Cardiff

Overall, I didn't really mind staying in this hotel, as the room was mostly clean, and I was hardly there anyways. However, the list of pros I can think of is way shorter than the list of cons. Also, many of the things are quite easy to improve with little effort. So why not just do that? Pros: Close to Hyde park. Had a comfortable walk to Imperial College every day. In general, the location is great. It is close to several metro stations as well. It is mostly clean (except for some mold in the bathroom). Especially the cleaning personnel and people helping with the breakfast are kind. Cons: To reach my room on the top floor, I had to walk 76 steps on several staircases. I found it a nice exercise (some people go to the gym for this), but it could also be experienced as a hassle. I think the rooms are a bit outdated. The bed was too short for me to stay in. Rooms are very small. No airco. No proper wifi in my room. Mold along the edges of bathroom. Bathroom super small, the shower curtain will stick to your leg. Sometimes takes quite long to get warm water. Breakfast is a bit limited, especially if you stay longer. Very noisy: you will hear your neighbors packing, watching tv, having sex, talking to their grandkids, everything.

I stayed at this B&B for 5 nights. They are very conveniently located, 2 blocks from Paddington Station, where the Heathrow Express and the Heathrow Connect arrive and depart. They are one block from the Paddington Station underground which has 3 different tube lines, while in London I went would return to the hotel after west end shows at 10:30 to 11:00 pm and coming off the tube there were always lots of people around and lots of eating and drinking places still serving. If you are a walker it’s an easy walk to lots of other locations. The hotel was very clean and the staff very pleasant and polite. The price was pretty good considering what London hotels cost. I was a single, staying in a double room. The room was very small with barely enough room for just me. If I was staying with someone else I might have been uncomfortable. The bathroom was almost uncomfortably small, but very clean, with lots of hot water. I have a problem with stairs so when I made my reservation I requested a room that required as few stairs as possible. I was given a room on the ground floor. Breakfast is served one floor below, down a flight of steep stairs. The breakfast, for my taste, was average to poor, but then I’m a very picky eater, and don’t eat a lot of what is considered normal breakfast food. Everyone else in the breakfast room seemed to enjoy it and have lots to eat. Overall I like the Cardiff and would definitely stay again.

The basement room I had was hot, no aircon. Can’t imagine what it would’ve been like in the summer heatwave. The TV was hung on the wall at a 90 degree angle to the bed, a simple swivel stand would fix this. The shower rail was rusty, bathroom tiny, things I’d overlook if the cost wasn’t £250 for 1 night (to be fair it was a family room so I suppose if I had 3 other people w me it would feel more reasonably priced). The breakfast was a tin of peaches, some yoghurt, some bread/toast slices of ham and cheese. That is not a continental breakfast as advertised, not a danish/croissant in sight! Great location (2min walk from the station), friendly enough staff. It’s a budget hotel, if it cost £80 a night I’d probably rate it 4stars but £250 takes the p&ss!

I stayed one night at the Cardiff as I had returned to London and had an early morning flight out of Heathrow. Its proximity to Paddington Station was the primary reason I stayed there, though I was delighted to see this neighborhood and see that it is an active, vibrant place to be. The Cardiff is a boutique hotel / B&B that is one of several small hotels on Norfolk Square, and one of a larger number of small hotels within a 5-10 minute walk from Paddington Station. I was there for only 14 hours, but it provided exactly what I needed: clean room, clean bathroom, comfortable bed, adequate electric plugs, good wifi service, TV. I did not get a chance to have the complimentary breakfast as I had to depart at 5:00am, but I really enjoyed staying here. The staff were all super-friendly, and I plan to stay here again when I can be there for at least a couple of days! The room was cozy (a/k/a quite small), but I was solo-traveling; because I overpacked and had a large suitcase, it took me a bit of finagling in getting in the room with the suitcase. But - again - what do you need when in London? Clean room, good location, comfortable bed. Cardiff has all of this.

The Cardiff Hotel reception was good, lovely helpful receptionists. The room itself was big enough but it was sweltering even with the fan on. The beds were clean and comfortable. The shower room was tiny and smelled of dirty foisty stagnant water. The toilet was separate and in a tiny space at the bottom of the bed. My husband couldn’t actually sit on the loo without the door having to be open on view which isn’t pleasant at all! It looked like a little cupboard. There was no wardrobe but some hanging space, which was ok. It was a well located hotel but I don’t think we would stay there again mainly because of the smell and shower/loo situation. Sorry 😐