St David’s Car Park

I am sick of paying a small fortune just to park my car when I go shopping. I went into Cardiff last week and spent £6 to park my car for one hour and nineteen minutes. RIP OFF!
I decided that next time I would opt for the train, but then my lovely friend informed me that the car park in the St David’s 2 centre is only £1 after 5pm.
The car park itself is clean, well lit and has excellent size bays.
There is a ramp leading up to the carpark that seems to go on and on and on. The first time I went here I thought it was never going to end.
I know for some that going shopping at 5pm will be to late… but it suits me down to the ground.
Late night opening hours at the centre accompanied by good onsite restaurants means that I can miss the crowds (usually), shop till I drop, get some dinner and park my car for a mere quid. Result!
P.S This car park has excellent disabled and mother and baby bays situated on the first floor.

Sitting above St David’s 2 shopping centre there’s a 2,000 space, 24-​hour car park — which for shoppers offers some of the cleanest and reasonably priced parking in the city centre. There’s also a car valet service available in the car park, costing from £5.95.
The car park feels safe and secure, with CCTV across the 6-​storey space. To help you find your car after a long day’s shopping, they have colour coded each level so you can easily remember it, and each level is also named after a Welsh river.
They offer a brilliant evening parking offer of £1 from 5pm onwards, right through to 6am the following day. Parking prices at other times are about what you’d expect for the city centre: £2 for up to 2 hours; £4 for up to 4 hours; £8 for up to 5 hours; £9 for up to 6 hours; £16 for up to 12 hours; or £18 for up to 24 hours.
There’s also the smaller, underground John Lewis car park within St David’s 2, if you want direct access by lift from the car park into the John Lewis store — luxury!

Ok — you’re probably thinking car parks are car parks — but are they? NO.
Some car parks you pay through the nose for, are dirty, have spaces that are seemingly designed for push bikes and have smelly dimly lit lifts.
Not so the car park at St David’s 2 — Cardiff’s brand new multi-​million pound shopping centre.
The 1^st thing you notice when you drive up the spiral entrance is that it goes on and on, upwards for eternity towards the sky to the point where you think it is about to disappear from beneath you only to find yourself falling back down to earth. Rest assured you will get to the car parking area, which starts about 100 feet up.
There are several different levels that seem to specialise in different uses. e.g. disabled, mother and child, valeting and normal parking.
The 2^nd thing you notice is how clean and airy the car park is — its like a car showroom.
You will find it easy to find a space and if you park after 5pm at night it will only cost you ONE POUND for the evening.
The car park is of course linked to S David’s 2 shopping centre which is linked to the original St David’s and its is all undercover. So even if it is chucking it down with rain there is no need to get wet.
The only downsides are the entrance and exit to the car park, which will make you dizzy if you drive too fast (but kids love it) and the time it takes for the lifts to arrive at your floor — its not an eternity but you can’t help wondering if the designers of this system need to tweek it as its a little slower than average.

Finally, a car park that doesn’t reek of urine! I guess because it’s brand new, but still, I’m always grateful for small favours.
To the delight of all shoppers who drive, the St David’s 2 Centre has a shiny new car park to accompany its seemingly endless offering of shops, bars and restaurants.
This structure gets my vote thanks to the £1 cost for an entire evening of safe and sheltered parking after 5 pm. Plus, I’ve never driven through here and not found a space.
I agree with Sarah — the wait for the lift is needlessly long at times, and seems to drag on even longer when you’ve got a screaming toddler in tow.
And there’s the potential for dizziness if you’re anything like me and can’t stand the circular winding descend to the ground floor — it’s not as bad as the Disney tea cups, but can be unwelcomed for those nursing a hangover.

Really handy if you’re going to ST Davids 2. However it takes an absolute age to get up! Additionally I find you can often be waiting for lifts for what seems like hours (in reality about 10 mins– which is still too long)!

Yes thats right I’m reviewing a car park!
As a driver they are kind of important to me and the less they cost me the better. This is the St David’s offering and its far cheaper than any of the cities NCP’s, its above all the shops so you can’t get any more convenient and there is always space. Parking will cost you about a pound an hour unless your there over 4 hours when it goes up. After 5pm it only costs £1 for the evening, perfect for late night shopping or a meal out. You can get your car washed too for a fiver!
The slight problem is it takes about 5 minutes of driving through a circular tube up to the car parking levels. I have an intense fear of breaking down everytime I go in and leave.
The other reason I wanted to mention this car park is the little known view you get of the city from the top. Really if you want to get an ariel view of all of Cardiff’s sites, take a trip up there!