Salsa City Forum » News and Chat » Salsa scene in Cardiff?

Hello! Because the hotels are SOOO expensive in Cardiff, I have to limit my stay there for 2 nights and stay a bit longer in London.

So I am arriving to Cardiff on Tuesday, October 11th. I saw listings of 3 places for Tuesday night: Callaghan’s, Zync and Cuba. Which one of these would you recommend?

I am looking for some intermediate salsa lessons in the early evening and a good, friendly atmosphere for the rest of the evening.

Other questions I have: I would like to see Cardif Castle either on Tuesday or Wednesday. How long does it take to see the castle, if you take the 1 hour tour inside the castle? The reason I am asking this is that I am arriving to Cardiff around 14 o’clock by bus, have to check into the hotel and the Castle closes at 18 o’clock, with the last tour being at 17 o’clock. Should I try to do make it still on Tuesday, or should I get up early on Wednesday to do it?

Also, if anyone has good suggestions for REASONABLE hotels in downtown Cardiff. Problem is that on October 12th there is some kind of Rugby event and therefore the hotels are increasing their room rates. The cheapest I have been able to find is GBP 52,95 for the first night and GBP 69,95 for the second night for a single room and that does not include the breakfast. Auch!

Looking forward for my Cardiff stay and hopefully I can understand what people talk there! :)

Thanks for your replies in advance!

Jaana

Hi Jaana, what sort of hotel are you looking for?

Beaufort House, 65 Cathedral Road, (0)29 2023 7003, is a nice central guest-house where a single room with en suite bathroom and breakfast included is £49.00 per night for that period.

Penrhys Hotel, 127 Cathedral Road, (0)29 2023 0548, is £35.00 per night for single room with en suite bathroom and breakfast.

If you want something more basic, Cardiff Backpackers Hostel, 96-98 Neville Street, (0)29 2034 5577, is £16.50 per night in female dormitory accommodation (6-8 beds) or £25.00 per night for a single room (both with shared bathroom facilities).

These are all within walking distance of the centre of town.

There might be cheaper hotels on Cathedral Road, I’ll have a look in the next few days, here is a page of Cardiff hotels.

The Tuesday salsa scene might be different by the time you get here, Callaghan’s and Zync are both cheap and friendly, but Callaghan’s classes tend to start late and I don’t know what Zync will have on that night.

I would do the castle on Tuesday, it will give you something to do straight away.

I’ve been told that the beds aren’t that comfortable in Cardiff Backpackers Hostel. Its main advantage is that it’s near the city centre (it’s convenient for Callaghan’s and the castle) and opposite Madhav’s who sell great Indian snacks.

Thank you very much for the info. Beaufort and Penrhys seem reasonable enough. One more question, I cannot find a very good city map in the internet, so I am asking how far is Cathedral Road from Cardiff CIA in miles, kilometers or minutes?

Thanks.

Jaana

They’re on opposite sides of town, but the city is fairly compact. I’d say just over a mile from the bottom end of Cathedral Road, although the further up you are, the further the distance. Its a long road, probably about 15-20 minutes walk.Multimap here Cathedral Road is top left, handy for the castle and Callaghan’s which is on Castle St, at the junction with Westgate Street. CIA is bottom right, on Mary Ann Street, near Zync which is on Mill Lane. Cuba is about half way between the 2 at the North of city centre

Not far. I’d walk it. Just head towards the castle then cut across the city centre. It takes about 10-15 minutes from the bottom of Cathedral Road tops I’d guess -- I’ve never timed it!

One more question I had and forgot to ask:

Do you have actual dance schools in Cardiff, which teach salsa? Besides the clubs? And in the intermediate level, preferably.

Thanks.

Jaana

There are some dance schools in Cardiff that claim to teach salsa. I’ve tried out a couple of classes (no names, no pack-drill) and found them to be very poor, teaching a weird, ballroom-influenced, version of salsa that would make one look foolish in a club. A better way to learn salsa, in my opinion, is in the clubs from as many different teachers as possible.