The bar at Browns was once Dylan Thomas's watering hole. He made his home in Laugharne from 1949 until his death in 1953, for the most part in a boathouse overlooking the shimmering Taf Estuary in southern Carmarthenshire. The 14-bedroom 18th-century townhouse, had been closed – a scandal, some would say, given its significance – for several years, but now sports a pub-sign portrait of Thomas, like a jaunty earring, and the freshly painted front door is open.
Hello, the entrance hallway has been "boutiqued" in a shade reminiscent of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom. Bea and I peer inside the famous bar, which – phew, relief – is as unpretentious as you like, and rather small. No wonder, on this first Saturday, that eager locals are already treating the sitting room (somewhat optimistically called the Reading Room) across the hall, as an extension of the bar. Dog walkers peer in, the sun tempts drinkers out on to the front step, there's a joyful vibe here and it's infectious.
"Love these," says Bea later, stroking the giant Welsh wool cushions on her bed, then says: "Wow, this is as heavy as a horse blanket," pulling back the (unseasonally thick) bed throw. Another floor up (no twins here), in my room of rustic stone and oak, I have a good bedside radio, coffee things, gorgeous bathrobe, Welsh cakes in a jar and the marble-tiled bathroom is truly opulent.
Back down in the bar, when we ask for directions to our dinner venue, everyone joins in to help. It's clearly going to be that kind of place. There is no requirement to serve any meal other than breakfast (since this is not graded as a hotel, but a guesthouse), but there are plans for a simple menu of Welsh charcuterie platters, and the management also runs the nearby Three Mariners pub which does pizzas.
We're going for a proper treat though, at The Cors, a few minutes away. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings The Cors (cors is Welsh for bog), a house with a heavenly garden, moody colour scheme and delightfully ramshackle air, becomes a restaurant (with rooms). We fall in love with the place instantly. "Cor," I say to Bea, sampling her roast rack of lamb with garlic rosemary crust, and cutting off a piece of tender Welsh Black beef fillet for her to try.
Back at Browns, the party atmosphere is unabated but we retire to our Welsh wool mattresses.
"Best night's sleep I've had in ages," says Bea, beaming next morning. "Tables are too small," she observes, over her paper, as we arrange ourselves in the bar for breakfast. We savour fresh OJ and good coffee but why isn't there a menu? Ah – because the choice is just granola, muesli and a fry-up. Now that really is retro.
Browns says "hotel" on the front, but it is really a bar with rooms. It must up its game, with bar and breakfast menus, tempt us with house wines and snacks, and create comfortable spaces in which to eat because this important bar is always going to be the main event. It is this, not the bathrooms, which will bring visitors back.
• Dinner at The Cors (01994 427219, thecors.co.uk) costs around £37 for three courses. Further details on the area at discovercarmarthenshire.com
Follow Sally on Twitter @sallyshalam, sallyshalamsbritain.co.uk
