Central Square

You'll know they're cool again when theres a band or clubnight in shoreditch named "Soviet ere monoliths".

You'll know they're cool again when theres a band or clubnight in shoreditch named "Soviet ere monoliths".

How bizarre. Earlier today I was reading reviews of Chongqing's top-rated restaurant, which has a Mao-era theme:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restauran ... gqing.html

This is a trend that is likely to continue; a trend of cultural trends actually beginning in China and rather than just making our clothes, the Chinese will design them too.

Cardiff hotel owner says the council’s city centre plans will have a 'dire' impact on tourism

he manager of Cardiff’s oldest hotel has said the council’s plans for the city centre will have a “dire” impact on tourism.

Jon Swingler, general manager of the 150-year-old Royal Hotel, argued that the lack of car access to the city centre will put people off from visiting.

He has also hit out at the city’s “binge drinking” culture and public transport system, saying they are partly to blame for the dip in standards.


In an impassioned letter to the council, Mr Swingler said: “We, and many businesses in our area of the city are deeply concerned about the damage that lack of car access around the Central Square development will do to our businesses and the future of Cardiff as a tourist destination.”

He added: “The knock-on effect to Cardiff’s status as a tourist destination looks dire.”

The angry hotelier is holding a public meeting on Wednesday and has invited local business owners and politicians to air their views.

The pedestrian entrance to the Royal Hotel
Mr Swingler says his letter has already received positive responses from Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Plaid Cymru councillors.

The hotel chief said the council’s desire to improve the quality of its city centre hotels is being undermined by a transport policy which will make it harder for guests to access the city by car.


The 60-room hotel, which has been on St Mary Street since 1866, lost car access to its main entrance when the street was pedestrianised in 2010.

Since then, it and three other hotels have relied on the Wood Street carpark. But now this is being demolished as part of the regeneration of Central Square, Mr Swingler is worried he will lose more business.

St Mary Street is 'a very different place after dark'
“Many hotels are finding the need to downgrade to make ends meet, or are considering selling up if trading conditions do not ease. The result will be a preponderance of budget hotels, attracting the kind of binge drinking night-time economy that Cardiff has been saddled with for too long,” he said.

He added that St Mary Street was “a very different place after dark” and that “we should not be proud that Cardiff features so heavily for drunk and disorderly behaviour”.

The car park in Central Square is set to be demolished
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Mr Swingler went on to write that Cardiff’s public transport “pales in comparison” to European standards and that it must be improved if the city wants to go car free.

He added: “Car access to a hotel coupled with nearby parking facilities is essential to sustain and encourage visitors to the city. They do not have this.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... s-12076170

Whether it this guy or WalesOnline's tabloidy tone, I think the headline (of a 'dire' impact on tourism) is pretty wide of the mark. For the city as a whole, and indeed the city centre as a whole, regeneration of central square will be a good thing. It should also provide a much more attractive welcome to business people and tourists.

The loss of the hotel's 'main entrace' road access cannot be that big a deal. You couldn't park there. So it was only for drop-offs. And people being dropped off will usually have come from the station - just a couple of minutes walk away. OK, rainy days.. but even then, most people don't pay a taxi to go 200-300 metres.

The parking issue is perhaps a more pertinent one. A public car park is being demolished, and the car parking spaces in the Interchange are allocated to the BBC. Perhaps some proportion of spaces could be allocated to nearby occupiers, such as the hotel, on a pay-per-space basis (with money recoupable from guests).

I would say they could alternatively recommend the Westgate Street car park, which cannot be much further, and usually has spaces. However, the price of parking in Cardiff is pretty steep, indicating a probable lack of supply:

1 hour £3.50
1 to 2 hours £7.50
2 to 3 hours £11.00
3 to 4 hours £14.50
4 to 5 hours £18.00
5 to 24 hours £21.00
Earlybird £6.50
Night rate 1700-0600 £3.50
Sat 30 minutes £2.00

Maybe this is a fair price given the value of land for other uses, and efforts to reduce car use. And maybe hotels like the Royal need to learn to adapt. But high parking charges might be bad news environmentally and for the the city centre economy if they encourage more people to shop (or work) out of town.

There is a point to be made about car parking, as the nearest car park to to the train station is half way up Westgate street or in SD2. Thats a long way to walk if you want to help someone with luggage to the station, or have a meeting in Central Square and then drive to another business in Cardiffs outskirts/Newport/local business park. I know the Clayton hotel and Sleeperz are going to struggle because of the car parks loss.

what about the car park at the back of the station?

There is a point to be made about car parking, as the nearest car park to to the train station is half way up Westgate street or in SD2. Thats a long way to walk if you want to help someone with luggage to the station, or have a meeting in Central Square and then drive to another business in Cardiffs outskirts/Newport/local business park. I know the Clayton hotel and Sleeperz are going to struggle because of the car parks loss.

The Clayton hotel has just been bought for £24 million, so they can't be that worried about car parking.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/one-cardiffs-best-known-hotels-12080625#ICID=FB-Wales-main

Cardiff is completely car dominated - his argument is wholly flawed. What is he going to achieve by holding a meeting to discuss?... I realise that that building must cost a fortune to run and maintain, but its hardly in great shape in itself...perhaps he should think about improving the business before blaming the evolution of the city centre

You always get this thing - especially from long-standing independent businesses. People got into it 15, 20 years ago when, quite frankly, you could get away with providing crap in some industries. There was less competition in the hospitality industry. There was less competition in the retail industry - where independents had a bigger niche to fill (the multiples were much more about the big mass market retailers, and less about niche offerings. As competition has increased, these businesses have failed to evolve. They keep doing the same, whether its the same products, the same service, the same prices, the same brand identity. In part its because some of these people are in business as a bit of a "lifestyle choice" rather than to be true entrepreneurs.

Eventually one of two things tends to happen. Either the business folds completely. Or they (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) change tack completely - becoming a coffee shop, or a cocktail bar, or a barbers, or what not.

I guess with a hotel its harder to make such radical changes. You just need to get better at what it is you do. The location of this hotel and it being old (and probably poorly sound-proofed) makes it hard for it to go truly upmarket. But why not go for the top end of the partying crowd on the weekend?

A quick glance at TripAdvisor shows very favourable reviews about the hotel itself, with any criticism mainly aimed at Friday and Saturday noise (despite triple glazing) and.. car parking. Assuming this is representative of feedback the hotel gets from elsewhere, his raising it would seem reasonable.