"Most British seaside resorts are Victorian. Some are pre-Victorian ports that were rapidly adapted to service the 19th-century mania for seabathing and Kiss-Me-Quick walks on the pier. But Deganwy is different from being a new, late 20th century resort development.

The name Deganwy probably comes from the Welsh Dinas-Gonwy (fortified town on the River Conwy) but its castle was demolished by avenging Welsh Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1263 and all that remains today are ruins.

The town’s marina and its lovely new Quay Hotel are actually built on wharves that were constructed in the nineteenth century for the purpose of exporting North Walian slate by steamboat. Given the impassable nature of Snowdonia’s roads at the time, slate was brought by rail from Blaenau Ffestiniog to be shipped out around the British Isles. So while many towns around the British coastline were becoming resorts, Deganwy was industrialising. In the twentieth century when the slate industry decline the wharves fell into disrepair but then plans were laid for a marina with housing on the abandoned site and modern hotel accommodation was planned too. The presence of a railway station with connections to Manchester Piccadilly meant that Deganwy, once a fortress and thereafter an industrial port, could become an attractive new resort on the Welsh coast. Today its hotel terrace offers a tranquil spot to sit and enjoy a drink as the sun sets over the Irish Sea."

"Pull up a chair on a private balcony at one of four penthouse suites available to book at this 74-room hotel. Drink in the views of the Conwy Estuary and Conwy's ancient castle, made magical at night by its illuminations. Inside, these opulent rooms have been recently refreshed - redecorated and refurnished with king-size beds and oval Whirlpool baths with integrated televisions."

"Deganwy’s history goes back at least to the sixth century when a fortress was built here by Maelgwn, King of Gwynedd. Several more castles were built down the ages and Deganwy was briefly the stronghold of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last Welsh prince of Wales. In the nineteenth century the quayside and wharves were built here connected by rail to Blaenau Ffestiniog for the purpose of exporting Welsh slate by coastal steamer all round England and Wales."