The Big Sleep Hotel is a city centre hotel in Cardiff, South Wales. They also have hotels in Cheltenham and Eastbourne. My daughter and I stayed here for two nights in August 2008, and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

* Booking *

I booked by phone, after finding an offer on their website - one night for £50, two nights for £98 or three for £144. We choose the two night option. Booking was easy enough, although I had a bit of trouble getting a confirmation of my booking, but this was sorted eventually.

* Arrival *

We left Cardiff Central Station and followed a map printed from the hotels' website. The Big Sleep was easy to spot among the other hotels, a big blue and white office block tower.

One think that attracted me to this hotel was its funky looking interior décor, and I was not disappointed. The blue and white theme continued inside, and gave everything a bright and cheerful feel.

Check in was fine, no queue and didn't take long at all. The staff were polite and friendly.

* The Room *

Our room was nearly at the top, but luckily there was a lift. My first impression was that the room was really big and airy - infact, one of the biggest hotel rooms I've ever had. It contained two twin beds (which were very comfortable), a desk with a TV, no actual wardrobe but just a rail to hang clothes, usual biscuits and coffee sachets. We also had these unusual rug-like fleece curtains. The best thing was the amazing views; we were on a corner so had two massive windows - one looking over Cardiff Bay, and the other over the city.

The bathroom was nice (toilet, sink and shower) - but it was here we came across a problem. Our water didn't work. Nothing came out of the taps, and the toilet wouldn't flush. So I went straight down to reception to report it. They were very nice and sent someone up to have a look. However, it couldn't be sorted straight away. They did give us two posh glass bottles of water, but this wasn't any good for flushing the loo. Luckily the water was fixed later on in the evening.


* Breakfast *

Each day we went down for a continental breakfast, which was included in the price. There was a wide variety of food to choose from (toast, crumpets, croissants, yoghurt, fruit, cereal, ect) and it was all delicious.

* Location *

The hotel was near to a large Cineworld and the Millennium Stadium, and a short walk from a bus stop which could take you to the Bay or city centre shopping area.

* Recommended? *

Absolutely! A really nice hotel. Planning to come to Cardiff again soon and will definitely stay here.