Having never stayed at a Novotel before I thought it would be nothing more than a step up from a Travel Lodge, a bland concrete box with no character. How wrong I was. The building has been dramatically converted from a warehouse to an ultra modern hotel with fantastic facilities.
The rooms are spacious and tastefully decorated with all the usual amenities including air con, safe, laptop and MP3 connections and a clean and functional bathroom. The beds are really comfortable too - I could have slept forever!
I was very surprised to find a swimming pool, sauna and gym. Although I didn't try the gym the pool and sauna were very good with good changing room facilities and a great place to relax!
The bar was very nice too, very modern and stylish in keeping with the rest of the hotel.
From the outset the location seemed a little bit out of the way, however on closer inspection it's only a 20minute walk or 5 minute drive to both Cardiff Castle and the Cardiff Bay area. The hotel also has free parking which is always a bonus!
The breakfast also warrants a mention! There was a huge variety of things on offer, from fresh fruit to croissants to full english and all in the lovely old warehouse part of the hotel with its charming old brickwork and high ceilings. There was also a range of herbal teas on the tables which I haven't seen in many hotels.
All in all, a very nice hotel which I would highly recommend.

Stayed here for 3 nights whilst doing exams. The room was large and comfortable, the pool was large enough to swim in and we used the running machines in the gym. The food was good and the menu flexible. We often ate snacks and bar meals in the bar area that was pleasantly informal. Although this is a classy hotel you don't have to dress up all the time. It was about 20 minutes walk to both the town centre and Cardiff bay.
It could do with some real ale, but otherwise for a chain hotel was good.

i ve been to cardiff a few times to watch the football and have stayed in quite a few hotels in the city. This time it was a weekend away with my girlfriend. We booked into the novotel and it was easy and quick over the net. We got lost and had to phone for directions and the receptionist put us through to a guy in the leisure club who guided us there. When we got there it was a bit out of the centre but thea was ok because the recption and bar are very nice. Its very comfortable and relaxed! the rooms were big and bright.
When we got there we used the leisure club. The gym is a bit on the small side but it had everything we needed. the swimming pool was lovely and the spa was nice and warm! The club staff were also very nice and gave us good advise on the city were to go and where to eat. When i come back to cardiff i will be staying there!!!

This is a sterile hotel with well appointed rooms and services. The location is somewhat out of the way and is a trek to Cardiff center. The restaurant has excellent food but a limited menu. The service staff in the restaurant and bar are excellent and friendly. The front desk staff service was spotty-- some representatives were excellent and others almost surly. We were overcharged at booking time exhorbitant rates in anticipation of a sporting event that did not occur and initially the hotel refused to refund our money or lower the rates but after several international phone calls, the manager agreed to lower the rates when the sporting event failed to materialize. He met us on arrival and was very friendly but the booking policies left a very sour taste in our mouth.

The AC in the rooms did not work well and after repeated attempts by maintenance and housekeeping to fix it, a manager finally admitted it was unfixable and was caused by the thermatstat being placed on the outside of the building. In fairness, they offered to move us to a different wing where the AC worked but we didn't feel like packing and unpacking again. We felt they should have been honest at the beginning.

I have mixed feelings about the hotel. I feel it is over-priced for the location and services but it was clean and had a good restaurant and bar.