ApartHotel Gutinului

A really good central spot in Cluj, close to all the places of interest. The apartments are spacious and come with cooking equipment and utensils, plus a very modern bathroom. Each one has a theme representing a different country. The front desk staff are in another location, but they're very friendly.

It's in the heart of Cluj, about a five-minute walk from the botanical garden and a little farther to the city center. The rooms have distinctive designs and are tastefully decorated, and check-in was seamless. If you're lucky, there's free parking. But the cleaning really let us down. There were spider webs, blonde hairs in the bed, and nasty chocolatey stains on the sides of the sheets. It looked like nobody had tidied the room before we arrived, which was upsetting, especially given the price.

Check-in is at reception in a different building on another street, though you can leave the keys with the cleaning staff when you check out. Keep that in mind if you're carrying heavy bags or planning to order breakfast. From the ground-floor room I could hear people opening the main door, walking on the stairs, and talking upstairs. Cars park just 40 cm from the full-height main window, behind a wooden garden mesh, so there's no privacy unless you close the curtains, especially at night with the lights on. There was also a strong, unpleasant citrus scent in the room, probably meant to cover odors from the bathtub.

The apartment was lovely, in a quiet area close to the Botanical Garden. We knew in advance that reception was at another location. The only issue for me was that there was just one building key for three of us.