Hotel Indigo Cardiff by IHG — Hotel in Great Britain

Lovely hotel in the perfect location for a weekend of retail therapy! It was quiet and clean, and the staff were amazingly friendly and helpful. The beds were so comfortable we could have slept for days, and having an audio feed from the TV into the bathroom so we could listen to the radio while having a shower was a great touch.

It's just a shame that the food wasn't up to the same standard. Our meal at the hotel's restaurant - Marco Pierre White's Steakhouse - was disappointing to say the least. The food was nice enough, but definitely lacking in flavour. We couldn't bring ourselves to stay for dessert as we had been so put off by the blatant lack of food hygiene and safety. I spent the entirety of my meal staring at a dirty linen cart and black rubbish bag that had been abandoned by the side of the kitchen's service hatch. We also had to watch as one of the servers continuously ate their own food at one of the food prep stations, wiped their mouth with their bare hands, and then immediately began dishing up olives and handling bread.

The next morning we went back to the restaurant for the hotel's complimentary breakfast, optimistic that the experience from the night before was simply a blip. However, when an option as simple as pancakes were unavailable, the eggs Benedict was served cold with tough bread, and there were no jams available for the limited selection of pastries, we began to think that perhaps the previous night's poor experience was not a fluke.

This was absolutely cemented in our minds that evening when we ordered a simple cheese pizza from room service, only to be presented with a Chicago Town, sauce-stuffed crust, frozen pizza! (I'm very familiar with these because they are a staple for my two boys at home) So we paid nearly £15 for the privilege of a fancy restaurant to heat up a frozen supermarket pizza and transfer it to a takeaway pizza box...

Despite the issues with the food, we would absolutely come back to stay at the hotel. We would just give the...

In short, it was a pleasant stay. The check in experience took longer than expected, but went relatively smoothly.

Our room was on the 2nd floor and there was a lift as well as stairs. There is only one lift, so there can be a slight wait.

The room itself was, nice. Nothing special, but comfy. The Aircon was welcomed given the warm weekend and the room came with an ironing board, iron and a hairdryer without the need to ask, which was a plus.

The shower itself was excellent. Very powerful and plenty warm enough and the complimentary shower gel and shampoo was beautiful.

We utilised the 6th floor, where the restaurant /bar was situated and the views over Cardiff were a nice surprise. We didn't have a meal there, but the drinks were good and the bar staff were attentive.

However, the next morning was the most bizarre situation I've ever been in at a hotel.

We called reception to ask if we could add breakfast at 7.30am, only to be told to come to the reception to request this as it's cheaper this way. Baffled.

Two floors later, I asked the same receptionist who answered the phone if I could add breakfast. She obviously said yes and asked for payment. Unfortunately, the hotel's card machine was temperamental when taking Google pay and Apple pay, and wouldn't go through. I asked if this could be added to the room and I was advised yes....

What the hell is that all about?? Why did I have to travel two floors to ask the same person the same question, only to be told yes, and you charged my room..

Why couldn't this have been done over the phone? Or even more efficiently, at the restaurant?

I just don't get it.

Anyway, the breakfast was.....ok..nothing to write home about and my pet hate, it was served on a cold plate.

All in all, it was a comfy stay, but it certainly...

Our first impressions were good, as the reception staff were friendly and welcoming.

It all went downhill from there. The room (Premium Queen Twin Beds)which we paid quite a lot of money for, was no better than the standard room we stayed in at another Indigo Hotel. The bathroom was small, with only a shower and no bath. We had both a shower and bath in the Premium Queen room we stayed at in Bath Indigo.

Although there were two of us, there was only 1 packet of crisps which weren't vegetarian, provided, and 1 packet of biscuits. There was also only 1 of each drink (apart from water) provided in the fridge. The fridge shelf was wet, and clearly not been cleaned or checked by the housekeeping staff. We complained at reception, and 3 hours later when we returned to the hotel, apart from the fridge shelf being wiped, nothing had been added to the drinks, nor had the crisps been changed and increased in number. I rang down to reception, and eventually the friendly receptionist, brought us some more drinks and crisps. This was not the service we expect from a 4 star hotel. We've stayed in 3 star hotels which are more generous.

We used the 2 drinking glasses on our first night, and washed them out. When housekeeping cleaned the room, they removed these glasses and didn't replace them. Slippers were advertised as being available on the website, but the receptionist informed us that they had none to give us. .

The breakfast choice wasn't great, the fruit salad wasn't replenished and had a very small variety of fruit, mainly apple. There were no rolls or marmite and the orange juice was watered down.

This is the third Indigo we've stayed at and is by far the worst, and has made us doubt if we will stay in an...