Tourism

Lord Roberts of Llandudno Excerpts

Wednesday 24th April 2013 Grand Committee

[Lord Roberts of Llandudno]

My Lords, at a meeting last week, I was introduced as one of Llandudno’s two “Peers” or “piers”. Either I am all at sea or out to sea, but it is good to be the only speaker here, I think, from an area that has a pier—a seaside resort. I will also say how proud I am to bear the name of this seaside resort, as Roberts of Llandudno.

Certain things have happened, especially in the past few months. The Lauriston Court Hotel on Llandudno’s promenade has been named by thousands of guest reviews on the TripAdvisor site to offer the best service in the world. You have to go to the Galaxy hotels if you wish to contest that standing. The Lauriston Court is rated the sixth-best bargain hotel. I am therefore delighted to have that confirmation of our status, and Llandudno is a wonderful seaside resort. Many other hotels and guesthouses can be recommended highly, and they are attractive both inside and out, but not all of them are. Some things could be so easily remedied. I was in Marble Arch recently and saw the state of the flags flown there. It is better to have no flag at all than one that is dirty and flea-bitten. It reduces the appeal not only of the building but of the country which the flag represents. Please provide a good outward appearance.

Finally, we have an opportunity at a time of youth unemployment through which we could somehow support more jobs for young people. They could gain qualifications, not second-class qualifications, but ones that would give them hope for a career that would be well worth while. This is an opportunity at a time when we have young people eager to take these sorts of jobs.