OUT & ABOUT:

Tŷ Mawr Country Hotel

Brechfa, Carmarthenshire

With lockdown it hasn't been so easy to get Out and About to discover new places but in Tŷ Mawr Country Hotel in Brechfa, Carmarthenshire situated between Llandeilo and Carmarthen we found one place that hasn't idly spent their time plotting their come-back as owners Paul and Melissa, have continually engaged with their customers (and potential customers) via regular video updates on social media. Here Paul and Melissa tell us about their hotel...

Tell us about Tŷ Mawr Country Hotel...

Well the village of Brechfa reputes to date back to the 6th Century, and whilst the house was built in 1 658, it is more well known for having housed the Light Dragoons brought in to quell the rioters during the Rebecca Riots in 1 840, whereby protestors destroyed tollgates on the local turnpike road.

During the 1 840s and 1 850s Tŷ Mawr was the home of Caleb Chivers who ran the Brechfa Chemical Works which provided work for many Brechfa people from the mid-1 9th century up to the end of the First World War.

So how did you come to own the hotel?

Melissa and I met many years ago when she was waitressing and I was a chef. Despite loving the industry we decided to take different career paths, me into Sales and Marketing and Melissa into running her own Day Care Centre for Children. Some 30 years on, and after many conversations on holidays about owning our own hotel (as you do) we visited the area and fell in love with Wales and the people! As they say, the rest is history. That said, the lockdown couldn't have come at a worse time as we have only owned the property since December 201 9, but it has allowed us to settle in and make some notable changes to the decor - as well as get to know some of the locals. The hotel has six bedrooms, and Melissa has been busy putting her feminine touch to the.... (find out more by visiting the magazine)