HOTELS across the capital are bumping up their prices for the night of Joe Calzaghe’s big showdown against Mikkel Kessler in November.
While 70,000 fans are expected to cram into the Millennium Stadium for the late-night fight, they are facing paying hundreds of pounds for a hotel room in the city centre.
Top name hotels like the Hilton and the Marriott are already fully booked, but ones with vacancies are cashing in, with some even doubling their prices.
The Park Inn, formerly Jurys Hotel, is asking £225 for the night compared to £102 for the previous Saturday. And some hotels are only allowing bookings as a two-day package, meaning if you want to spend the night at the plush St David’s Hotel and Spa, you will have to shell out a whopping £520.
Big Joe Calzaghe fan, Grahame Dewar, 28, of Caerau, Cardiff, who has just bought his tickets for the big fight, said it was not only the Welsh public who were being taken advantage of.
He said: “Kessler is very popular in Denmark and apparently 5,000 of his fans will be travelling over.
“Where are they going to stay with rates like that?
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous and hotels are just cashing in on a massive sporting event.
Steven Usher, 24, of St Nicholas, Vale of Glamorgan, said there was no need to put prices up.
He said: “Luckily, I live close by but I know people who will travel from all over Wales to watch Joe fight, and they will have no option but to pay.”
A spokeswoman for St David’s Hotel and Spa said the current rate was its published rate and was consistent with rates it offered throughout the year.
She said: “On any given weekend we have a variety of rates available and guests who booked early were able to take advantage of promotional packages.
“By offering a two-night package guests have the opportunity to enjoy Cardiff during this high profile event.”
Hugh Hilary, general manager for Park Plaza Hotel, said: “We believe the rates represent value for money.”
Dermot Keegan, chairman of the Cardiff Hoteliers Association, said hotels worked as any other business on supply and demand.
He said: “High prices on show does not mean all rooms were sold at that rate – they may be the only rooms available.”
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Rip off hotel costs in Cardiff
depends on how i feel, i will probably book a friday night room, i stayed at a b and b about 10 minutes walk from the stadium for 25 pound a night, very basic but good for me, on the saturday i will probably just find a place to park for free and drive back straight after the fight. Trouble with big events everyone wants to cash in on it.
Alandale guest house - costs about £25 its in penarth, bout £10-£15 taxi ride, or 5 mins from the train station, so if you can be arsed its a £3 train ride. £20-£30 taxi ride back after midnight. All rooms have beds, sofas tv's etc...
Taxis seem steep, but aint bad if there are 4 of ya
029 20709226
thats where we stay when us hicks go down the big smoke
Taxis seem steep, but aint bad if there are 4 of ya
029 20709226
thats where we stay when us hicks go down the big smoke
All classmattym wrote:don't bother paying, do what i'm doing, go along for one day and night, go to the fight (will begin about 2-2:30 am) leave the arena about 4 and just go out on the piss till the following morning when you can sleep on the train home
banjaxd wrote:stay in swansea
Whoa! Let's not do anything silly
Wales wrote:Alandale guest house - costs about £25 its in penarth, bout £10-£15 taxi ride, or 5 mins from the train station, so if you can be arsed its a £3 train ride. £20-£30 taxi ride back after midnight. All rooms have beds, sofas tv's etc...
Taxis seem steep, but aint bad if there are 4 of ya
029 20709226
thats where we stay when us hicks go down the big smoke
Can you imagine the carnage - trying to get a taxi along with 50,000 other people trying same time.
Lucky for you people that you know some guy who has a bunch of hotel rooms reserved in walking distance to the Stadium at a less than exorbitant price.
You lucky, lucky people...
[email protected]
Yeah, its only a good tip if you wanna go for a few beers in town after. by 3, 4am you'll be laughing.. no problem.Can you imagine the carnage - trying to get a taxi along with 50,000 other people trying same time.
Lucky for you people that you know some guy who has a bunch of hotel rooms reserved in walking distance to the Stadium at a less than exorbitant price.
You lucky, lucky people...
[email protected]
Last edited by Wales on 27 Jul 2007, 04:29, edited 1 time in total.
lol, no pretences about me mate. when you're 17, jobless, almost penniless, and with Scots blood in your veins, you'll look to save a couple of quid. if i go out to Vegas again its somewhere swanky and posh n i'll spoil myself, but Cardiff? Why botherShirow wrote:All classmattym wrote:don't bother paying, do what i'm doing, go along for one day and night, go to the fight (will begin about 2-2:30 am) leave the arena about 4 and just go out on the piss till the following morning when you can sleep on the train home
Not trying to lord it over people but us boxing fans know when these things are going to happen way in advance of the hoteliers or airlines.
Kessler - Calzaghe for example, my wife is Danish so wants to come to the fight meaning the local B and B is a non starter. As soon as the date was mooted on the boxing sites, I called St Davids, had two nights booked - their cancellation policy on such a booking? Cancel without penalty up to 72 hours before. Now, they have doubled the rates and want a credit card guarantee. The point of this is not to make me sound like I'm Einstein, its merely to point out if you think a fight is going to happen, you can sort out the infrastructure cheap and all refundable.
I still think its a rubbish fight BTW, Joe slips the ramrod jab (thrown more like a lead punch) and counters all nights to a UD...
Kessler - Calzaghe for example, my wife is Danish so wants to come to the fight meaning the local B and B is a non starter. As soon as the date was mooted on the boxing sites, I called St Davids, had two nights booked - their cancellation policy on such a booking? Cancel without penalty up to 72 hours before. Now, they have doubled the rates and want a credit card guarantee. The point of this is not to make me sound like I'm Einstein, its merely to point out if you think a fight is going to happen, you can sort out the infrastructure cheap and all refundable.
I still think its a rubbish fight BTW, Joe slips the ramrod jab (thrown more like a lead punch) and counters all nights to a UD...
i think you should all save your money and not go to wales just get boxrec readers together hire a country hotel out somewhere else in the country a watch it on a big screen with ice cild beer on tap then after you can just get in the lift and go to bed no messing i promist my self i would never set foot in wales again it's all a con they charge you to get in but it's free to get out never never again ill watch it on tele 
I'm staying here £32 a night you can get 3 in a room but I should imagine 2 would be more confortable otherwise you could end up sharing!! basic/small but does the job to get your head down after a night on the pxxx
http://www.etaphotel.com/
Daveyswan
http://www.etaphotel.com/
Daveyswan