Hotel Balneolum

A modern, pleasant hotel with a lovely balcony view and plenty of parking.

The room’s cleanliness left a lot to be desired, and the reception staff’s handling of the booking was terrible. The price list showed rates per double room, not per person, yet they tried to charge more for one adult and an eight-year-old child than for two adults in a double room. They wouldn’t admit the pricing made no sense. Later, they presented it as if management had kindly offered a discount after I complained. I had to keep pushing before they even contacted management. I booked through the hotel’s own website. Based on their pricing, a double room would have cost €400 a night if my husband had come too. The supposedly qualified receptionists could only insist that this was how it worked, and said they couldn’t see what I’d booked online. There was no apology afterward, just a show of bravado. At 8:40 a.m. they even told me to keep the hallway noise down because other guests were still asleep. Given the sorry state of the room, the staff may be about right for this hotel’s standard.

A really nice stay. The staff were friendly, and though the rooms were small, they were perfectly formed. It’s a lovely three-star hotel, quiet, with a spa area that’s nothing fancy but still nice. Breakfast was fresh and delicious too.

The spa area was quite nice, but the foot baths aren’t connected and staff said they won’t be in the future. The whirlpool was freezing cold. Breakfast was disappointing too: stale rolls and little choice. We’d been promised a varied vegetarian selection, but all that meant was margarine and tomatoes. My boyfriend and I booked four nights. At check-in they offered us a better room for “a few euros extra.” When we asked how much, they couldn’t give a figure, but kept assuring us it was “really only a few euros more.” It turned out to be €55 per night, and they said they were already being accommodating. We only found this out on the third evening, after our second night. The manager wanted to speak to us the next day. We asked to move back to our original room, but they refused, saying it would be even more work. We were made to leave after three nights because we wouldn’t pay the extra €55 per night, even though that charge wasn’t in the contract. We still had to pay the original price for all four nights. The whole conversation happened in a very unfriendly tone at reception, where every guest could hear it. Unbelievable. The room was supposed to be one of the better ones, but it was completely standard, with dated furniture and poor ventilation. In the mornings the windows were so fogged up that water ran down them. It could have been a nice short break, but the way we were treated made the whole stay unpleasant, and we went home frustrated.