The Coal Exchange Hotel in Cardiff

Visited again recently for a drink with a friend. The building itself is so beautiful and worth a visit if you're in the area. The function room is gorgeous if you like period features. Amazing wood panelling and chandeliers from wonderfully high ceilings. The bar/restaurant is lovely too with a good balance of period and modern furnishings. Well worth a visit.....

Absolutely beautiful hotel, rooms are lovely and spacious. Everything was clean and tidy. Absolutely amazing service from Emily from start to finish helping me plan the surprise for my fiancé, and being a genuine person from the get go. Will definitely be returning to try the breakfast, was way too hungover to eat last time🤣.

The hotel gives a chic feel. At first glance, the room looked nice, however, upon closer inspection, the jacuzzi bath was dirty and the towels and bedding were stained. The room was really cold and the heating didn't work properly, but there was an electric heater in the room, however, the water was barely lukewarm, which made the showering hard and we couldn't enjoy a nice hot bath, which we paid more for. When we checked out, at around 10.15, due to parking, there was no one at reception, my partner had to go around the restaurant looking for the receptionist, until a housekeeper came and said we could leave it on the desk, but in the meantime, a blonde woman with glasses came out and we handed her the key and told her which room we were checking out of. Later, my partner calls me saying they charged him £20 extra for late checkout. He called them to clarify the charge, and the receptionist (blonde) very rudely said, we didn’t checkout until 3pm and the housekeeper also said there were still someone else left in the room, which is a blatant lie. Surely they can check cctv and see who's telling the truth. We were then told it'd take 5 days for the £20 to be refunded. We'll not be returning and will ensure everyone knows about the poor service and rude receptionist.

Amazing Hotel, Staying there for my anniversary and had a wonderful lunch in fantastic surroundings. Great staff and a wonderful Venue

Great stay. Planned on staying in Premier Inn but their booking system wasn't working. I'd stay here again. Had room only and walked down to Weatherspoons for breakfast as it was 11am check out.

At first it looks grand . The room we were in not great. Dirty bath . Dirty floor walls. Dust in bathroom . TV to high up on the wall.. floor moves as a bottle of water fell of the table as we walked to Bath room. Very poor. BUT. the staff were great helpfull friendly. The feel of a very grand hotel. All I can say after seeking to the staff they say its being done up. BUT. Who ever owns it need to get on with it he or she is losing thousands of pounds in potential earnings. It could be a fantastic hotel. . It's great place. Close to the bay and Resturants. Don't let my room review put you of it was only one room so others may be better. Breakfast was OK. Not as good as it could be. Give me a job there and a huge budget I.ll make it into Cardiff best hotel.

Was really looking forward to our stay the only good thing about it was the jacuzzi bath. Beds small. But dated expensive to park and a lot of people got parking tickets. Breakfast where to start only get tea and coffee want u to pay extra for latte etc Food cold asked for fried egg didn’t come out . Very basic no black pudding very slow service. Wouldn’t return quick such a shame a beautiful building but service not great and bed very uncomfortable gutted as looked amazing on photos booked for our once a year date night

Impeccable! Beautiful Hotel with Massive rooms. Very friendly receptionists. Their jacuzzi was a very pleasant treat! Highly Recommend!

We have just spent the weekend in this stunning hotel. The staff are friendly and accommodating. They went above and beyond to make sure that our stay was as fantastic as it was. We will definitely be returning. Thank you to all of the wonderful staff. Until next time.

Staff very friendly. Room had everything you require for your needs. Breakfast was great but book it in advance to save money. Hotel was fantastic as if you stepped back it time.

Not a good experience here. The hotel had no hot water and failed to partially refund me for this even though they said they would. As others have said the cleaning is poor - I had drain flies around the shower area in my room. There are better, similarly priced options in the area.

Didn’t see the rooms or stay there but the main trading hall was fantastic.

A highly recommended establishment, upper class in nature. Absolutely warm and welcoming staff, warm atmosphere, and absolutely delicious cuisine.

The house has seen better days. The first impression seems promising and is able to convey the long history of the house. After a short time, however, some details destroy the good appearance. Be it the noticeably unmotivated waiter at breakfast. The room windows can only be opened slightly and at the same time there is no air conditioning. The manageable quality of the breakfast buffet, which often included bland pastries from the previous day. Various quirks in the furniture. All in all, forgivable things that unfortunately don't live up to the propagated claim.

Stayed here over the August bank holiday weekend with friends. Limited parking outside which is free 6pm - 8am however the hotel is able to offer a discount on a nearby multistory carpark so worth enquiring with them beforehand. Rooms are lovely and spacious with great decor. However the only downfall is no air conditioning throughout the hotel and in the rooms. Although the weather was mild (some sun, some rain, 40mph winds) there was no air in the rooms and they were very hot & stuffy. The second night the hotel provided us with fans which did help however it was still very warm. The heat affected our sleep as it was so uncomfortable. I don't know how someone would cope during really hot weather. No Hand-wash soap provided in the bathrooms. Nice location just outside of Mermaid Quay

Food was very tasty, dinner and breakfast. Overall better than I would expect for the star rating. Service good. Rooms also good but the doors could be better sealed for sound and the aircon could be improved.

Lovely reception staff. Place needs a real good thorough clean.

This building was used for coal and shipping exchange then converted to hotel. It is a bit diffucult to find the rooms but rooms are so big and bathroom has a jakuzi.

The room was a good size and the hotel was pretty maneuverable for my partner who was in a wheelchair. The bathroom was clean and had toiletries and the jacuzzi bath was nice. Whilst our stay was reasonably pleasant there were a few reasons I wouldn't stay here again. Our room had a autobiography of a man (including large photo of him) plastered on the ceiling above the bed, quite creepy to look up and see a long dead composer staring back at you when you wake in the morning. The cleaning could have been better and it feels like the hotel could do with a bit of a revamp of the decor. The windows had a film covering them which was peeling quite badly, I can see why they covered them as the view was of a very damaged old roof. It feels like the hotel is unsure whether it wants to be a cheap hotel, or an expensive boutique hotel and kind of misses the mark on both. The breakfast was acceptable as it was free but wouldn't have wanted to pay for it. It was a buffet style which meant the hot food was luke warm. Some of the responses to reviews are quite rude

We had a great weekend staying at the Coal Exchange Hotel. We paid for a king room and got given the bridal suite , which was amazing 👏. Would definalty recommend tye spa bath. Our room wasn't ready on arrival but got given a £25 bar tab for the inconvenience, which was a nice gesture. Staff were great, very helpful and friendly . Would definitely come back and stay again.

Dirty, in need of updating, riddled with issues. When you complain, they like to blame the issues on your attitude, rather than the fact that they just aren’t on top of the maintenance . For the price they charge, you’d expect : A/C to be working There to be hot and cold water Bath and room to be clean Staff to be friendly Discounts/ compensation to be offered when there are problems. I’ve stayed on multiple occasions and continued to do so because I like the spa bath, but I’ve never stayed and there not be a problem with the room.

Decent stay here at the coal exchange recently, not sure it's worth the expensive rates they charge. Also, if it's a warm day, expect to roast in the rooms. The Aircon doesn't work and the little fans they give you don't do much!

Excellent service from the check in staff nice large rooms and a good shower. Breakfast was a cooked buffet with a good selection bacon sausages hash browns etc but eggs wise only overdone scramled. It's a large building a bit confusing to navigate. Note rooms are only single glazed so you can get road and seagull noise and no Aircon .. beds were pretty comfy .

Despite the friendly staff, this building should not be operating as a hotel. It would be illegal in Australia. No hot water, TV cuts out every few minutes, musty smell in most of the hotel ‘king room’ was one of the smallest rooms I’ve ever stayed in, and the rear section of the building has collapsed! It’s a death trap. As we left another couple had the same complaints. We went to a different hotel. Ashley Govier should be ashamed.

Lovely grand building. Spacious rooms. Bathroom a bit small (rm242). Great breakfast room. Had to ask for towels, otherwise very comfortable stay.

Positive: We booked 3 king size rooms for our family. Nice clean big size room and bathrooms were spacious and nice and clean rooms and very peaceful atmosphere and Breakfast is 10/10 absolutely amazing and staff very very helpful and overall stay was very comfortable 5 stars we would go give. Very pleased to see kettle, iron and iron board in each room, very impressive. Negetive: Slightly darker rooms as lights need to be improved. Windows were very stiff in opening or closing, can be improved by regularly Servicing. Bathroom has no clothes hanging hooks and also shower head dripping water regularly. Probably required regular checks.

We actually had a free upgrade to the honeymoon suite. Lovely

Stunning location... Nice staff and a great event SMHBA ❤️✂️

A beautiful building around the corner from Cardiff Bay. We loved the jacuzzi tub in our room! Service was excellent. Very good value for money

Close to the Bay about 5 minutes walk. Lovely character building, bar and restaurant facilities. Jacuzzi in the room. Beautifully decorated.

Fantastic hotel, beautiful room with amazing spa bath

The common areas, the aesthetic of the hotel, and the service provided by the staff were amazing. The jacuzzi was a great touch for the room! The breakfast buffet was also great. A downside was that some areas of our room definitely felt like they hadn't been cared for too well, such as some black mould problems around the windows which had eaten away the plaster. It's completely possible that this is an outlier to an otherwise well-maintained property though, who knows. I'd definitely be happy to stay here again next time I'm in Cardiff; although please have a rethink of the above-the-bed ceiling memorials 😅.

Beautiful hotel, and only 3 minutes from lot's to do.

Stayed here the night with my partner it was absolutely beautiful comfortable bed and the spa bath was amazing definitely recommended and will be returning

Great lounge bar, lovely decor inside and really friendly staff. We had a wonderful time visiting.

This is possibly one of the best hotels I have checked on to. The staff was fantastic, the breakfast was superb, rooms were very comfortable and the jacuzzi was worth trying. Had a fantastic stay with my friends.

Wedding on NYE simply delightful. If you are in Cardiff really have to visit this absolute gem of a building. Historically wonderful. Seeing is truly believing.