at the heart of the Oak
It all started when landscape artist David Cox ventured to Betws in 1844 to capture the transient beauty of the ever changing seasons of Snowdonia. He made his summer base at the Royal Oak and his students and fellow artists quickly followed. The Betws-y-Coed Artists’ Colony was born with the Royal Oak at its very heart.
With Britain’s first ever Art Colony established, seven of the artists went on to form the Cambrian Academy, which was given Royal status accreditation by Queen Victoria in 1881. The Academy is housed in the stunning Plas Mawr in Conwy where it continues to support artists inspired by and living in Wales.
Cox’s painting of an Oak tree, painted in 1847 which originally hung outside the hotel, now takes pride of place above the fireplace in the main lounge.
Alongside Cox’s work you’ll find contemporary commissions, historical prints and etchings, and other artistic finds we’ve made over the years. From Alison Bradley’s huge charcoal of a Welsh Black which adorns the wall in the Grill Room, celebrating Welsh produce and farming, to a relief sculpture carved out of Oak comissioned to celebrate our partnership with Arts & Business Cymru.
From June 1940 to the summer of 1945, the Royal Oak Hotel was the base for Dulwich Preparatory School. Around 240 boys and staff were moved to the Betws-y-coed area from the school’s premises because of the danger from Nazi bombing raids on London. In 1987 former pupils and staff presented the hotel with a detailed model of a Royal Mail coach, in memory of the school’s late headmaster John Leakey. The model is displayed in the hotel.
Alison Bradley Charcoal
a more recent history…
in 1962 when Anna Davies married Emrys Evans they expanded the Welsh Wool shop next door that Anna had started at 16 years old in 1956. When in 1971 an opportunity came about to buy the adjacent Royal Oak Hotel & grounds and the family started their journey into hospitality.
The hotel was remodelled in 1974 to include ensuite bathrooms and a grander restaurant entrances were introduced to accommodate weddings and large scale functions
in 1997 the Stablau complex was re-developed, to include an unique eating and socialising venue, independent Lodge accommodation and retail space which accommodates the Cotswold Outdoor retail experience.
In 2002 the company expanded again and acquired the Waterloo Hotel Lodge & Leisure at the southerly side of the village. Shorlty followed by the defunct petrol station & Little Chef.
The Royal Oak Hotel remains indepedently owned & run by the family today under the parent company Snowdonia Hospitality & Leisure Ltd. And in 2021 we celebrated our 50th anniversary.
The journey to deliver great hospitality continues and future plans for the company include developing a new brownfield site in the village bring a new dimension to the offering within both the village and the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park .
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