Plas Llanmihangel: "The Best Place In Wales" Top 5 Page for this destination Wales Hotel Tip by Balam

Described by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen as Hogwortsian Architecture at its spunkiest Plas Llanmihangel certainly is a fantastic place, An Elizabethan manor house set in beautiful country side it makes a really fantastic place to stay.
Its history goes back a long way, in the 12th c Plas Llanmihangel was owned by a Norman Knight and was probably just a one story building described as a grange. Not much else is known about the houses early history until Elizabethan times when from 1500 – 1685 it was the home of the Thomas Family who were one of Wales’s Oldest aristocratic families, by this time the house would have grown considerably. They also owned a House in Cowbridge which was their town house, that house was turned into a coaching Inn and is now The Bear Hotel.
Although the Oldest part of the house is now the cellar the Oldest part of the Living areas is it’s great Hall, a really lovely large room with a fantastic stone fire place decorated with the coats of arms of the Thomas family along with those of other Important Families. Above the door is a large coat of arms of The Tudors as the room was once used as a court room during the Tudor period. The cellars used as Dungeons.
The last Thomas to live at Plas Llanmihangel was Sir Robert Thomas who was also known as Sir Robert the Ass (which might give you an idea of why he was the last one). Sir Robert was useless at business and historical records show that he failed in one business venture after another and in the end had to sell off land and eventually the house to pay his debts. The house was purchased by Sir Humphrey Edwin, Lord Mayor of London in 1697. There is a large monument to him (and put there by him) in the nearby Church. Sir Humphrey was extremely rich so rich in fact that in a list of the recent survey of the Richest people since 1066 put together by the Sunday times placed him at number 236.
After Sir Humphrey the house was occupied by various renting tenants until 1860 when it was the home of the Jenkins Family who owned a Brewery in Cowbridge. The house has been in continual occupation since the 12th centaury

It is now owned by Sue and David Bear. They bought it in 1988 for just £130,000 and they have spent the last 20 years restoring this lovely Fortified Manor House. In order to help the house pay for its own restoration (or at least contribute towards it) they opened half the house as a B&B with both of them working hard to help people enjoy this lovely place.
Some of the interior doors are still secured from the inside by large pull bars which are built into the wall, a very old way of securing your door. Other great features are the deep grooves on the stone doorway to the Kitchen caused by years of knife sharpening and the kitchens original Bread Oven.

It really is a fantastic place and is certainly worth a visit and I can guarantee that you will want to go back again.

B&B is £35 per Person

Address: Llanmihangel, Vale of Glamorgan, CF71 7LQ
Comparison: about average
Directions: South Wales
othercontact: plasllanmihangel@ukonline.co.uk
Phone: 01446 774610
Price: US$40-80
Theme: Bed and Breakfast
Website: http://www.plasllanmihangel.co.uk/