Balvanyos Resort

Betty made our first visit to Balvanyos Resort really special. I’d only planned to stop in for a drink at the bar and see the place, after someone warmly recommended it. She welcomed us right away and showed us around with so much care and enthusiasm. Her wine suggestions were spot on, and I’ll be bringing a few bottles back to France as a reminder of a lovely time. Betty is attentive and always smiling, and clearly cares about her guests having a great experience. She has a remarkable feel for service and looks after people in such a natural, elegant way. Thanks to her professionalism, kindness, and passion, we’ll remember this visit.

On our third visit, the hotel was surrounded by a stunning winter landscape. We’d also seen it in autumn, which was beautiful. For the money, this may be the best spa resort in RO, and we love it. The indoor and outdoor spa pools, saunas, and hamams are amazing, kept at just the right temperatures and well maintained. The spa gets busy after check-in, but weekday mornings and early afternoons are fine. The main spa is adults only. Families with children use the newer pool area in the hotel’s new wing, with a 25m pool, jacuzzi, and children’s play pool. It’s a very nice modern space, though it doesn’t compare with the main spa. We haven’t stayed over a weekend, but weekdays seem to bring more normal people, the ones Romania can be proud of. On weekends, it may be best to avoid the “must be seen, BMW, boobs and lips” crowd, unless that’s your thing. Most rooms are very good, though some are dated and there’s variation. Some have been upgraded, others not. Some have large smart TVs, others have small TVs from 20 years ago. The bedding is superb, room size is adequate, and there’s a fridge and Nespresso coffee machine. We always pick a rear room facing the virgin forest. Waking up to that view through the wall-to-wall windows is wonderful. The Forest has a substantial, varied breakfast, but the daytime and evening menu and food quality are lacking. Grastrolab has excellent food and costs only slightly more than Forest. We didn’t try the Fork restaurant. Staff throughout are pleasant and professional. We highly recommend the sauna experience. We didn’t understand the point of the bread making, so wouldn’t recommend that. The treatment rooms offer a full menu, though their treatments didn’t stand out from similar places in Bucharest. We didn’t try them all. The gym is small but seems to have everything. A wonderful stay, and we’ll come back. Keep up the good work.

This was our fourth spa visit, and the spa itself was good as usual. The massages were excellent too, though the steam room wasn’t working in the morning, and was still out of order when we checked at 11 a.m. This time we were a little disappointed. We were three people and, for the first time, stayed outside the main hotel, booking Villa Panorama because its description said the room had an extendable sofa bed. Instead, it was just a mattress on the floor. When we went back to reception about it, the receptionist barely responded, wouldn’t look us in the eye, and offered no solution. The service felt poor and dismissive. This was also the second time during our visits that a large group was staying at the hotel. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it limited our restaurant options and the times we could use them. The restaurant was mixed, some dishes were delicious and others not so good. I waited politely a week for a reply to my email, but got nothing, so I’m posting this here.

Everything else was good, but the room’s minibar and coffee setup were disappointing. There was no coffee, only sugar, so you can bring your own from home. Why have a coffee machine in the room? The minibar was empty, even though the reservation information said it should be included. There wasn’t even a bottle of water in the room, despite the rate being almost 200$ per day. Management ignored the request.