A few weeks ago we were invited to review the Park Plaza Hotel in Cardiff and wow we had such a relaxing and indulgent stay. Park Plaza Cardiff is a plush, modern hotel in the city centre, it has a gorgeous health spa along with a bustling, trendy bar and restaurant. As always on arriving at a hotel a lobby has to impress immediately and it really does. High ceilings, doors built for people far taller than I and large glistening mirrors everywhere. Check in was swift with warm and friendly staff who made sure we had everything we needed, a nice touch on arrival in our room was a phone call from reception to ensure everything was to our liking.
The room itself was gorgeous, a humongous mirror made the room feel light and airy and made me feel small which was a fun! The bathroom was modern and luxurious and I enjoyed not one but two long relaxing soaks – again the bathroom has a huge mirror which added to the indulgent decor – another plus was the fantastic toiletries.
After settling in and having a long bubble bath it was time for our spa visit, included in the Sunday Spa package was a 55 minute full body massage and it was AWESOME. It was by far the best massage I have had although the masseuse did tell me my neck was a bit crunchy and that she could have spent the full hour just working on one side of my neck – she managed to work through most of the knots and tension. I was a little sore the next day but it was a definite sign it had worked. Now to make time for regular massages! During our spa visit we spent time chilling out completely with fresh juice in the relaxation room and also enjoyed the swimming pool and steam room. The pool itself is pretty impressive to look at, it’s all stainless steel even the sides and bottom of the pool and it gives a stylish look and a really smooth feeling underneath – I really liked it.
Back to the room and an hour of reading..bliss..before getting dressed up and heading down for our three course dinner in the Laguna restaurant. I’ve eaten in the Laguna restaurant previously – once on the terrace with my mum enjoying the bar menu and also for an Easter afternoon tea with Andrew and Izzy, on both occasions I have been really pleased with both the food and the customer service. Its a pretty cool bar and restaurant and I can imagine it being a lively, fun place to spend a Friday or Saturday night with friends and a cocktail or two – need to try that out next!
I love spending ages looking at the menu when we eat out and I always take forever to choose what I want to eat but I knew almost immediately what I wanted this time. I started with the deep fried mozzarella – so naughty..so nice. It was the perfect choice and the salad with it was pretty good too. I have to give a mention here to the fresh, warm bread we were generously given with delicious oils and balsamic vinegar.. I could have eaten that alone all night and been happy with it.
Andrew started with the Selection of antipasto:
I then moved onto the Roast Loin of Usk Valley Pork with goose fat potatoes and Welsh cider sauce whilst Andrew had the Roast Sirloin of Beef with Yorkshire puddings, Horseradish sauce and goose fat potatoes. My dish was fabulous – special mention to the potatoes and cider sauce which really enhanced the meal. Andrew had an incredibly tender piece of beef along with the deliciously crispy potatoes. The accompanying vegetables were delicious too.
For dessert I had the Chocolate Praline torte whilst Andrew had the Italian Tiramisu, apologies because I have no decent photos of dessert as the light was so dim ( romantic and relaxing but not helpful for photos! ) but I assure you they were perfectly instagrammable dishes and incredibly tasty! In fact a few of the photos in this review don’t do the meal justice at all – you will spot the difference with the hotel images!
We headed up to bed with full bellies and had such a good nights sleep, considering we were so close to the busy roads of the city centre it was surprisingly quiet and the bed itself was super comfortable.
Breakfast the next month was a feast! A gorgeous array of fruits, a pancake machine dishing out fresh, warm American style pancakes with delicious syrups and a full English breakfast as well as continental meats, cheeses and pastries.
Another leisurely bath and then it was time for us to check out far too soon – actual checkout wasn’t until midday ( I love a late checkout ) but we had work and children to get back to!
I would recommend a stay at Park Plaza to anyone looking to enjoy a break in the Capital, would be perfect for when you are checking out a show or a concert in one of the surrounding stadiums/arenas. The Sunday Spa package is an absolute bargain for £99 per person – when you consider this includes a 3 course meal, a 55 minute full body massage or signature facial as well as breakfast in a plush city centre hotel.
* Our stay was complimentary for the purpose of this review.