An authentic Spanish inn in a Cardiff side street? Seeing is believing at Parador 44, Tom and Owen Morgan’s boutique take on the Iberian country idyll, complete with ornately carved beds and terracotta tiles. Hardcore hispanophiles, the brothers have spent two decades perfecting their Bar 44 tapas emporia in south Wales and beyond, and this latest venture crams nine charismatic rooms into a three-storey townhouse in the city centre, within cheering distance of the Principality Stadium. The bedrooms are lovely little bolt holes, and the downstairs restaurant, Asador 44, is a copper-lit cavern specialising in dry-aged Spanish sirloin and Welsh lamb, cooked over fire — comfortably one of Cardiff’s most flamboyant feeds.
Overall score 9/10
Main photo: outdoor space at Parador 44 (Owen Mathias Photography)
This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue
Rooms and suites
Score 9/10
The sherry casks in the hallway set the tone for the decor here, then it’s upstairs into a warren of tight white passageways, enlivened by bump-your-head beams, bare brick and roughcast plaster. The Morgans set out to create a pocket version of Spain’s beloved paradores — historic convents and castles converted into hotels — and they’ve pulled it off with panache. Duck under a low doorway into your own tranquil boudoir: tile and timber dominate every room, and while even the suites are smallish, the important things are roomy — wide, white beds, walk-in showers. Several bedrooms are split-level, with saloon doors or sliding shutters piling on the character. It says a lot that the tiniest, Copita, is also the most charming. If you don’t want to look at the NCP car park, keep your nets drawn.
Food and drink
Score 10/10
Parador 44 could legitimately style itself as a restaurant-with-rooms, such is the sophistication of Asador 44, which has occupied the ground floor since 2018. The Morgan brothers started out cooking top-notch tapas inspired by their childhood holidays in rural Spain, but here they are riffing on the northern Spanish tradition of simple meat and fish, grilled over wood and enlivened with clever, complicated starters and sides.
Advertisement
The vibe is deeply convivial, with hunks of raw beef glowing in a spotlit cold room beside the wine cellar, and an open kitchen chalked with specials made for sharing — whole bream with salsa verde; suckling pig shoulder with cider sauce. The wine list is entirely Spanish; the service is laid-back and intelligent. A word, too, for the inventive Iberian-inflected breakfasts: options include flamenco eggs with smoked leek and morcilla black pudding, and spiced polenta cake with smoked paprika baked beans.
• Best hotels in Cardiff
• Best things to do in Cardiff
What else is there?
Score 5/10
In lieu of in-room coffeemakers and minibars (jettisoned, say the Morgans, to save on space and carbon footprint), you get a miniature guest lounge filled with Spanish snacks and a carefully curated suite of optics – Carlos I brandy, Port Vell Barcelona gin, Penderyn Welsh whisky. It’s a lark to plunder the cava cooler or conjure your own cocktail, especially if the weather’s not too Welsh and you can enjoy them on the “Andalucian outdoor terraza”, a sun-trap patio set among slanting rooftops.
Where is it?
Score 8/10
The hotel’s setting is convenient rather than characterful — on an unprepossessing side street in the heart of Cardiff’s castle quarter. The Norman battlements are a five-minute walk away and the towering piers of the Principality Stadium loom even closer, putting you in prime position for the city’s attractions. Riverside Bute Park is lovely for a meander. The National Museum Cardiff is also in strolling range, free to visit and strong on dinosaurs and impressionists. If you’d rather just mooch, the city’s fretwork of Victorian arcades is close at hand, each a den of indie boutiques and cafés, while the street-food stalls of Cardiff Market are great for a stand-up lunch.
Vincent Crump was a guest of Parador 44
Advertisement
Price B&B doubles from £127
Restaurant mains from £18
Family-friendly N
Dog-friendly N
Accessible N
Sign up for the Times Travel Newsletter here.
