but otherwise, I would rate this hotel satisfactory. This is a nice XIXth Century villa, turned into a boutique hotel, which we chose because of a conference in the Kafkaesque Cheauchescu palace, which was said to be nearby. It is, but it's 25 minutes by foot if one doesn't want to run, and the neighborhood near the hotel is so bad that our Romanian friends didn't recommend walking there after 10 pm. Which seems reasonable; this is not a good area, mainly rundown apartment houses and the myriad of stray dogs so typical for Bucharest. Cab drivers and locals generally didn't know where it was and had to check.
The house is nice but not really elegant, rather a bit kitschily renovated, and even originally it was more done in robber baron style. Much of the renovations seem dated; the atmosphere is quite dark. The bellboy was the smartest and savviest staffer; the reception people were not sure of many things, prices, times, distance and so on. No map of the area available.
Wifi was spotty and often very weak, but free; the minibar prices qualify as ripoff - buy your own water! A/c worked well. Good beds, 1970s style bathrooms. My room was very small indeed. Breakfast was very carbs-heavy and some days better than others. Too small safe for laptops etc.
The airport shuttle is, with € 45 without tax, bizarrely overpriced, but nice, friendly, and safe. Still, it seems worth trying a normal cab.
Our price was below € 100 with breakfast, and this was a good deal. Nonetheless, next time in Bucharest, I would definitely try the Marriott, where some colleagues of ours stayed and which was very nice; it also has a terrific new steak house and truly competent staff.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
12 September 2011
Dear Aethelred,
Thank you for your review! We appreciate the feedback you've left us, and as always, we will see how this information can be used to improve our hotel services.
We are very glad to hear that you found good value in our rates, and our staff let me know that it was a pleasure having you as guests.
As one of the major investors in the area, we can happily say that we're already contributing to the quickly changing face of our wonderful neighborhood, known as Filaret Hill.
Just a few things to clear up however, so as not to confuse other guests with the strictly personal impressions you posted as part of the review:
- We are about as far away from the main entrances of the Palace of Parliament as the Marriott (900m vs 1,000m to pe precise). It is no more than a 10 minute walk, as the direct view towards the front of the Palace can attest to.
- The beautiful adjacent park, our street and the immediate surroundings are very safe, not to mention that we are in the proximity of a local community patrol station who ensure the total safety of the park, public areas and other tourist attractions around us.
- The hotel is in fact by far one of the most elegant in Bucharest, we've won numerous architecture and design awards for the careful historic restoration process. Our designer rooms and bathrooms are absolutely fabulous, but just fyi, you requested one of our 'entry level' rooms.
- Conde Nast, the definitive authority on premium travel described our hotel as "displaying the trappings of Europe's grandest hotels." It goes without saying that we've never heard any of the adjectives you used, in the context of our hotel.
- The free wi-fi comes in addition to a free wired connection for those guests whose laptops are not equipped to receive wireless signal as well as others. We even offer technical assistance to our guests in order to resolve all possible issues.
I really want to thank you again for your sincere feedback which is what we appreciate most in our reviews, and hope that that the above information may have cleared up some of the misconceptions you may have had about the Carol Parc Hotel.
With kind regards,
Sylvia Schlie-Petre,
General Manager,
The Carol Parc Hotel - Bucharest
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
