The atrium brings light into the heart ofthe building, and shows off a spectacular rug.

The restaurant extends into a glazed extension continental style onto the pavement opposite the castle. The food was actually rather good, not chain hotel in any way, rather haut cuisine. Service was excellent, the wine list strong, the whole not overpriced, well presented and altogether a surprisingly pleasant experience – almost a restaurant to go out of ones way for. For those seeking a little more privacy then with the business rooms comes the use of an upstairs lounge with magnificent views from the Millennium Stadium around across the Civic Centre towards the Black Mountains. Quite spectacular as the early morning sun lit the view, and the room makes maximum use of the large windows. This area more than elsewhere was showing distinct signs of wear, with threadbare sofas and worn woodwork. Staffed all day (the hotel phones are answered by the receptionist here at quiet periods) it is always available to business travellers for coffee and as somewhere to relax out of their rooms.

The rooms themselves are generously sized, and again make strong use of colour expressed with wallpaper that has been washed and kept looking new - a tribute to effective housekeeping. Whilst the rooms are empty the air conditioning is set at 10º, a welcome economy that means rooms are cool on entry, and leaving the guest to set how warm they want it – assuming of course that the air conditioning works effectively.

Rollover the photograph to see the plan. Whilst effective bathroom design is not as luxurious as one would expect - compare with the luxury of the Amigo Brussels in an earlier Review for example.

With the curve of the building the rooms again became larger the further from the door one went which made for a pleasant surprise. On the side of the triangular building the rooms were straightforwardly rectangular, but business rooms are positioned to take advantage of the additional size the taper offers to allow a full sized desk without it dominating the room.

Bathrooms featured outsize shower cubicles with normal showers delivering disappointingly normal water pressure to the head – no extra jets, nor extra power to allow the larger space to be taken advantage of. Large sink units provided plenty of space for shaving tackle, make up etc. Housekeeping must hate the ribbed tiles though, as they must be a nightmare to keep clean, and without any aesthetic advantage either in my eyes. Lighting is exceptionally good and generally the bathrooms have good functionality, if not as luxurious as one would perhaps expect in a five star.

The lack of luxury touches is evident, and although the bathrooms have a separate shower, they are quite plain. The decorative tile surfaces fail to add luxury, the bathrooms appearing functional rather than having the richness to be seen in competing five stars. With the whole hotel market continuously moving up market, known in some circles as ‘facilities creep’, and characterised by the current rash of new prototype bedrooms further downmarket which will pressure the hotels at rating levels above them, the bedroom and bathroom here whilst generous with the ultimate luxury of space, doesn’t succeed in reaching the design standards achieved elsewhere (see other Reviews for examples).