Landal Dylan Coastal Resort, Pembrokeshire: An Honest Review of Our Family Long Weekend
- Samantha
- Jul 15
- 12 min read
Hot tub on the terrace, the Taf Estuary glittering below, and two very excited little puffin-hunters. Some weekends just tick every box.
We spent a long weekend at Landal Dylan Coastal Resort on the edge of Pembrokeshire this year, staying in a lovely 6-person Epic Spa lodge with our little ones (aged 3 and 7) and the grandparents along for the trip too.
Between the hot tub, the show-stopping spa, the wonderful food, the views over the Taf Estuary, and a very special puffin adventure for our Puffin Rock super fans, it turned out to be one of our favourite UK family escapes. The location alone would have won us over! Set high above the beautiful estuary, with the historic ruins of Laugharne Castle and lovely waterside walks (including the famous Dylan Thomas trail) just a short stroll away, but it was the iconic Milk Wood House Spa and the incredible five star food at Milk Wood House Bar & Kitchen that really made the stay feel special set with panoramic far-reaching views over the estuary and beyond.
This is my full, honest review of our stay covering the lodge, the gorgeous Milk Wood House Spa, eating at the on-site restaurant, the best local places to visit, and how we went puffin spotting (a must if your little ones love Puffin Rock as much as mine do!). The spa and the restaurant were genuinely two of the biggest highlights of our trip, along with the unbeatable location perched above the beautiful Taf Estuary, with Laugharne Castle and gentle estuary-side walks right on the doorstep.
If you're researching a luxury family lodge break in Pembrokeshire or Carmarthenshire, here's everything you need to know...
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For a visual journey through our stay here, feel free to explore my dedicated Wales Instagram Highlight under the handle @SammyLouLuxe
Where is Landal Dylan Coastal Resort?
Landal Dylan Coastal Resort sits on a beautiful clifftop above the Taf Estuary, just outside the historic little town of Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, right on the doorstep of Pembrokeshire and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. It's an easy drive down the M4 and A40 via Carmarthen, which makes it wonderfully accessible for a long weekend, yet once you arrive it feels a world away from everyday life.
The setting is the real magic here. The lodges are perched to make the most of the views, with the green hills on one side and the sweeping estuary and coastline on the other. Laugharne itself is steeped in history and famous as the home of the poet Dylan Thomas, his writing shed and boathouse are just a short walk from the resort, as well as the castle and estauary, and the whole area has that unspoilt, slightly wild Welsh-coast feeling that's so good for the soul.
Our Lodge: The Epic Spa
We stayed in the Epic Spa lodge, and it was absolutely lovely. It's a stand-alone, single-storey lodge sleeping up to six, with three bedrooms, one master with a king-size bed and two twin rooms, which was perfect for us with the children and the grandparents, and it meant everyone had their own space. Being all on one level was a real bonus with a three-year-old and was lovely and easy for the grandparents too.
Inside, the design is bright, modern and beautifully done, inspired by the blue water and golden sands of the Welsh coast, with cool neutral tones and lovely copper and wooden accents. The open-plan living and dining area has big windows that flood the space with light and bring those gorgeous views right inside, plus a Smart TV and a collection of board games that came in handy for a cosy evening in. The kitchen is genuinely well equipped, oven, hob, microwave, dishwasher, fridge-freezer, even a wine cooler, so self-catering was easy and stress-free. There is even a separate laundry room, which became so useful for storing the empty suitcases and hanging the wet swimwear from the hot tub to dry.
What I always look out for is whether a lodge feels properly thought through for families, and this one did. There's a high chair and cot available on request, and the enclosed decking made all the difference for keeping an eye on the little ones.
The Hot Tub and Terrace
The private hot tub on the enclosed decking was, predictably, the highlight for all of us. After a busy day out exploring, there's nothing better than sinking into the warm water with a glass of something while the children play happily nearby (or usually in with us!). The decking is private and the views from the terrace are just stunning, especially as the sun goes down over the estuary.
We got into a lovely little rhythm of hot tub time in the late afternoon, then back inside to get the children fed and to bed, and then back out into the hot tub in the evening once they were asleep, with the lights of the estuary below and the stars above.
Having the grandparents there meant we could even sneak out for the odd quiet soak knowing the little ones were happily settled.
Those evening soaks were exactly the kind of slowing-down I always hope a holiday will bring.
The Milk Wood Spa
I have to give the spa a section all of its own, because it was one of the things we loved most about the whole stay, we went every single day and it's absolutely gorgeous. At the heart of the resort is Milk Wood House, and the £7.5 million Milk Wood Spa inside it is, without exaggeration, one of the most beautiful spas I've ever been to.
The showstopper is the pools. There's a stunning indoor infinity pool set behind a two-storey wall of glass, so the countryside and estuary views pour right in, and the water almost seems to merge with the Taf Estuary beyond. Then there's the heated outdoor hydrotherapy infinity pool, with in-water loungers where you can lie back and soak up the views whatever the weather, we loved it just as much in the rain as in the sun. Honestly, it's the most scenic pool I've ever swum in.
Beyond the pools, the facilities are wonderful: a herbal steam room, a tepidarium with curved heated relaxation beds, themed experience showers, a sauna with glass fronts to keep those estuary views, and a peaceful mezzanine relaxation zone dotted with comfy chairs to curl up in. There's also a glass-fronted gym with Technogym equipment and a yoga studio running regular classes.
For treatments, the spa has partnered with ishga, using natural, seaweed-based Hebridean products, with options like the invigorating seaweed massage, seaweed body wraps, facials, and manicures and pedicures. I treated myself to a treatment in the calm, view-free treatment rooms and came out feeling completely blissed out. The pool is adults-only for an early-evening window, but children are welcome the rest of the time, so we could mix family swims with the odd grown-up moment of calm.
There are also outdoor play areas and lovely grounds to explore, so between the spa, the pools and the play spaces you never have to go far for something to do.
Eating at Milk Wood Bar & Kitchen
We ate at Milk Wood Bar & Kitchen, the resort's on-site restaurant, and it was a real treat, and a lovely one to do all together with the grandparents. The views were absolutely incredible: it sits up in Milk Wood House looking right out over the Taf Estuary, with floor-to-ceiling glass and outdoor terraces, so you're gazing across the water and countryside the whole time you're dining.
Watching the estuary change with the tide while we ate, especially as the sun went down, made every meal feel special. The menu is seasonal and built around fresh, local Welsh ingredients, there's even a wood-fired pizza oven, and the food was beautifully presented and genuinely delicious. The service was warm and attentive too, and they looked after the children brilliantly, which always makes such a difference when you're dining out as a family.
One thing I really appreciated is that you don't have to head out to the restaurant if you'd rather not, food and drink can also be delivered to your lodge, which is perfect for a cosy night in after a long day of adventures. We did a mix of both: a special meal out at the restaurant all together, a couple of relaxed self-catering nights in the lodge, and one evening where we ordered in and ate on the sofa with a film. That flexibility is one of the lovely things about a lodge break.
Tip: Do book your restaurant table in advance, especially during school holidays and weekends, as an award-winning restaurant with the most breathtaking views, it can get very busy.
Seeing the Puffins (for our Puffin Rock fans!)
Now for the bit my two were most excited about. My little ones (3 and 7) are completely obsessed with Puffin Rock, the gorgeous Irish children's series on Netflix, so seeing real-life puffins was top of the wish list and Pembrokeshire is one of the very best places in the entire UK to do exactly that.
The star attraction is Skomer Island, a National Nature Reserve off the Pembrokeshire coast that's home to one of Britain's largest puffin colonies and it's been a record-breaking year for puffins, so there genuinely couldn't have been a better time to visit.
We chose to do the hour-long boat trip around the island rather than landing on it, and I'm so glad we did. We saw so many puffins, and astonishingly close too, bobbing on the water right beside the boat, whirring past overhead and crash-landing with beaks full of fish. For children who know the puffins by name from the telly, it was pure magic, and my eldest hasn't stopped talking about it since.
Doing the boat trip around the island rather than landing was absolutely the right call with little ones. Skomer itself has no facilities at all, no café, no toilets, no shelter, so the standard landing trips, which give you around five hours on the island, would have been a very long time out there with a 3- and 7-year-old. The hour-long cruise around the island gave us all the puffin magic with none of the stress, and it was the perfect length to keep little ones happy and engaged the whole way.
A few important things to know:
Puffin season runs from April to late July, with the very best time being mid-May to mid-July when the adults are busy feeding their chicks. By the start of August they've gone back out to sea, so timing matters.
Book online in advance. The boat trips are hugely popular and sell out fast, especially in peak puffin season, so don't leave it to chance.
Boats leave from Martin's Haven, which is around an hour and a half's drive from the resort, so allow the best part of a day even for the shorter cruise.
The round-the-island cruise is ideal for younger children you stay on the boat, it's about an hour, and you still get wonderfully close views of the puffins without needing to manage a full day on a facility-free island.
If your children are a little older, or you want longer with the birds, the landing trips are incredible too, but for us, with our two little ones, the hour-long boat trip around Skomer was the perfect choice and the absolute highlight of our weekend.
Local Places to Visit
Beyond the puffins, this corner of Wales is packed with brilliant family days out:
Laugharne — the pretty town right on the resort's doorstep, with its 13th-century castle and the Dylan Thomas Boathouse and writing shed. A lovely, gentle morning's wander, and an easy one to do with grandparents in tow.
Pendine Sands — a vast seven-mile stretch of golden beach just a few miles away, perfect for sandcastles, kite-flying and burning off energy.
Tenby — a picture-perfect seaside town with medieval walls, a harbour, cobbled streets and gorgeous beaches. Ice creams and sandcastles all round.
Folly Farm — a hugely popular family attraction with a zoo, farm animals, a vintage funfair and indoor play, ideal for a rainy day.
Manor Park Wildlife Centre — Wales' only walking safari, where you can wander among lemurs, tigers and wallabies.
Colby Woodland Garden — a hidden wooded valley with a stream to play in and a secret garden, great for a picnic and a wild play.
National Botanic Garden of Wales — 400 acres of meadows, woodland and waterfalls with the world's largest single-span glasshouse.
Tips for Your Stay at Landal Dylan Coastal Resort
After our long weekend, here are the things I'd pass on:
Book the puffin trip first, then plan around it. If seeing the puffins is a priority, sort that before anything else, as the Skomer boats sell out fast. Check the April–July season carefully.
Do a supermarket shop before you arrive. There's a lovely flexibility to self-catering in the lodge, so stock up on the way in (Carmarthen has big supermarkets) so you can settle straight in.
Pack for all weathers. This is the Welsh coast, bring wellies, waterproofs and swimming things, and you'll be ready for anything from beach days to hot tub evenings.
Make the most of the pools and spa. The infinity pools with estuary views are a real highlight and try to book yourself a spa treatment while you're there.
Book your restaurant table ahead. Milk Wood Bar & Kitchen is popular, especially at weekends and in school holidays.
Use the lodge delivery service. Having food brought to your lodge for a cosy night in is a lovely option after a big day out.
Build in downtime. It's tempting to fill every day, but some of our best moments were simply relaxing on the terrace, watching the estuary and doing very little.
Consider the round-the-island boat trip with little ones. Skomer has no facilities, so the hour-long cruise is a brilliant, stress-free way for younger children to see the puffins.
Is It Good for Families?
Absolutely. The combination of spacious, well-equipped lodges, the private hot tub, the pools and spa, the on-site restaurant with lodge delivery, and the incredible location makes this a brilliant base for a family break. Having everything on one level in our lodge, plus the high chair, cot and enclosed decking, made life with a 3- and 7-year-old genuinely easy.
What makes it special, though, is the surroundings. Being so close to Pembrokeshire's beaches, wildlife and that once-in-a-childhood puffin experience means you can mix proper relax-at-the-lodge days with big adventure days out. It's the kind of place where the children are happy and worn out by bedtime, and the grown-ups still get to feel like they've had a holiday too.
Great for Multi-Generational Trips
One of the things that made this break work so well was having the grandparents along with us. The Epic lodge comfortably sleeps six across three bedrooms, so there was room for everyone, and the single-storey layout made it easy and accessible for all ages. We loved that there was something for everybody, the children had the pools, the play areas and the puffins; the grandparents could enjoy a gentle wander into Laugharne, a relaxed day at the lodge, or simply sit on the terrace soaking up the views; and we got the best of both.
Having them there also gave us a little flexibility as parents. On our big puffin day out, the grandparents were more than happy to have a slower day back at the resort, and meals all together at Milk Wood Bar & Kitchen became a real highlight of the trip. If you're considering a multi-generational getaway, this kind of spacious lodge with on-site facilities is a brilliant way to do it, everyone gets to holiday at their own pace, but you come together for the moments that matter.
Vote for Landal in the British Travel Awards
If you've loved the sound of our stay as much as we loved living it, here's a lovely way to show Landal some support: Landal UK has been nominated in the British Travel Awards 2026, including in categories for UK family holidays, parks and lodges holidays, short breaks and romantic getaways. It takes just a minute to cast your vote, and it's a wonderful way to champion a brand doing family breaks so beautifully. You can vote for Landal UK here.
Final Thoughts: Would We Go Back?
In a heartbeat. Our long weekend at Landal Dylan Coastal Resort had everything we look for in a family escape, a beautiful, comfortable lodge, a hot tub with a view, the gorgeous spa, lovely food, and an unbeatable location for adventures. But it was the puffins that made it unforgettable. Seeing my little ones' faces light up at the sight of real-life versions of their favourite Puffin Rock characters is a memory I'll treasure forever.
If you're looking for a luxury family lodge break in Pembrokeshire that combines proper relaxation with brilliant days out, and especially if you've got little puffin fans of your own, I can't recommend it highly enough. Some holidays are about ticking off the sights; the best ones, like this, are about slowing down together and making memories. This was very much the latter
Ad/PR Invite, our stay at Landal Dylan Coastal Resort was gifted. Thank you to Landal for having us. Don't forget to vote for Landal UK here.
If this has sparked your wanderlust, make sure you’re following me over on Instagram and TikTok [@sammylouluxe] as that’s where I share behind-the-scenes stories, travel tips, and magical moments from my trips as they happen. Think of my Stories as your front-row pass to the adventure, long before it hits the grid or features on the Travel Editorial.
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