Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff

Contemporary Hospitality Within Two Cardiff Landmarks

Historic architecture takes on a new life in the heart of Cardiff.

Located on Westgate Street, The Parkgate Hotel brings together two of the city’s historic landmarks—the former Head Post Office and County Court—within a contemporary luxury hospitality destination.

Created through a collaboration between the WRU and the Celtic Collection, the hotel combines the character of its architectural past with a new hospitality experience encompassing a signature restaurant, elegant tea lounge and rooftop spa with sweeping views across the city.

Within these surroundings, furniture contributes to the dialogue between heritage and contemporary design.

The Essex Armchair and Essex Bar Stool by Sentta, designed by Javier Gomez, were selected for the project, introducing the cosmopolitan character of the Essex Collection into the hotel’s interiors.

Inspired by New York, Essex brings a distinctly urban sensibility to Cardiff.

Its confident proportions and upholstered forms create a contemporary counterpoint to the historic character of the building, while the use of ash wood, a brown pewter finish and cotton velvet introduces warmth and material richness.

The Essex Armchair creates an inviting seating experience while retaining the collection’s distinctive identity. Its combination of wood and upholstery brings together structure and softness, making it naturally suited to the refined hospitality setting of The Parkgate Hotel.

The Essex Bar Stool carries the same design language into a taller seating typology, allowing different areas of the interior to remain visually connected while responding to different functions.

Together, the two pieces demonstrate the importance of continuity when selecting luxury hotel furniture in Cardiff.

Hotels are composed of multiple experiences.

Guests may move from a lounge to a restaurant, from an informal drink to a longer evening, or from the privacy of their room into the hotel’s social spaces. Each environment has its own rhythm, but the interior must still feel connected.

Furniture collections capable of moving naturally between these settings help establish that sense of coherence.

The wider Essex Collection extends this design language across a sofa, lounge chair, armchair, counter stool, bar stool and daybed, giving designers the possibility to create different seating environments while maintaining a consistent aesthetic.

The project was completed in partnership with Castlebrook Furniture, specialists in interior furniture fit-outs for hospitality spaces.

With decades of experience, Castlebrook works closely with designers and clients to deliver furniture solutions that balance design integrity, craftsmanship and the functional requirements of hospitality interiors.

At The Parkgate Hotel, this approach contributes to an interior where the history of the building remains present without defining the entire experience.

The former civic landmarks provide the architectural foundation.

Contemporary hospitality brings them into a new chapter.

And furniture becomes one of the elements connecting the two.

This relationship between old and new is particularly important within historic hotel projects. The objective is not necessarily to reproduce the past, but to allow original character and contemporary design to coexist.

Essex responds to that context through contrast rather than imitation.

Its New York inspiration introduces a cosmopolitan dimension, while its materials and upholstered character create the warmth expected from a luxury hotel environment.

The result is an interior shaped by different places and different periods: Cardiff’s architectural heritage, contemporary British hospitality and a furniture collection influenced by the energy of New York.

Historic Cardiff without looking backwards. Cosmopolitan design within landmark architecture. Contemporary hospitality shaped for a new chapter.

Featured Sentta pieces: Essex Armchair · Essex Bar Stool

Project: The Parkgate Hotel, Cardiff
Furniture Partner: Castlebrook Furniture
Furniture: Sentta · Essex Collection