Click to view the photos accompanying this year's newsletter.
The year 2010 has been something of a milestone in the transformation of Lloyds. For the fourth time in our stewardship of the hotel (not quite two decades), the room in which arriving guests and diners are welcomed, has been redecorated. And this time, it has achieved a cohesiveness, thanks to the matching set of Italian-designed arm chairs and settees, with the green leaf motif of the upholstery echoed in the new curtains and carpet. The collection of pictures is now dominated by six limited edition Thomas Baines prints of Victoria Falls, which were given to us by Elizabeth Gadsby, who was presented with them on her visit to Zimbabwe in the 1980s, by members of the then HGMA (the industry's professional managers association, of which she was director for many years).
Other projects in our 2010 winter closure included gutting the bathroom of one of the single rooms and fitting a walk-in shower in place of the bath, installing wall-mounted TVs in three more bedrooms, re-carpeting and re-decorating two bedrooms, and hanging new curtains in the second floor double room.
In our coming closure, we will be replacing major pieces of equipment, including the washing machine and tumble drier. We will also be redecorating two more bedrooms. Our break will be a 'busman's holiday', enjoying good food, wine, and the company of some of our long-standing friends that we otherwise do not get to see, in the environs of Woodspring Priory, a Landmark Trust property in Somerset.
A notable landmark for us came out of the blue in late 2010: an entry in the Good Hotel Guide 2011. As regular guests will attest, we have fought shy of guide books, preferring to rely on word-of-mouth recommendation. The published entry (supported by favourable reports over some years, we understand) was contributed by a group of walkers who stayed and dined in the early summer, whom we had not met before. (For those who don't yet have a copy of the 2011 guide, the entry is also available on the publisher's website.)
2010 marked our fifth year of membership of Great Little Places of Wales. GLP has introduced many new guests, and mostly we seem to have come up to expectations. But we do feel apprehensive that our quirky offering, and not always being able to offer dinner, will be a disappointment to some Good Hotel Guide devotees. Of course, we continue to strive to do our very best for all guests and diners, no matter how they have come to hear of us.
In 2011, we close on 9 January and re-open on 18 March. During this period, we - or friends looking after the building in our absence - will be pleased to deal with bookings and enquiries. Please leave a message on our answerphone: 01686 412284, or email (a re-direction will be in place in late January/early February while we are in Somerset). Our 2012 closure will be from 8 January to 17 March.
These prices include VAT at the increased rate of 20 percent.
Bed
& breakfast for two people in a twin or double £76; superior twin or double
£85; family (double + adjoining single) £90.
... for one person: £48 in a single;
£55 in a double/twin; £60 in a superior double/twin.
Our five-course
dinner £39.50 per person, pre-booking essential with details of any dislikes
so that we can avoid them on your no-choice menu.
Our special break
for two people staying and dining two nights or more in a twin or double room £140
per night, £148 in a superior double/twin (saving about 10 percent).
A re-cap for guests who have not stayed for some years, and new guests: we have seven bedrooms to accommodate up to 12 guests. On the first floor (reached by 14 narrow and quite steep stairs) are two singles (Rm 3 with walk-in shower, Rm 4 bath with overhead shower), a superior twin (Rm 1) and a superior double (Rm 2), each with walk-in shower. On the second floor (12 further steps), we have a twin (Rm 5) and double (Rm 6), each with bath and hand-held shower, and a superior double (Rm 7), which has a roll-top bath and walk-in shower. For partners staying with one child, the second floor double (Rm 6) becomes a family room by opening up the adjacent small single room. The double rooms have king-size beds, the twins have 4ft wide beds (ie two small doubles), and the singles metre-wide beds. The twins and singles are routinely made up with sheets and blankets, the doubles with duck down and feather duvets, but with advance notice, alternative bedding and non-allergenic duvets are provided. All street-facing windows on the bedroom floors have secondary glazing. Rooms facing the rear of the building are double-glazed.
We offer dinner any night, but only when booked in advance, and sometimes cannot, either because other evenings are so busy, or we are already full, or the need to meet business obligations (such as VAT!), or simply because we must have an occasional break from 12 hour and longer days in the kitchen.
We ask guests to assemble at around 7.30 for pre-dinner drinks, and for Tom to describe the menu, so that any wines can be chosen. The meal service starts soon after 8, proceeding at a leisurely pace. On most evenings, it is somewhere between 11 and midnight (or later for those who wish) before guests are ready to retire or leave for home.
Roy decides the menu on the day, avoiding what diners have told us they dislike or cannot eat, choosing what is good from the nearby organic vegetable shop and other local suppliers, and endeavouring to come up with dishes that will surprise and delight both returning and new guests. It is very rare for a menu to be exactly repeated.
Everything was just perfect... we came away feeling very refreshed.
Kathryn & lan, Harefield, November
Thank you for everything. Has been a pleasure.
Victor & Toni, San
Juan, Alicante, Spain, July
The journey may be a 340-mile round trip but for such food and hospitality, it
is well worth it.
Chris & Jeremy, Trisha & Colin, Chesham, August
There is so much charm and character in Llanidloes. Well that's enough about
you - the room was very comfortable and the meal superb. Back to reality in Milton
Keynes.
Robin, June
What a treat it was for Thann and me to be with you two again! Of course Lloyd's
is perfection in our estimation, but besides that, we just enjoy visiting with you!
Jennifer, Charlottesville, USA, August
... treated like dear friends at your delightful establishment. Many thanks for
your amazing skills which convey this experience to all your guests. Dinner was
yet again a rhapsody of unforgettable flavours.
Lorraine & Roger, Minsterley,
June
Is there ever going to be a cookery book?
Jen & Peter, Dudley, July
Talking before breakfast at Lloyds yesterday, Sue expressed what we always feel
when we arrive outside your door: it's like coming home. We just know the
weekend will be fun and relaxation all the way. Take care of yourselves.
Dawn & Phil, Hereford, June
We enjoyed ourselves so much - you were excellent hosts, our room was lovely,
and it was the best gastronomic experience of our holiday!
Ruth & Andy,
Leicester, June
We usually have two walking weekends away each year, but only at Lloyds is there
a 'house party' ambience that adds so much to the enjoyment of the occasion.
lan, Birmingham, May
Lloyds is one of the most splendid places we've ever stayed. Thanks for helping
to make our Wales holiday so special.
Alexandria & Tyler, Laramie, Wyoming,
June
just a quickie to say how much we enjoyed the meal and meeting you both on Saturday
evening. It was worth waiting for! Lloyds has a very warm and welcoming atmosphere.
1 thought the menu was excellent and the goat's cheese soufflé superb.
Val & Colin, Mark & Elise, West Mersea & Llanidloes, August
You both work so hard to please people.
Pauline & Bryan, Wolverhampton,
March
Many thanks for your hospitality and great cooking and for making us all so welcome
at Lloyds. I don't know how you did it, but you also managed to organise some great
weather.
Mike, Sofia, Frank & Debbie, Edinburgh, June
All our friends are looking forward to your working holiday with us here in Western
Australia!
Shane & Lyn, Bunbury, Australia, June
Lloyds is a special place because you make it so.
Janice & John, Cardiff,
April
We love to hear your stories and there always seems to be plenty of new ones
to tell, thanks to your travels, numerous friends and experiences!
David
& Sue, Abergavenny, June
All the ingredients for the perfect evening were there in abundance - a comfortable
relaxed setting, a beautifully presented table and the undivided, kind attention
that Tom always provides so cleverly.
Heather, Trefeglwys, June
Your card arrived today, just two days before Christmas. Your timing was perfect
- just like your 5-course dinners. I have always been impressed with your personalised
advertising campaigns (being an ex-director of a London advertising agency).
Bryan & Elizabeth, Canon Pyon, December 2009
When we are describing Glyndwr's Way to our friends, we never forgot to praise
Lloyds and your great breakfast. (Unfortunately, Wales is far away from Dortmund:
so I cannot promise that our friends will knock at your doors.)
Jurgen
& Dorothea, Dortmund, Germany (with their Christmas card in December 2009)
I enjoyed my Byways holiday at Lloyds enormously. The attention to every detail
was most welcome. I am not just buttering you up; I mean it. How you both remain
so even-tempered and patient is remarkable.
Tom, Penarth, January (referring
to his visit the previous September)
After the time in Llanidloes, we spent wandering in Brecon Beacons. All places
were very different from each other and all of them special. But at the end of our
holidays, Thomas and me be at one that Lloyds was the best.
Christine
& Thomas, Idstein, Germany
