My husband & I booked last minute and were lucky enough to have an executive room. The reasonable rate (for a 5* hotel) included continental breakfast and the use of the executive lounge (free soft drinks before 5pm and free alchohol after 5pm) . The room was on the sixth floor, but as the lounge was being re-furbished, we had to use a temporary lounge on the 1st floor without the views. This was dissapointing. The bedroom was lovely, nice comfy bed, all the usual mod cons. The bathroom was big, with a very large shower and was absolutely spotless - no mildew anywhere, which was a pleasant change from some 5* hotels we have stayed at.

We didn't eat at the hotel in the evening, but went down to Cardiff Bay to a wonderful Italian Restaurant. The breakfast at the hotel, however, was good and the service excellent.

The hotel is in a good location opposite the castle and just 2 mins walk to the shops. The train to / from cardiff bay is handy or you can take a taxi from the hotel.

Valet parking does cost £13/day but as we parked the car and left it there for our complete stay, we felt it was worth it - less hassle than trying to find alternative overnight parking in Cardiff.

I made use of the pool and gym, both of which were of a good standard and very clean.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Hilton and would like to return when the new executive lounge is completed. The staff were friendly, helpful, and we found the entire hotel spotlessly clean . Would not hesitate to recommend the hotel.

I know for fact that the Hotel is actually not a 5 star property , it is only 5 star based under the Welsh tourism act - which there for allows the Hilton to use the 5 star status .
The Hotel itself is not owned by Hilton , it is a franchise - it is owned by Cardiff International airport .

This is a hotel cutting back on budget , and if you are used to quality standards etc,, you will notice this .
The rooms are very dated and need to be done !
The restaurant is also dated - yet the food is very good , the breakfast price is not extortionate as some would think , tell me where you can find cheaper for Hilton ? The car park is £13 , again valet parking is expected to be that , yes the carpark is down the road , so why bother asking the staff to get your car for simple things you need to get , its a mission , you eithier take all your stuff with you to your room , or it is quicker and easier for yuorself to pop down to the carpark by foot .

Reception area is smart and efficiant , the gym is small yet equiped - the steam bar is totaly overated as premier veneue in Cardiff when its not , the piano bar is small yet nice .
The ballroom is not really a ballroom yet its a function room , as its completely carpeted ?

not bad , but not 5 star folks ! ;)

My boyfriend and I booked 2 nights (fri and sat) via lastminute (-). We had an executive room which means that it includes continental breakfast and use of the lounge (free soft drinks before 5pm and free alcholol after 5pm!) and also these rooms are on the sixth floor, so less street noise.

The rooms was lovely, nice comfy bed, all the usual mod cons. The bathroom is big, with a very large shower. For such a good size shower though it was dissappointing to have the kind of shower in there that you would normally find over a bath - it should have had an amazing power shower to impress. Also, the shower area had mildrew - not what you should expect from a true 5 star hotel.

Our rate included evening meal. The service in the restuarant was very good. Attentive and polite staff. Needless to say that although dinner is included, drinks are not and I think the cheapest bottle of wine is about £22.00.

The hotel was quite busy when we stayed and both nights there was a wedding reception going on. The first night this was Ok but on the sat night the wedding guests were abit rough around edges, but that cant be blamed on the hotel!

The hotel is in a good location opposite the castle and just 2 mins walk to the shops. You can catch a bus to cardiff bay from outside the hotel, its well worth the visit for a nice lunch - its all restuarants.

One annoying aspect I thought was that the valet parking meant that you couldnt just pop to your car to get something out of it. You had to call for the car to be brought up and then taken back down the road again to the carpark - so make sure you take everything up to your room that you will need. Parking costs £13/day.

The Hilton certainly has all the facilities of a 5*, but it was all a bit rough around the edges. The windows in the room didn't open and the aircon wasn't very good so the room was uncomfortably warm. The shower was on the cold side, the tv was ancient and the prices were outrageous. I know it's 5*, but charging £17.50 for breakfast is taking the [--]!

On the plus side, for £84 it was a fantastic room, the bathroom was huge and the bed superb. Oh, but they did charge us £5 for something from the minibar that we didn't have as well.