George III Hotel, Penmaenpoolback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Wonderful pub! Visited three times on a week's holiday.The views and the building make this a wonderful location for a relaxing drink.Ate here and was really pleased with the quality of the food.Good quality local beers available.There are two bars selling different ales!
This is without doubt a special hostelry and one of the best in the area.The staff are wonderful and offer excellent service.Really friendly and helpful.
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Most of the earlier reviews comment on the poor service and things havent improved since.
Downstairs in the rather dismal cellar bar the lone barman was struggling to cope with demand so I decided to follow the advice of the numerous signs around the place that suggested avoiding the queues by using the bar upstairs in the restaurant - only the barman there clearly didnt like having sweaty, muddy walkers and cyclists in his posh bar and used bored indifference to make sure we waited as long to get served as we would have done if we'd stayed in the queue downstairs.
And for this you pay the highest prices in the area.
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Called in a couple of times recently whilst on holiday in Barmouth.
Both times the beer was excellent (Purple Moose). Service was a bit slow due to the numbers in the bar and especially sitting outside enjoying the splendid views and weather.
Lots of cyclists and walkers wanting teas and coffees contributed to the slowish service but as the only rush was to get back over the bridge before 6:30 we weren't too bothered.
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A fine old building located in an splendid position overlooking the dramatic scenery of the Mawddach estuary and its historic wooden toll bridge. It is also located on a disused railway line which has been converted into an excellent cycling and walking trail linking Dolgellau to Barmouth Bridge. Didn't visit the main hotel which is located at first floor level when viewed from the river, but the collonade in front of the Cellar Bar provided a very welcome break from the rain. Three real ales on handpump - Hobgoblin, London Pride and the first-rate Glaslyn Ale from the local Bragdy Mws Piws (Purple Moose Brewery) worth every penny of the �2.90 asking price. Friendly staff too, quite happy to provide a glass of tapwater and even offering to pop some ice in it too - cost almost nothing, but the sort of little thing one remembers when asked to recommend places (which, in this case, I definitely do).
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Visited in September 2009.
Smallish pub/hotel magnificently situated on the banks of the Mawddach Estuary with superb views of the river and the mountains beyond on the other side.
Aside from hotel residents, the main trade appears to come from walkers and cyclists who are travelling along the Mawddach Trail - a splendid, highly recommended walk between Barmouth and Dolgellau along the banks of the estuary following the route of the long closed railway line and which recently featured in that TV series of walks presented by Julia Bradbury. Access to the hotel can also normally be obtained from the other side of the river via a rather rickety old toll bridge opposite, which was closed for repair at the time of my visit.
Part of the hotel's accommodation is "The Lodge", which is the converted old railway station and station master's house. A hundred yards or so down still stands the old signal box. In a small grassy area at the side stands the old Penmaenpool Station sign.
The hotel consists of a ground floor bar - "The Cellar Bar" - which is geared up for catering for walkers/cyclists and has a bare boarded slightly rustice feel to it. There's plenty of outside seating to enable you to take in the splendid scenery. Upstairs, via the hotel entrance, is a food orientated more comfortable bar, also open to the public, although I suspect that muudy boots, rucksacks etc might be frowned upon.
On my stop off back in September 2009, disappointingly only the upstairs bar was open and service left a lot to be desired, with only the one person serving who are taking food orders, collecting dirty plates as well as serving drinks. He might even have been doubling up as chef for all I know, so frequently did he seem to disappear from the bar.
There's 3 pumps, but only one real ale was on - a rather uninspiring Worthington Cask Ale at � 2.90p. Indications were that beers from Purple Moose and Hobgoblin had recently been on, so perhaps I was just unlucky.
I was left with the distinct impression that this establishment could be much better run and that more effort could be made ( why wasn't The Cellar Bar open on a pleasant summers afternoon, why was there only one person serving, for instance ?), but, quite simply, this is one of the most stunning locations for a pint that you're ever likely to come across.
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One of the most beautifully situated pubs in Britain, to my mind, with ever changing views across the Mawddach estuary. To sit outside with a pint on a fine day, and simply absorb the view, would make it well worth visiting, even if it had nothing else to offer.
In fact, it's a pleasant place, offering a decent range of beers and quite good, fairly standard pub food. Its position makes it very popular, and it can get very crowded, even out of the high season - you often need to get there pretty early if you want to eat; but it's well worth finding.
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