Forge Motel & Firehouse Restaurant

My family & I stopped here on our way home from Christmas shopping in Cardiff. We have visited the Forge restaurant many times over the years and have ALWAYS found the staff to be friendly and welcoming serving great food reasonably priced. IT IS AWFUL NEWS THAT AFTER 71 YEARS THE “NEW” OWNER TOLD THE STAFF LAST WEEK THAT HE HAS DECIDED TO CLOSE THE FORGE DOWN. We will certainly miss it & wish all the lovely staff all the very best.

We have stayed at the Forge a couple of times now. The rooms are dated but clean and very reasonably priced. We phoned direct to book as you get a better price. We opted for what they class as a single room but has a double bed so suitable for a couple. There is a small swimming pool and The Firehouse restaurant next door for meals. The food at the restaurant is excellent. The staff are friendly and welcoming. Dogs are welcome in the bar area and some rooms.

I’m not sure where all the good reviews have come from as my stay was not very good at all. The positives are that the bedding is clean and the family rooms do have 2 double beds in. The shower and toilet works. I think the god ends there. Actually not true - I found the staff to be friendly, but not genuine. They are also happy to deceive you and just blow it off like it’s nothing. We stayed here in an emergency as we had no water and needed somewhere that was close to the kids schools. The other accommodation in st clears has availability and was much cheaper, but we chose this as it had a pool and sauna. When we arrived we were not at all told that neither of these worked (we A even get to see any of them) The rooms smell musty and damp… and have clearly not been used much as it isn’t cleaned that well… woodlouse everywhere! The side table has lamps on each one… but no walk socket to plug them in to which was weird. It’s like it’s staffed for a photograph but not for function. Had they had some morals to be honest about the facilities available I probably wouldn’t be annoyed enough to leave this review. We also ate there … mixed review on that. It’s basic pub fayre… but there pizzas are nothing more than Asda pizzas but with a larger price. They looked quite gross really. My chips for my gammon were on the other hand absolutely delicious. There is a lack of consistency throughout. I don’t really understand how a place like that can cover their bills… oh yes I do … by lying to customers and overcharging for their rooms with the promise of facilities that they don’t have. I don’t think businesses with that model should be supported. Think long and hard about if they are with paying for. There are other hotels nearby. Better and offer value and have standards to live up to.