Travelodge were on the hunt for local people to champion their city and tell you all about their favourite hidden gems, so obviously I jumped at the chance to sing the praises of Cardiff, but more specifically to tell you all…I love ROATH!!
Although we don’t live in Cardiff anymore we still love it there! We spent 7 years of our lives there, 7 great years, most of our relationship has been spent together in Cardiff and for that whole time we lived in the Roath area of the city. Roath is a cool, relaxed, interesting and fun part of the city to live in. It is the perfect place to live as a student and as a young couple. Walking distance to the city (or lots of buses!) and the uni, mini supermarkets, bakeries and grocery shops a plenty, every imaginable type of take away (many of which are open till the wee small hours) within walking distance (a students dream right) plus of course lots of great pubs and bars from trendy wine bars to the good old traditionally brains brewery pubs. Then of course you have the shopping, independent boutiques and gift shops are interspersed with a select few high street shops and at least a dozen charity shops (again big with students and bargain hunting fashionistas). There really is something for everyone.
Of course if your not looking to spend money on clothes, food or drink you might enjoy the stunning Roath Park. A huge stretch of greenery with a park, rose garden, boating lake, bowling green, basket ball court, tennis courts, playing fields and wooded area perfect for a romantic stroll, an energetic jog or to walk the dog.
There are literally tonnes of great interesting places to eat in Roath but our stand out favourite has to be Juno lounge. We remember Juno lounge opening a number of years ago and visited during its first week to see what this cool looking place was all about, and we fell in love from our very first trip.
First of all the decor is fun and random, lots of mismatched tables and chairs and the walls are chock’a’block with vintage mirrors and random school/team photos from the turn of the century. Plus there is a lush patio area on the roof that is totally perfect for the summer months, as the photo above shows, a cider in the sun is how I spent many warm summer afternoons after uni!
Then there is the food, the menu always offers something a bit different to all the other eateries in the area, granted its not cheap but the quality is always great and the portion sizes are more then enough to fill you up. We love the tapas selection and the pies usually, but my absolutely favourite thing to eat there is at the eggy bread, bacon and maple stacks at breakfast! Nom Nom! They open at 9 for breakfast (so not too early!) and we ventured out of our flat round the corner on many an occasions. Plus there is a well stocked bar should you wish to have a drink (not with breakfast obviously!)
Lastly there is the relaxed, laid back atmosphere. Its really chilled there and you never feel rushed, even when its busy (which it often is). Its the perfect place to go for a relaxed catch up with your friends or for a romantic meal with your other half. When me and Jon were launching our business we were still living in Cardiff and would often decamp from our little flat with our laptop for the afternoon to Juno Lounge to work on our website design, marketing strategies and other businessy stuff.
So if you fancy taking a trip to Cardiff and checking out the awesome area of Roath why not check into a local Travelodge conveniently located in the city.
*Post sponsored by Travelodge