Twr y Felin and Blas Restaurant, St Davids Hotel Review

There’s something peculiarly British about our fondness for the little things. I mean this quite literally, by the way. 

Travel around the country enough, and you’ll come across numerous examples that pull in tourists from far and wide: There’s Newcastle’s gin closet, a boutique bar housed in a former public bathroom. The smallest house in Britain is tucked into a terrace in Conwy, and it draws a crowd all throughout the year. There’s even a miniscule church built into a Cambridgeshire bridge that’s regularly featured on must-see sights when in the county – we’re a nation that champions the smallest of underdogs, precisely because of the delight that arises when such places punch well above their weight. 

Twr y Felin Hotel on the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast

St. Davids in Pembrokeshire – arguably Wales’ most picturesque region, where the Atlantic has carved its name over the millennia into jagged cliffs and broad sandy beaches – is a fabulous case in point. The UK’s smallest city feels barely larger than many hamlets, but its magnificent cathedral, tumbledown streets of independent shops, pretty pubs and winding lanes leading invariably to the sea exudes quite the allure. On this May bank holiday weekend, it was buzzing with curious daytrippers and tourists, including myself and my wife who’d been invited to check out Twr y Felin hotel, St Davids’ wonderfully quirky luxury spa hotel. 

Arriving at St Davids’ Unique Art Hotel

The artful Oriel Lounge

Set a mere five-minute walk from the centre of the city, Twr y Felin is located in a pair of historic buildings – one used to be a windmill, apparently, and the ornate tower can be seen from some distance away – set at the end of a winding driveway. It’s an impressive locale, and the gateway is festooned with an impressive list of accolades to welcome you into its embrace. There are three AA rosettes on the door, a quartet of Welsh stars, a selection of framed awards from various institutions. However, it very quickly becomes apparent that this isn’t a run-of-the-mill luxury accommodation of the sort I’ve recently written about being tired of, but rather a self-styled ‘art hotel’ that really leans into its own creativity and dedication to colour and vibrancy. 

Canvases covering every spare inch

After a friendly check-in encounter, guests walk into a large bar area packed to the hilt with dense greenery and towering houseplants, and every surface of every wall is displaying large canvases of contemporary artworks. There are expressionistic interpretations of local landscapes, paintings depicting immersive masses of foliage. You walk past geometric fantasias of neoplasticist minimalism, knobbly and textural abstractions, pop-esque portraits of Welsh legends — hundreds and hundreds of paintings and a smattering of sculptures, all jostling for attention and refusing to allow for any semblance of boredom or the ever-creeping onslaught of beige, uninspired attempts at universal opulence. 

It’s all rather thrilling, not least because it’s not what you’d expect in a city so cut off from, well, pretty much everywhere. 

An Array of Perfectly-Judged Amenities

I’m never one to shy away from a riot of colour and form, but I’m actually a little relieved to discover that the essence of eccentricity doesn’t quite extend to the accommodation. My room – the 400 square foot ‘Oriel Unique’ – is just a really, really pleasant place to spend some time.

The Oriel Unique room, a dog-friendly hotel room in St Davids

A massive bed, a sizeable bathroom with a bathtub and separate shower, a place to sit and a small veranda which backs onto a field featuring a couple of local horses; it’s a tasteful and comfortable retreat, and comes with a few pleasing additions such as local coffee pods (far tastier than Nespresso and free from the haunted presence of a contract-trapped George Clooney) and fresh milk in a glass bottle. There are delicious Welsh shortbread biscuits and locally-produced chocolates, too. I was a happy man indeed (and my wife, who immediately judges a hotel room by the practicality of the bathroom, gave it a solid stamp of her hard-won approval, too). 

A lovingly-crafted space to relax, the Awen Spa

Twr y Felin promotes itself as a spa hotel, and I was curious to dive into what was on offer in the small but perfectly formed Awen Spa tucked to one side of the bar. Guests wishing to use the facilities are invited to book an hour-long slot, which works well in the hotel’s favour – it means the spa, which features a deep 40 degree bath, an infra-red sauna, a small steam room and a relaxation area, can be enjoyed privately. I spent the full hour completely naked (I didn’t spend all that time in Finland for nothing) and in silence, and would happily spend the additional £50 to do it again. An array of massage and beauty treatments, each with an emphasis on local products and ingredients, can be booked in advance. 

A Celebration of Local Flavours at Blas Restaurant

At the heart of Twr y Felin hotel is Blas Restaurant (blas is the Welsh word for ‘taste’), which acts as both the breakfast area and the hotel’s fine dining establishment. Headed by the newly-promoted duo of Dan Slipakiv and Gareth Evans, Blas Restaurant is all about taking local and foraged ingredients – with a real emphasis on locally-sourced fish and seafood – and showcasing a refined perspective on the flavours of the Pembrokeshire coast. 

Blas Restaurant, where locally-sourced and foraged flavours abound

Solva crab starter at Blas Restaurant

I had been quite excited about visiting Blas Restaurant for several weeks, and there were plenty of clues leading up to our stay to suggest that we were in for a good time. Firstly, it was really hard to pin down what would be on the menu before our arrival: there were several versions floating around the labyrinth of the internet, suggesting that what’s on offer on any given day was primarily dictated by the morning’s catch and whatever had been foraged that week. 

Starters of Solva crab with fennel and cured sea trout with roe were a bracing and vibrant pair of winners. The picked white crab meat was up there with the best I’d had in a long time (I’ll always choose crab over lobster – that touch of funk always wins over uniform sweetness) and the trout was deftly processed by a team that clearly understands the brief of making an ingredient taste effortlessly like itself. 

A main course of baked cod further demonstrated some brilliant fish cookery; pearlescent and flaky, it sat atop a disc of fondant celeriac and a smooth beurre blanc sauce, given briny crunch by a couple of tips of samphire and sea purslane. Best of all, there were small hunks of smoked eel placed here and there, adding real heft to the dish and deeply satisfying flavour profile.

Baked cod with celeriac, smoked eel and sea vegetables

The roast turbot main was, again, cooked technically perfectly. However, it was arguably a little too delicate and lacked the same punch of flavour, despite coming with a vermouth sauce and cider gel that helped lift the dish as a whole. It’s a dish you admire more than crave – yet regardless, if you’re looking for fresh, local fish cooked by chefs who clearly know how to get the best out of their produce, Blas Restaurant is a superb place to scratch that itch. 

The restaurant also has a grill menu, where those less pescetarian-inclined can order lamb rump and beef fillet with pink fir potatoes. There are vegetarian options including roasted hen of the woods mushroom (surely the British forager’s most prized find) and a risotto of seasonal wild garlic. I’ve no doubt they’re all delicious, but when I can see the sea from my window, I want something with fins and/or an exoskeleton on my plate, and I wasn’t disappointed. 

The best rhubarb and custard interpretation I’ve eaten

Now, I’m not much of a dessert person, and I’d normally end such a meal with a cheese board (and Blas Restaurant does offer a tempting-looking cheese board, featuring a trio of local dairy treasures). However, I’m powerless in the face of a good rhubarb pudding, and the kitchen team’s rhubarb creation – essentially a very elevated rhubarb and custard – was quite possibly the dish of the evening. Rich, decadent, cut through with that bright pink oh-so-British oh-so-seasonal acidity and topped with a duvet of vanilla-speckled custard cream, I could have eaten three in a row. 

Overall, Blas Restaurant lived up to its promise. If I could offer any suggestions for improvement, it wouldn’t be regarding the cookery or the plating, both of which were – on the whole – punching well above their weight. It would, however, be regarding the ambience: in the evening, the restaurant never quite sheds its daytime identity or how it feels at breakfast (which is a very good a la carte breakfast, boasting some of the best smoked salmon I’d had in a long time and a range of excellent pastries and locally-made jam). It’s bright and white, and thus lacking a little of the romance and vibes the evening menu deserves. With the lights turned down a little and with a couple of candles placed on the table, I can see it taking an already high standard to truly spectacular levels of memorability.

A Coastal Hotel Well Worth the Journey

A dramatic moment in Pembrokeshire. I’ll be back.

Twr y Felin Hotel isn’t the easiest place in the world to get to – if you’re planning on coming via public transport, plan your journey carefully. Buses aren’t commonplace in this part of the world, and the nearest train station is a solid half-hour taxi ride away should you find yourself in the evening. 

However, its remoteness works solidly in its favour, and it’s what draws people to St Davids as a whole. It’s cut off from the wider world, at the mercy of the elements and home to some of this island’s most stunning coastal scenery. It’s a place of pilgrimage, bestowed with a sense that you’re a long way from whatever you’ve left behind for a day, a weekend or longer. At The Last Concierge Magazine, we set ourselves a mission to seek out hidden gems of what we refer to as ‘accessible luxury’, and Twr y Felin hits all the right notes in this regard. A warm welcome, exceptional flavours, attention to detail and flashes of the unusual and unforgettable all abound in this historic landmark hotel, and it’s hard to imagine anywhere better in the UK to end a long and winding drive or a slightly arduous journey by train, bus and cab. 

Here’s to celebrating the little things that leave the biggest impact, and long may they continue to impress and amaze. Book your stay at Twr y Felin here.