I saw the hotel from the train on my way into the city, so it was easy to find, just a five-minute walk from the main station. The exterior reminds me of the seventies, but inside it's much better. There was no line at check-in and check-out. The rooms are spacious and have a lot of light. Beds are comfortable. The center of Cardiff is compact so almost everything worth seeing is a short walk from the hotel, including the castle and the National Museum, which offers art and natural history exhibits (free). My rate didn't include breakfast, but there are plenty of restaurants with breakfast specials nearby. Lots of shopping opportunities as well. The hotel pool is huge and there is also a whirlpool. I booked a prepaid rate. My only gripe is the fact that my credit card was charged in euros instead of pounds at a rate about 3 or 4 percent the actual exchange rate. I did NOT authorize this customer-unfriendly payment method. I have only been a victim of this practice at Marriott hotels, the two others being in Birmingham and Warsaw. Everywhere else my card is charged in the local currency and I pay a conversion fee of 1.25% (listed separately on my statements), instead of 3 or 4 percent extra. The hotel receptionist told me that she didn't know if the card was charged in euros or pounds, so I only found out afterwards when I received my statement. I have stayed at about 20 other non-eurozone hotels in the past two years and only Marriotts have cheated me. I have elite status with Marriott and Hilton. I would have rated this hotel a four out of five, if it wasn't for this problem.
