Hotel Ciucas

The food was awful, with hardly any variety, especially at breakfast. The rooms were clean, and the receptionist was friendly and helpful. The rest of the staff were okay. It’s close to the city centre, with some interesting hiking trails easy to reach from the hotel.

I wouldn’t stay here again. The young receptionist was polite and seemed to care about guests, but the other staff were unfriendly. Despite being next to the Romanian public health institution, I found a cockroach beside the pool, and the butter I was served at breakfast was mouldy. The rooms looked very communist-era, seemed dirty, and smelled old. The bathroom was narrow and unpleasant too. At the lobby bar, someone asked us, “Who allowed you to play cards here?” We were told cards weren’t allowed, though there was no sign saying so, and we’d been able to play at other places. She seemed shocked when we pointed that out. They also asked what room we were staying in at breakfast and dinner, with the details written down on paper. Keeping track that way in 2021? It was so bad it was almost funny. This isn’t a three-star hotel, and it has a long way to go even to deserve one star. The place feels stuck in the communist era, in its staff’s attitudes and appearance. It needs a lot of improvement, and I wouldn’t return unless they hired younger staff who care and understand what bad online reviews mean.

The food was okay, but the hotel felt old and dull, and it was depressing, especially for young people. The spa was a joke: the jacuzzi is part of the pool and just as cold, while the sauna looked awful and didn’t work properly. Even the shampoo samples had expired.

Romanian tourism operators seem to have no idea how to run tourism. During a crisis, prices should come down to attract customers, not go up. At least they follow the anti-COVID rules, and the food is great, especially the chicken with redcurrants sauce.