The Hilton Cardiff
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There are hotels, and then there are Hilton Hotels. If you want to do Cardiff in style, the Hilton Cardiff is just about as good as it gets in terms of the three Ls - luxury, location and lovely, lovely staff.
The role of the Hilton Cardiff and other leading hotels was central in bringing the Ryder Cup to Wales in 2010 and at the heart of the Hilton’s preparations was the opening of flagship lounge bar the Metropole. A sophisticated stop for morning coffee, afternoon tea and post-work drinks, the Metropole envelopes diners soothingly in its curved spaces, which seamlessly melt into the hotel’s neo-classical elegance.
The Metropole and the popular Steam Bar - a fresh and funky all-day eatery - frame the Hilton Cardiff’s centrepiece triangular courtyard, with layers of balconies stacking upwards into a light-filled vault. My executive suite is a short sharp blast in a glass lift to the sixth floor, where the utter stillness is at odds with beat of the city below. My rooms have crisp views of the civic centre’s domed skyline and Cardiff’s astonishing greenness, which stretches away to Caerphilly mountain on the northern edge of the city. The lounge is sparsely furnished but each piece speaks for itself, a plush caramel carpet and bucket chairs bowing to a brilliant royal blue feature wall and show-stopping sofa. A marble-topped coffee table subtly marries the blues and earth tones while solid cupboards conceal a mini-bar and a treasure tray of tea and biscuits. The gorgeously girlie bathroom, with its pink and cream tiles, huge semi-circular shower and sweeping sink unit, is an unexpected change of pace and a lovely break from monochrome bathroom tradition.
The hotel spa is part of the Wellbeing suite on the second floor, which includes a decent-sized pool and gym. A slight grumble here is the lack of facilities specifically for spa users. Waiting for my treatment I perch on a small sofa amid goggles, swimsuits and a heap of used towels rather than the softly-lit lounge visitors might hope for. And the treatment rooms themselves are right next to the gym, which initially leaves me working hard to block out the whirr of machinery over soothing music. The treatment itself, though, is a well-worked blend of pressure and release, and as the knots are coaxed out with subtle persuasion I lose myself (and that noisy equipment) in zoned-out bliss. I opt for the hour-long full body massage, pledging to go back for the Elemis Aroma Ocean Wrap another time.
Dinner and breakfast are unhurried events in the Razzi Restaurant, its conservatory facade pointing smack-bang towards Cardiff Castle’s formidable walls. At dinner I start with a sizeable duck and orange salad with roasted almonds while my sister tries the onion focaccia with tintern rarebit and pesto dressing. We agonise over the generous list of mains, afraid a wrong turn will bring on the dreaded food envy, but luckily my pork wrapped in pancetta and her fillet of salmon with candid lemon and roasted courgettes expertly find their mark. Dessert presents an equally tough choice but we both decide on mash mellow brownie with cookie dough ice cream and milk chocolate sauce and are soon deliciously full.
Guests staying on the exclusive sixth floor are treated to the use of the executive lounge, a cosy hideaway offering perfect views of the sun's lazy evening dip over the city. Quietly decorated in autumnal shades and open for complimentary breakfasts, pre-dinner drinks and canapés, the lounge is a noise-free zone, with sports matches banished to large screens downstairs and newspapers waiting to be flicked through. With full fridges, an imaginatively-stocked counter and a pot pourri of the best root veg chips I’ve sampled, the lounge is a perfect retreat at either end of a busy day.
From the moment I revolve into its foyer, the Hilton Cardiff gives that perfect Welsh welcome. Staff are unfailingly polite yet retain that instinctive friendliness sometimes chipped away in other cities. Cheery touches - such as the weather report left with the chocolates on my pillow and the signature Hilton ‘H’ engraved in icing on a complementary fruit platter – enhance the warm glow. Mix in world-class shops and Roman castle a hop across the street, and the Hilton Cardiff really does have it all.
Services spa, swimming pool, fitness equipment, parking, hotel restaurant, hotel bar, pets accepted, room service, business services, internet access, wheelchair accessible, concierge, air-conditioning
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