Royal Hotel, Cardiff
The Royal Hotel is a Grade II listed hotel on a prominent corner of St Mary Street/Wood Street in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is Cardiff's oldest grand hotel. History and description The hotel, by C. E. Bernard, was built between 1864 and 1866. An opening dinner was held on 3 July 1866 attended by 60–70 influential local residents. The Royal Hotel was initially run by a Mr and Mrs Sprawson. At the time of its construction there was another Royal Hotel in Cardiff, known as the Old Royal Hotel and located in The Hayes. The new 1860s building was four storeys high (plus an attic) in an Italianate style. In 1890 an additional storey plus an attic were added to the corner of the building. This increased the number of bedrooms from 70 to 120, with a modern lift and servants rooms on floor six. On the first floor was a banqueting room to seat up to 400 diners. Captain Scott's farewell dinner On 13 June 1910, two days before Robert Falcon Scott's ship departed from Cardiff for his ill-fated expedition to Antarctica, a fundraising dinner for the expedition took place at the Royal Hotel, hosted by Cardiff