And now the Winner of UK & Ireland's Best Holiday Let and Winner of Best Glamping for Nant Y Garnedd.
These quirky properties are tucked away under grassy mounds and offer stunning views of the southern Snowdonia mountains.
Owners Gwion & Mared and Dylan & Catrin gives us their experiences on holiday letting so far and the challenges of getting their properties to a remote part of the UK.
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Can you tell us the meaning behind the names of the properties?
Gwion: The underground pods, they are called Nant Yr Esgair and Nant Y Garnedd. Being in a Welsh speaking community, we thought it was important for us to choose Welsh names for the pods and in the end we chose the two streams going either side of the pods, they run down to the small river down the bottom of the valley called Afon Tafolog.
Being in a Welsh speaking community, we thought it was important for us to choose Welsh names for the pods and in the end we chose the two streams going either side of the pods
What made you decide to get into holiday letting?
Mared: During lockdown we had more time to think about stuff, how to create more income for the farm and we decided that we had the land and we’d research into having some glamping pods or something along that line and we noticed that there was a gap in the market for something like a glamping pod but a bit more luxurious.
When did you welcome your first guests?
Catrin: So, we welcomed our first guests beginning of May 2022. So, the first day the people came, we were literally running around like headless chickens making sure everything was where it was supposed to be and yeah, we did not need to stress. All four of us are perfectionists, so we wanted to make sure everything was perfect, that we had not forgotten everything. That was our main goal, to make sure everything was perfect.
Why did you choose a pod?
Gwion: The actual pod is a high-density twin wall plastic pipe, which offers a 125-year guarantee. So that is one of the reasons we decided to go for them really, cause the longevity of them. Inside each one there’s a seating area, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a separate bedroom with a king-size bed.
Dylan:
What makes this area of the UK so special to you?
Gwion: We are just a mile outside of the Snowdonia National Park, the local village is around a 5-minute drive from here. In the village, we have a shop, a pub and a café. We don’t even have to drive anywhere, there’s a lot of activities straight from the front door.
How has it been running the holiday lets?
Mared: We really do work well together, it’s bought us all closer. Dylan & Gwion are brothers, there is a 10-year gap between them so obviously we are in different stages of our lives, and I think getting 4 individuals into a company, it brings something extra, everyone has something they can bring into the company and if one of us forgets something, there is always someone else to remind us and to help each other out.
What do you think makes your property stand out?
Gwion: I think people like to come stay with us here because we are so unique, being hidden in the Welsh hillside behind us, is quite magical I think, and people compare us a lot to the Teletubbies land or the Hobbit houses, but I think it just fits in well to the landscape behind us.
I think people like to come stay with us here because we are so unique, being hidden in the Welsh hillside behind us, is quite magical
What was the most difficult part of getting the properties set up for letting?
Dylan: The most challenging part we had was actually the delivery of the pods to the site, because of the narrow road that leads to the site, the first pod came on an articulated lorry, and he actually couldn’t turn off the main road. We thought at the time, what is going to happen really.
Mared: We are really proud of it because we are four youngish individuals and we thought if we are going to do this, to just do it now, there is no point talking about it and waiting, do it now and that’s what we did.
What is your experience of using Sykes Holiday Cottages?
Catrin: Letting with Sykes, from start to finish so from the first phone call that I previously did back in February, they’ve been so friendly.
Our biggest obstacle and still do this day and probably will be forever, are sheep, grazing the lawn, there on top of the huts all the time, trying to get them from here, proves to be quite difficult.
Our biggest obstacle and still do this day and probably will be forever, are sheep, grazing the lawn, there on top of the huts all the time, trying to get them from here, proves to be quite difficult.
How long did it take to get the property up to this level?
Dylan: Everything took a bit longer than expected really, covid played a part in that. We ordered them back in Autumn 2020, so from the date we ordered them to the actual finish, it took about 18 months in total.
Is Holiday letting what you expected?
Catrin: It’s definitely worth all the stress, it’s a slow process in the beginning but once everything is there, then you will never look back. Yeah, I would 100% do it all over again. Just having them in place now, having people over, meeting new people, it has been great, I would 100% do it all over again.
It’s definitely worth all the stress, it’s a slow process in the beginning but once everything is there, then you will never look back. Yeah, I would 100% do it all over again.
Jack Price, Holiday Let Content Writer
