Karoon Hotel

We'd stayed at Karon Hotel last year and had lovely memories, so we were looking forward to coming back. This time, though, it didn't meet our expectations, and it feels like the hotel has changed for the worse. It used to be one of my favorites in Tehran. The hotel manager was polite and welcoming, and the kitchen staff in particular were kind and attentive. They made eggs in a very tasty way. Still, breakfast was poor and repetitive, with only around six items, three of them containing sausage. Nobody helped us with our luggage, stroller, or small child when we arrived. We had to manage everything ourselves. We booked through an Iranian website, which clearly said the room included two double beds and one single bed. At arrival, reception said we'd have to pay double because the booking only covered one person, a condition the website never mentioned. When we asked if staff could help sort it out, they just said, “It's not our problem.” The receptionists were dismissive. When I tried to talk with them, they acted busy, answered abruptly, and walked away. I saw the official price for two people displayed on the wall, and in the end we paid that exact amount, but they insisted the price would be completely different because we weren't Iranian. The total came close to what a 4- or even 5-star hotel in Tehran would cost. We had no alternative at the time, so we were forced to pay in full.

The staff here are incredibly polite and kind, and compared with my stay at a 5-star hotel in Istanbul, I got a much cleaner room and far better service. It's a small, cozy hotel, and it was clean and quiet. I didn't try the food, so I can't comment on it. It's in the north of the city, close to the center, though evening traffic is heavy. I'm unsure about the parking. I'm very satisfied and would choose it again. You get more than what you pay for.

If Europeans come to Iran, especially Tehran, I recommend this hotel. The rooms are large, clean, and very quiet, the employees are really nice, and the food is great.

The people working here are amazing. Everyone from reception to the cleaning lady to the kitchen guys took great care of me. The breakfast was pretty decent too, and the location is nice, with large, clean rooms. The toilet in the gold glass seems like an intern designed it. No engineer would come up with something like that. There's no way to shower without getting every part of the toilet wet. Still, I think the hotel deserves five stars because of its staff.