Hotel Phoenix

The biggest plus was the price, around 30-40% less than other 4-star hotels, and the room was spacious with decent mattresses. The cooked lunch was pretty tasty too. We stayed four days and three nights in May 2025 at the 4-star Hotel Phoenix in Buzias, with all three meals included. I had paid an extra 50 lei per day for a balcony, even though the hotel has no balcony, but that money was later refunded. The room was never serviced during our stay. I didn't see a maid, and there was only half a roll of toilet paper for two people for four days. There was no liquid soap, shower gel, bathrobe, or slippers. The lights were dim, and the room had a strange disinfectant smell when the window was closed. We were freezing, so luckily we had brought our air conditioner. The front entrance was locked, and the way in was around the back on the left, far from the parking lot. To reach meals or the indoor pool, we had to walk over to the neighboring Parc hotel. After swimming, we had to walk back wet for about 10 minutes, with no connecting corridor. The Phoenix is advertised as 4-star, but felt more like 3-star, and Parc felt like 2-star despite its 3-star rating. A notice also said the building didn't have ISU authorization. Meals were served at Parc on a rigid schedule: 8-9, 12-13, and 18-19. On vacation, that meant setting an alarm for 7:30 to make breakfast. The buffet was basic: cheap, bitter coffee, a kind of salami, a kind of cheese, eggs, red peppers, jam, and butter. Yogurt was there some days and missing on others. Everything seemed to be the cheapest available and poor quality. I got food poisoning on the first day, and after four days I still felt sick. Lunch was one soup, one main, and one dessert, already waiting on the table at noon. If you arrived later, the food was cold. There was no choice of dishes, though the home-style cooking was tasty. Dinner was also a single prepared meal with no choice. The dining room felt like a cafeteria split between people with treatment vouchers and guests like us who had paid for accommodation. About 90% of the diners were very old, and many behaved quite uncivilly. So you pay for 4 stars and eat at 2-3 stars. The spa at Parc was spacious, with a fairly large pool, enough sunbeds, and hot water. But the facilities were old, from the time of Ceausescu. The two showers by the pool alternated between cold and sometimes hot water, and there was a urine smell. There was a bubbling jacuzzi, but the ceiling wasn't plastered, and when it rained outdoors, rain came into the pool in two or three places. Dirty water by the sunbeds was mopped and pushed into the pool. The air is good, and there's a large, beautiful dendrological park nearby with squirrels. It was rebuilt with European money, but there are still many collapsed buildings and smelly canals. In the two hotels there was nowhere to buy juice or beer. For a good coffee or a beer, I recommend La Avion restaurant. Buzias itself is dusty, and poverty seems absent in Timis county, though there is a Lidl and other shops. For around 500 per day with three meals, and no expectations for food or comfort, it may suit you, since it's 30-40% cheaper than BH or Felix. If you've travelled more and want a bit of civilization and comfort, stay away from Buzias. A little common sense would help. I'm heading to the bathroom because I still feel sick from the food.

The park across from the hotel was a lovely place to walk and recharge, and I was pleasantly surprised by the swimming pool. The atmosphere throughout our stay was really pleasant. We held a meeting for 50 people here over two nights, from Friday to Sunday, and the arrangements were as expected. The buffet food was tasty, and the hotel felt welcoming. Staff were discreet, kind, and accommodating. I highly recommend this hotel and location.

The meals were the worst part of my three-night stay at the 4-star Phoenix Hotel in Buziaș. I usually avoid hotels below four stars, but I couldn't imagine food this impossible, not even one-star quality. Breakfast was a buffet with all the sausages from Penny, pressed ham probably from Aro, and salamis that all looked the same. The tomatoes and peppers were oxidized, the fried eggs were thrown on with a shovel, and the tea was made from plants I couldn't identify. There was no yogurt, milk, fruit, seeds, or cereal. Dinner was cold every night and somehow got more surprising each time. The first evening brought two pork chops in sauce and vegetable rice served on the plate to make it look like more, plus a SIM yogurt. The next night there was a schnitzel from an unidentifiable source, probably the previous night's pork chops, with some kind of potato stew I couldn't make sense of, and two spoonfuls of cold polenta topped with sour cream. On the last night, the beans were yellow and bland, clearly frozen, alongside a schnitzel that was probably chicken and rice so sweet and cold it seemed like they meant it to be frozen. I think even a hospital would be luxurious compared with Phoenix. The room was also neglected. I didn't see a maid during the three nights and four days. Towels stayed on the bathroom floor from the second day until we left, the soap dispensers were empty, and we had just one toilet paper roll. If we'd stayed longer, we'd have bought more at Profi. Spiders were spreading across the corners, the TV had only a few channels that kept getting blocked, and there was no sign of Wi-Fi or smart TV. The room and hallway carpet looked pretty colorful :) We paid in advance, as required, then left early on the last morning without having another breakfast. Breakfast cost 35 lei and dinner 45 lei. For about the same money, Belvedere restaurant was the one bright spot of the stay, with fresh, delicious food. Soup was 18 lei, or a main course around 35-50 lei. I couldn't have eaten both in one meal, since one course was more than enough for me. Thanks, Belvedere, for that experience. I'll never stay at Phoenix again.

Cockroaches were in both rooms we were given, despite asking to move after seeing many in the first one. At first glance, I counted about five in that room. In the second, we killed more than 30, and even after two rounds of disinsection, more kept wandering around. When we raised it, the receptionist said it was normal because the park is nearby and she has cockroaches in her own house. Staff also said it wasn't their fault, blaming the lady on duty and guests who leave windows open. They eventually agreed to change rooms, but couldn't promise the next one would be cockroach-free. It isn't normal to tell a guest that cockroaches flying over their head while they sleep are to be expected. The rooms were filthy too. We saw the cleaning lady with a vacuum when we came back, but the floors still had food crumbs, dust, and lint, as if they hadn't been cleaned for a long time. During our stay the towels weren't changed, trash wasn't taken out, and no cleaning was done. We were a larger group, and colleagues had the same issue. One colleague asked three times for cleaning because the bedding was dirty and the bathroom and toilet hadn't been cleaned. They changed the bedding, but didn't vacuum or flush the toilet, and cockroaches were in the other rooms as well. The food was decent but left a lot to be desired. The building is operating without a fire permit. I hope this helps other potential guests and that someone reports the problem further.