The Coal Exchange Hotel
A former coal exchange with a hot tub
About this hotel
The Coal Exchange trades a shorter walk to the stadium for a setting no other hotel on this list can match, a genuine nineteenth-century trading hall two minutes from Mount Stuart Square where Cardiff's coal wealth once changed hands. The hot tub and upscale dining room suit a weekend built around the stay as much as the match, and the Wales Millennium Centre sits six minutes away for anyone extending the trip into Cardiff Bay's arts scene. The walk back towards the stadium runs longer than the Westgate Street cluster, closer to twenty minutes, but fans who want the building itself to be part of the weekend tend to accept that trade. Côte Cardiff Bay sits five minutes away for a pre-match meal away from the busiest streets.
- Historic building
- Hot tub
- Upscale dining
Our take
This suits fans who want the hotel itself to be a destination, not just a base, and who do not mind the longer walk back towards the stadium in exchange for the setting and the hot tub. Anyone prioritising the shortest possible walk should look at the Westgate Street cluster instead. The 4.2 rating and strong 4.9 location score reflect a hotel that delivers on atmosphere even at a slight distance from the ground.
- Book dinner in the upscale dining room ahead of a Six Nations Saturday, it fills with guests staying elsewhere in the city.
- Allow closer to twenty minutes for the walk back towards the stadium from here, longer than the Westgate Street hotels.
- Visit the Wales Millennium Centre six minutes away if extending the trip into Cardiff Bay before or after the match.
Why we love it
- Set in a former nineteenth-century coal exchange
- Hot tub on site
- Six minutes from the Wales Millennium Centre
- Upscale dining room
Why guests love itWe picked The Coal Exchange for the setting as much as the match, and the hot tub after a full day standing for a Wales fixture was exactly what the weekend needed. The walk back from the stadium ran a bit longer than we expected, closer to twenty minutes, but the dining room and the building itself made up for the extra distance by the time we sat down for dinner.