Craig-y-Dderwen Riverside Hotel

The location by the river is lovely (perhaps the main road over the river a little noisy whilst outside during the day) and the room was a good standard, which it should be at over £200 per night....but the bathroom, although spacious, was dated and had no walk-in shower. The room description said bath and shower, not shower over bath with a shower curtain. As a Blue Badge holder I find getting into a bath difficult, also the shower head sprayed water everywhere from the worn connection to the hose. Other than our room the rest of the hotel felt tired and dated, in need of a more luxurious refurbishment to even begin to justify it's 4 star rating. The evening meal was ok but unnecessarily small portions given the high prices charged. We were on a meal inclusive, slightly discounted rate (still expensive), but it didn't include a desert ??.... which just seemed like a ploy to get you to spend more money. We chose a modest bottle of Shiraz, around £27, but it was extremely poor quality. The breakfast was not good. Particularly the badly cooked 'Full Welsh' and the coffee from the dated pump dispenser which was utterly dreadful. The charges for 'extras' was quite a shock. £6.95 for some bread with first course, followed by £14.95 for one cheese course, plus over 20 quid for a pint of 1664 lager and a G&T. The staff were helpful enough and helped with bag carrying as we were on the 2nd floor but our host on the day constantly felt the need to make 'amusing' quips which soon became irritating. Several previous reviews mention the lovely owner. Unfortunately she did not seem to be present during our stay. I've given a 3 out of 5 rating due to the location and the room (not bathroom), but honestly i feel that is being kind. The previous night we had stayed in a wonderful 4 star hotel near Dolgellau. I am afraid the Riverside Hotel did not come close to it.

The view from our table was incredible. We were greeted with a rainbow and a helicopter landing in the hotels garden while we ate. The server was lovely, but did not know the menu, or dishes and wasn’t bothered to ask the chef about the dessert when the other table inquired about a dessert. She didn’t know what the item was, claimed she was new, and that was that. We ordered, I the chicken and my husband the vegetarian option. The starter was a bowl of perfection. Leek and potato soup with a lovely cheesy puff in the centre. Perfectly seasoned. The mains were a sad disappointment. My anemic chicken, sous vide or poached was cooked properly, but lacked any colour or care. It was served skin side down, and that skin was floppy and sad. A quick blowtorch could have saved it, or three minutes in a pan basted with wild garlic would have made sense. Instead it was soulless. The sauce was basic, lacked character, just some cream with a spoonful of whole grain mustard. A Welsh leek mustard (locally made) would have given it some extra flare. Two bits of carrot, one bit of courgette and a single stem of broccoli, cooked lightly and fresh. The fondant? Potato, batch-cooked in a pan, and sliced into batons, was impressively small. Smaller than a pinky finger. Two would have been fair, one was a tease. The vegetarian, on the TASTE OF WALES menu, was a stuffed mushroom- stuffed with couscous and bleu cheese. Topped with a crumb and served with the same veg combo with the addition of roasted potatoes. Complete with a featured rotten black spot face up. The Bara brith pudding was lovely. No faults there. I believe the snowdonia pudding was supposed to have a black bomber ice cream. If there was cheese in my ice cream it wasn’t noticeable. Just seemed like a scoop of iced cream. Wish I had been able to know what the snowdonia pudding was but the server wasn’t going to ask the chef so no need to bother asking. For the price, I know the portions would be small, but that was just a bit too small in my opinion. If the mains had tasted more elaborate or inspired I wouldn’t have felt so let down. I expected the mains to reach the level of the soup and it did not. Perhaps a new approach or addition to the chicken main is needed. The bartender was the best of the bunch. She clearly knows customer care and service and think she is an asset to the place. A lively redhead with a smile and a chat, warm and lovely. The table setting was interesting. Very posh, except for the plastic plant and the pre-ground pepper and salt pots. Surely a place like this would have a single fresh flower in a stem vase, and a pepper mill. That speaks cheap cafe, not luxury.

Wanted to stay here for a while having read some of the reviews. Finally made it for a quick Friday night escape yesterday. Wow I wasn’t disappointed. The welcome, room, service, food and the setting were fabulous. Well worth the money and the wait. Diolch team CyD - I’ll be back 😎

Fantastic stay here, the room was so modern and clean and the food was fantastic. I would reccomend this to people in the area not bothered about splashing out

We had a standard double room which was comfortable and clean. The hotel is situated next to the river and breakfast in the conservatory overlooking the river is extremely pleasant. The hotel restaurant serves very good quality food but the menu is limited. Restaurants, shops and Cafe's are within walking distance.

Just had a lovely Savoury Stack, it was delicious. Michelle was our server and she was excellent, a credit to the team. 100 percent recommend this lovely hotel in such a beautiful setting. We will definitely look at booking a room here if we're in the area again.