Mercure The Lodge Cardiff

Hotel situated in area of Cardiff where it is difficult to easily walk to all tourist places.

The maid service was not as good as it should have been. I stayed with my wife and 15 year old son. The room had 2 bath towels and we requested a third both with the maid service and at reception on more than one occasion. The third bath towel never appeared. The tea and milk in the room was only topped up once over a four night stay. This let down what was otherwise a good hotel.

The staff at this hotel were friendly and accommodating, our friends were arriving later and we requested our rooms be relatively close - there across the hall and down one, very happy with that.
The beds however left a lot to be desired, mine was incredibly creaky, and when you rolled over you actually bounced so it creaked twice per movement. The room was humid and the windows don't open, although there is air con in each of the rooms it's very loud so making it a choice between suffering the heat or the noise.
We stayed on a Saturday so to be expected we were woken at 2 or 3 am by drinking idiots banging on doors, I would have liked to have seen tighter security to make sure that these people were made to respect the fact everyone else was in bed - hence part of the reason I wouldn't recommend this hotel for families
The distance is quite walk able into Cardiff city centre, especially if you know the area and can cross the footbridge, saying that a family, especially one with young children, might find it more of a struggle to get in and out of Cardiff - a taxi ride into the city centre is less than £5 though so makes it more than possible.
The hotel seems to be more suited for conferences and the like than a holiday, although it's a good deal cheaper than somoe of the more central hotels so it depends on what you're after.
Out of 10 I'd give them a 7

Whilst I would stay in this hotel again, I would ask for a room at the front of the hotel rather than the back. There is a train line directly behind the hotel and, whilst it was not on a main line and used only by industrial trains, it was a little noisy when used.
Also, the first room we were given had not been cleaned, with a used tissue under one of the pillows, reception did move us straight away. The only problem was the bed in the room we moved to (324) squeaked so loudly when you moved in the night it woke us up! I would ask for a different room.
The location was very good, with it being only a 10 minute walk from the town centre and 5 minute drive to the bay.

We got the room for £45 through a special deal, which I thought was excellent. I doubt I would have paid the full price though.
The room was very hot, the windows don't open, and although we left the air conditioning on all night it didn't make the slightest bit of difference.
Lovely big power shower, room was nice and clean, plenty of coffee, but no tea for some reason!