The Angel, Abergavenny, hotel review

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The Foxhunter Bar is cosy with its wooden tables, big armchairs and working fireplace. The Oak Room is classy and spacious and the overall decor of the hotel is sophisticated, with a traditional feel.

Where is The Angel?
The hotel is in Abergavenny, Wales.

How to get there?
Direct trains run from London and Cardiff, via Newport, to Abergavenny station. The hotel is about a 10-15 minute walk, or a less than 5 minute taxi. Find driving directions here.

What’s in the area?
The Abergavenny Castle and Museum are both nearby, and there are several gardens and walking tracks in the area. The Angel has a Renault Twizy – it’s free for guests to use, and can transport you around the area in an environmentally friendly way.

What’s in the room?
What’s not in the room? Oh, well maybe a garage and a kitchen but aside from that, everything you could ever want. A massive cloud-like bed with dreamily soft pillows, a lounge area with a coffee table, sofa, armchairs and a flatscreen TV. There’s also a desk and tea and coffee facilities.

There was also the usual hotel cupboard complete with hairdryer, safe, iron, slippers and my favourite: plush bathrobes.

What about the bathroom?
The bathroom itself was bigger that our bedroom back home. A large walk-in shower takes up one side of the room, while a bathtub sits opposite. Extra fluffy towels and Aromatherapy Associates toiletries are provided. It has everything, and every a bathroom needs.

What about dinner?
On our second evening we headed down to The Oak Room for dinner. A stunning room with high ceilings, it’s a wonderful place to enjoy a meal. We started the evening with an espresso martini, a beer and a basket of fresh bread from the The Angel Bakery. The breads came with olives, mini quiches and cheese sables – it was the perfect way to start the evening.

For a starter I went for the scallops, while Nick went for his personal favourite – mussels. The scallops were a healthy size, well-cooked and flavoursome. The earthy sweetness of the parsnip puree complemented them perfectly. Nick was quiet, which meant the mussels were very much to his liking.

We were less unique with our main courses and both opted for lamb with sweet potato mash. The lamb was tender, juicy and buttery from the fat. The mash, smooth, buttery (from the butter) and moreish. The red wine jus was meaty and delicious when soaked into the mash. Sadly, after a large lunch and too much bread, we were unable to even share a dessert. I had been eyeing up the cheeseboard… Had I had room that Cropwell Bishop Stilton would have gone down a treat.

How was breakfast?
Breakfast is where it got really good. You can pick between dining downstairs or breakfast in bed. The first morning we explored downstairs. We found a continental buffet with juices, cereals, fruit and freshly baked croissants, breads and pastries from The Angel Bakery. You could also order from the menu. With a perfectly flaky croissant to start, I ordered the full breakfast with fried eggs and Nick opted for the eggs benny. We both left feeling incredibly satisfied and full.

On the second morning, we treated ourselves and enjoyed breakfast in bed. Coffee, French toast, fruit and more of those to-die-for croissants were delivered to the door. We demolished the lot, while wearing the plush bath robes of course.

What’s the damage?
Rooms start at £95 per night, for two people. The hotel is incredibly well-priced for the standard provided.

Anything else to add?
If you fancy a weekend away in Wales I would highly recommend visiting Abergavenny. While the town is small, there’s a lot of outdoor activities available in the area (should you be blessed with nice weather). Even so, the hotel itself is the perfect place to spend a cosy weekend. There’s no reason to leave.

For more information on the hotel please visit www.angelabergavenny.com