The hotel lived up to our expectations by all standards. Clean, modern, well located, with professional staff. The room was well furnished, with nice comfortable beds. The bathroom was spacious and unlike the rest of the city, the hotel has running water 24 hour a day.

The restaurant of the hotel is nothing special with very pricey food. A much better option are numerous restaurants around. However, breakfasts are OK there.

Like anywhere in Ukraine, call for the taxi and do not use those standing in front of the hotel: they charge 3- 4 times more...

As stated in previous reviews the situation in the middle of the docks is different. The rooms were just about OK although the mildew in the bath does exist. What made the stay really bad was the attitude of the staff. For a hotel with 19 floors and 25 guests it wasn't exactly crowded. We were a party of three men and one woman all with single rooms. On both evenings we were the only people in the bar. The barman was friendly enough but when I was asked by security to come to reception and then asked if I wanted to upgrade to a double room "because I was with a woman" I wasn't exactly amused. In an empty hotel even if they don't recognise guests they certainly had time to check the reservation. Breakfast was very basic although this may be standard for Ukraine. The car park security man also had to paid (bribed) to let us out of the car park even though we'd paid the hotel but this is standard for the country. Next time I'll try elsewhere

Anyone that has ever stayed in an airport hotel will know what to expect at The Odessa Hotel. I stayed in the Harbour suite, so you would expect to get a slightly better level of service and room. That was not the case, the 'VIP' service they promise was non-existent, there was no difference between those in suites and those in 'other' rooms.

The suite itself was clean, although the shower was not, there was evidence of mould and a leak in the ceiling. Worst of all, was the fact that the shower head was loose and would frequently come off, this has clearly been like this for sometime. The shower looked old and tatty, it is a shame, because it is precisely this type of thing that travellers remember. Room service was efficient and friendly.

The 'piano bar' had a very nice piano, but the painist was clearly working to rule when I was there for 6 days. I saw him once for about 10 minutes. The hotel also allows pictures to be taken in their bar, during two days, I must have seen some 20 'wedding couples' traipse in and out of the bar with their entourage and photographers. Its okay, but it can get a bit crowded.

During our stay there was an excellent barman who made our bar visits enjoyable, he had a sense of humour and was very accomodating. Unfortunately, he doesn't work weekends and his replacement was slow, uncaring and slapdash. Reception staff were helpful, but not efficient.

My advice would be if your expectations are not too high, then this is not a bad hotel. I would stay again, but it would be to sleep, rather than enjoy. It is clearly overpriced, but then most hotels in the Ukraine are. The rooms are more 3 star. Functional rather than nice...I can only refer to the suite of course, which I believe was just two rooms knocked in one. The suite is definately NOT worth the extra, because the service and quality is not what even a reasonable person (like me) would expect.

I recommend this hotel only because it is a 'known quantity' and not because it is outstanding. Hotels in the Ukraine can be very 'hit and miss', so it is a safe bet rather than a firm recommendation.

I have been to this hotel several times (last time beginning of May 2009) and I know already why it's not part of the Kempinski Hotels anymore. As the other people have mentioned in their reviews the hotel looks great from outside, but nothing than average inside and average only if we speak about semi-lux numbers and higher standard (see the attached photos)! The window/terrace view from some of the rooms is really fantastic - you can see how beautiful the Black sea is. The prices are really too high for the quality offered, the breakfast is not bad - it's included in the price and you can have it from 7:00 till 11:00 am in the Black Pearl restaurant, but if you come after 10:00 you will see a lot of empty plates and the personnel is not bothering to fill them up.
What I found really interesting is that it was advertised that the fitness center and the swimming pool are free for guests of the hotel, but it turned out that meanwhile someone is renting them already and you have to pay for using them... Parking for guests is also paid, you better ask at the reception in advance, because you will pay more at the spot later when leaving.