Hotel Panorama

Breakfast is included and was great. The hotel has an old-fashioned, romantic feel rather than a modern one, which some people will love and others might not. My only real issue was the bed: I wanted one large mattress, not two single beds pushed together.

The river walk is lovely, and the location is close to everything. That’s where the good points stop. The rooms were poor, and the toilet plumbing in the middle of the room smelled awful and seemed to have a whole fungal ecosystem growing on it. Staff seemed completely lost and couldn’t handle basic things. Breakfast was a disaster: the same dried-out scrambled eggs and fruit every day, with five young staff standing around doing nothing while 20 guests fought over five boiled eggs. It was almost funny until I realized there was nothing else to eat. Neighbors smoked on the balcony, filling the room with smoke, and there was loud disco music from next door all night. I was glad to leave, and even gladder to forget the experience.

The hotel sits beside a tributary of the Danube, with lovely grounds and a great location for the spa and old town. Staff were friendly and professional, and most spoke English. The public spaces are full of objet d'art, the rooms differ but were very clean, and breakfast had plenty of choice. The touch-screen coffee machine was an interesting detail, and in summer you can eat breakfast outside. It was good value, and I stayed twice. My wife and I would have returned, probably many times, but they wouldn’t accept my elderly, house-trained maine coon cat, even when I offered a cash deposit for any possible damage. He’d stayed in many hotels without causing any, while they accept dogs without a deposit. That policy seems irrational, unreasonable, and bad for business. We won’t stay there again, even without the cat, so they’ve lost good customers. Sadly, the restaurant is no longer open.

We stopped for one night on our way farther east, and Hotel Panorama is beautifully set among nature. The room was simple, but fair for what we paid. Breakfast came with the price and was fresh with plenty to eat. A big plus for us was that dogs are welcome. We recommend it.