Marriott Hotel, Cardiff

...a blurry memory about the Marriott hotel from my last visit to Cardiff and thought I would check out their website for a cheap deal.

** Background **

Marriott Hotels and Resorts are one part of the Marriott Group that also includes, among others, Renaissance Hotels and Resorts, Courtyard and The Ritz-Carlton. There are around 450 Marriott Hotels and Resorts Worldwide catering for business and vacation travel alike. There ...
...events online first. The Marriott site offers an online booking facility for each of its hotels and shows real time rates and availability.

The booking form is available from the hotel page and you simply enter the dates of your required stay and the number of rooms and guests to be included in the booking. A list of available rates will be displayed for you to select. Once selected you are required to enter some personal information ... more

After a miserable couple of months since Christmas me and the missus decided that a short break was called for and after searching around for something appealing decided that a weekend in Cardiff would be ideal. I had a blurry memory about the Marriott hotel from my last visit to Cardiff and thought I would check out their website for a cheap deal.

** Background **

Marriott Hotels and Resorts are one part of the Marriott Group that also includes, among others, Renaissance Hotels and Resorts, Courtyard and The Ritz-Carlton. There are around 450 Marriott Hotels and Resorts Worldwide catering for business and vacation travel alike. There are numerous meeting and conference facilities available at each hotel as well as specialist staff to help with the organising of events.

** Making a Booking **

Spending most of my time on the internet and feeling more confident in making an internet booking I always try and book flights, hotels and other events online first. The Marriott site offers an online booking facility for each of its hotels and shows real time rates and availability.

The booking form is available from the hotel page and you simply enter the dates of your required stay and the number of rooms and guests to be included in the booking. A list of available rates will be displayed for you to select. Once selected you are required to enter some personal information and payment details and the reservation is complete.

Unfortunately, I had problems with this process when I attempted to make a reservation as I do not live in America. I assume that this is a temporary problem and that under normal circumstances it is possible for non-US reservations to be made online. I did email the help desk about the problem but as yet haven’t heard anything back.

As I was unable to make an online reservation I contacted the hotel direct and was able to get the same rate over the telephone. The process of making the reservation directly with the hotel was quick and easy. The member of staff on the phone was helpful explaining the terms and conditions of the room rate to me at the time of booking. The only thing I missed was a confirmation letter/email for my booking, although there were no problems with my booking when I arrived at the hotel.

** Location **

The hotel is located on Mill Lane in the city centre offering easy access to the train station (Cardiff Central), the shops, local pubs and restaurants and tourist attractions. Mill Lane is just off the high street and can be easily accessed by car, bus or train. To-the-door directions can be obtained from the Marriott website.

The immediate area surrounding the hotel is packed with pubs, clubs and restaurants. Slightly further away can be found the main shopping area of the city, all of which can be reached by a short walk. Mill Lane itself is an area of town with a slightly continental feel to it, with café’s spilling out onto the street and a diverse range of bars and restaurants.

** The Hotel **

The hotel itself is a small tower style building with around 10 floors and about 25 rooms per floor. The hotel is set in the middle of a car park offering easy access from the main roads into the city. The entrance to the hotel is small, but highlighted by an extended covered walkway guiding pedestrians into the building. To the side of the entrance is a patio area where you could sit out in the summer. Not recommended in February though.

The lobby is quite small and narrow. It feels a little dark, although the décor is tasteful and the lighting subtle. There is easy access to all floors from three lifts in the lobby but the stairs are well hidden at the end of the two wings of the hotel so it is not so easy for energetic people to use the stairs. There is a new feel and smell to the hotel, which is generally in an excellent state of repair.

** Facilities **

Considering the city centre location I was very impressed with the facilities offered by the hotel. There was a 25m (approx) indoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi on the ground floor of the hotel, which was light and airy with views out over the patio area.

There is a resident’s car park onsite but it is charged at a rate of £7.50 a day. The car park is fairly secure with good barriers blocking the exit but offers little protection from vandalism or theft of vehicle contents.

There is a large bar and dinning area on the ground floor. There is a television in the bar area that was showing sporting events over the weekend I was there. There was plenty of seating space throughout the bar and restaurant and I had no problem being seated for meals.

** The Room **

My room was on the second floor looking out over the front of the hotel. The view from the window was of the surrounding bars and restaurants but I suspect from a higher floor you would have had a good view of the millennium stadium.

The décor in the room was fairly nice and simplistic. There was plenty of hanging space and table tops for storing all the stuff I seem to carry around with me. There was a large desk area with a glass top and an office style chair, which I assume is aimed at the business traveller. The room was well lit and came with an air conditioning system to maintain a pleasant temperature. The room had quite a spacious feel to it despite not being too big. The bedding was clean and comfortable, making for a good nights sleep.

The en suite bathroom was a good size and most importantly had a great power shower in it. There were a good selection of towels and toiletries supplied in the bathroom.

** The Service **

From what little contact I had with the staff I found them very helpful and extremely polite. A willing member of staff dealt with all the queries and requests I had quickly and accurately. There always seemed to be plenty of staff working to prevent the need to queue or wait for any length of time. The reception was always sufficiently staffed, as was the restaurant and bar. It also appeared that there was always more senior members of staff around should you have a problem although I didn’t have the need to use them.

** Eating and Drinking **

The room rate I booked included breakfast both mornings. It is normally the highlight of my stay in a hotel to over indulge in a fried breakfast and end up feeling seriously ill for most of the day. Obviously this depends on the quality and quantity of the breakfast available. I am pleased to report that I spent both days in the hotel stuffed to the brim on fried food and orange juice. There was a good selection of hot and cold food available and all was very fresh and regularly replenished. The breakfast was a buffet style all you can eat affair making it very easy to over eat. There was a choice of egg, fried or scrambled, two types of sausage and two types of bacon as well as other delights such as hash browns and tomatoes.

With so many lovely looking restaurants in the immediate area surrounding the hotel I didn’t eat an evening meal in the hotel. When walking through the hotel lobby there seemed to be quite a few people who were eating in the hotel and their meals looked good.

One night on returning to the hotel I decided to have a quick drink in the hotel bar before retiring to my room. Drinks in hotel bars are traditionally expensive beasts and this was no exception, but when the rest of the bars in the area have closed what choice do you have? To give you some idea of how expensive the drinks are, I bought two vodkas and was charged £9. I could have bought a bottle for that from the off licence if I had only thought about it an hour earlier.

** The Price **

Now for the important part, the cost. I booked this hotel as an offer directly with the hotel. The offer applied to stays of two nights or more and worked out at just under £70 a night for the room. It is not what you would call cheap but for a stay in this sort of hotel I thought this was quite competitive.

** Any complaints? **

No stay can be perfect so here are my gripes from my stay.
1. There was no mini-bar in my room. There was a cupboard designed to hold a mini-bar but it was empty. This is not really a problem as I tend not to use the mini-bar but it is always nice to have a choice.
2. You have to pay for the car park even if you are staying in the hotel. It just seems wrong to me that you should pay so much to stay in a hotel and you have to pay more to leave your car there.
3. Drinks were very expensive. Not really a problem with the number of bars in the immediate area but certainly worth keeping in mind.
4. I could have done with an extra pillow on the bed. For some reason there were three on the double bed. Why three? I probably could have requested an extra pillow but kept forgetting.

** More Information **

If you like what you have read so far and fancy making a booking or finding out some more information check out the chain website here: https://marriott.com/default.mi or the website for the Cardiff Marriott here: http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/CWLDT

** Overall **

I would certainly stay here again and would look favourably on other hotels in the chain. It can be quite expensive to stay here but I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for. At the price I paid for the weekend I thought it was pretty good value for money.

Thanks for reading
 

...less