Hotel Ary

For what it costs, the hotel is acceptable, but calling it 4-star seems generous. The rooms looked worn, with damage to the walls, furniture, and windows. The beds were all right, though I wouldn't want to sleep in them again. The first room had broken AC; staff kindly moved me to another, where it worked only halfway. The bathroom was clean, but the towels were quite dirty. The shower leaked, and its mount couldn't handle the water pressure, spraying water onto the ceiling and causing a small flood. Breakfast was poor: the supposed fruit juice was water mixed with concentrate, the cheese looked extremely old, and the scrambled eggs were cold though they were meant to be hot. There is a gym listed, but the host said it was closed when I asked to use it. The elevator was very slow, needed you to hold a button the whole time, and had no inner door. Fine enough for the price, but nothing I'd write home about.

The hosts were polite, and the large, comfortable rooms made me feel welcome. It's near the train station, although it isn't in the beautiful city center, so I wouldn't give the location five stars. Still, it's a very good place to stop if you're in the area and deserves its good rating.

The breakfast was good, and the people working there and the owner were wonderfully hospitable, almost like very generous parents of a friend. They made up for a lot of the shortcomings. The room, though, was extremely dusty, and the free parking listed when I booked turned out to mean public street parking, not a separate lot or garage. There also wasn't any other food available on site. For the price, it was an okay stay, but my friend's hotel was much nicer. It didn't feel like a 4 star place, and if I did the trip again, I'd choose another hotel.

We wish we'd had more time there. The hotel is a little outdated, but at that price, we couldn't complain, and we'll go back to hotel Ary next time we're in Cluj. The staff were so kind, the beds and shower were amazing, and breakfast was even better: grilled vegetables, great cake, smoked salmon, homemade pancakes, and lots more.