HISTORY:

The Castle Hotel, an old coaching inn, stands on the site of a Cistercian abbey and used to consist of two famous hostelries, The Castle and the 15th Century King's Head. The Castle was by far the larger and in Victorian times has had an attractive face lift of local granite and Ruabon brick and is now one of Conwy's most photographed buildings.

The Hotel has had a fascinating past and has made an important contribution to Conwy's history, playing host to many famous people, such as Telford, Stephenson, Wordsworth and the Queen of Romania who lunched in the restaurant whilst visiting Llandudno. In the 20th Century, the ownership of the Hotel was almost exclusively by London based companies and it's fitting that in the new century, this wonderful old hotel has reverted back to private ownership.

Castle Hotel is in High Street, opposite to the entrance to Llewelyn Street in Conwy, Wales. It is a Grade II listed building.

Until the 1880s it was occupied by a public house, the King's Head, dating from the 15th century, and the Castle Hotel. In 1885 the building was completely remodelled by the Chester firm of architects Douglas and Fordham. The whole building was developed into a hotel, and a new section was added. The hotel has been visited by a number of well-known guests, including Thomas Telford, William Wordsworth, and the Queen of Romania, who lunched in the restaurant.

Seen from High Street, the hotel is in three sections, each of which has three storeys. To the left is a single-bay section, the former public house; the central section, developed from the older hotel, has four bays; and the section to the right, added in 1885, has three bays. The whole building is in Renaissance style. When Douglas and Fordham remodelled the building, they used small broken pieces of limestone as a facing material, giving the frontage a flint-like appearance. The dressings of the windows are in brick and terracotta. The central bay is in red ashlar sandstone and the roof is tiled.

HAUNTINGS:

A few days from death, a chambermaid from the inn requested that her body be sent back to Anglesey. The landlord at first agreed, though failed to carry out her last wish, and soon after the building was besieged by otherworldly activity. The owner finally had the body returned to her home, but the ghost has still been seen in the hotel. A phantom cat has also been felt climbing over beds at night.