Hilton Hotel, Cardiff

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Centrally located, range of services
Disadvantages:	Certainly not classy !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have just returned from a short trip to Wales and spent a couple of nights at the Cardiff Hilton during my trip.

I know some people want to skim the info, so I'll start with a quick review, and then proceed into more depth for those who are interested! Feel free to stop whenever you want!

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A QUICK REVIEW FOR THOSE IN A RUSH!
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This hotel is located in the centre of Cardiff. It bills its self as a 5 star hotel. The reception staff were friendly, they had an excellent valet parking service (for a fee of course - £13), and had the full range of facilities one would expect at a 5* establishment, including room service, swimming pool, gym and restuarants etc.. I certainly cant complain about the star rating (its easy to get stars), but if you automatically presume this means its a luxurious hotel, you would be wrong. The lobby looks tacky, there is loud music pumping from the bar at the entrance and some of the rooms are a bit pokey! To be honest, unless the pool and room service is important to you (and I guess on a short city break it isnt likely to be) there wouldnt be too much difference staying at a budget chain hotel (e.g Premier Lodge) in terms of your room and what the building looks like. That said I got the room free (I had vouchers to use) and would be more than happy to stay there again if I didnt have to pay the rather high rates they charge.

READ ON IF YOU WANT!

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OVERVIEW
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Part of the Hilton brand, the Cardiff Hilton is a relatively new 197 bedder, built over seven floors in the centre of Cardiff, the Capital of Wales. It claims to be a chic addition to the Hilton chain featuring all the trappings of a 5 star hotel. It is very central, near the city's shopping centres, Cardiff Castle and about a 10 min drive from the M4.

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THE LOBBY AND CHECK-IN
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The lobby is a decent size although there is nowhere to sit or relax. On entering, there is a consierge and reception. I found the decor to be rather odd, with some tacky lighting and mirrors and I think it will look dated quickly. My first impression was poor as there is a heaving bar leading from the lobby. It was pumping out very loud music, which would be fine if I was drinking in the bar, but certainly wasnt the relaxing entrance I had wanted after my stressful journey down the M4 (horrible road!)

Check-in was simple, they took my credit card number in case I ran off without paying for everything, and issued my key card. The lady at reception was friendly but kept flirting with another member of staff whilst dealing with me.. kinda inappropriate I felt. Anyway, I got checked in without problem.

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VALET PARKING
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The hotel is very well connected to the Cardiff bus service, so you wouldnt have to drive here if you didnt want to. If you do drive though, you have to use the valet parking service, which costs £13. I didnt think it was too expensive, and they claim that it is cheaper than using nearby car parks overnight. I wouldnt want to leave my car on the street, as there were lots of drunken teens about, and I doubt the city-centre parking restrictions would allow it anyway. You hand over your keys and get a ticket as a receipt. They drive your car away from outside the front door (am unsure where they put it!) When you want your car back, you need to give them about 15 minutes notice.

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GOING UP!
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The hotel is built over 7 floors, the top 2 being for 'executive' rooms. I was on the 5th floor. The lifts are exceptionally slow which I found annoying. As you go up you see that there is a central covered atruim around which are the corridors leading to the rooms. I have stayed in a few hotels like this, and they can be impressive. But the ground floor area of the atrium is dead and the effect isnt as impressive as other hotels. The atrium is a depressing dead space.

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MY ROOM
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Bit of a dissapointment really! I found it to be a bit on the small side. It was in one of the corners of the hotel, and was wedged under a staircase! You could see where the stairs eat into the room.

Anyway, the decor was ok with blue carpet and red curtains, but considering this was a new hotel I thought it was a tad garish.

Bed - the highlight. It was really comfy, with soft sheets. I slept exceptionally well!

TV - small and old fashioned. I was quite surprised about this. Anyway, I didnt intend to watch TV in my room. As well as the usual fayre of channels, the TV also allows access to the internet (for a fee of course!) and a lots of pay per view films (some of them dodgy im sure).

Bathroom - The bathroom was disproportionately large for the room! It was white and very clean. It felt quite luxurious, and had Crabtree and Evelyn shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion. There were lots of crisp white towels to use as well. There was a large modern looking bath, and a huge walk in shower, which made me happy! I love walk in showers! Unfortunately, I couldnt turn it off and had to get maintenence to come up and sort it out. They left dirt all over the bathroom, which was a pretty poor show. Fortuantely, I was leaving that day, so I didnt bother complaining.

View - Well the view was really poor. The windows were tiny and the view was of a car park. I had to close the windows as the noise from all the local pubs was horrendous.

Room temperature - Great climate control with air conditioning and heaters on a combined unit. Unlike many hotels I have stayed in, the unit was nice and quiet.

Other rooms:

I managed a glimpse into some of the other rooms and thought they looked a bit bigger than mine, so maybe I was just unlucky. The brochure shows rooms which look amazing - beware these are executive rooms, and attract an executive sized nightly rate!

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RESTAURANTS
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The hotel features the 'Razzi Restaurant.' The website says
'Razzi restaurant simply combines fine dining with a relaxed contemporary environment and sumptuous dishes from around the world'. I didnt actually eat there as it was pretty pricey, but I have seen mixed reviews about it on travel review web sites. There are plenty of local restaurants which are cheaper and probably better too.

Breakfast - Breakfast isnt included in all the rates, but fortunately it was for me. I was quite impressed. Breakfast is taken in a nice room near the lobby, with panoramic views of the castle. The spread was above average. There is a continental buffet area with cereals, fruits, yoghurt and toast (you have to make it yourself) and a hot breakfast area serving hash browns, Black Pudding (Yuck!) and the usual egg counter where a freindly man will make you an egg (or two) on request. The staff were attentive and kept filling up my coffee and seeing if I was ok, which I was!

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THE STEAM ROOM
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Not part of the gym, this is the hotel bar! I thought it waspretty grim, and when I went in it was full of leary drunkards who looked like they were on a stag do. We left before ordering a drink. Its probably usually more pleasant than that, but there are so many bars in Cardiff, why confine yourself to the hotel? HaHa bar is next door.

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THE GYM / POOL
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Yes, this hotel has a pretty comprehensive gym and pool complex. The pool is very decent, made from stainless steal and at 20m is a decent length. It looks very swanky. The gym is branded as Living Well, and is actually a part of a chain of gyms, many of which are in Hilton Hotels. You can actually become a member of the gym and come whenever you want, so it is open to non-hotel residents. This could result in the gym becomming overcrowded, but when I was there it was eeriy quiet.

The facilities include:
Weights
Aerobic / cardiovascular machines
Free towels & toiletries
Exercise programmes (which they can tailor for you)
Free group exercise classes
20m Swimming Pool
Sauna
Steamroom
Spa Bath
'Health & Beauty Treatment Rooms' - these incur an extra fee.

Here are the opening times of the gym (as of June 06)
Monday: 06:00 - 22:00
Tuesday: 06:00 - 22:00
Wednesday: 06:00 - 22:00
Thursday: 06:00 - 22:00
Friday: 06:00 - 22:00
Saturday: 07:00 - 22:00
Sunday: 07:00 - 22:00
I think these are decent opening times compared to some other hotels.

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BUSINESS
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In my opinion it is for the business traveller that this hotel probably comes into its own. Firstly, your boss will propbably be paying so not only will you be worrying about the room tab, but you can probably pay more and stay in one of the 'executive' (ie larger) rooms on the top 2 floors. As a business traveller you can use the busness lounge, which provides a office like environment. You have access to fax machines (incoming and outgoing) , WiFi (from BT Openzone) and can access wired Broadband. All for a fee, of course!

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THE HILTON CHAIN
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Just a quick word about hilton. It was only in the past few months that US and UK Hiltons have been part of the same company. In the distant past they were one, but then they split, and now they are back together again! Hooray. It is now an American chain. Hilton hotels, unlike many other brands, seem to vary considerably from hotel to hotel. The Park Lane Hilton is infinately nicer (and more expensive!) then the Cardiff one, but there are many which are a lot worse (such as Hilton Watford - a miserable place indeed). The US hotels are variable too, but some are sub-branded so you are more likely to know what you are getting (eg Hilton Garden Inns).

Loyalty pays! If you saty often you can join their Hilton HHoners (yes - there are supposed to be 2x H's!) loyalty scheme. You earn points for spending at the hotel, which can be redeemed for free stays / upgrades etc.. In addition, you can ALSO use airline frequent flyer schemes at the same time, so called 'double dipping'. This isnt the right place to fully explain all this though, so look elsewhere in ciao!

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BOOKING AND OUCH, HOW MUCH?
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As with most hotels, the cheapest way to book these days is online, through the Hilton website, IN ADVANCE (at least 14 days). They promise to pay back the difference if you find the hotel cheaper on any other site within 24 hours. As well as paying the difference, the will give you $50 back (about £30). If you call the hotel to book you will get a full price, expensive rate. Certainly when I booked I also looked at Expedia and Laterooms.com. The Hilton site was cheaper. But I ended up getting the room free from Tesco Clubcard Deals!

Room rates vary from £84 to over £250. Some rates include brekky whilst others dont. The cheaper rates are pretty decent for a 5* hotel.

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THE BOTTOM LINE - WHAT DID I THINK?
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OK I got the hotel for feee in the end (see above) but would I pay the £125 which my package was worth again? Erm.. probably not. The hotel had lots of facilities, but at the end of the day the buliding was bland and the service just about above average. I dont think it was special enough to justify paying so much. I have stayed in a few Premier Lodge hotels, which are modern clean, and have friendly, helpful staff. They cost about £50. If you are only staying for a night or two and arent planning to spend much time in the hotel, I would advise staying somewhere cheaper. If however you are staying for business, a longer period of time, or really want a pool / gym, this would be a great choice for you! If you want a really special hotel however, you will be dissapointed and should look elsewhere.

VERDICT : NEUTRAL (is that allowed?)

Address:
Kingsway
Cardiff CF10 3HH
Wales

hilton.co.uk

OTHER TOP HOTELS IN CARDIFF

Cardiff Marriott
St David's Hotel and Spa
Macdonald Holland House (voted number 1 in Cardiff in Tripadvisor)
The Lodge By Macdonald

Hope it was helpful!

Dan x