Holiday Inn Express Cardiff Bay

You will need to arrive as close as possible to check in time to have any chance of getting parking, as spaces fill up quick. If you do manage to get a space, it's £10 a day, and there are also a few EV charging spots. However, if you miss out on the car park, there is ample on road parking which is free after 6pm and not a bad price per hour for them either. The on road parking machines are really slow so it may take over a minute for you to pay. The hotel was really busy when we arrived and yet we were still greeted with a smile and told everything we needed to know. The room was clean, spacious and overlooking the water which was a lovely touch! It's located around 10 minutes walk from Cardiff Bay and around half an hour walk from the City Centre. There are similarly priced hotels nearer the City Centre but we were happy here as we could easily drive into the City Centre (took us 10 minutes including time to park and pay). Breakfast was quite basic and a bit disappointing- very little choice and too many people for the space that is used. I would recommend the hotel!

2 months ago · via Google

I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel it’s important to share my experience. I booked two rooms at Holiday Inn Express Cardiff Bay at a premium rate of over £160 per room, per night, expecting a comfortable stay and a hotel that was maintained to a good standard. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the experience we had. The biggest issue was the air conditioning. We stayed during very hot weather and, after spending the day at the cricket, we were looking forward to returning to a cool room. Although the air conditioning appeared to be running, it was producing very little cool air and the room remained uncomfortably hot throughout the night. In addition, there were several maintenance issues in the room, including a faulty bedside control unit, a reading light that didn’t work, and extremely poor shower pressure. Individually these may seem like minor issues, but together they painted a picture of a hotel that wasn’t being properly maintained. What disappointed me even more than the stay itself was the hotel’s response afterwards. I contacted them to explain the issues and expected at least a gesture of goodwill, particularly given the number of problems and the amount I had paid for two rooms. Instead, they declined to offer any compensation whatsoever. Their (Laura) explanation was that the air cooling system was operational but couldn’t cope due to the exceptionally hot weather and high demand across the hotel. In my view, that isn’t a satisfactory excuse. A hotel has a fixed number of rooms, and its infrastructure should be capable of supporting full occupancy. Guests shouldn’t have to accept inadequate air conditioning because the system can’t cope when it’s needed most. The hotel also stated that because the maintenance issues weren’t reported during my stay, they weren’t given the opportunity to rectify them. While I understand that point, I don’t believe guests paying premium prices should have to spend their evening reporting faults that should have been identified through routine maintenance before anyone checks in. The most disappointing aspect of this experience was the complete lack of accountability. Despite acknowledging the issues I raised, the hotel maintained that no refund or even a small gesture of goodwill was appropriate and advised that the matter was closed. Good customer service isn’t just about getting everything right first time, it’s about how you look after your guests when things go wrong. On this occasion, I felt completely let down. Based on both my stay and the way my complaint was handled, I cannot recommend this hotel. There are plenty of other hotels in Cardiff that I would consider before returning here.

a month ago · via Google

Our family of 5 stayed recently for 2 nights. The rooms were comfortable, staff was very friendly and helpful, giving us directions to a number of sights we asked about. The outdoor patio was really nice as it looks over the resevoir and made for a nice setting for a sunset glass of wine. Earlier that evening, my wife wife went out to the patio and it was covered in cigarette butts. For a family of non smokers, that was pretty gross, but she mentioned it to the staff and they promptly had it cleaned.

2 months ago · via Google

A decent hotel with clean rooms and strong Wi-Fi! The breakfast buffet was great. They had all the toppings of a traditional British breakfast, including: - scrambled eggs - baked beans - cooked tomatoes - sausage - ham They also had a yogurt, fruit, and pastry station and a great coffee machine with all kinds of coffees. The location was also great, right next to the bay and about a 20-minute walk from the city centre. The only thing I didn't like was the service. It often seemed like they didn't have enough staff, and there were times when our housekeeping seemed rushed or incomplete.

3 months ago · via Google