London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Pembrokeshire hotel slated for £200 fee to deter instagrammers

Pembrokeshire hotel slated for £200 fee to deter instagrammers

Hotel owners have defended introducing a £200 membership fee after being overrun by people taking sunset snaps for social media from its clifftop bar.

The Druidstone Hotel, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, has been criticised as "elitist" after starting the members-only club.

Owner Angus Bell said the hotel had been inundated by tourists after images were shared on Instagram.

"It just got too much," Mr Bell said.

With more people choosing to go on holiday in the UK this year due to Covid rules, visitors have flocked to beauty spots across Wales, with queues seen on mountains and packed beaches.

People flock to the area to witness the sun setting over St Brides Bay

Mr Bell said he had been left struggling to cope after the bar, overlooking St Brides Bay, was swamped with visitors from nearby pop-up campsites and Airbnbs.

"It just got too much," he said.

"My guests were having to wait 45 minutes at the bar to get a drink and a lot of the local people would avoid us in the summer because we were too busy."

Mr Bell, who took over the hotel after his parents died, said the membership, which can increase to £400 a year with additional benefits such as an increased bar tab facility, was rolled out to try and "control numbers" and make it a nicer place to live and stay.

"We could have gone down the route of having a second bar, but we don't want to be a pub and I didn't like walking into my garden to find 60 people there that I didn't know," he said.

The former Victorian home, along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, was transformed into a 10-bedroom hotel in 1972 by his parents Rod and Jane Bell.

The hotel has been a popular site for people watching the sunset over the Bay for years

Mr Bell, who now runs the hotel with his partner Beth Wilshaw, said his parents had previously run the hotel as a members-only club, and the new fee was value for money.

"Non-members can still book rooms or a table in the restaurant - membership is really about the bar," he said.

However, the new fee sparked backlash on Tripadvisor, with some saying the move was "barring" visitors and locals from visiting the hotel.

One reviewer wrote they would no longer be able to go to the Druidstone after going there for food and drinks for over 40 years.

Another, who described the move as "utterly elitist and backward", wrote: "So disappointing to have such a lovely place turned into an elitist members-only clique where you can only drink if you're staying there or pay £200+ a year."

Mr Bell said that the criticism had not changed his mind, and he now had time for his staff and guests after introducing the system.

"I've made my life better - even though someone might be a bit upset that they can't pop in for a cup of tea," he said.

In a note on the hotel website, the owners say they "know there are people who really love this place but for whom £200 annually just will not be possible, adding: "We don't want to price people out of The Druidstone. So talk to Angus and Beth."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×