Any fancy hotels in Bristol. Catching train to wales

[EachandEveryone]

We are going to green man in Abergavenny and my friend needs treating so I thought I’d bread the journey up. Can’t really see anything that stands out. I owe her so wanted to treat her. Or, should I save my money for the festival. I’ve never been.

Where are you starting from? You could break in Newport and stay at the Celtic Manor.

one of us is on train from London the other a driver. The driver has now suggested Bristol is a nightmare to drive in and maybe we should look at Gloucester or Cheltenham instead.

St Pierre near Chepstow is gorgeous, no traffic to speak of, easy to pick the train traveller up from Chepstow or Newport, not far to Aber the next day.

Where (approx) is the driver starting from? If coming from north of the M4, Cheltenham etc make more sense.

From Swindon

How much driving are you intending to do in Bristol? If it's just driving in to a hotel, and driving out again heading to Cardiff the next day, then you're not exactly trying to do an Uber shift in the city centre for six hours! Yeah traffic gets very busy at rush hours, but you just add an extra 15-20 mins on to cover potential sitting in traffic and it's fine. And follow google maps so you don't drive through a bus gate by mistake.

The Bristol Marriot Royal Hotel is nice, my friends stayed there for their wedding.

That's not a long journey from Swindon and it would be slower roads from Gloucester to Abergavenny than from Chepstow or Newport.

Celtic Manor or St Pierre would be fine.

Both Bristol and Cheltenham have a Hotel du Vin (Bristol has 2!).
I always see them as a treat.

Bristol has a Clean Air Zone in the centre so the driver needs to check out the city council's website to see if they'll be charged .

Stay at the Artists Residence in Bristol. It’s a simple drive in and there’s an NPC car park about 5 mins walk away.

I live in Bristol and to be honest parking is a bloody nightmare. On top of that, whilst there are plenty of hotels in in the city, there aren't any with a real wow factor. The Marriot Royal and Harbour Hotel are probably the poshest but they can both be hit and miss. I should look either around the Cheltenham area or go for the Celtic Manor or St Pierre's near Chepstow.

I’ve booked the St Pierre I’m surprised the reviews are quite mixed as it looks really lovely.

yay! It is lovely, IMO - have stayed there many times. Gym, pool and hot tub all included if you want, plus wandering around the buildings is nice.

Berwick Lodge just on the outskirts if you’re driving. 2 mins from a junction on the M5. Also Mollie’s Motel. If going by train, Hotel du Vin or the Harbour Hotel in the centre.

Artists Residence is in a dodgy area., and the loos are in a dank basement ☹️

So if you and your friend can time it that she picks you up from Chepstow station, that would be great, otherwise it's not too far in a cab

Chepstow is all rail replacements from Paddington! I’ve decided to go to Swindon and she will pick me up there.

Oh no! But it sounds better to be together all the drive anyway

It's many years since I've been St Pierre but it's lovely. Swindon is a long way. Bristol Parkway isn't far off the M4 and might be easier??
Have a lovely time x

It’s really not a long way. We have lots of catching up to do so will go quick. I’m just wondering what to pack I have non idea what wales is like weather wise.

The loo is in your room, which is about 30 seconds away if you don’t want to use the general ones…

And ‘dodgy area’ is an interesting term to use for St Paul’s. Or is it just that’s it’s not shiny white Clifton 🙃

I like the Hotel du Vin in Clifton, it has views directly over the Clifton Suspension Bridge. No idea about parking though.

It's close to Cheltenham Road and I would say a lot of people might find the area uncomfortable, particularly at night. There are a lot of drug addicts hanging around and it can get pretty noisy. It's also just across a dual carriageway from Broadmead, which is pretty insalubrious these days, unfortunately.

Pack for rain. I love Green Man, but the weather has been challenging most of the times I’ve been. There’s a reason those mountains are so green…

Oh I hope my mobility scooter will work on the terrain