Luxury in a wonderful situation (Hilton Cardiff)

Member Name: Waikie

Product:	Hilton Cardiff
Date:	31/03/01 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A bit of 5 star luxury in the heart of Cardiff

Disadvantages: Expensive if you can't get a special offer

The Cardiff Hilton is a relatively new hotel, only opened in August 1999. The hotel is housed in the old Prudential Buildings on Kingsway, directly opposite the spectacular Cardiff Castle.

Although the building itself is old, it has been modernised with a sweeping glass roof, a large conservatory and a many stainless steel fixtures and fittings. The outside looks very grand.

Inside the foyer there is a Concierge desk and there are always at least two Concierges on duty. Here you can browse through leaflets on local attractions, arrange for taxis, leave your luggage or have your car parked in the hotel's private car park.

The reception desk is large and manned by several friendly receptionists. Check-in is swift and within minutes you are being whisked up to your room in a glass lift.

There are three types of room in the hotel, the standard room with all the amenities you'd expect from a 5 star hotel, plus some extras like a second phone and a hige bathroom including not just a bath, but a separate wonderfully large walk-in shower cubicle as well.

The next class of room is the Executive room, which includes everything that the standard room does, plus large windows, free continental breakfast, access to the Executive lounge with complimentary evening drinks, a separate check-in/check-out desk, bathrobes, sofabed, a safe and a third telephone (in the bath).

Finally, there are suites, which are larger versions of the Executive Rooms.

The ground floor of the hotel contains a ballroom, coffee shop (the Patisserie), Restaurant and bar (Razzi) and the reception foyer. The first floor is meeting and conference facilities and the second floor is the start of the standard bedrooms and the Living Well Health Club. Floors 3 upwards contain more bedrooms with the Executive rooms and suites being on the upper floors.

The health club is more than adequate for a hotel, although as it is also op
en to the public I feel that it is a little small. The swimming pool is stainless steel and only 1 metre deep to keep the weight to a minimum as it is on the second floor. The changing rooms are small to say the least and were not very clean. I did not venture into the gymnasium but it looked as if it only had a small selection of machines.

I stayed in a standard room with my partner for a weekend in February. We had booked early and managed to take advantage of the Hilton Winter Break package. The price was £139 for 2 nights accomodation for 2 people, including dinner on the first night, and breakfast both mornings. An absolute bargain.

The food was superb. On the Friday night the choice was not brilliant, but the food was well presented and very tasty. Breakfasts were out of this world, with a huge continental and welsh buffet. The selection was vast, and over the 2 mornings, we still did not manage to sample everything. Food can even be cooked to order if you have a special request.

The Cardiff Hilton could not be better. It is superbly located right in the middle of Cardiff, on the edge of the busy shopping area, but facing the County Hall, Museum and Castle, so it felt peaceful.

Simply a wonderful place to stay, if I can get a good deal again, I'd love to go back.

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