Guest Reviews & Comments
The Royal Hotel near Cardiff: Cardiff Hotels
1 Family with older children - 12/04/08	80%
Good Points: Central Location;price
Bad Points: Cafetiere coffee provided in rooms but without a cafetiere to brew it in - no instant coffee provided as an alternative so resorted to going across the road to Starbucks!
Further Comments: Better locatiobn map - had to ring to find out eaxctly where the hotel was
2 Young couple - 09/04/08	80%
Good Points: The bed, shower and breakfast
Bad Points: No window in room
Further Comments: Despite no window in room the room was very pleasantly decorated, clean and had good facilities.
3 Family with older children - 09/04/08	30%
Bad Points: The room wasn't equipped with everything it was supposed to have been, no bathrobes as promised or spring water, the TV only got one channel, the staff was extremely rude, didn't speak good english, and had no idea about local attractions. At night, there was only two people working the whole hotel, no housekeeping or anything. We asked 24 hours in advance if we could cancel the second night, and at first they said we could not, then when I asked again, they said we could, and then the third time we tried to cancel our second night, they finally did something and let us leave. The location is terrible if you want to get any sleep, it's right on a huge party street that is actually closed off to traffic at night, and drunk pedestrians roam on the street, being very loud until the early hours of the morning.
4 Mature couple - 08/04/08	100%
Good Points: The location was excellent, it was clean, and smart
Bad Points: the entrance hall was awful, and we only had one bath towell and when we asked for another one it had gone by the next day and the bath robes never materialised, also ground coffe is not suitable in a bedroom
Further Comments: Excellent would recommend and return, very central and pleasant, large selection of food for continental breakfast, access to local transport.
5 Young couple - 30/03/08	70%
Good Points: The Royal Hotel was easy to find a very contemporary feel the staff were very friendly and the breakfast was very good. Would recommend to any one. looking forward to visiting the Royal again. Nigel&Sarah from Bristol.
6 Mature couple - 19/03/08	100%
Good Points: For our purposes, ie the Wales-England international, the Royal could not be faulted. Perfect situation with excellent, modern facilities. A top class hotel.
Further Comments: Expectations were not high having stayed in many hotels around the world on big match days. But the Royal was ideal. Well situated for the stadium and for the 'delights' of Cardiff centre, right in the middle of the action and atmosphere without having to be a part of it! The staff were friendly and efficient. The hotel itself bright and well appointed. The breakfast room was a delight, so much space available. One never felt excluded in this exclusive hotel. Something to consider - a discount off the NCP car parking bill, but that's very small beer.
7 Mature couple - 19/03/08	70%
Good Points: Central location, modern, uncluttered decor.
Bad Points: Windows too high, it felt like we were in a box.
Further Comments: Generally, our stay was fine, apart from the fact that the bedding was real i.e. contained feathers. As we are both allergic to feathers, we asked for a synthetic quilt and pillows. A single synthetic quilt was found, but that's all (and this disappeared the following day). On the 2nd night, we had 2 synthetic pillows, but still no quilt, so we slept (badly) under our coats. It wasn't until the 3rd night that we finally had a synthetic double quilt and pillows. We surely can't be the only clients who are allergic to feathers, so it would be wise to keep a stock of synthetic quilts and pillows in the hotel. Many thanks to the staff who were very sympathetic about this problem.
8 Mature couple - 17/03/08	100%
Good Points: It was a good sized room with pleasant decor.
Bad Points: I like to read in bed and the lighting by the bed was not sufficient to do this
Further Comments: I found the information about getting to he hotel was very good and as we were travelling by train it was very convenient. The outside gives no clue to what you find when you reach reception and the reception and the general ambiance of the hotel was welcoming and elegant It is really convenient for sight seeing and we appreciated the buffet breakfast. All the employees of the hotel were polite and helpful especially the receptionist who told us that she was Polish and was really informative for us
9 Business Trip - 17/03/08	90%
Good Points: The room was very large and modern. Bed was huge and very comfortable. I asked for a quiet non-smoking room and thats what I got. Only small problem was the little corridors and steps up and down to get to the room.
Bad Points: The promised bathrobes in the room werent to be found and the toiletries took a bit of working out what to use them for as they were labelled in a very 'trendy' format. Still trying to work out what the one called 'shine' was for.
10 Young couple - 13/03/08	90%
Good Points: The comfortable bed!
Bad Points: The hike up some stairs and then a lift to get to reception!
Further Comments: Very accomodating staff, very helpful. The dressings gowns and cafetiere we missing from our room,, but they were brought up to our room as soon as we asked. Comfortable room - the bed was fantastic, great location, good value for money. Nice continental breakfast with a good selection.
11 Group of adult friends - 13/03/08	60%
Good Points: Central location; modern decor
Bad Points: small room size; lack of facilities that were promised as standard (i.e. no towelling robes, slippers, etc.); lack of natural air and light (i.e. small window which did not open more than a matter of inches!); no option to upgrade from continental breakfast to cooked breakfast as chef was awol; buzzer entry system feels very hostel-like; cleanliness of shower - all in all, I felt that the reduced rack rate available through booking online probably reduced the overall standard of our stay and would hope that guests paying the full rack rate would certainly encourage a much warmer welcome...I would have been extremely unhappy with the experience had I paid paid full whack!...
12 Young couple - 28/02/08	90%
Good Points: Location,modern and clean
Bad Points: Noise from nightclub below and very poor breakfast selection on Sunday morning due to non-replenishment/maybe staff shortage even though it was just 9 o'clock
13 Family with older children - 26/02/08	90%
Good Points: Very nice modern facilities.
Bad Points: Would have liked a hotel car park.
Further Comments: The hotel was in a great location, near to Castle, Millenium Stadium,shops and restauarnts. You could not have wished for a more convenient position.
14 Business Trip - 24/02/08	90%
Good Points: Room and food were excellent
Bad Points: Workstation was a little small to actually do any work on
Further Comments: Excellent hotel. Highly recommended
15 Leisure Visit - 23/02/08	90%
Good Points: Modern look and friendly staff
Further Comments: It was a very pleasant hotel, it was within walking distance from rail/bus stations and the Millenium Stadium which made it easy to find. The staff was helpful and nothing seemed too much trouble. It was clean and there were plenty of places in the area to eat if you did't want to eat 'in'.
16 Young couple - 22/02/08	80%
Good Points: the shower was working really well, it was nice to have a warm shower
Bad Points: the walls and floor had marks, the bed linnen had hair, looked like it has already been used.
Further Comments: very good and nice hotel.the breakfast was excellent, the croisssant were absolutely delicious, I will come back just for the breakfast.
17 Group of work colleagues - 15/02/08	80%
Good Points: very nice, large, clean room
Bad Points: lift wasn't working and there was no toast for breakfast!
18 Business Trip - 12/02/08	90%
Good Points: Close to train station. Above busy bars, but not noisy. Reasonable continental breakfast included in room rate. Lovely contemporary rooms with great bathrooms.
Bad Points: Entry is via intercom, which during busy periods can take some time for staff to let you in as guests are not given access cards to the front door of the hotel.
19 Business Trip - 09/02/08	60%
Good Points: Clean, spacious
Bad Points: Minimalist style a little too minimalist!
Further Comments: A comfortable enough hotel, but staff not as polished as they need to be. Put into a standard room initially instead of the deluxe booked, but moved (into a suite!) without any fuss. Food generally good, room service v. good, prices not bad. Would stay again, on balance.
20 Business Trip - 09/02/08	60%
Good Points: Clean, spacious
Bad Points: Minimalist style a little too minimalist!
Further Comments: A comfortable enough hotel, but staff not as polished as they need to be. Put into a standard room initially instead of the deluxe booked, but moved (into a suite!) without any fuss. Food generally good, room service v. good, prices not bad. Would stay again, on balance.
If you are unable to book a room at The Royal Hotel then the nearest UK hotels around the Cardiff area are: Cardiff Sandringham Hotel Review, : Park Plaza Cardiff Review, : Century Wharf Serviced Apartments Review,