While on a trip to Romania, my husband and I booked a few nights at the Duke hotel in Bucharesti on a hotel reservation website. We drove into town, found the hotel and checked in. When I was checking in, I ASKED if there was air conditioning (I know, we were there in May but it was SUPER hot then - in the 90's F). I was assured that there was. When my husband and I got to the room, it was hot so we immediately turned on the AC. We waited a bit and realized that it wasn't getting any cooler so we called to the front desk. They sent the bell boy up to instruct us on the use of the AC. Still it didn't get cooler. So we went downstairs and complained in person to the desk staff. They offered a different room. We went up to the new room but this time checked the AC immediately. It didn't work. So we went back downstairs and only then did the lady at the desk admit that the "AC" wasn't turned on yet. All the AC controls would turn on was a fan. Well, if it hadn't been so hot out, that might have been ok but the window didn't open in the first room and though it did in the second the traffic noise was so bad that we would never have slept. We ultimately checked out and moved to another hotel.

Aside from the problem with the AC, we found the location to be a bit out of the way and in an odd neighborhood. Hard to tell if there was good access to public transport or not.

Both rooms that I saw were small but adequate. Very "business" like. The rooms were designed so that everything was built-in and fit but not really allowing any extra room. Both rooms, though said to be non smoking, smelled of smoke.

I did like the layout of the hotel and the way the rooms were arranged around a kind of open balcony to the lobby. Each floor only has about 5 room so it was nice and intimate in that sense.

They had secure parking available just down the street.

I have to say that even with the problem of the AC and our decision to Check out, the front desk staff remained courteous.

We stayed one night in Bucharest on the way to another city and found this hotel via Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet. The room was excellent, especially the availability of non-smoking rooms in a country obsessed by smokers. Great service, too. Our main problem was the hotel's process of collecting passports. They collected passports on check-in, and should have returned them immediately. Instead, they held them, and did not return them on check out. In our rush to get to the airport, we forgot to ask, and only discovered the problem at the airport. The hotel did manage to send a driver to the airport with the passports, but extorted a 30 Euro fee in the process. Seems that they may do this regularly. Watch Out!!

Location is walking distance to most of the city. Modern, comfortable and welcoming. A typical business hotel and the price is good for Bucharest. Ideal for tourists. Clean, well cared and modern rooms and usually quiet. Food OK but lots of local restuarants nearby. I'd only been once but they remembered me on the second visit. I now go twice a year.