WHAT it’s Like to Stay in City’s ‘Worst Rated Hotel’:
Some of its guests described it on review site TripAdvisor as “the pits”, “haunted” and “awful, incredibly awful”. But is a stay at the place that’s bottom of the pile for current rated hotels in the city really all that bad? Reporter Oliver Milne spent a
RECENT reviewers have complained of dirty rooms, mouldy showers and grubby decor – leaving the ML Lodge on St Mary Street with one of Cardiff’s lowest hotel ratings on TripAdvisor.
It currently stands at 58th in the site’s list of 76 hotels in the city, only ranking above premises which either have no reviews, have ceased to trade or have since become halfway houses.
Of its 127 reviews, 37 – the largest single figure – gave it a one star or “terrible” rating, contributing to its overall two and a half stars out of five. So what’s it really like? We checked in on Thursday night to find out.
It cost £37 for a double room, which came with its own shower and toilet.
At this price you don’t expect the Ritz – and you don’t get it.
What you do get is a functional room in a great location and, at the price, it’s hard to ask for anything more.
THE REVIEWS
Recent reviewers have been quite critical. One TripAdvisor user, Zeynep D, even said he thought the hotel was haunted.
He wrote: “The room floor was crooked and also the beds were very hard and the sheets were dirty.
“We noticed strange things during night. The light went on and off and we heard knocking in the walls, we wanted to get out there as fast as possible.”
The hotel’s manager Chris replied to the review saying: “Sheets are professionally laundered but I will remind the staff to still check them for marks when they come out of the fresh bag”.
He described the complaint that the hotel was haunted as “a joke”.
David Reynish wrote in his review: “The ML Lodge is terrible. It’s run down, dirty, and had no running hot water in sink or shower. I will never stay here again and recommend that no one does.”
The management apologised to David for the fault in his water heater and say they offered him a substantial discount.
WHAT OUR REPORTER FOUND
I arrived to see a sign telling us that we needed to check in over the road at the Sandringham Hotel. The Sandringham isn’t owned by the same company, but provides the service to the ML Lodge, which doesn’t have a reception.
After being asked to pay either a £10 cash deposit or leave ID, I was given the key to room two, on the hotel’s second floor.
After climbing two flights of stairs – the second in the dark – covered in threadbare carpet, I didn’t have the highest of expectations for what was behind the door of room two.
But it is fair to say that I was immediately pleasantly surprised.
A double bed covered in clean white linen greeted me.
The bathroom – also clean – was stacked with fresh towels and a cupboard had more if you needed them.
The room was lit by a large window which opened, but wouldn’t stay that way.
The view was of nothing in particular but that doesn’t really matter.
The room came with a small iron and
ironing board, a hairdryer and tea and coffee set, all dated but they worked well enough.
The furniture was worn, but none of it was broken.
It seemed I had got exactly what I had paid for – a cheap place to lay my head for the night.
Obviously the room wasn’t perfect, the walls were smudged and in some places the paint was peeling – nothing a new coat wouldn’t fix.
The carpet and the fan showed signs of needing a vacuuming and dusting respectively, but again nothing that couldn’t be fixed with some elbow grease.
Satisfied, I left my hotel in search of something to eat.
This was when the ML Lodge really came into its own – it’s a basic hotel in an incredible location.
Right in the heart of the city centre, Cardiff Castle, the Principality Stadium and some of the city’s best nightlife is just minutes away. Fed and watered, I went to bed. A few hours later I was woken up by a loud metallic banging in the walls.
My first thought was “the ghost is real” but after regaining my composure I turned over and went back to sleep.
Twenty minutes later, the same again – a quick look around left me none the wiser what its source was.
It didn’t ruin my night’s sleep, but being woken up twice by a mystery banging is far from ideal.
In the morning the shower was warm, and I left rested and ready for the day.
For the £37, you can’t really ask for much more than that.
The ML Lodge’s manager Chris Armstrong said he thought a lot of the reviews of the hotel online were unfair and had cost it business.
He said: “We’ve had new owners in the last 16 months and they are working on renovating the hotel.
“We think it’s a good affordable city centre base for people visiting Cardiff for business or a holiday.”