Llandudno (Wales) > Reviews > The Bright Side Of Our Holiday

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Sightseeing
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around

Advantages:	Plenty of shops to look at, loads of hotels and guest houses, loads of Churches
Disadvantages:	Very expensive, Very wet and windy, Need loads of money

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

As some of you here at Ciao have read my review on Conwy I decided to write a review on Lladudno (pronounced Clandidno).

We only spent one day in Llandudno and if we'd have known what it was like when we stayed there then we would have stayed there for the remainder of our holiday.

We stayed on Chapel Street in a really nice, clean guest house called Hafan Y Mor Guest House. The room was spotless clean as was the rest of the guest house. The only comment I have to make was that the walls were paper thin and you could hear everything.

The people were really friendly in the guest house and really welcoming. The guests who we met were equally so. We stayed in a room that wasn't ensuite as we were staying only one night before moving onto Conwy. The bathroom and toilet were also exceptionally clean.

The breakfast in the morning was well presented. I didn't have a fry up although you could have one if you wanted, but because I had sickness and diarrhoea I only had a yoghurt and a piece of toast.

There is everything you could want in Llandudno including, pubs, shops, cafe's, Churches, guest houses, banks and more.

The only comment I have to make is what I said in my previous review the majority of the people were cold and unwelcoming. Even in the cafes many of the waitresses seemed pushed to serve us.

Llandudno was the positive part of our holiday. Though the weather was wet we could stand it because we were in and out of the shops constantly. My haven was all the charity shops. There was about 18 in total. Although I have to comment that the prices were extortionate for charity shops.

You could pay more than you would in the shops for some things which I know it's going to a good cause, but the other thing about charity shops is that you usually find a bargain or two. My main reason for shopping in charity shops is the good cause, but there are bonuses like top make clothes for less. This didn't seem to be the case in Lladudno charity shops and I think they got on to the fact that Llandudno was the tourist's place.

We popped into the tourism office in Llandudno whilst we were there and they were very helpful. The Llandudno Tourist Information Centre is on Chapel Street. Our enquiry was about the Churches in the district and the lady gave us a long list to look through.

I know in my last review I gave Wales a bit of a bad name, but there were some good points. I just think we made a mistake by staying a long way from any main attractions so that we had to get the bus which cost a lot. Plus because we had to travel by public transport we couldn't really relax. The other mistake we made was the time of year we chose the weather was dismal. Then there was the fact that you need a good week at least to explore the area as well as lots of money.

Like I say there were good memories in amongst me being ill and getting rained upon. Llandudno was one of the area's we enjoyed the most during our short stay. Although it wasn't very big it didn't need to be because the shops were all together and there was lots of shopping to do.

I suppose if we were to go away again we wouldn't chose Llandudno to come to it reminded us too much of our home Town Blackpool which we wanted to escape from. There is a difference between Llandudno and Blackpool for one it's in Wales, but also the streets are nicer in Llandudno. It is also cleaner and not littered like Blackpool. It reminded us of a posh Blackpool and it was nice to see.

It might be nice if your planning on going to Lladudno to plan your break with one of the events they have as they do usually have lots of events taking place in Lladudno and Colwyn Bay. Also remember to take plenty of warm clothing and strong umbrella's. I would recommend if you can do to go by car as sight seeing is not done easily by catching buses and as I have already mentioned the fares are very expensive.

Llandudno is Wales's largest resort situated between the Great and Little Ormes with two beaches. The Irish Sea is on one side and the estuary of the River Conwy on the other.

You can see these as you come into Lladudno station on the train and it is really pleasant looking out on the sea racing by. Once we were getting near to Llandudno on the train I really started to get excited especially looking out on the sea it was a really nice unexpected treat. I had no idea about Lladudno as I just hadn't been to Wales before.

Llandudno has quite a few large Churches one of these is the The Roman Catholic Parish of Llandudno. I made a joke about this to Mal as we passed and I noticed they did bell ringing so I suggested that we go and have a try as visitors were welcomed. However, this didn't go down too well and we ended up going for something to eat in the only Chinese Restaurant in Llandudno. That's when I got ill half way through the Chinese and it put a dampener on the rest of the break.

There are plenty of hotels in Llandudno. So many you will be spoilt for choice and there's many of websites on the internet where you can book online and get cheap rooms. The hotels range from B&B to 5 Star Hotels.

If you do decide to go on holiday to Llandudno then try to stay for more than just a weekend unless you live quite near there in which case a journey won't take as long as the 4 hours by train or the 8 hours by coach that it took us. We went by train because the coach was fully booked and there was only 2 coach journeys back from North Wales on the Monday so book early to avoid disappointment if you plan to go by coach.

The information I have given you is what I would advise and wish that I had done in hindsight. I do strongly suggest you take a strong umbrella, warm clothes and a pair of shoes that are water proof. You will need to budget at about £40 + for an average couple a day. It would be increasingly more if you are drinkers since the pubs are very expensive. It's basically a tourist trap in many places so they charge a lot more.

If you do decide to go to Llandudno then have fun and stick to what you normally eat to avoid stomach upsets. I can highly recommend Hafan Y Mor Guest House. This is a cheap option for stop over or weekend breaks if your staying for longer then I suggest you book into a hotel or there are many cottages you can book for a week or more.

The information below is slightly misguiding since it's how long I stayed for and not how long I suggest you stay for.