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This Hotel Bar Took Its Name From A Baby (And Not The Other Way Around)

Where: 10 ST MARY STREET , Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, CF10 5DW

On a cold, windy night back in 1939....

Remember when we joked last week about which hotel names would make bad baby names? Well, it turns out that sometimes, it's the babies who give their names to hotels. One woman in the UK has actually had a part of a hotel named after her—the Fitz bar at the Royal Hotel in Cardiff, Wales.

According to the BBC, Pat Fitzgerald, now 71, was abandoned on the doorstep of the hotel when she was an infant. When it came time for the hotel to christen their new bar, they chose to honor Fitzgerald for her unique history. In turn, Fitzgerald will name all of her grandchildren Royal, and the cycle will continue.

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Inside Wales' Ye Olde Bull's Head Inn, Which Practically Has Will and Kate for Neighbors

Where: Castle Street, Beaumaris, Isle of Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom

Where can you go to find a hotel with gorgeous rooms from 95 GBP and the even more stunning and unique suites only at 150 GBP, breakfast and WiFi included? Ah—way out in Wales, more specifically the town of Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey, to Ye Olde Bull's Head Inn and The Townhouse. There's no train station in this town; Beaumaris, though well-castled—is a roadtrip-in village of Welsh beauty that fills with bustrip tourists during the day and empties into quiet at night. Which is why we highly recommend staying overnight.

Whether you realize it or not, you're already familiar with Anglesey. The newly married royal couple William and Kate live around here, and it's no more than 30 minutes to drive from one end of the island to the other (though it's closely connected to mainland Wales by a regular bridge). For our exploring North Wales, Ye Olde Bull's Head Inn's more moden annex The Townhouse was our base to the affordable tune of 100 GBP per night.

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Is That a Castle Down the Street or What?

Why, yes! Yes indeed it is a castle down the street...as seen from a room window at Ye Olde Bull's Head Inn in the tiny Welsh town of Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey.

This is Beaumaris Castle, a serious hunk of stone (with a moat!) that was begun in 1295 and took another 35 years to finish. Ha—doesn't that remind us of some NYC hotels. Anyway, the castle sits at the end of Castle Street, where you'll find Ye Olde Bull's Head and its more modern annex, The Townhouse. Across the street is the Castle Bakery. Seeing a theme here?

Ye Olde Bull's Head Inn is one of those hotels you just hope to find when you're outside of a city. It's got modern tech, two stunning restaurants and traditional English pub, spacious rooms that don't smell like old English country house, and—gasp—free WiFi.

Don't worry, we'll prove it with a full photo gallery and more tomorrow! Until then, here's a more impressive view of Beaumaris Castle.

[Photo: HotelChatter]

Anti-View / Wales Hotels / Country Hotels / → All Tags

A View That Has You Asking How Much Longer Until Spring

Where: New Berwyn Works [map], Llangollen, Wales, United States, LL20 8AE

You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.

Winter is so close to being over isn't it? But at the Wild Pheasant Hotel in Llangollen, North Wales we were a little disheartened by this morning view of a snow covered hill. When will spring get here already?

On the bright side, the country hotel has free WiFi in its courtyard area, a spa and fitness center and half-price rooms Sunday through Thursday. So go ahead and have another toddy. Maybe when you wake up, it will be spring. Or at least the snow will have melted.

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The Material Girl Is Still Very Serious About Material Things

Where: Havannah Street, Cardiff, United Kingdom, CF10 5SD

"You must cook for Madonna as if she is the real Queen."

That is what one of Madonna's people supposedly told the kitchen staff at St. David's Spa and Hotel in Cardiff where Madge was staying during the first night of her Sticky and Sweet Concert Tour.

Despite the hotel's over-the-top efforts to please her with a total remodel of her top-floor suite including new furniture, curtains, rugs, TV, and on and on, she still managed to throw a fit about some chips.

According to the Wales Online site, the oil they were cooked in was "too old." The St. David's chef says the oil was only two days old, but it was--of course--changed to please the queen.

[Ed. Note: Madonna eats chips/fries? And oil? What happened to her macrobiotic diet?]

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Cardiff's Seaside Secret: The Holm House in Penarth

Where: Marine Parade, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, United Kingdom, CF64 3BG

Here's a secret for any of you who want an exclusive olde-style 'British' boutique hotel experience - Holm House in Penarth, a short way from Wales' capital city Cardiff.

It's a classic, from its top-quality guest-only restaurant and its 12 individually designed and decorated rooms. And if you're wondering, it really is a house, a 1920s house done up in fine style with modern installations - Bang & Olufsen and WiFi and all the rest.

Go if you're over 30 (in age or attitude) and want a quiet romantic break - it's no good for clubbers and outrageous lovers.

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Welsh Country Living: Gliffaes Country House Hotel

Where: Crickhowell, Powys, United Kingdom, NP8 1RH

If you're heading for Wales but are not businessy enough for the St David's Hotel & Spa and too old for the Jolyon's Boutique Hotel, drive half an hour out of the city to the Gliffaes Country House Hotel.

It's right in the heart of the Brecon Beacon's, one of Wales' most beautiful natural parks and a top area for walking, fishing, chilling....it's so quiet you can almost hear what the birds are saying. The perfect place to sit out the Ryder Cup.

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Cardiff is the New London: Jolyon's Boutique Hotel

Where: Bute Crescent, Cardiff, United Kingdom, CF10 5AN

We're always a bit dubious about hotels that advertise themselves blatantly as a 'Boutique Hotel', as the Jolyon's Boutique Hotel does. We were a bit dubious about this one as we approached and saw the also-advertised 'beer garden', which was a small backyard area with a saggy sofa in one corner looking out onto a building site.

But we take it back - the tiny 6-room Jolyon's makes the grade in the fledgling Cardiff hotel scene, partly for its ever-present smiley owner, partly for its cute downstairs bar, and partly for its top location by Cardiff Bay.

It's a bit of a stretch to call Jolyon's a 'Boutique Hotel', but we'll let it off. In Cardiff, at the moment at least, it's the closest to boutique you'll get.

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Cardiff is the New London

Where: Havannah Street , Cardiff, United Kingdom, CF10 5SD

Forget London - the latest British capital city to visit is Cardiff. After decades of drudgery brought on be incessant rain and regular invasions of sheep, the Welsh capital is now hotting up faster than the US election race.

A spectacular opera house, a shiny new Parliament building, and the super Millennium rugby stadium are the city's most showy accessories. Depending on your attitude towards cruel sports, Cardiff is either a superb or a revolting place to visit on rugby match weekends, as we did.

The hotel scene is hotting up as well, in expectation of the Ryder Cup 2010, to be held at the Celtic Manor Resort near Newport and Cardiff. In the capital, there's a rather frightening trend for ripping the guts out of office blocks and turning them into hotels, with varying levels of success.

The only area currently worth staying is near the imaginatively named 'Mermaid Quay', or Cardiff Bay. In the last few years, it's been redeveloped from a stinking muddy dock area into a fantastic leisure area, packed with bars and restaurants and heaving with Welsh rugby fans, students and increasing numbers of tourists. Thankfully, Cardiff's two best and most long-standing hotels - the St David's Hotel & Spa and the Jolyon's Boutique Hotel - are right in the centre of this area.

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