The Coal Exchange Hotel

The hotel doesn’t have any air conditioning, apparently due to its age and historical importance to the Cardiff Bay area it has never been installed, even though theres was a temperature control in the room!
So was very uncomfortable during our stay because of the hot temperatures. I asked for a fan but the hotel failed to provide one.

The window wouldn’t close so was being disturbed at all times during the evening and mornings, especially as my window was close to the bin area and the staff were emptying the bottle bins from the night before!

Overall we didn’t have a great stay so wouldn’t recommend staying here!

Very unique hotel with a lot of fascinating history and character. Room was clean and beds were comfortable. We happened to be there on a hot summer day, and there is no air conditioning in the rooms, which would be expected with an older hotel. The rooms were hot, but the hotel staff is very responsive in providing extra fans.

Great location and friendly helpful staff. Large comfortable room.

Gorgeous looking hotel but looking a bit jaded at the edges. Loved the feel of the place though. Loved the Jacuzzi bath to get rid of my aches and pains. Shame no air con but 3 fans did make up a little for that. Lovely building though. The upkeep must cost a fortune.

Beautiful room in historic building. Excellent location, walkable to the Mermaid Quay area. One downside was that the jacuzzi tub/ shower was not accessible to my elderly parents. There were no handlebars in the tub area.

Hotel in a lovely spot for the bay.

A lovely period building keeping many of the original features, with

The hotel itself was very grand and comfortable. We had an excellent stay and staff were very attentive. The room we stayed in had a jacuzzi bathtub which was a massive bonus. However, if you book via hotels.com be sure to call the hotel to check they have the correct booking. We requested a twin room when we booked but was given a king room as, according to the receptionist, hotels.com do not pass these requests to the hotel. Located a short walk from the Bay and close to public transport links that connect to the rest of Cardiff. Would highly recommend!

As we had booked a presidential suite we expecting presidential standards, there were 3 tall fans in the room..all dusty, the bath seal was mouldy, the shower head was dirty and crusted with lime scale. To top it off we have been bitten on our legs and torso by something. We appreciate that this is an historical building however....it did not match the cost for 1 night

Filthy room. Issues raised with reception and apology given but nothing more. Very very over priced accommodation in very very poor state.

Whilst the building is beautiful steeped in history it felt very tiered , it was dark and very muggy.
The rooms needed decoration, bathroom was particularly in need of some love, just felt dirty. Privacy was poor when sash windows were open for ventilation.
TV far too small for room and in the wrong position.
Desperately needed air conditioning.

The staff were amazing - really helpful and friendly

A beautiful building for a hotel. A lot of history too. Stayed during the heatwave and unfortunately no air conditioning, but they had placed a fan in the room. The stay was comfortable and the beds wonderful, but a couple of things needed doing ….like the broken window sash in the bathroom and somewhere to put soap next to the sink. A bin in the bathroom would be good too.
Overall staff were friendly and it was clean and comfortable. The area was lovely and quiet too. Would stay again.

The room was filthy. Thick dust on the wooden wall panelling. No shower curtain so everything in the bathroom got soaked. Thick dust on the standalone fans which presumably were in the room because the air conditioning was broken. Faeces on the side of the bath which when reported nobody came to clean.

And very strange to have a jacuzzi bath in a room for 6 people (unless that is what you’re looking for!)

2 night stay cost a lot of money. Boiling hot weekend, no air con, fans provided but next to useless. Keycards stopped working almost immediately. Room not overly clean, lots of dust around and some paper peeling off. Made the mistake of opening a window and saw a debris strewn flat roof. The guy serving in the main bar made us feel about as welcome as a fart in an astronaut suit. Great singer and guitarist in the small bar which helped and staff there very nice. Sadly looks like a place in decline.

We were charged the full price even though we had already paid a large deposit, now have to get a refund from Expedia apparently. No hot water in the bath or shower, maintenance tried to fix it but we still only managed luke warm for a short period of time. Room was very dated, tiny bed looks lost in a large room with not much in the way of furniture.

Really friendly and helpful staff

Lovely character hotel with helpful staff. Unfortunately no working aircon and the fan that was provided was pretty hopeless. Only one of the two windows opened.

We stayed on the same night as a school prom was being held at the hotel. It was an incredibly hot night and the noise from the students that had congregated outside the front of the hotel, was very loud.
We returned to the hotel, from the principality stadium, at around 11pm and due to the noise and very ineffective air con unit, we didn’t sleep at all and decided to leave at 2am to drive 2.5 hours home.
When we spoke to the guy on reception he apologised for the poor air conditioning and said it was because it was an old hotel.
I’m all up for kids celebrating at their end of school prom but not at the expense of the hotel guests who have paid a fai price for an overnight stay.
We won’t return to this hotel.

Lovely hotel. Highly recommend