More about Etap Hotel Cardiff Centre
not a great place to sleep
by TripAdvisor Member mrsisaak
Perhaps the atmosphere is a bit different on weekday nights, but my experience on a Saturday night was awful. Other guests were in the hallway yelling until 5am, so I didn't get much sleep. The rooms were OK - a bit grungy and small, but I expected that. The bed is a mattress that lies on a hard surface, so there's not much of a cushion. As mentioned by a previous reviewer, the parking lot is too small so I had to park on the street. Breakfast is cereal and toast. Categorize this under "you get what you pay for", which isn't much.
Just about OK for the price
by TripAdvisor Member markdroitwich
Stayed here on a Good Friday, Bank Holiday, 21st March 2008. Rooms small but functional. Hard mattress on a king size bed, good shower, single bunk bed over the main bed.
No tea or coffee facilities in the room... on the night we were staying, there seemed to be a teenage party going on in one of the rooms, plenty of drunk kids running up and down the corridors till about 2am... security staff sat in reception didn't seem that bothered about it.
If it were a choice of this hotel at £35 with no breakfast, or the holiday inn express down the road at £50 with breakfast, I personally would choose the holiday inn express every time. As other reviewers say, you get what you pay for, which in the case of this hotel, is not a lot.
Great
by TripAdvisor Member tripadv12345
Great hotel. Could check-in 2pm and check-out at 12. The rooms were very clean and the beds super comfortable. I wish my own bed was this comfortable! The matresses certainly weren't too hard. Just right. The TV was decent with a good amount of channels. Only prob was three beeps of an alarm woke us at 3am. Really loud. But I assume it doesn't happen every night. The optional breakfast at £2.99 was a bit disappointing. Knew it was continental but all they had was corn flakes, bran flakes, croissants, apples, bananas, oranges, toast, fruit juice, coffee and tea. Sounds quite a lot but the only thing to put on the toast was butter and marmalade. Would at least have expected some jam even if they couldn't stretch to marmite, Nutella or cream cheese. For me the breakfast was ok as there was a good selection of coffees, but for my friend who had a cup of tea and two slices of buttered toast it was not worth it. There's a wetherspoons 10 mins or so away if a more varied breakfast is wanted. Overall a great hotel for the price! and central enough.
Nice Hotel in Cardiiff-Bit hard to find !
by TripAdvisor Member ozcookie1
We stayed here in mid-January and did not arrive until late. The directions on the hotel web site got us lost and we only found the hotel by accident as we saw the Novotel from another road and knew the Etap might be next to it (as they are both accor properties). Loved the fact that you coiuld buy beer at reception and we knew what to expect as regularly stay at Formule 1 (which have smaller rooms and more basic facilities than Etap). Despite comments about the car park we found it half empty. Stayed in the hotel and paid for the breakfast. it was a little basic and the breakfast room not the largest but better than nothing. There was an internet (paid) termimal in the foyer. We enjoyed our stay.
Cheap and pretty cheerfull
by TripAdvisor Member Dreamcatcher73
Good - Cheap, on site parking, All you can eat breakfast, location
Bad - Beds to hard, no plug sockets near to a mirror, Toilet to small, shower to small.
If your on a budget then go for it, if you can afford better then dont stay here
good value
by TripAdvisor Member minimodmk1
from previous experiences i really hoped this stay would be a lot better than previous etaps and thankfully it was.
the hotels a short walk from cardiff bay. you can find plenty of bars and places to eat, with lovley views over the bay. boats trips are also available if you fancy taking to the sea.
i found the staff at the etap very helpful. when we arrived the carpark was full but a member of staff offered us her parking place so we didnt have to park on the highway.
my only grumble is the resturant. its quite small and hard to move around without banging into other people. also they only have one toaster which caused a long wait.
apart from that i would stop at this hotel when i visit cardiff in the future.
Good value for Money
by TripAdvisor Member Ystrady
Stayed one night mid-week. Rooms small as is shower room but very good value when compared with other hotels in Cardiff. It is budget chain after all. Room £35. Breakfast about £3 Could accommodate two adults and a child in the bunk above. Clean, plenty of hot water, staff very pleasant and helpful. Breakfast Continental, but you can eat as much as you want. Very quiet at night on this particularly night. Car parking free and available. Close to city centre, buses available to Bay area and city, but it only takes 10 minutes to walk to the city shops and bars.
Not Great
by TripAdvisor Member angwri
Generally when wanting a cheap night or two away, I stick to Travelodge. However, after reading the reviews on Trip Advisor I thought I'd give the Etap a try & I was not overly impressed.
I was attending an event at the CIA & although only a fairly short walk from the hotel, I felt very uneasy coming back at night. The area is pretty grotty (with a large Salvation Army hostel for the homeless nearby).
The rooms were a little cell-like with only a bunk bed, a large shelf to use as a desk & one desk chair. There is no separate bathroom with only a shower in the corner of the room (thankfully the toilet is separate).
You are required to leave a £10 refundable deposit if you want use of a remote control, iron or hairdryer which I found somewhat annoying. There are no tea & coffee making facilities in the room but drinks & snacks are available 24 hours a day from reception (I think it was around £1.50 for coffee from a machine. The continental breakfast was OK for £2.95 including juice, cereal, fruit, & rolls.
There was quite a lot of noise from fellow guests all night long (talking loudly & slamming doors)
The place is clean (other than a few dusty corners) & the staff members were pleasant , but it is "OK" at best. I wanted to like it but couldn't
Not bad for the price
by TripAdvisor Member Amanda2004
I booked 9 rooms at this hotel for me hen weekend on June 7th. The hotel is situated just outside the city centre and about 10 minutes walk from St Marys Streets clubs and bars. There is nothing around the hotel only more hotels and a few commercial properties. The hotel has a very small car park at the rear and it's £3 for the night or you can park at the neighbouring Novatel (same chain) for £5 a night.
The reception area is very modern and had an Ikea feel to it but it was clean and tidy. There are tea and coffee stations, a chillier with cold drinks and some chocolate and tables and chairs inside. You have to purchase a token from reception to use the tea and coffee machine and they are £1.20. Breakfast is served up until 10.30am and is £2.95 and you have a selection of two cereals, toast, fruit, croissants and a hot drink.
All of our rooms were on the 4th floor. The rooms are clean, bright and basic but have everything that you need for 1 night. They do have air conditioning in the room but for some reason it only blew out hot air which was a bit annoying as it was a very hot day and the room was stuffy and there was a security notice on the window advising not to open it but we did anyway as the room was so hot.
The shower and sink are in the room which was fine for me and my friend who were sharing but not do good if you are a shy person! The shower was very large clean and had lots of hot water. The toilet was inside a small separate room and it was more like a cupboard.
There was very large firm double bed and a bunk bed above with extra sheets and pillows. We also had an LCD TV. One important thing for all the ladies who need a mirror to dry or straighten there hair the plug socket is a long way from the mirror (which is above the sink) so bring a mirror or an extension lead.
Now, for the outside of the hotel......whilst we were waiting outside the hotel for the rest we witnessed a prostitute across the road take a punter into the bushes and after 10 minutes they came put, he was zipping his trousers off and walked off ! We couldn’t believe it. Then we noticed three used condoms at the bottom of the steps of the hotel, a pair of knickers and a trainer in the gutter. Maybe this is the red light district of Cardiff !
All in all though we had a really good time in Cardiff, the hotel was clean and tidy and for £35 a night was better than we expected. I would probably stay in this hotel again if I was visiting Cardiff again for a weekend.
Worse than a youth hostel!
by TripAdvisor Member Divadarling
I blame Bruce Springsteen - the rest of Cardiff was full so we were booked into the Etap for a conference. I can safely assure you I will not stay there EVER again.
A small grubby cell of a room - why were there footprints on the ceiling?- badly in need of a thorough vacuuming and re-painting. Totally without any sense of comfort.
The walls are covered with scratchy finish, even in the narrow toilet -OUCH! Why was there such a shortage of toilet paper, did they think I was going to steal it? They do give you a scrap of soap, but it is hard to get any lather out of it.
The keycard and door hanger have pseudo-cutsey saying: "If i wanted a trouser press i would have slept at the dry cleaners" etc etc, which then claim that you are at the Etap just to get a good night's sleep. Until they improve the rock hard mattresses and iron pillows this will be physically impossible.
Because they trusted my employer I did not have to pay for a TV remote, but the check in staff did not bother to tell me about the coffee machine in the lobby.
A thoroughly miserable night. YHA, all is forgiven!
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