6 Best places to stay in Snowdonia National Park

If you enjoyed Caernarfon Castle’s starring role in The Crown, then Grade II-listed Plas Dinas not only makes for a great base nearby, but also boasts its own royal connections: it’s the family home of Lord Snowdon, who married HRH Princess Margaret in 1961.

This is truly a hotel fit for a princess with lavish rooms and fine dining in the Gunroom Restaurant (with 2 Michelin rosettes), making for a genteel break in stylish surroundings. The signature Snowdon’s Afternoon Tea is the epitome of timeless style.

As well as the main hotel, there are three cosy, self-catering cottages for multi-generational escapes. While the hotel is aimed primarily at couples, families are welcome in the cottages.

They’ve recently won Best Hotel at the North Wales Tourism Awards for the second year running, the Go Food and Drink Award at the North Wales Tourism Awards, and the Editors Choice Historic Award at the Good Hotel Guide.

A home-from-home escape in style is the order of the day at this Victorian mansion, located towards the quieter southern fringe of the Snowdonia National Park. It’s family run and feels very homely.

Set in a 21-acre estate, the vibe is relaxed reading in the wood-panelled drawing room and gentle strolling around the grounds to the sunken rose garden. Plus, of course, traditional-styled rooms and great local flavours on the menu.

The hotel boasts a gloriously rural setting near the village of Penmaenpool, ensuring fab views from the hotel’s conservatory and plenty of countryside tranquillity.

Expect a cosy, home-from-home vibe at this adults-only boutique guesthouse nestled into the heart of Betws-y-Coed’s main thoroughfare, with comfy contemporary rooms and great local cooking.

The big draw is the home-cooked food, the Welsh tapas menu bringing a local-pride flavour to a series of Mediterranean small plates.

A large selection of artisan Welsh gins adds to the appeal for a celebratory nightcap.

Appealing to families and fans of nearby adventure sports activities, it represents a good-value base to explore Snowdonia.

It’s also a peaceful overnight stop to enjoy Betws once the coach parties have trundled off late afternoon.

It’s the full Downton Abbey experience at this luxurious, stately pile in the North Wales countryside.

Think sumptuous rooms, sumptuous food, and the kind of unobtrusive service that only comes naturally to a first-class establishment.

There’s a sense of history, too, including the Victoria Room, where Queen Victoria stayed in 1889.

If you can drag yourself away, then country pursuits include walks in the wilder, less-visited Berwyn Mountains on the doorstep.

Notably, this is Wales’ first Michelin Green Star-awarded hotel for its environment-first ethos. For example, expect free electric vehicle charging points and a menu based around seasonality.

Combining heritage with high jinks, this boutique hotel brings a touch of luxury to the lunar landscape of the former Llechwedd quarry near Blaenau Ffestiniog.

It’s a useful base to explore the wider region, sitting at the centre of Wales’ latest UNESCO World Heritage Site. The hotel has been tastefully converted from the former 19th-century residence of the quarry founder, by John Whitehead Greaves.

It’s a family-friendly place with 24 stylish rooms, plus a restaurant and bar with décor to reflect its historic past.

There are also glamping safari tents (sleeps four or five people), and new off-grid shepherd’s huts, for a more rustic experience.

There’s a buzz around Adventure Parc Snowdonia, the artificial surf reef and activity centre in the Conwy Valley. That has only been accentuated with the opening of its new hotel and spa, the Hilton Garden Inn.

The hotel has rooms overlooks the inland surf lagoon and customers have direct access to existing Parc activities. The accompanying Wave Garden Spa offers treatments and a wellness space on a thalassotherapy motif.

It’s a contemporary, activity-based stay for families and thrill seekers in the rural Cowny Valley.