibious boat across the Tywi Estuary to Ferryside for a change of gorgeous scenery. WoodLea gives you effortless access to it all.
Should you want to see Dylan Thomas’s home (The Boathouse in Laugharne), you can. It’s only a 20 min drive away. Although for a connection to Wales’ most famous poet, you don’t actually have to leave WoodLea. As Angela or Rod, the accommodation’s proud owners, will tell you:
Dylan Thomas walked WoodLea’s drive many, many times when it used to lead a hotel called the Cottage Hotel (no longer, sadly, standing) and the bar he used to drink at.
The Inside
Inside, WoodLea is an immaculate, spacious home that’s flooded with natural light and fitted with weekend-making luxuries. The property used to belong to Angela’s grandmother; so it holds a very precious spot in the family’s heart.
Indeed, the home’s meticulous modernisation has been done with bountiful pride and generosity by Angela and Rod. Their tenderness for its past memories are in the plasterwork. It’s why WoodLea feels like a home – and you feel like a member of its family.
The fittings are high-end; the furnishings are expensive; the personal touches show genuine thoughtfulness: Angela has a slow cooker in the kitchen for you to use as well as one of her favourite recipe books. Her thinking? Pop it on in the morning and you’ll have something delicious to return home to after a day exploring Llansteffan.
The kitchen is a grand affair – just the thing for a group stay – with a large dining table, all the cooking appliances you need, and plenty of plates, cups, and glasses to accommodate you all. The main bathroom is blissfully spacious for a family or group to share, with a powerful large shower and super tub to sink into.
The lounge is a sun-filled joy thanks to the huge floor-to-ceiling patio doors that bring the blues and greens of the West Welsh coast rushing in. It’s naturally the heart of the home, where you can laze together with the doors rolled back and the fresh air rolling in. There are books, games and magazines provided, a Bluetooth radio/speaker, and blankets for snuggling under when the mood takes you.
And when it’s time for bed, you all have uber-comfy beds to fall into: WoodLea has 4 large double bedrooms (one is ensuite) with 5 beds, sleeping up to 8. The beds are soft and delightful (made up with some of the best bed linen we’ve slept under) and the rooms are as neat, tidy and welcoming as a fine hotel (with smart TVs, fresh towels and hairdryers).
In the morning, as the air stirs with the sound of sea birds, make yourself a brew and sneak out onto the patio to watch the estuary wake up. But don’t disturb the rest of the crew – this is a moment you’ll want to savour all on your own.
The Essentials
- Minimum 3 nights stay, from £280pn
- Sleeps up to 8 (4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms), infants and children welcome
- Plenty of parking for more than one car on the large driveway
- Direct access to the beach through the private fields
- Complimentary Welsh welcome hamper
- Friendly owners who’ll gladly share the best local spots and places to visit
- Large garden with patio furniture, BBQ, and sun loungers
- WoodLea is all on one level
- No pets allowed
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