Roomours Hotel

An adults-only hotel at the foot of the Great Orme

Roomours is at 36 Church Walks, a quiet street of big Victorian houses that runs along the bottom of the Great Orme in Llandudno. It is adults only, it has ten rooms, and it has its own car park — which in Llandudno in August is worth rather more than it sounds.

Guests on Booking.com give it 9.5 out of 10 from over a thousand reviews, and breakfast is the thing they mention most.

The rooms

There are ten, all en-suite, and they come two ways. Eight are king rooms with a 5ft bed and a bathroom with a bath and an overhead shower. Two are doubles with a 4ft 6in bed and a walk-in shower. Four of the kings are on the first floor and four on the second, and the two doubles have one on each floor.

There is no lift. If stairs are difficult, say so when you ring and they will put you on the first floor.

Every room is kitted out the same. There is a television, free WiFi, a hairdryer, non-feather pillows and a heated towel rail. The kettle comes with tea, coffee, hot chocolate and biscuits. There is a dressing table with a mirror and a stool, a French chateau wardrobe with a full-length mirror, and a chandelier overhead. An iron and board come out on request.

Breakfast, the lounge and the bar

Breakfast is a proper cooked one, served in a big dining room with a wooden floor and a bay window looking out on the street. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free versions are all done, so say what you want the night before.

There is a snug lounge with sofas that stays open all day, a bar, and a terrace to sit out on. The lounge is the reason people book the place for a group — ten rooms and somewhere for everyone to end up in the evening.

Why Church Walks is the address to have

One specific reason: the Great Orme Tramway starts on it. Victoria Station is at the bottom of the street, and the trams have been hauling themselves up to the summit on a cable since 1902. It is the last cable-hauled street tramway in Britain. You walk to it from the front door in a couple of minutes, instead of hunting for somewhere to leave the car.

Llandudno Pier is about nine minutes on foot and the North Shore beach is under a kilometre away, so the promenade, the paddling and the fish and chips are all walkable. Venue Cymru, which brings the touring shows and concerts to North Wales, is along the same seafront.

On the far side of the headland, West Shore is the quieter beach. It looks across the estuary to the hills, and it is the one that catches the sunset.

To go up the Orme rather than round it, the Llandudno Cable Car runs from Happy Valley. Near the summit, the Great Orme Copper Mines are a Bronze Age working you can walk down into.

Further out, Conwy Castle is fifteen minutes by car and Bodnant Garden about twenty-five. The edge of Eryri — Snowdonia — is close enough that you can be walking in it before mid-morning.

Good to know

• Adults only. No children, and pets are not among the facilities the hotel lists.
• Check in between 3.00pm and 8.30pm. If you are going to be later than that, ring ahead — the phone is answered until 10pm.
• Parking is free and on site, which is unusual this close to the promenade.
• Prices start at about £125 a night for a standard double for two, based on March, the cheapest time of year. A week works out at the same nightly rate, so there is no saving in staying longer.
• Book direct on 01492 709945 and they will apply discounts that are not available through the booking sites.