Cardiff West services
(Gwasanaethau Gorllewin Caerdydd)
M4 at J33
(also accessible to traffic on the A4232)
Signposted from the road? Yes (as Greggs/Burger King/Costa)
CF72 8SA
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
The main route into Cardiff from the west kicks off with a quiet little service area by the M4.
Facilities
Catering: Burger King, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Costa Express, Krispy Kreme Shops: WHSmith Amenities: Travelodge, Full Hou$e, Showers Outdoor Space: Grass area behind hotel; Children's Play Area Charging Points: GRIDSERVE Electric Highway HPC 350kW CCS, 100kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2 Forecourt: BP, SPAR, Subway, Chicago Town Pizza, Costa Express, West Cornwall Pasty Co., Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 and HGVs, caravans and motorhomes £25. HGVs can pay £28 to include a £10 food voucher.
Prices are paid in the shop or by using JustPark. The location code is 625121.
HGVs can also pay by using SNAP. The location code is 13467.
The fees are strictly enforced by GroupNexus.
Parking in the forecourt is limited to 45 minutes maximum stay, with this restriction being strictly enforced.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Moto Services
Cardiff West Motorway Services Area
M4
Pontyclun
Mid Glamorgan
CF72 8SA
- Amenity building operated by Moto
- Hotel operated by Travelodge
- Forecourt operated by Rontec
- Foursquare Page
- 📞 Telephone number: 029 2089 1141
- 📌 what3words: ///trying.butter.retail
- more map options
Trivia and History
An upgrade to the westbound side of the junction in 2014 saw two dedicated lanes provided for the service area - this is more than any other service area gets, despite Cardiff West being one of the quieter ones. Unfortunately, the exit from the roundabout only has one lane, making the additional lane pointless and slightly dangerous.
The service area was used as a meeting point for away fans visiting Cardiff City Stadium until 2010. It is still occasionally used as a ticket collection point.
A GRIDSERVE electric vehicle charging hub was installed at the back of the car park in summer 2023. It starred in a viral misinformation video in November 2023, after a Facebook user claimed they would be powered by traditional "diesel generators". They actually run on hydrotreated vegetable oil, though this equally bizarre fact received little traction. The twelve chargers were switched on in December.
At the entrance is an unusual sign with symbols on it. Many service areas on roundabouts had these, but Cardiff West is believed to be the most recent, and it keeps being updated with new logos.
Planning
See also: M4 Planning Applications
Welsh motorways aren't covered by England's Department for Transport, which means the planning system for service area was virtually a free-for-all. The effect of this appears to have been that competition around the Swansea area was much more intense, while closer to Cardiff there seemed to be less interest.
It's more likely that the local authorities here were more hostile to proposed service areas. There were plans to build a service area in the south-east quadrant of the junction here in 1981, but this was dropped and the northern option, first proposed by A. Monk & Co. Dev. Ltd, soon prevailed.
Cardiff West was eventually built by Rank, as one of their last projects, and its building is very simple by their standards, representing an £25.9m investment. 100 staff were initially hired. The architect was Northern Building Design Associates Ltd and the contractor was Monk. The forecourt opened early in 1990, with the main building opening in April 1990. An official opening ceremony was held on 20 April 1990 and attended by the Minister of State for Wales, Wyn Roberts. It was one of a number of new developments from Rank, after a quiet period during the 1980s.
Rank gave Cardiff West its own logo with a drawing of a dragon above its name, and the strap-line, "smiles better at Cardiff West". They spoke of the "wonderful views" from the restaurant and promoted a special offer on Sunday lunches. Hotel rooms started at £27.50 a night.
Design
The amenity building is built on a slight slope, with parking areas at each end. Disabled access is provided through a dedicated doorway and totally separate parking area.
The site opened with a 50-bed Rank Motor Lodge integrated into the main building. Rooms started at £16 per night. Its reception area was combined with the main entrance. In the opposite corner was the Oasis dining area, which has now been broken up into different units. There was also a fast food unit called Just A Minute, and a shop branded 'Supershop'. By the HGV entrance was 'Yorkie's Transport Diner' (which is now boarded up). It had pool tables, an arcade, colour TV and telephones,
A sign at the entrance promised these facilities plus the captions "open 24 hours", "fast food service" , "open 24 hours", "family shopping on the move", "amusements for all" and "refreshingly different".
Greggs opened here on 7 March 2013. At the time of opening, this Greggs outlet was unusual compared to others as it is accessed from within the main restaurant area. Even so, it sells takeaway food and for tax reasons that food can't be consumed in the seating area.
The former restaurant servery has been partitioned off, with catering now provided by Greggs and Costa.
The Costa Coffee store was refurbished in December 2022, removing a lot of the former seating area's original features.
Forecourt
The service area was built as a partnership between Top Rank and Esso, so the two buildings have always been operated separately.
Esso redeveloped the forecourt in 2008, with the new forecourt becoming home to one of their On the Run cafés and offering Costa Coffee.
The forecourt was later sold to Rontec in 2013 who added their own-brand Shop'N Drive store to the site and replaced the On the Run café with a Subway store. The Shop'N Drive store later rebranded to SPAR in early 2018, before Rontec rebranded the site to BP in late 2018.
Rontec are seeking to build five electric vehicle charging points here.
Old Survey Results
In 2006, Cardiff West was rated as 3 out of 5 by Holiday Which? and they received a four star loo award.
The services were inspected by The AA on 24 and 25 March 2007. These are their results:
| Category: | Rating: |
| Road safety and parking: | Good |
| Outdoor facilities: | Acceptable |
| Access and indoor facilities: | Acceptable |
| Catering: | Poor |
| Shop: | Very Good |
| Family Friendliness: | Good |
| Service: | Good |
| Hygiene: | Very Poor |
| Pricing: | Very Poor |
| Final Score: | Acceptable |
The services were said to be well signed and have good facilities, but they were let down by the prices and variety of food on offer. The baby changing room was described as "a potential health hazard".
Cardiff West was also inspected by The AA on 4 and 5 April 2004. These are their results:
| Category: | Rating: |
| Road safety and parking: | Acceptable |
| Outdoor facilities: | Acceptable |
| Access and indoor facilities: | Very Poor |
| Catering: | Poor |
| Shop: | Very Good |
| Service: | Very Good |
| Communications: | Very Poor |
| Hygiene: | Very Good |
| Pricing: | Very Poor |
| Final Score: | Acceptable |
In this report, the services were noted for their indoor facilities and cleanliness, but the variety and quality of food was said to be a real let-down.
In 1991, a Which? survey rated the services as "average".
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Cardiff Gate (8 miles) | Services on the M4 | Sarn Park (12 miles) |
| Leigh Delamere (54 miles) Severn View (M48, 33 miles) | Moto services | Swansea West (35 miles) |
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