Payments made by partners impact the order of prices displayed. Room types may vary.
The listings of booking offers for each property take into account the compensation paid to us by our partners. Prices shown may be for varying room types. Prices displayed are the lowest available, corresponding to the least expensive room type available, as provided from our partners as of the time of the user’s search.
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Reflects recent average nightly prices reported by our partners, and may not include estimated taxes or fees. Price at checkout may differ.
Cheaper
Average
Higher
About
4.0
#7 of 8 hotels in Bridgend
Location
Rooms
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
The Great House Hotel is a beautiful grade II* listed building originating from around 1550 and is believed to have been a gift from HRH Queen Elizabeth 1 to the Earl of Leicester who used it as a hunting lodge. Located in the pretty conservation village of Laleston, it is just 10 minutes from the seaside town of Porthcawl and 25 minutes equidistant between Cardiff and Swansea.A unique blend of historic original features contribute to The Great House's mature, dignified character - the flagstone floors, oak beams, inglenook fireplaces, mullioned windows, stone archways and dovecote in the south wall combine with modern excellent facilities, services and friendliness. Our aim is to make your stay with us relaxing and enjoyable. We want you to unwind and to feel at home here, whether you choose to read a book or dine in at Restaurant Tommy Heaney our award winning restaurant, The Great House offers the perfect location to enjoy a memorable occasion.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to VisitWales.
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Had tasting menu for New Years Eve and stayed the night. First of all I want to point out that food was outstanding. It was better than some Michelin star restaurants I have been to. We had the tasting menu and I am vegetarian and they provided me with my own tasting menu and emailed me this before the night. I have been here for food on quite a few occasions and the food has always been fab but the service seems to get worse and worse every time we come. We arrived about 4 and the young lad on reception booked us in and took us to our room - we had to carry out luggage and were not asked if we would like any help with it. The room had been recently refurbished and was not to my style. The Great House is a beautiful old house and they glammed and glitzed the room to within an inch of it's life and it was not in keeping with the period at all. However, the bed was very, very comfortable and we had a great nights sleep. We went down to the bar and asked what champagne they had (it was after all New Years Eve). The bar tender (same lad who booked us in) looked really shocked but eventually came back with a bottle - there was no choice just the one make. We enjoyed our drinks by the fire which was really relaxing and then went up to change. When we came back down the little bar area was full with guests waiting for dinner and there was a nice atmosphere. However, ourselves and another couple were left waiting after out booked time. We eventually got our little hor d'oeuvres and eventually went into the dining room after asking if they had forgotten about us. I noticed that all other guests were given a glass of something bubbly on entrance to the dining room but we weren't. We had to wait ages for drinks and the service was just not good in general. The staff obviously have to multitask as the lad who checked us in was also a bar tender and waiter! I asked to see the manager after a particularly long wait and she was lovely and said that she would give us a discount due to the problems we had encountered which she did but we are not about discounts, I would have rather had a fab experience.
We went up to our room at 23.45 as there was no one left in the bar and we felt a as if we were holding people up.
We were the only people at breakfast the next morning so I think we were the only people staying there. Breakfast was really tasty and delicious.
I wasn't going to put a review on as I think the Great House is a beautiful asset to the area and the food is always so good but if the service doesn't improve then people will stop going there as seems to be the case by the previous reviews on this site. This is such a shame but is somewhere we won't go again in a hurry.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2019
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were warmly greeted and sat and had a drink in the lounge by the fire. Our room was not in the main building but just across the car park which we had not expected. We had fresh clean sheets and a very comfortable bed and it was very warm on a cold night. The decor needed updating as it looked tired and the bathroom was quite shabby needing a complete over haul but served it's purpose. There was also some road noise. Breakfast was lovely and fresh. We would say the pictures on the website didn't reflect the setting in reality and this was overpriced.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We booked our wedding at The Great House Hotel and we could not have been any happier. Eleanor and Hannah and the staff, could not have done more for us to make it a fabulous and memorable day and night. From the first initial visit , Eleanor made us very welcome and covered all areas for us. We booked the day and night package at a very reasonable and competitive rate compared to a lot of the other local venues. Nothing was too much trouble even with one or two of our fussier guests being catered for at very short notice. Our ceremony room was beautifully decorated and then turned around in a very quick time for the reception meal, and the room, again looked outstanding. The grounds were perfect for our photos and the whole day went off without a hitch. The food was absolutely stunning and nothing was too much trouble. I cant recommend this place highly enough and want to thank Eleanor and Hannah for the amazing job they did and the perfect day we had.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have tried to resolve this with the owners but have waited a week for my refund to no avail. Their hotel, restaurant and service are shockingly terrible and they pay lip service to complaints and just expect people to be fobbed off and go away.
My husband and I bought their Black Friday deal pre pay vouchers to treat each other before Christmas. Definitely not a treat but a nightmare! Poor front of house on arrival, rowdy party we had to squeeze through to get to our room. Room was freezing cold, noisy and filthy! Alerted staff to dirty room who moved us to a cleaner room but still noisy as above the kitchen and still freezing as no heating on. We were told it should come on soon, it didn’t and no one investigated or offered any alternative heating or warmth. Turns out (following our lip service response to complaint) boiler was broken but no one had checked. We were sat in our coats in the room!
The restaurant was awful, we had been put in a shabby over flow room. Food was edible but not freshly repaired and the service and atmosphere was that of greasy spoon cafe.
Suffice to say we did not stay, but drove home at 11pm as we still had not been able to even remove our coats in the hotel room! Nobody cared.
I have told the owners that we will accept paying for the food we ate but would like a refund for the £200+ we paid in vouchers as we did not even get in a bed! They replied apologising and indicated a refund would be forthcoming but have now ignored me for a week.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sanjeev Bhagotra, Owner at The Great House Hotel
Responded 18 Dec 2022
Dear Rebecca, Firstly please accept my apologies that this has not been resolved as quickly as you had hoped (I note your recent review on Tripadvisor). As you saw from our initial email response it was picked up and responded to quickly with a promise of further investigation and a view to refunding the vouchers. As business owners there appears to be some level of customer expectation that we are superhuman, work 24 hours a day 7 days a week (not far wrong with that one) and outside of having a business there is simply no life for us. Unfortunately last week our 2 young children were both ill as well as ourselves so for once we decided to put our family first. As a family owned and run business yes that did impact our ability to deal with the day to day running of the business but it was necessary. You may or may not deem that satisfactory but it is the truth and the realities of running a small independent business sometimes means that you have to make a decision on what to prioritise, this time we chose our family. We wish you all the best and hope you have a lovely Christmas
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We had a gift voucher for afternoon tea there recently, and from entering the resturant to leaving it, everything was with excellent service. The food was very nice and together with tea or coffee, plus on top of that, a bottle of water we enjoyed it. Rhe people there serving were always making sure everything was good and they made you feel welcome and very special. We have decided to go back when our relatives come down so that we can show them what good food and service really is. THAN YOU TO ALL THE STAFF.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I bought afternoon tea for my mums birthday, due to lockdown we collected it and brought it home. When I picked it up the staff were very friendly and the afternoon tea was packaged lovely. The cakes and sandwiches inside looked amazing. We also had a gold envelope which contained a menu outlining what we had and a variety of tea.
The afternoon tea was simply amazing, enjoyed by all, very big portions and presented lovely. I would recommend to anyone who’s thinking of doing something nice with family whilst in lockdown
Thank you for providing us with such a wonderful afternoon tea selection.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I recently arranged an afternoon tea for my grandmother's 99th birthday. We looked around for somewhere doing a lovely afternoon tea and settled on The Great House in Laleston which seemed to have decent reviews.
We called in several weeks in advance to view the tables where we would be seated and explained that it was for a 99th birthday and wanted it to be special. Paid deposit and then turned up on the day.
The finger sandwiches were quite limited for a group of 13, only 3-4 different types, cakes were sickly sweet and uninspiring, coffee and tea was ok, but again not as plentiful as you would expect. Service was poor- initially served the plates and left us to it. Very little customer attention, a couple of young staff on who seemed mainly intent on chatting behind the reception desk.
Having asked for something special we expected better customer care, sadly this was not to be. Making an afternoon tea of high quality should be simple for a hotel but we were left very disappointed and will not return. The only highlight was when another couple of customers stopped by to wish my grandmother their best regards and congratulations- shame the venue couldn't manage the same!
Read more
Date of stay: March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We returned to Wales post-COVID and looked forward to our stay at the Great House. Our evening meal was great, with good wine, but breakfast the next morning was the complete opposite: eggs Benedict where the muffins were hard, the ham grey and rubbery, hollandaise sauce tasted as if it was from a packet, and all sprinkled with a grey green dust! Most unappetising. This place makes it’s own delicious bread and yet serves factory produced sliced bread for breakfast. We could only surmise that there were different sets of staff for different meals. Our room was in a small block, just away from the main building, and not at all what we expected in a listed building. Far too bling in our opinion - coloured lights in the ceiling, gold bedcover, and white marble floor. But issues with basics - no place to put wash bags or hang clothes in the bathroom, the shelf in the vanity unit had not been put in place, but rested inside vertically, the sink overflow had not been connected to anything, and there was no space for a connection anyway, a large wall tile was in the wardrobe. A rushed but incomplete refurbishment.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2022
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This occasion was organised by my sister for my 80th Birthday. The room they put us in as a party of seven was a small, cold and bare room with no atmosphere at all. We weren't put in the main restaurant which appeared to be quite pleasant and was empty. The tea itself was served on the tables we were seated at in very cramped conditions, and was a very disappointing selection of very few sandwiches for seven people and the cake selection was nothing like the variety in the advertisement for the Tea and was very poor indeed. To add to this the scones were so hard we couldn't cut them, as a result they were left behind. The staff serving us were very polite and efficient and provided us with ample tea and coffee until a very large funeral party arrived and took over the main Restaurant and all their attention was focused on them. It was then that we realised why we had been seated in that awful room. It would have been much better all round if they had refused our booking and said they couldn't accomodate us. A very disappointing afternoon was had by all. I must remember not to use you again.
Read more
Date of stay: November 2022
Value
Service
Room Tip:Â We did not occupy a bedroom, only a small room downstairs for our tea.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I decided to order a delivered afternoon tea for my wife's Birthday due to the covid 19 situation. The food was very fresh and of an excellent quality my wife said it was the best afternoon tea she has ever had which is praise indeed... We would definitely order an afternoon tea from the Great House again. A big thanks to all concerned.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Bridgend area.
PRICE RANGE
£89 - £94 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
the great hotel
LOCATION
United KingdomWalesSouth WalesBridgend CountyBridgend
NUMBER OF ROOMS
13
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect nightly room rates, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
