Grand Hotel Downtown

The red light area right in front makes the place feel a little unsafe if you’re walking late at night. Even so, I’d definitely suggest staying here. We spent five peaceful, calm nights, with cozy rooms, good facilities at a great rate, and a good breakfast. The staff were excellent, and the cleaning and technical staff were very helpful. Being steps from the metro and main station also made it easy to get around to other parts of the city.

Booking.com lost my very long review and then posted “wonderful,” which I hadn’t even written, so I’m leaving my review here instead. The rooms were clean and modern, and the price was very good for what you get. The staff were super friendly and helpful. Mohamed helped with my special request in a proactive, kind way and really went above and beyond. I’m a flight attendant, so I especially appreciate it when people in the service industry make that extra effort.

The room looked neglected, with unfinished patches of paint, and the floors were damaged and broken in many places. They seemed unsafe and unhygienic. In January, with -6°C outside, the heater in my room didn’t work. There were other rooms available, but staff refused to move me. The area felt very unsafe, with visible drug sellers and a red light atmosphere at night, so I felt no sense of security. Staff were not helpful, and breakfast was extremely poor: very basic choices, watered-down juice, some rotten fruit, and mostly cheap frozen food reheated. This hotel is nowhere near a 4-star standard, and the service, maintenance, and location made it absolutely not worth the price.

The location is basically in the red light district, with a lot of tweakers sitting right outside the hotel. On the walk to dinner, a man ahead of us was stumbling around with several bottles. When we went around him, he called me a skank and started spitting at me. Our room smelled strongly of sewage when we arrived. We opened a window and went to dinner, hoping it would clear, but it didn’t. Candles from reception didn’t help either. We’d been “upgraded” from a two-bed room to a three-bed room without asking, and when we requested the original room we’d booked, the receptionist said we could upgrade for a fee. He called the cleaners, but they said we’d been in the room too long for them to fix the problem. The room also looked like it had shit stains and mystery fluids spread around. Do not stay here unless you like sleeping in a portapotty. It isn’t safe or sanitary.