I stayed at the Carpati when I was in Bucharest for a friend's wedding. I usually stay with them, so I had never stayed at a hotel in Bucharest before.

The hotel is an older property on a quiet side street. It is literally steps away from Cismigiu Park and Calea Victorii (i.e., a great, central location). It is almost across the street from the Hotel Opera.

I had a suite on the 4th floor, one of the nicest rooms they offer. The rooms come in quite a range, from suites to small singles with shared baths. All seemed clean (I did look in to the some singles when the door was open, and used the shared bath one time). The furniture was a bit odd, but functional. The suite looked like it had been made my combining two rooms. My only complaint was that the wall between the two rooms was just knocked away. There was no way to isolate the living room and bedroom if you wanted to put the kids to bed and stay up to watch TV, for example.

The staff was helpful and tolerant of my friend's destructive 2 year old. I did find their behavior surrounding breakfast rather petty (there is no restaurant, just a breakfast room). Breakfast means choosing one of four menus, and God forbid you should ask for any substitutions -- and this includes asking for coffee when that breakfast comes with tea, and vice versa. Be one minute late getting to breakfast and that coffee that was included with the cost of your room suddenly becomes quite expensive -- even though it's already made and sitting there. One more word of warning -- the croissant on the menu is a foil-wrapped monstrosity that bears no resemblance to the pastry of the same name you might eat in France or many other countries (but it is easily avoided).

All of these are minor issues. The Carpati is a good choice in the increasingly expensive world of Bucharest hotels. With the money you save you can buy lots of coffee and croissants.