Pen-Y-Ceunant Tea House

When everything else is closed on Snowdon and in the surrounding area, the Pen-​Y-​Ceunant tea house is like a shining beacon there to offer you shelter, comfort and and the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted. The menu states it’s ‘probably’ the best hot chocolate — there’s no probably about it, it’s absolutely divine! Chocolatey, the perfect level of sweetness, not cloying at all, and with a large dollop of cream to top it off — amazing!
We stumbled across this tea shop after attempting to climb Snowdon via the Llanberis route. We only managed to get about half way up due to snow, ice and an astonishingly cold wind. It was a beautiful climb but we needed a little respite from the cold after our descent. We wondered in to the tea room and it felt like stumbling in to somebody’s living room! There was a roaring fire with a old black labrador curled up in front of it, a scattering of fellow walkers, and one very crazy café owner!
Stefan, the crazy café owner of which I speak, made us instantly welcome with his friendliness and Welsh humour. He was a little taken aback by my boyfriend requesting an Americano — he could have coffee and that’s it! He chatted to us while we supped our drinks and warmed up, and there was plenty of banter regarding my boyf’s home country of Brazil and our home town of Brighton.
Stefan did also give us a few tips of things to do in Llanberis for the rest of our day.
This place offers accommodation as well and would be a lovely place to stay if you want to be as close to the mountain as possible. Stefan will offer you a warm welcome, an amazing hot chocolate and a few words to brighten your day. I have a feeling that he may have been here nearly as long as the mountain, and I can’t seem him going anywhere soon!

To set the scene: We had just climbed one of the less easy routes up Mount Snowdon. I managed to get mild hypothermia as a result of torrential rain, and 60mph winds. However, the train down wasn’t running due to bad weather and so after I recovered, we took the easy route down (and almost got blown away a few times).
After rescuing a lone lady with chocolate, water, and paracetomol, who had all but given up hope, our group carried her to the safest shelter we could find. Which happened to be this tea room.
Heaven.
A small room with wood panelling and large roaring fire. Freezing, soaking, and shivering slowly subsided, and our group indulged in many whiskies and huge pots of tea. The lady we rescued was thoughtfully given a complementary cup of tea.
The owner is quite a character. Friendly, but a little bit crazy… To give a word of warning though, he gives away free nights to those who write positive reviews in trip advisor. I wish he wouldn’t have tried to bribe me, because I don’t think he needed to in order for a good review!