Located in Llangybi, a neighbourhood in Pontypool, this holiday home is in a rural area and on a lake. Grosmont Castle and Caerleon Castle are local landmarks, and some of the area's activities can be experienced at Bowlplex Cwmbran and Celtic Manor Resort Golf Club. Travelling with kids? Consider Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre and Caerleon Arts Centre. Kayaking and windsurfing offer great chances to get out on the surrounding water, or you can seek out an adventure with hiking/biking trails and mountain biking nearby.
Llangibby Motte and Castle - 12 min drive - 11.5 km
Bowlplex Cwmbran - 13 min drive - 7.8 km
Friars Walk Newport - 16 min drive - 15.5 km
Getting around
Pontypool & New Inn Station - 10 min drive
Bristol International Airport (BRS) - 66 min drive
Restaurants
McDonald's - 9 min drive
The John Fielding - 10 min drive
McDonald's - 8 min drive
Crows Nest - 9 min drive
KFC - 8 min drive
Frequently asked questions
Is Visit Wales 4 Star, rural bungalow - Sauna, jacuzzi, play area and Free Wi-fi pet-friendly?
No, pets are not allowed at this property.
How much does it cost to stay at Visit Wales 4 Star, rural bungalow - Sauna, jacuzzi, play area and Free Wi-fi ?
As of 29 October 2026, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at Visit Wales 4 Star, rural bungalow - Sauna, jacuzzi, play area and Free Wi-fi on 28 February 2027 start from NZ$1,180, including taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.
How much is parking at Visit Wales 4 Star, rural bungalow - Sauna, jacuzzi, play area and Free Wi-fi ?
On-site parking is available at the property.
What time is check-in at Visit Wales 4 Star, rural bungalow - Sauna, jacuzzi, play area and Free Wi-fi ?
Check-in begins at 3:00 PM.
What time is check-out at Visit Wales 4 Star, rural bungalow - Sauna, jacuzzi, play area and Free Wi-fi ?
Checkout is at 10:00 AM.
Where is Visit Wales 4 Star, rural bungalow - Sauna, jacuzzi, play area and Free Wi-fi located?
This family-friendly Pontypool holiday home is located on a lake, 2.8 mi (4.5 km) from Grosmont Castle, and within 6 mi (10 km) of Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre and Bowlplex Cwmbran. Caerleon Arts Centre and Caerleon Castle are also within 6 miles (10 km).
Reviews
10
Exceptional
Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
Again a very enjoyable stay. I have now stayed a number of times over 16 year period.Ideal base for my trips from Australia to visit my relatives.Highly recommended.
Another excellent stay. Julia and Joe are so welcoming.Have stayed a number of times for about 14 years. Always so nice to come back to . Ideal spot to visit relatives when I come from Australia.
A children’s paradise, lots of space to roam, garden toys, trampoline and play equipment. Lovely, cosy property, accessible and clean. No hesitation in recommending
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2020
Response from VrboOwner on 30 July 2020
Thank you so much Donna for your lovely review. We are so happy that you enjoyed your stay with us. Such a lovely family
An absolutely fantastic cottage.
The hosts were so thoughtful and attentive they even provided a Christmas tree and decorations at our request.
We were sad we hadn’t booked it for longer, however we will be back.
We had an amazing long weekend with friends at the lodges, located in beautiful surroundings! The accommodation is equipped with literary everything, the fireplace makes it super cozy, and the spacious outdoor area is perfect for sports, children play and hot tab / sauna relaxing. It's perfect, I couldn't recommend more!
Couldnt ask for more. Everything you need at hand . Lovely Log Fire , so very cosy . Owners always ready to help . If you want a home from home feel Blackthorn Lodge is the place
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019
Response from VrboOwner on 27 March 2020
Thank you for your kind review. Hope that you will come back and stay with us again.
Well equipped, clean and cosy cottage. We had a really relaxing stay with our young daughter. Great hosts who had thought of everything we might need. The only limitation was the slow wifi, but that is to be expected in the countryside.
If you want a break from the noise and bustle of town/city life this is the perfect place. Great facilities for the children to play safely. Lovely to be able to enjoy the use of both a jacuzzi and sauna. We loved the fire and it quickly warms up the whole lodge. Julia and Jo the owners were great and really helpful with any questions we had.
We had a fantastic weekend stay in blackthorn lodge and couldn’t have asked for more. The hot tub, sauna and play area were highlights and made the whole experience incredibly relaxing and fun for the little one.The bungalow was spotless, comfortable, and thoughtfully equipped with every essential we needed and a great informative information book with literally everything you would need to know local spots to visit and which supermarkets deliver to the bungalow which made the stay completely stress-free. The hosts julia was extremely helpful with all the pre arrival information and her husband joe was very helpful and attentive when showing us how to use the logfire, hotub and sauna and happy to assist with anything we needed. It was clear a lot of care had gone into making guests feel welcome. We would absolutely recommend this place and would love to return in the future.
We had an amazing stay at Blackthorn Lodge. Joe and Julia were fantastic hosts. Joe was there to welcome us on arrival and explain how everything worked. Blackthorn Lodge had everything we needed. The Hot tub and Sauna were a welcome treat after a day on the lake and hiking in the Brecons. Couldn't get the kids out of the Hot tub! :)
Thanks Joe & Julia for a great couple of days away. Just what we needed.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 30 April 2024
Thank you for your lovely review, for being such lovely guests and for taking such good care of Blackthorn Lodge. Hope to see you all again, Julia and Joe
Comfortable peaceful cottage, great hot tub & sauna
The 3 of us (2 adults, 1 child) had a great week at this nicely rural property. Hot tub and sauna were well looked after and a treat to have exclusive use. The cottage shares the site with another holiday cottage, with a large shared grassed area to the front - good for football! 10 min walk to the local pub for dinner and the reservoir for watersports. No shops within walking distance but plenty in the nearby towns. Overall a great base from which to explore the local area. Recommended.
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 8 September 2022
Hi glad that you enjoyed your stay. You are correct in saying that there are no shops within walking distance in the rural village of Coed y Paen but the ‘Cwmbran Shopping’ retail area is less than a 7 to 10 minute drive away. Also the local supermarkets including Asda, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Iceland and Tesco all deliver to Blackthorn Meadow so guests often arrange a delivery on their arrival day. . The other holiday let is Hawthorn Lodge which we also own. Guests often book both lodges so that friends or family can go on holiday together but both have some time alone.
The house was clean and presentable, and easily accessible. Plenty of kitchen utensils/cups and plates etc. Main bedroom bed was very comfy, the childrens single beds were a little hard and our daughter struggled. Children loved the hot tub, downside being you have to walk around the front to the back and especially when it's cold was off putting but others may not be bothered by this - it was just hard with a toddler. Main sticking point was the wood burner fire/heating - it was either freezing cold in the mornings and you had to wake up throughout the night to restart the fire or it was so hot we had to have the doors open in a wind/rain storm. Toddler loved feeding the geese and chickens.
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 6 January 2025
Thanks for your review however, all of our mattresses are 'Doze Luca' mattresses' from 'Dreams'. Had you let us know that you weren't happy, we could have given you a travel cot instead. Travel cot mattresses are firmer but your 2 yr. old may have felt more secure in one and settled better.
Our Jacuzzi Spa Hot Tub and Red Cedar sauna are located in our private lockable garden area which is to the side and the rear of the bungalow. Hot tubs are not recommended for children under the age of 6 as they cannot control their body temp and as they can prove a health and safety issue when accessed by children without adult supervision most holiday let insurance companies - including ours - insist that they are securely fenced in to prevent unauthorised use and can only be accessed via a lockable gate.
We always ask our guests whether they have experience of using log and/or multi-fuel stoves and we were given the impression that you had. Despite this we still provided step-by-step visual instructions on how to use the multi-fuel wood burner which runs the central heating and we were always on hand to answer any queries when we replenished your logs, anthracite etc. daily or via the Vrbo message service. The dial labelled 0 to 5 on the side of the fire controls the level of heat produced once the fire has established. Had the anthracite been stoked up inside the fire and the dial set to 3 at night the cast iron fire would have continued to give off a steady heat during the night.
Loved this place will definitely go again. Lovely and cosy and the kids loved it here having a park in the garden to play in. The hot tub was great and even the kids enjoyed it.The landlords are so lovely and attentive they come round every day to check you have enough logs for the fire burner and check the hot tub chemical levels. Can not fault this place will book again in a few years time.
Had a lovely christmas break in this accommodation. We needed for nothing. The hot tub and log burner were fab. The steam room was fab until we encountered some wasps and then my husband wouldnt go back in. The owners were lovely and left refreshments and plenty of wood and coal etc. Would love to stay in summer to enjoy the play area. The Christmas decorations were lovely.
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 1 January 2023
Hi Wendy so glad that you enjoyed your stay at Blackthorn Lodge. With regards to the wasps - as our saunas are red cedar barrel saunas which are outside in the private garden area and our lodges are in a rural area - we did mention to you prior to your arrival that you should check before entering whether the intense heat of the sauna had woken up any hibernating wasps.
I am a little confused though as your husband told us that - after using the sauna 3 times a day every day - he had dispatched a few very drowsy wasps but continued to use the sauna 3 times a day right up until the night before your departure.
Most of our guests only use the saunas once a day so the additional hours of intense heat must have made the poor things think that summer had returned early. 😂
Thanks for the lovely review though.
Peace, tranquility, comfort.
Perfect for seeing this part of Wales.
Relax in hot tub then sauna and chill later to watch films .
Pubs in in Usk and closer by, Usk Castle, Fagans museum worth a visit
All the basic items were to hand from tea towels to dettol wipes, Oven gloves to bottle opener. Very much appreciated. Made it alot easier for me.
Even games to entertain the grandchildren.
We had a lovely low key New Year (two couples). The cottage is clean and well equipped. It's heated by a stovax multi fuel burner but the shower is electric. I'm a cold person so I worried that I would get chilly at night but the place retains the heat really well, the hosts are also generous with the wood & coal and brought us more when we ran low (lots of places we have been are a bit stingy!). The hot tub and sauna were a lovely addition and treated every day. Kitchen equipment was well stocked and plastic glasses provided for the hot tub.
I am disabled ( standard size manual wheelchair user) and was able to navigate the cottage and the bathroom is actually a wet room. Note there is a small strip of beach type shingle separating the hard pathway that leads round the back to the hot tub so I needed help navigating this.
Julia was really communicative both before and during our visit, but not intrusive. The area is really nice with walks around. We went to eat and sample some craft beers at the Tiny Rebel Brewery on the outskirts of Newport and would recommend it!
Overally we had a lovely stay and would definitely come again. Thanks!
Cosy bungalow with hot tub, sauna and wood-burning stove
A lovely, peaceful place to stay. Host Joe attends every day to check hot tub chemicals and bring more logs/kindling/ smokeless fuel. Nice area for visiting castles, market towns, etc. I would definitely go again.
Stayed 5 nights in Oct 2021
Response from VrboOwner on 18 October 2021
Hi Ann, thank you for your lovely review of our property. I just want to clarify one thing, I’m the host for both Blackthorn and Hawthorn Lodge - it’s my business. My lovely husband Joe restocks the fuel for multi fuel fires and occasionally checks the Jacuzzi chemicals (under my supervision) when I’m busy doing other tasks like cleaning, laundry, taxes and other administrative tasks. or - given that both our lodges have been in great demand ever since we came out of lockdown - I need a bit of a break. .Hope you have a great Christmas, we look forward to seeing you again in January 2022
A wonderful space for kids, with open spaces, animals, playground, games, jacuzzi and BBQ facilities. Wonderful animal farm and soft play nearby and surprisingly easy drive (one hour) to beaches. Julia pays great attention to detail and the property is very well appointed.