The Angel hotel Cardiff review ” Quirky, characterful and spacious” (6/10)
The hotel location was ideal with just a 9 minute walk from cardiff central station. From Room 202, to see some of the castle grounds created a rather natural view not dominated by the road below. This was highly favourable.
Good
” Central location with natural views”.
” Tea biscuits provided”.
” Spacious room”.
” Quirky ambience”.
Bad
” Only 5 hangers between 2 guests”.
” Shower was unusable due to intense heat”.
” Wifi struggled epically with Facebook loading”.
” Curtains let light through and roadnoise disrupted morning sleep”.
” Keycard kept wearing out and irregular room service”.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere was one of luxury and slight oddity. The layout was quirky and impressionable, yet the decor, space and facilities seemed ostentatious and good quality. Overall a very intriguing atmosphere in a positively warming way. Why were there mirrors on the doors though ?
Tea provisions
On check-in, 2 generously sized mugs were supplied which was great along with 2 large teaspoons. 3 chocolate cream biscuits were supplied echoing the enjoyment of the border biscuits of the hogs back hotel in Farnham Surrey. It was nice to have this number aswell.
With 4 teabags, 4 semi-skimmed UHT milk sachets and 2 of each type of sweetener tea facilities were adequate for 3 sweetened cups of tea. This did seem a little low although they were neatly presented.
For coffee drinkers it was nice to have the decaf option and good that 4 coffee sachets were supplied to mirror the number of teabags.
Community areas
The entrance looked formal and compact yet beyond the double doors was a grand entrance room with a salubrious staircase shouting luxury. It did feel slightly disorientating with a number of mirrors. Perhaps this gave the illusion of extra space though.
Price
Menu prices did seem rather expensive as is often the case with hotels which was a bit of a shame. At 50 pounds per night in the hotel for 4 star accommodation this seemed very reasonable and good value however.
Washing and cleaning
The bathroom was spacious and it was nice to have a light switch which was operational without the keycard activation system of the Raddison.
At least 4 towels were provided aswell as a bar of soap, conditioning shampoo bottle and one of shower gel. They were both easily squeezable for dispensation and were of appropriate size. The selection could have included body moisturiser or mouthwash although these are luxury items that seem not totally necessary.
Whilst the room was serviced, no replacement body wash or shampoo was supplied which for 2 guests was necessary in this instance. This erratic servicing was a little unprofessional.
Chilling in your room
The keycard enabled quick access without appropriate swipe speed since it utilised a card front presentation system rather than an entry slot. Whilst this system seemed good at a glance, the reality of constantly wearing out my keycard meant necessary replacement every time.
This hadn’t always been caused due to close proximity to my phone either …
The roomspace was quirky with a triangular shape and spacious dimensions. It was also light and airy despite the poor weather outside.
The beds were dressed with a double pillow which wasn’t my personal preference however comfort levels were good.
On checkin, the staff did not advise about WIFI although the menu for login popped up automatically. This was simple to navigate since it only required name and email. It connected immediately revealing it’s speed for more guest information. This seemed slick and efficient. The wifi worked well for programs yet was very hesitant with Facebook and for the first few hours this couldn’t be loaded which was very frustrating. It also did not allow login on the morning of checkout which was a bit disappointing.
There were 2 generously sized litter bins situated in ideal places; One beside the tea making tray and the other in the bathroom. These seemed far more practical than those of the Raddison due to greater size which was wonderful for teabag and other product disposal.
The hairdryer was directly beside the TV on a large desk which was easily noticeable if a slightly unappealing beige colour. The chair to this desk was supportive and confortable for an upright posture.
Ideal then for typing reviews and other important endeavours …
Perched upon this desk was a generously portioned lamp which was nice. The room had randomly placed and copiously numbered light switches which did not seem to have a logical function or location; Some of them appeared to do nothing yet others corresponded to random dim lights or lamps.
2 small drawers below this were only supported by 2 more, slightly larger ones below the TV. Overall then, the room felt a little light on in drawer storage space. That said, the spacious size of the room could easily accommodate a monstrous myriad of guest items. On opening the wardrobe, this issue was well and truly put to bed with half the wardrobe embellished with 4 large storage shelves.
The 5 wooden hangers on the opposite side seemed very sparse between 2 guests so this number ideally required doubling for the optimum. They were wooden at least though, to maintain an impression of good quality.
The “enjoy your stay” note with a smiley face was much appreciated on the bedside table adding a certain charm to the room. It lacked a pen though so couldn’t not be responded to or used as a pad …
There were 2 chairs which were strategically placed for TV viewing. These were a little too firm for comfort however which restricted relaxed TV viewing to your bed.
Perhaps an area for improvement …
The TV was of average, if slightly small size but this problem was exemplified by the impressive scale of the room it was placed in. I am sorry to say, things are all relative and TV size can sometimes matter.
It was however easy to turn on with one press of the button and no confusing menus or logins as seen with some Raddison hotels or the Copthorne of Sheffield.
Picture quality was great, lacking the intermittency of the Bournemouth Roundhouse. The default setting of subtitles on, was a little distracting however and not totally necessary for just one welsh channel. I feel this was not really required unless guests had specified hard of hearing or worse.
With over 7 plug sockets for gadget charging spread out around the room this was a very solid number rivalling the best of places.
Very impressive …
The shower had bath facilities also and dual control knobs which I liked. One of these knobs was clearly labelled with temperature not just an arbitrary scale. On use, the jet had good steady pressure and was certainly sufficient. It was nice to be able to adjust the showerhead height and the silvery colour gave a modern finish which was also positive. After using however, it quickly became apparent that the shower was unusable due to an inability to reduce it’s temperature. Having only the bath option was a little tedious and impractical.
It became clear that the “Bathe” brand of washing sachets was quite relevant.
The solitary bathroom mirror was only half height although a full height mirror directly on the wardrobe was sufficient. It’s location was a little hidden on the inside rather than outside, of the wardrobe door. There should have been more and larger mirrors…
Borrow them from the entrance area doors that don’t need them ??
The kettle capacity at 1 litre was larger than the puny 0.6 litres of holiday inn express, holiday street Birmingham but half of some other places. The modern silver colour was nice and I enjoyed having the scale on the outside rather than inside for ease of viewing for my personal preference.
Points against the Raddison there …
Customer service
On checkin, staff were friendly and polite and very quick to assign me my room keycard. They directed me to a lift which didn’t work but I managed to quickly negotiate my way to my room via the grand looking staircase.
On request of a new keycard I was greeted by a well humoured member of staff who quickly resolved the issue. Staff were quick, efficient and polite on checkout morning also.
Summary
A pleasant comfortable stay with certain significant areas for improvement. The space was extensive and the service model was great yet slightly lacking effective execution. Consistent wifi, a useable shower and a less confusing hall of mirrors would have improved things.
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