Welcome to Hotel Indigo® Cardiff, where bespoke design meets classic Welsh heritage. Our boutique bedrooms reflect our vibrant city, with the themes ‘Made in Wales’, ‘Welsh Industry’ and ‘Music’ embodied in local art and natural materials. Many also offer wonderful views of the Cardiff skyline, and they all have free Wi-Fi and invigorating rainfall showers. Moments from our front door you can sing along with the fans at the home of Welsh rugby, explore the historic Cardiff Castle with its fairy tale towers, or rock out to that famous local music at the Motorpoint Arena.

At the last minute we had to cancel our trip to Madeira due to Mr C having an unexpected health issue that required tests and which meant that we were not insured to travel abroad.

Within a few days we came up with ‘Plan B’, a trip to Cardiff, a place that neither of us had visited before. Why Cardiff? It has lots of nearby attractions that appealed to both of us.

Our journey to Cardiff ran smoothly and we chose to break our journey for lunch at the Engine House that is located in Ross-on-Wye garden centre, another gem from the ‘Extra Mile’ book. I couldn’t resist the scone of the day, apple and cinnamon. It was deliciously light and crumbly. Mr C opted for the pear and stilton toasty which had also tempted me.

We arrived in Cardiff at around 3pm, parking the car in the car park recommended by the hotel and which gave a substantial discount for hotel guests. Speaking of the car… After several weeks the RAC accepted liability for the fire that happened after Mr C’s car was recovered to our house. They referred the matter to their insurers who authorised a hire car just a few days before we travelled.

After checking in to our hotel, we chilled out in the hotel bar with a glass of wine for me and a local beer for Mr C. Mr C rang one of his friends to update him on recent events whilst I read up on local attractions.

We returned to the room for a cup of tea. After we had unpacked our bags Mr C went out to recce the local area, leaving me to chill out some more.

Later we dined in Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant. The food, service and atmosphere were wonderful. I chose a ravioli dish which was presented in artistic, appetising way rather than served in a bowl as pasta normally is.

Mr C was keen to show me the Wetherspoons’ pub, that is in the former Prince of Wales theatre building. He took me upstairs into ‘the gods’ where we had a nightcap before retiring to the hotel for the evening.

For breakfast I chose the vegetarian option that had tempted me the day before. It was delicious.

As we checked out of the hotel we were asked if we had enjoyed our stay and our choice of room style, and, if we returned would we choose the same or something different? There are three options; the Tudor Rooms (with original oak beams), the Georgian Townhouse (with high ceilings and chandeliers) or the contemporary rooms (with a lift). The hotel had phoned up before our stay to ask which type we would like and we chose the Georgian option.

These personal touches and attention to detail made us feel much more welcome than in our previous hotel in Stratford where the personal touch and care of the customer wasn’t quite where it should be.

As we travelled to Compton Verney, the place we had chosen to visit on our way home, persistent rain set in. When we arrived at the gates, I suggested that perhaps we should choose a more indoor destination. Compton Verney has art galleries but the grounds hold more interest for me and it would not have been much fun in the rain.

I suggested the nearby British Motor Museum which I knew Mr C would enjoy. He jumped at the suggestion and we arrived just after it had opened for the day. It was warm and dry inside the museum and some of the exhibitions had changed a lot since our previous visit. This included a Jaguar exhibition wing which was fascinating. There is so much to see that it isn’t possible to take everything in on one visit.

Whilst there, we chose to have lunch in the café which has some tasty food options.

All too soon it was time to return home. We stopped off to pick up a ready meal of venison casserole, roast potatoes and carrots for our fine dining later that evening.

We arrived in the breakfast room to find that the advertised continental breakfast was exactly as advertised, unlike our previous hotel where several components of the continental breakfast were missing. I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity even though the vegetarian breakfast was also tempting. I wasn’t disappointed.

After breakfast, as planned, we had a chilly but leisurely mooch around the town before having lunch in Huffkins. I chose a Belgian bun, which was tasty, but I had forgotten how sticky the icing on top is! Surprisingly one of the Waitresses recognised us from our previous visits.

Our planned adventure for the afternoon was the Butterfly Farm which was busier than on our previous visits. I felt a bit crowded out when we first arrived which wasn’t helped by a gentleman who followed me round as I was trying to take photographs; he too was looking for perfect photo opportunities. I think it might have been the half term holiday which starts a week earlier in Stratford than in my local schools.

There were lots of interesting creatures hiding in plain view in the tropical house, including a red kneed tarantula who unusually was at the front of his safe cave and slowly moving his fangs. The cayman, once again did not realise that I had come to visit and was hiding away in his sleeping quarters.

We returned to Brook Tavener where Mr C had purchased a jacket the previous day. He bought the same jacket in a different colour. It was now time to return to the hotel for a warming cup of tea and a chill out before pre-theatre dining in the Giggling Squid. I chose sticky chicken which was delicious and chose the appropriately named (for Valentine’s Day) Melting Heart Chocolate. Unfortunately, when it arrived it was the full-sized version rather than the small portion ordered, reminding me that the service had been a little bit quirky on our previous visit there. We had a date with Hamlet at the RSC so there wasn’t time to rectify the mistake.

Photo copywrite of the RSC (Hamlet promotional material)

The stage was stunning in the shape of a ship with water around the bows and a video of waves and horizon to the stern. The first half is scene setting where the story is told. The second half, which is more dramatic, saw the stage tilt back and forth with the stormy sea and dramatic culmination of the story.

We returned to the hotel to have a nightcap in the bar to find that our favourite seats had just been taken, as were all the other seats in the bar area. We retired to another seating area which is lovely, albeit quieter than the bar area.

We were joined by others including two gay couples (including an American and a German) who discussed the recent election of Trump and related politics of the situation. Their discussion was to loud to tune out, but at least it was interesting.