President Chisinau

I can’t remember staying in a hotel this bad. The rooms were in poor shape, the beds were extremely uncomfortable, and the pillows were so flat you could barely feel them. A really disappointing stay.

The hotel was kept very clean by the staff, though the rooms themselves were only average. The food was horrible: the breakfast eggs were completely cold, and the pumpkin soup may have been the worst in Moldova. They still charged top restaurant prices.

Being close to the airport was the one advantage, especially since I arrived at 3 am. I missed breakfast, and they offered me apples for payment. The place itself was nowhere near five stars: the carpet was old and smelly, there was mould on the wall, and the hygiene seemed poor. There was no bath, just a portable shower cabin from a supermarket.

The room was a good size, about 25 m2, and the pool wasn’t bad. That’s about all I can say in its favor. This is nowhere near a five-star hotel, unless it’s some kind of “Soviet Union” five stars without the service to match. When we arrived, there was no concierge or even anyone to open the door and help with our suitcases. Everything felt old and used, and the service was poor. The restaurant is its own problem: the staff seemed untrained and would hide from guests. Getting coffee took so long it felt like they’d gone to Columbia for it. They got our room service order wrong, then tried to tell me I’d ordered it that way instead of apologizing. We also asked for salt and pepper. They said OK, but never brought any. The food quality was questionable and it wasn’t very tasty.