We had arrived at the Gara de Nord train station in the pouring rain having returned our hire car at Baneasa Airport (Bus 780 or 205 direct to the station) and were increasingly becoming drenched looking for the Elizeu. Then, like a glowing beacon to get us into the dry, it appeared and our prayers were answered! From the outside this hotel looks fairly trendy, a nice lobby area etc. The restaurant also serves up palatable food at a very reasonable price.
The rooms at first sight were not bad either, but at the end of the day, a hotel is a place to rest your head for the night.
The Elizeu ultimately failed on this point.
The bedrooms are clearly smoking rooms; which I gather having stayed across Romania that they don't differentiate between smoking and non-smoking rooms. This wasn't too much of an issue. However, three points lead me to rating this hotel as 1 out of 5:
1. Bedding: hard mattresses, tiny pillows and inadequate covers made for an uncomfortable night's sleep, with little we could do.
2. Noise: I had expected noise from the train station, but all of the noise came from inside the hotel. The walls must only be made out of cardboard - you could hear everything, and a huge group of people laughing and joking in the room down the corridor, then slowing making their way out of the corridor at 1am is not what I wanted!
3. Breakfast: Quite simply the worst hotel breakfast I have ever experienced (and I consider myself a connoisseur of hotel breakfasts). There were about 2 measly bits of greasy sausage in a huge tray, cold excuses for fried eggs, and what can only be described as left over salads and dishes thrown together from the previous night's restaurant servings. The only thing we could stomach was toast. The woman working in the restaurant during breakfast was rude, obnoxious, and seemed annoyed when asked any questions.
The service on the front desk however was good, they looked after our bags whilst we ventured into Bucharest, and were happy for us to use the facilities before we departed for the airport. However, I would NEVER stay at this hotel again, nor recommend it, you could have a better night's sleep on the platform at the train station opposite
- Elizeu Hotel Bucharest
