What We Offer Our Guests
The opportunity to enjoy our second home, which we have developed over the last 40 years for when we visit from California to see family and friends in the UK. We use Cedar Gardens a few weeks in the spring and again in the fall.
About 6 years ago we decided we wanted to share Cedar Gardens with others who sought a natural and peaceful environment in which to revitalize their spirit.
Our philosophy is that when we lower our personal stress, life is more enjoyable, and we increase our ability to partner with others to achieve our purposes.
The comments provided in the Cedar Gardens guestbook, highlights of which are available on a tab on the home page, speak for themselves.
Cedar Gardens Highlights
- Cedar Gardens is in an area of outstanding natural beauty overlooking the beautiful Vale of Clwyd, a few minutes’ drive from the medieval town of Ruthin.
- The property has a large partially covered balcony which provides a view of the majestic Cedar of Lebanon, and weather permitting, the the setting sun.
- There are 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms, one of which can be set up with twin beds if required. There is also a laundry room, a quiet room, and the TV lounge.
- The property has 2 stories and has internal staircases and stairs down to the garden.
- The hidden Lower Garden is a haven of peace and tranquility and includes a large garden lounge with a wood burning stove and equipment to enjoy a game of badminton, croquet, or lawn boules.
Cedar Gardens History
In 1955, Bob McQueen's father bought Llanbedr Hall Estate in a derelict condition. He converted the service buildings at the rear of the hall into a hamlet of cottages which he sold, not only to gain the #nancial resources to create a hotel, restaurant and residential $ats in Llanbedr Hall, but also to create a small community. He had planned to retire to Llanbedr Hall Estate but in 1978 his wife, who was a city girl, decided she did not want to retire to Wales, and they moved to Southport.
In 1975 Bob and his wife Annie decided to take a break from their professional careers. They moved to Llanbedr Hall Estate where they established a retreat center called Bryn Coed (wooded hill). They provided weeklong courses focusing on learning how to live a rewarding and positive life in a predominantly materialistic and competitive society. Participants were people from all walks of life who were seeking insights into how to live a happy and healthy life and make a positive contribution to society. Bob and Annie were living on the estate in 1978 when his father retired and gave all the property he retained on Llanbedr Hall Estate to Bob. Bob and Annie continued to run workshops and manage the estate until 1980 when they started a family and decided to return to their home in California. It was at that time they combined three flats to establish the Cedar Gardens property. Their initial purpose was to establish a natural and peaceful place which could be used by them as a second home and by their family and friends for holidays.
Cedar Gardens fulfilled that purpose for many years. It was in August 2016 when Bob and Annie decided that since the property was not being used on a regular basis, it was better to make it available to people who sought a holiday home where they could find peace and quiet and rejuvenate their spirits. They decided to limit occupancy to four adults as they thought larger numbers and children would result in a less peaceful experience. They were fortunate to have Peter Jones as their property manager, who agreed to manage the holiday rentals too. This continued until September 2022.
Unfortunately, Cedar Gardens requires considerable maintenance and operations costs which the holiday rentals have not covered. Therefore, in 2023 we decided to expand occupancy to six guests and allow children. This has, however, not significantly increased our revenue.
We decided to reach out to the people that stayed at Cedar Gardens between August 2016 and September 2022 to offer them the opportunity to become a friend of Cedar Gardens. We are that by encouraging return visitors, we will be able to increase revenue and thus enable Cedar Gardens to continue for the long term.