We stayed at this B&B in late April while attending the wedding of a friend in Cardiff. The Great Barn is a lovely old building, nicely converted, and is located in the countryside near the village of Bonvilston, not far from Cardiff. The directions on the website were spot on and the place was easy to find, despite being quite rural. Our first impressions were very favourable, the place looks lovely and the surrounding countryside is very pretty. This is definitely a place for those who love tranquillity rather than bright lights, so the location suited us perfectly. There was some confusion over our booking, even though I had emailed to confirm our arrival time several days beforehand, and we were not expected till the following day. Fortunately a room was free or we would have been quite stuck to find somewhere nice late at night. The room was fine, quite nice, though rather small, and the ensuite bathroom is definitely not for the largely built, though very clean. The room had a small tv and also some reading matter. The bed was comfortable but rather smaller than we are used to - maybe a small queen size bed. This seemed standard in Wales. The landlady was pleasant and recommended an excellent dinner venue nearby - the Bush Inn, in nearby St Hilary, a lovely and quaint medieval village, off the beaten track though only a couple of miles from the Great Barn. The food and service there were both excellent and the place had a great atmosphere, and we would have loved to have returned again, had opportunity permitted. Downsides: we didn't have a great night's sleep at the Great Barn as the room was fully bright from about 6.30am: heavier curtains would be helpful, though I managed to block out some of the light by hanging my coat over the window. From a sound point of view, the place was lovely and peaceful at night, but the movements and voices of other guests were very audible in the morning - probably fairly usual in B&Bs. The shower cubicle is a tight fit if you want to wash your hair... There also appeared to be some problem with the water, which, after a long wait, reached lukewarm temperature only. I would have mentioned this next day but the only questions asked related to breakfast (which was fine, if unexciting - the standard cooked breakfast). All in all, I wouldn't be rushing back to this B&B, which I found rather expensive for what you got - we paid £60 for our double room. Still, it is in a lovely area and a nice old building, and perhaps most of my gripes (apart from the lack of hot water!) are a bit pernickety....! We found Plas LLanmihangel, near Cowbridge, where we stayed for the next two nights, to be absolutely wonderful, and I would recommend that B&B to anyone staying in this area (I'll write a full review when I have time!)

This was, by far, the nicest B&B I've ever stayed in. The scenery was gorgeous plus the hostess was very sweet and helpful. I would recommend this place to anyone traveling in or around Cardiff, Wales. Wonderful breakfasts and service. I hope to return!