Pleasantly surprised

Was pleasantly surprised by almost everything at the Ibis in Cardiff. Check-in was fast and efficient. Room was clean and simple with tea and coffee making facilities. Great little bathroom with lovely big shower. Staff were friendly and pleasant; also very accommodating when I asked if it was possible for my employer to pay for my stay following my departure.

Breakfast was simple, with plenty of choice.

One thing I found, which is nothing to do with the hotel directly, is that I was a lone female staying on business- all other guests were male, some in groups of 3 and 4 which, when eating alone in the restaurant and coming back late at night, was a little intimidating. I didn't feel unsafe, but if you are a female travelling alone, I would just say 'Be Aware'.

Overall, I would say that the hotel offers really good value for money. I wrote a review of one of the 5-star Crowne Plazas in London for this site recently, which, in comparison was a disappointment. In terms of cleanliness, efficiency, location and staff, I would say the Ibis came out on top!! And all for £53! Result!

Very Disappointing

After reading the generally positive feedback on this website my stay at the Ibis Cardiff turned out to be very disappointing indeed. I had booked a "Room for 1 to 2 people" through Lastminute and specified on the Additional Requirements section that I needed a "twin" room in a quiet part of the hotel - I was travelling with my sister so she could attend a University interview the next day.

Unfortunately, upon our arrival, we were told that they did not have "any" twin rooms, and that we would have to stay in a double room with a child's single bed. The room iself seemed okay at the beginning - however we soon found several important drawbacks. Firstly, the room (001) was located right next to the bar area - this meant that dispite requesting a non-smoking room we had to put up with large amounts of smoke drifting in. The noise generated by the bar, by people walking past, and by the adjacent toilets was also considerable. The second main problem was that the water was completely undrinkable. When we filled up the kettle (several times) we found it to smell strongly of bleach or clorine - the tea making facilities were therefore useless. Thirdly - the bathroom had not bee cleaned properly - the toilet seat was heavily stained, and the shower still had hairs in it. Finally, the room included very little clothes storage, and crucially, only two pillows (one each).

Whilst I realise that we were not paying for a five star hotel, I do think we deserved something better for our £53. I would personally have been upset with these facilities had I paid just £20. It surely isn't difficult to allocate people to rooms in a more appropriate manner.

I will certainly not be returning to the Ibis Cardiff.

The price is right

OK - if it's charm you're after, you're probably not going to opt for a hotel that's part of a chain. Yet I found the IBIS to be comfortable, clean and good value. The room was a reasonable size, the shower wonderfully spacious.

It's walking distance from the main railway station and the pedestrianised shopping area.

Booking online was problem and stress-free.

The reception and waiting staff were cheery and polite, although with varying degrees of efficiency and language proficiency. It took 2 requests and 2 days to mend a light fixture in my room, and the same-day laundry service required one and a half days. This however didn't greatly affect the quality of my stay.

The reception is also manned 24 hours, which is good, and breakfast times are extremely long and flexible.

The nearby Thai House restaurant mentioned by a fellow reviewer was indeed excellent and recently reviewed in The Observer. I didn't appreciate however their minimum charge of 17.50 pounds in the evening.

All in all, I would say that this is a viable choice for the budget-conscious.

Excellent for price

I stay here twice a year on business trips, had many different rooms always identical to the last, basic but all you need. 2 minute walk to the very centre of Cardiff, I love the shower rooms in these, they seem futuristic. Always clean and comfortable.

Noise? One side of the hotel is near the railway, I live next to a railway, so it never bothers me, but some of the others said that they use the air con, rather than leave a window open because of the trains. One morning, half asleep, I couldn't work out how to turn the morning alarm off that I had set on the TV. It Blasted for a good 5 minutes, I appologised to the person in the next room (who was on the same business trip) they were awake, but didn't hear a sound!

buffet breakfast with cold meats, cheeses, rolls, croissants, jams, toast, fruit and cereal. coffee, tea and juice.

Never had a problem, excellent for the price, always clean and friendly.

Would definately recomend for business trips.

Good standard accomodation

We stayed here on 9/10 July. The hotel is located a short walk from all of Cardiff's shops, bars and attractions. The room we stayed in was basic, but very clean. We liked the capsule style bathroom and the shower was excellent.

There is no on site parking, however there are parking bays outside the hotel. You can buy a voucher which costs £1 for 5 hours, 8am-6pm Mon-Sat, free on Sunday, or there is a large NCP nearby which costs approx £11 a day.

The hotel serves food throughout the day, which we did not sample, and there is also a bar on site which serves alcohol up to 12 midnight.

Next door to the hotel is an excellent Thai Restaurant.

Overall this hotel is to be recommended and we would stay here again.

Basic, clean hotel

Clean, basic hotel. If you want a standard room for the night, with no frills then this hotel provides good value for money.

Not overly impressed with this IBIS hotel

I had never stayed in an IBIS hotel before, and this one if it is at all typical would not encourage me to do so again in a hurry.

It was certainly a bit of a come down after the Marriott when we stayed at this hotel in May 2004, but that was to be expected, as the IBIS at only half the price was a reasonable rate if you are on a budget. The room was understandably basic, but the airconditioning did not appear to work and we slept very badly that night in a horribly stuffy environment. There was quite a nice atmosphere in the reception area and restaurant / cafe, rather like in a modern youth hostel, though it was far from reassuring to see that somebody had vomitted in the vicinity and that it was clearly not immediately cleaned up, nor showed any signs of being.

At a difficult time of trying to find any vacant hotel in Cardiff, because of the football play-offs that weekend, this hotel did at least make it possible for us to visit an interesting and rather beautiful city, where the Welsh language can even be heard nowadays, but did not provide the kind of experience we would wish to repeat.

Basic hotel at a budget price

Basic room, clean, tidy and quiet. Excellent powerful shower, firm bed. Great value for money. Budget prices, I presume that's why they don't supply a hairdryer in the room!!

Overall great value for money in a good location, will use it again.

Great for Me and My Grandson

The Ibis Churchill Way is very close to where my brother lives in Cardiff and is ideal for short stays when visiting (his place is too small). I've stayed a number of times but last year I took my then 8 year old grandson. Kids stay free as long as they share a room and if you're on a limited budget this is ideal. We had a whale of a time. The rooms are clean and comfy, the showers great. Excellent value for money and so close to the City Centre. Staff are friendly too and my grandson loved it there. That's why we're going again this year.

Basic but very good value in a great location

Like all Ibis Hotels, they are fairly basic BUT give excellent value for money. Found the Hotel spotless room in excellent condition. Location is very good just minutes form downtown and the Millenium Stadium. Would recommend to anyone on a budget.