Hurst House on the Marsh
Carmarthen Bay, United Kingdom [view map]
- Style
- Contemporary countryside clubhouse
- Setting
- Lost in Wales
Hurst House was once a farm estate, but, thanks to a multimillion pound overhaul, you'd never know that now. Its handsome chrome-and-glass bar looks like an art installation on loan from Tate Modern for starters…
Need to know
- Rooms
- 20 suites, including six Mezzanine rooms.
- Rates
- £285–£335, including full Welsh breakfast.
- Check-out
- Midday, although this is flexible; earliest check-in, midday.
- Facilities
- Helipad, library of books and DVDs. Spa, gym and heated indoor pool from January 2009. In rooms, Bang & Olufsen sound system, iPod dock, flatscreen TV, DVD player, free WiFi, Frette linen, underfloor heating, REN toiletries.
- Children
- Welcome, but no special provisions. Extra beds and cots available (no charge). Babysitting can be arranged.
- Also
- Opening in autumn 2008, the spa's bespoke-treatment menu will list massage, beauty therapy and holistic remedies, such as reiki, and features luxury products, including the Organic Pharmacy range. The car-weary will appreciate the valet parking.
In the know
- Our favourite rooms
- Each room contains a kingsize-or-larger antique Indian or Lombok bed. We love Room 104, in the main house’s attic, for its evocative estuary views. Room 106 has a roll-top bath and wood-burning stove, which comes into its own in winter. Families or groups of friends should book the self-contained, four-bedroom Byre.
- Packing tips
- Welsh-English dictionary.
- Also
- Hurst House can arrange clay-pigeon shooting and quad biking, among other activities.
Food & drink
- Hotel restaurant
- Pass through towering Moroccan hand-carved doors into the expansive Hurst House restaurant to sample star chef Michael Bates' Modern British cuisine. Local produce’s the thing here: expect lashings of salt marsh lamb and sea trout.
- Dress code
- Be extraordinary... anything goes, especially if it can be layered (this is the coast, after all).
- Top table
- Pick any window table for tranquil views over the walled garden, where many of your greens will have grown.
- Last orders
- The restaurant is open for breakfast from 7am to 11am; last orders, 10.30pm.
- Room service
- A 24-hour, reduced-menu service and snack menu springs into action between meal times. If you’d rather laze low, breakfast – or even afternoon tea – can be taken in bed.
- Hotel bar
- A homely and relaxing oak-floored space that juxtaposes a landed-gentry fireplace (ideal for lolling beside with a tumbler of whisky) and dark tan leather sofas with a contemporary-cool bar layered with chrome and stained glass.
Smith card offer A 20 per cent discount on room rates
If you're a member of Mr & Mrs Smith, you can get special privileges at every Smith hotel you book through us. Just show your Smith card at check-in to claim the offer featured on every hotel page (like the one above).
Not a member? Join now
Smith concierge
If you’d prefer to talk to someone, or you’re having trouble booking online, ring our travel team on 0845 034 0700 (+44 20 8987 4312 from outside the UK). We guarantee you’ll get the best available rates, and we don’t charge a booking fee.
Hurst House on the Marsh
East Marsh, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire SA33 4RS