My review of voco St David’s Cardiff

IHG doesn’t have many (any?) inspirational properties in the UK. I have already visited all the InterContinentals and Kimptons, and the voco hotel in Cardiff is the only five-star hotel left for me to complete the bucket.

It was a Principal hotel that became part of IHG due to an acquisition. Principal hotels have been branded differently since then – except Principal York the name of which is still unchanged, allegedly due to its very slow renovation progress.

voco is a conversion brand relatively new to IHG. It doesn’t have a unique brand standard, so existing hotels can join with minimum refurbishment effort involved. voco’s presence can be seen in a few UK cities now, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Solihull.

I paid only 24,000 points for a Monday night which is a good deal. The hotel’s rate tends to be quite reasonable from what I can see, as they usually charge less than £150 except for Saturday stays.

The voco sits on the Cardiff Bay by the wetlands. It’s location isn’t great for browsing Cardiff, but more like a retreat for a weekend getaway.

The wetlands is ideal for a short stroll. There are a few restaurants, bars and a cinema in the neighbourhood.

The hollow and tall front part of the building, besides the massive window, is a great design.

Upgrade could have been generous. I’m assigned a Deluxe King room but on the third floor only (the hotel has seven floors). I prefer a higher floor so they exchanged it for a (lower-category) Premier room on the sixth floor instead.

Premier room is basically a standard room but with balcony, and Deluxe room has slightly better interior. The hotel is fairly quiet on Monday, but still stingy with the upgrade.

On the flip side, the room is already pretty nice.

The sea view takes away my breath and lights the entire room up, which gives you the best first impression. The interior is simple but refreshing and technical, consistent with the tone set by the view. The television is really small though.

Nothing is better than chilling on the balcony, admiring the summer view when the wind breezed through . There’s more than abundant sunlight – I feel really warm although it’s only like 22 degrees.

I didn’t know hotel rooms with a real sea view do exist in this country!

Hotel guests can use the spa before 11am or after 3pm. The slot between is probably reserved for public paying guests.

As you can tell from the pictures, the facilities are of very high standard and you won’t be disappointed. Given its location though it’s a shame they don’t have an outdoor swimming pool.

A sea-view gym:

Diamond members can opt for the breakfast buffet in the restaurant as a welcome amenity.

The choice and quality are decent. There’s very limited cold spread though, no fruit or yogurt which is bit weird.

In general I am very happy about the stay, and it’s probably my favourite IHG hotel so far in the UK (not counting the Mr & Mrs Smith ones as they are at a different level). If you are looking for a reasonably-priced spa weekend, or a sea-view hotel without going abroad, look no further!

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