The Glendale and Villa Napoli's decor has not changed in the 20 years I've been living in Penarth. It would not be my first choice for dining as my husband and I've been kept waiting an hour and half for a table in the past (having booked well in advance), but I went recently with a group of friends who'd decided to go there and was yet again disappointed.

The bar is dark, dingy and scruffy to say the least, the same old tired ornaments and dusty rubbish hanging on the walls and from the ceilings. The dining room is the same and must look dreadful in daylight.

My food choices were very uninteresting - I had large flat mushrooms stuffed with pate - completely tasteless. 4 of them cost £5.95. I then had the biggest pile of spaghetti I've seen in a long time, enough to feed at least 2 with a hearty appetite. It was called Spaghetii Aglio Olio with Pesto Genovese, but the spaghetti was dry with hardly any flavour with a spoonful of oil at the bottom of the dish.The teeniest specks of pesto were dotted around the edge of the dish. This was priced at £8.75.

I had to ask for a spoon - how the hell does one eat spaghetti with a knife and fork?! and left most of the spaghetti as it was soooooo boring. The waiter didn't even bother to question why. None of us bothered with pudding.

I won't be going back and will persuade me friends to try elsewhere next year.

Whenever I am in South Wales on business this is always my first choice. Tony, Franco and the other staff here cannot do enough for you. Considering I visit maybe every couple of months they always remember my name and welcome u as if you were family!

With regards the other comments on here about room 7. I regularly get or even ask for room 7 as it is warm and well decorated. (As other rooms are that I have stayed in). It suits me fine as is a large spacious room with a comfortable bed, good comfortable chairs and a nice TV. The only comment I would make is this room only has a shower so if you prefer a bath ask when you book. However the shower works perfectly and I have never had an issue with the availability of hot water.

The other factor that brings me back again and again is the food. Villa Napoloi is probably ''The Best'' Italian restaurant I have eaten in. This is based on the quality of food against the price. Portions are more than generous and the staff are attentive and friendly.
I was most disappointed when I stayed on a Monday night and the restaurant was closed and ate in the Railway pub across the road. (BLAND/CHEAP - exactly what you'd expect from a chain pub!!!!).

In summary if you are looking for accomdation and good food look no further that The Glendale/Villa Napoli. I LOVE IT HERE!!!!!!!!!!

Adrian Reynolds (Littlehampton).

The hotel owner is very welcoming, the hotel communal areas seem to be pretty clean. The owner did warn us the room was small. He was right!

The room itself was quite unwelcoming. The lock was very stiff to the point that even my husband was struggling! The room had a small toilet cubicle, the bit where the tiles met the bedroom carpet was very untidy, the threshold strip didn't cover the very untidy join. The room had lots of wires in plastic trunking everywhere. My husband thought the fit and finish was very poor. The room had a shower cubicle in the room (!), but we did not use the shower because of the state of the sink. The sink, in a corner of the room, was very grubby. The sink had been wiped over with a very dirty cloth and looked filthy. The toothbrush holder and mirror hadn't been wiped and were splattered with toothpaste. The cup was filthy and still contained a soap wrapper from a previous resident!!

The towels were clean as was the bed linen. The carpet needed vacuuming. The bed was hard, but we slept well, although in the summer the absence of a blind on the sky light would've meant a very early wake up!

The TV needed tuning in. The coffee and tea making facilities looked fine, but we didn't use it. The furniture seemed nice. In the corner of the room, there was an odd selection of magazines, all from 2006 (!), in varying languages (English, Finnish, Italian). Not sure why these were here. On top of the wardrobe, there was a men's XL black polo shirt, again, not sure why this was here.

The breakfast was well presented, but not amazing quality. No choice of what sort of bread for toast, the breakfast items were not explained, i.e. we'd rather not have had mushrooms.

Check out was fine, no problem with the price or staff availability for checking out.

All in all, not great at all, but not horrendous. The hotel needs a spring clean and some thought put into it. Penarth is a great place for visiting Cardiff, the hotel is ideally located near the train station. Forget Wetherspoon's etc. for food, there is a great café on the high street called Café des Amis, serving excellent food all day.

Initial impression is uninviting with side entrance, little sign and no one to be seen. Restaurant is closed on a Monday which makes it a ghost town. Coffee sachets were not replemished. very noisy at night when restaurant was opened. Shower is not fit for purpose. I ask myself would the owner live in room 7 and the answer would be no, so why expect guests too? Its not the worst I have stayed in but could of been so much better with a bit of TLC. Wifi was ok The railway pub across the road and weatherspoons in town are the places to eat and drink in town. Lively, friendly and good food/drink.