ONCE, monks would kneel to pray in their bare cells in this Welsh beauty spot.
Today, VIP guests gaze from their elegant apartments over the golf course and the Menai Strait to the moody grandeur of Snowdonia in the distance.
The former monastery, which became Henllys Hall Hotel on Anglesey, north Wales, has had a £10m facelift and is now available for members of the group Holiday Property Bond, a life insurance bond investing in holiday properties.
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With 35,500 investor families, many of them in the north west, HPB has over 1,000 properties in 28 locations across 12 countries, including Cyprus, France, the Canary Islands and Tuscany.
Henllys, the historic mansion and golf course at Beaumaris, is the latest of their luxury developments, aided by a £250,000 grant from the Welsh Tourist Board.
The project involved the conversion (and conservation) of the former mansion into 25 luxury self-catering apartments and the construction of 63 cottages and apartments in the grounds.
I visited the 150-acre site on its first day, the sun beating down on the ancient building as 350 guests sipped chilled white wine and admired the panoramic view of Beaumaris Castle and the stunning Snowdonia range.
SNOWDONIA : Brooding beauty
The site, once the 13th century royal estate of the princes of Gwynedd, has its own 18-hole golf course, heated indoor swimming pool, gym, sauna, bowling green and tennis courts.
It also has its own bistro - Harry's Restaurant, named after the former Goon, Harry Secombe - providing delicious dishes in the evening for those guests, perhaps tired after a trek up Snowdon, who want to relax on the site.
Holiday Property Bond claims it will inject more than £2m into the local economy. "When we canvassed investors and asked them where they would like to see the next site developed in the UK, they unanimously suggested north Wales," said Mr Baber. The result is their latest venture, which has a roadside shrine in the grounds to recall the building's past as a monastery.
Four-poster style
I stayed in one of the fully-fitted apartments attached to the main hall, complete with kitchen, two bedrooms, one en-suite, and a lounge with stunning views over the golf course. One studio apartment has a four-poster bed, and the bay windows have a view as far as Snowdonia. After a round of golf, just the place to kick off your shoes and relax with a glass of chilled Chablis.
Henllys is tucked away behind Beaumaris, and you do need a car, especially if the weather turns nasty, which it can in Anglesey.
Bondholders make a lump sum investment - a minimum of £3,000, but the average is £9,000 - and the more cash you put in the more points you have to spend on holidays.
The investment gives bondholders rent-free holiday accommodation for life. They can go to any of the properties, and the number of points they use up depends on the site and the time of year. Four nights in the Trossachs in January could consume as few as 830 points, while Henllys in high season could eat up thousands.
It has taken HPB five years to turn dream into reality in this beauty spot, where you can have a round of golf and a dip in the pool, or just relax in the baronial hall, wondering what those monks who used to pray here would think of it all.
